Inscriptions on clothing as an object of linguistic studies

Abstract

Clothing performs not only the typical protective and utilitarian functions, but also becomes a means of communication. This position is particularly evident in garment with inscriptions and prints. The growing popularity of such textile fabrics causes the study of the typology of inscriptions on clothing from a linguistic standpoint. The purpose of the work is to determine the main approaches to the study of inscriptions on clothing in modern science in general and linguistics in particular. It has been determined that within the framework of linguistics, inscriptions on clothing are considered in the context of the communicative-pragmatic paradigm. However, there is no unified approach to the interpretation of this linguistic phenomenon, some researchers define it as a separate genre or subgenre of a particular discourse, others – as a new type of media. As a result of the study, it has been established that inscriptions on clothing are characterized by certain linguistic features (use of abbreviations and numbers, prevalence of simple sentences and elliptical constructions, use of colloquialisms, youth slang and puns, specific style of writing, use of imperatives and intertextuality) and perform various functions (communicative, regulatory, informative-representative, expressive-pragmatic, epistemological, aesthetic). Though most modern linguists agree that inscriptions on clothing function as a means of communication, the problems of using the appropriate term (inscription, slogan, message) and studying inscriptions not only on T-shirts, but also on other types of clothing remain unsolved.