Realia (culturally specific lexical units) as «ours» and «theirs» in rapper Oxxxymiron’s texts

Abstract

The article deals with domestic and foreign realia (considered as culturally specific units) in the song lyrics by the rapper called Oxxxymiron. The paper starts with the definition of realia, specified according to the authors’ point of view. The research is concentrated on the comparison of the classifications of «our» and «their» culturally specific units in the Russian rapper’s creative texts. The hypothesis consists in the assumption that foreign realia prevail in the singer’s lyrics. The lexical units under discussion are divided into eleven classes: geographical names; words referring to science, art and the media; names of historical events; realia naming various organizations etc. The charts with a detailed quantitative analysis of the selected realia are presented in the article. The results of the qualitative analysis of the considered lexical units are given in the concluding part. The authors form the opinion that the formulated hypothesis proves right. Thorough research into the song lyrics marked with realia is considered to facilitate a better understanding of the cultural component in these songs, as well as the influence of the author’s personality on their creative product.