Language as a means of identifying a national cultural code (based on the works of G.P. Wodehouse)

Abstract

This article investigates the issue of interpreting cultural codes from a linguistic perspective, as well as the strategies for decoding these codes with a particular focus on the works of P.G. Wodehouse. The discussion centers on the interrelationship between language and the national cultural code, analyzing the latter’s role as a linguistic marker that influences the formation and preservation of linguistic identity. It is a reflection of the British worldview, which makes it possible to use the works of the humorist as a basis for decoding ethnocultural information encrypted in the fictional text. The work is based on cultural, comparative-historical and historical-biographical analysis of the literary text to determine the ethnocultural specificity of the meanings embedded in the language of the author and his characters. The language of P.G. Wodehouse is a striking example of how literary text can serve as a means of transmitting and preserving a national cultural code. The study demonstrates that the cultural codes, embedded within linguistic units and their interactions, are crucial for understanding the specificities of national thought, information perception and its expression in speech. The practical significance of the work is the possibility of using the results of the research both in translation practice and in the study of the ethnocultural features of the foreign language information transmission by means of a cultural code.