Chapter 18 Lexical Functions: Description of Lexical Relations in a ...

—Chapter 18. Lexical Functions— 104
25 (p. 00) Lexical functions are lexical units to such an extent that it is even possible to write
poetry in the ‘language’ of LFs! Thus, in May 1971, during a Linguistic Summer School in Dili-
zhan, Armenia, Alexander Zholkovsky (with some technical assistance by Nikolaj Pertsov) wrote
an amusing pastiche of the famous Pushkin’s poem ‘Na xolmax Gruzii (On Georgia’s Hills...)’. I
find it opportune to quote below Zholkovsky’s poem, along with a literal translation, and
Pushkin’s original, also with a close translation:
V gorax Armenii — i Func, i Fact, i Son. ‘In Armenia mountains there are Func, and Fact, and Son.
V GARAS-e MagnFact 0(struktura). In GARAS* MagnFact 0(structure).
Pečal´ moja ne Ver; mne Bon i AntiBon. My sorrow is not Ver; I’m feeling Bon and AntiBon.
Pečal´ moja polna Figur-a. My sorrow is full of Figur.
Degrad, odin Degrad... GARAS IncepPred(xaos), Degrad, only Degrad... GARAS IncepPred(chaos),
IncepPred(vystavka risunka). IncepPred(drawings exposition**).
I serdce3 vnov´ FigurFunc 0 + Adv 2Caus, And my heartII again FigurFunc 0 + Adv 2Caus,
Čto ne PredAble ot AntiFunc-a! Since it is not PredAble of AntiFunc!’
* GARAS is an abbreviation for ‘Group of English-Russian Automatic Dictionary.
** Exposition of children’s drawings organized by proud parents.
A. S. Pushkin
Na xolmax Gruzii ležit nočnaja mgla,
Šumit Aragva predo mnoju.
Mne grustno i legko; pečal´ moja svetla,
Pečal´ moja polna toboju,
Toboj, odnoj toboj... Unyn´ja moego
Ničto ne mučit, ne trevožit.
I serdce vnov´ bolit i ljubit — ottogo,
Čto ne ljubit´ ono ne možet.
Close translation
Dark falls upon the hills of Georgia,
I hear Aragva’s roar.
I’m sad and light, my grief—transparent,
My sorrow is suffused with you,
With you, with you alone... My melancholy
Remains untouched and undisturbed,
And once again my heart ignites and loves
Because it can't do otherwise.