Synonyms of the word illness in the idiolect of F. M. Dostoevsky

The subject of this study is the synonyms of the noun "illness" in the idiolect of F. M. Dostoevsky, compared with general usage, determined based on dictionaries and data from the National Corpus of the Russian Language. Of the large number of synonyms that existed in the Russian language of his time, the writer uses only five synonyms for the word illness, namely: nezdorov’ye (‘ill-being’), nedug (‘ailment’), nemoshch’ (‘infirmity’), nemoch’ (infirmity) and khvorost’ (‘sickness’). The aim of the study is to describe the specificity of the writer's idiolect, manifested both in the choice of words and in the distribution of their usage across different types of texts (fiction and epistolary). The type of text is significant for the writer's preferences: he uses some synonyms only in fiction (nemoshch’ – ‘infirmity’), nemoch’ – infirmity), while others are used primarily or exclusively in personal letters, referring to himself or his loved ones (nezdorov’ye – ‘ill-being’, khvorost’ – ‘sickness’). The study used general scientific and special methods of philological analysis: descriptive, quantitative, comparative, biographical; within the framework of the functional-semantic approach, lexical-semantic analysis with elements of component and conceptual analysis was used. The novelty of this work stems from the fact that, despite the significance of the theme of illness in F. M. Dostoevsky's fiction and life, the vocabulary of the corresponding semantic field has not yet been the subject of a dedicated linguistic study. The article identifies the specific features of the writer's idiolect within the vocabulary group under consideration. For example, F. M. Dostoevsky does not use the words zabolevaniye (‘disease’) and nedomoganiye (‘indisposition’), likely due to their literary nature. He prefers the less common khvorost’ (‘sickness’) to the colloquial khvor (‘sickness’). The most common word in the writer's idiolect (after the dominant illness) is nezdorov’ye (‘ill-being’), which is present primarily in his personal letters. It is typically used euphemistically in syntaxemes with the prepositions po, za, ot in the meaning of a reason (due to ill-being) and is accompanied by vocabulary indicating the failure to perform an action. The colloquial noun khvorost’ (‘sickness’) is used in a similar function and is present exclusively in the writer's personal letters. The words nedug (‘ailment’), nemoshch’ (‘infirmity’) and nemoch’ (infirmity) on the other hand, are found primarily in fiction. The usage of the words nedug (‘ailment’) and nemoshch’ (‘infirmity’) in the writer's idiolect differs significantly from dictionary definitions.

idiolect, F. M. Dostoevsky, personal letters, the semantic field illness, synonyms, euphemism, ill-being, ailment, infirmity, sickness