Shamne N.L. Atypical Ways of Subject Movement: Features of Objectification in the German Language

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2026.2.4

Nikolay L. Shamne

Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Foreign Language Communication and Linguodidactics, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5745-8907

Abstract. This article examines the specific ways in which animate objects' (humans') movements are expressed in German, using crawling as an example. A synonymous series of verbal units that nominate various situations of crawling in relation to humans: kriechen, krauchen, krabbeln, robben has been identified. The basic verb kriechen is revealed; it expresses the idea of crawling in the most general way. A range of situations with this moving means, atypical of an animate subject, is established; they are expressed by the given verbs: crawling – movement over a short/relatively long distance, inside/outside something, down/up/over an obstacle, on all fours/ not on all fours. The reasons for using this moving method atypical of humans are considered. The relevant factors that determine the representation of situations of crawling by a specific verbal unit from the given synonymous series are identified: the efforts expended by the subject, the peculiarities of using one's own body, the nature of contact with the surface. A conclusion is made about the national cultural features of objectification in the German language of an atypical means of moving, i.e. crawling of a subject (person), conditioned by a special perception of the idea of specific movement (not characteristic of a person in everyday life) from the point of view of an egocentric coordinate system.

Key words: verbs of moving, situations of crawling, synonymous series, verbs of crawling, German linguistic culture.

Citation. Shamne N.L. Atypical Ways of Subject Movement: Features of Objectification in the German Language. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznanie [Science journal of Volgograd State University. Linguistics], 2026, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 40-53. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/ jvolsu2.2026.2.4

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