Pushkar O. The language game in Sergei Dovlatov’s prose

The object is Sergei Dovlatov’s literary works; the aim is to identify and characterize typical mechanisms of creating a language game in S. Dovlatov’s works of art and to reveal the evolution of their usage throughout writer’s career; methods that are used: continuous sampling, descriptive, functional, linguo-contextual, comparative analysis; novelty – for the first time complex and differential analysis of the essence of the language game as a characteristic feature of S. Dovlatov’s individual style is proposed; for the first time the analysis of the mechanisms of creating the language game, which is based in terms of the semiotic theory have been applied; the dominant semantic and syntactic mechanisms of creating the language game, which is functioning in Sergei Dovlatov’s prose have been revealed; a typological comparative analysis of the mechanisms of creating the language game in Sergei Dovlatov’s literary works of the early and mature periods is presented for the first time. Thus, patterns and distinctive features are established in the early and mature periods of the writer’s works; results – the actual material, the main points and conclusions of the thesis can be used in academic activity (for preparing text-books, lecture courses and special courses in stylistics, linguistic text analysis, while writing coursework and graduation work at philology department), and also thesis material may be applied in further studying of S. Dovlatov’s individual style ; field – linguistics.