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Avdeeva M.D., Koreneva A.А., Garaeva M.V. [Linguistic aspects of paradoxical thinking as a cognitive phenomenon of understanding the world and of mental reflection of reality] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 1. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/40FLSK125.pdf (in Russian).

Linguistic aspects of paradoxical thinking as a cognitive phenomenon of understanding the world and of mental reflection of reality

Avdeeva Marina Dmitrievna
Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Novocherkassk, Russia
E-mail: magnolia57@mail.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1765-3844

Koreneva Anastasia Anatolyevna
Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Novocherkassk, Russia
E-mail: nastayakor@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9827-412X
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=876642

Garaeva Marina Viktorovna
Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Novocherkassk, Russia
E-mail: garaeva65@mail.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8924-9421

Abstract. The article consideres the linguistic phenomena of enantiosemy and oxymoron and the effect of defeated expectancy, representing the phenomenon of paradoxical thinking on several linguistic levels. The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of lexical items, phrases, and syntactic units in text, which express various types of contrasting meanings, ranging from antonyms to antagonisms, sharp contrasts, and absurdities.

A comparative analysis of different types of semantic opposition has been conducted, revealing the features of contrasting meanings at the lexical, syntagmatic, and lexico-syntactic levels. A semantic analysis has also been carried out on the types of paradoxes identified, and the concept of «semantic opposites» has been introduced as the fundamental components underlying all types of linguistic units that carry paradoxical elements.

The scientific novelty of this study lies in the fact that it considers semantic contrasts from the perspective of a systematic approach in the comparative analysis of their functional potential. Additionally, the study introduces new elements such as the representation of generalized types of opposition and variants of logical and semantic paradoxes within the complex linguistic phenomena under investigation.

These research findings could be applied in educational programs related to linguistics, stylistics, and translation theory and practice. The analysis of the examples provided in this article can contribute to students’ deeper understanding and interpretation of linguistic phenomena in the process of language training. Some of these findings could also be utilized in further research on cognitive processes, potentially leading to new developments in understanding the functioning of human consciousness.

The research material consists of quotations from fictional and periodical sources, as well as examples from daily communication.

The research employed methods of semantic analysis, contrastive comparison, semantic quantification, and logical inference, as well as methods of observation, description, and generalization.

Keywords: thinking and speech; opposition; paradox; enantiosemy; oxymoron; effect of defeated expectancy; semantic contrastives

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