The concept of the chronotope and the spatio-temporal continuum in fictional prose: a comparative analysis from a syntactic perspective

Context and relevance. In contemporary linguistics, the categories of space and time are widely regarded as fundamental parameters of literary discourse. The chronotope is primarily interpreted as a poetic and genre-forming category, whereas the spatio-temporal continuum is predominantly examined within linguistic and grammatical frameworks. The relevance of this study stems from the growing scholarly interest in the spatio-temporal organization of literary texts. Linguistic research has identified a range of linguistic means for the representation of space and time and their interrelation within the framework of the spatio-temporal continuum (N.A. Manakova; O.O. Kandrashkina). Recent studies further emphasize its relevance for the analysis and interpretation of literary texts (S.M. Pashkov; M.A. Malysheva; E.A. Koneva; N.M. Azarova). However, existing research often treats the chronotope and the spatio-temporal continuum without a strict conceptual differentiation, primarily focusing on poetic and interpretative levels of analysis. Their syntactic correlation remains insufficiently explored, which necessitates a clearer distinction between these categories and a systematic analysis of the syntactic means of realizing the spatio-temporal continuum. Objective. It consists in distinguishing between the concepts of the chronotope and the spatio-temporal continuum in the syntactic aspect. Hypothesis. In the syntactic analysis of a literary text, the concept of the spatio-temporal continuum is relevant. Methods and materials. The author conducted a structural-semantic analysis of complex sentences with temporal relations, extracted using the continuous sampling method from the short stories of I.A. Bunin, employing observation, generalization, and interpretation techniques. Results. The article explores the structural-semantic features of complex sentences with temporal relations functioning in the short stories of I.A. Bunin. It demonstrates how these constructions with temporal semantics contribute to the formation of the spatio-temporal continuum and the event perspective of the utterance. Conclusions. The analysis revealed that the spatio-temporal continuum in the short stories of I.A. Bunin is realized through the sequence of events, as well as through space and time.

1. Бахтин, М.М. (1975). Формы времени и хронотопа в романе. В: Вопросы литературы и эстетики (с. 234–407). М.: Художественная литература.
   Bakhtin, M.M. (1975). Forms of time and chronotope in the novel. In: Questions of Literature and Aesthetics (pp. 234–407). Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. (In Russ.).
2. Бондарко, А.В. (отв. ред.) и др. (1987). Теория функциональной грамматики: Введение, аспектуальность, временная локализованность, таксис. Л.: Наука.
   Bondarko, A.V. (Ed.) et al. (1987). Theory of functional grammar: Introduction, aspectuality, temporal localization, taxis. Leningrad: Nauka. (In Russ.).
3. Виноградов В.В. (1963). Стилистика. Теория поэтической речи. Поэтика. М.: АН СССР.
   Vinogradov, V.V. (1963). Theory of Poetic Speech. Poetics. Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR. (In Russ.).
4. Виноградов, В.В. (1971). О теории художественной речи. М.: Наука.
   Vinogradov, V.V. (1971). On the theory of artistic speech. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.).
5. Гальперин, И.Р. (2004). Текст как объект лингвистического исследования (2-е изд., стер.). М.: Едиториал УРСС.
   Galperin, I.R. (2004). Text as an object of linguistic research (2nd ed.). Moscow: Editorial URSS. (In Russ.).
6. Жеребило, Т.В. (2010). Словарь лингвистических терминов (5-е изд., испр. и доп.). Назрань: Пилигрим.
   Zherebilo, T.V. (2010). Dictionary of linguistic terms (5th ed., revised and expanded). Nazran: Piligrim. (In Russ.).
7. Ковалько, Н.А. (2011). Отображение свойств пространственно-временного континуума в языке (на примере русской и английской лексики). Вестник ИГЛУ, 3(15), 83–90.
   Kovalko, N.A. (2011). Representation of space-time continuum properties in language (on the material of Russian and English vocabulary). Vestnik IGLU, 3(15), 83–90. (In Russ.).
8. Косицин, А.А. (2016). Теория литературы: Время и пространство в художественном произведении.
   Kositsin, A.A. (2016). Theory of literature: Time and space in a literary work. (In Russ.).
9. Лихачёв, Д.С. (1979). Поэтика древнерусской литературы (3-е изд.). М.: Наука.
   Likhachev, D.S. (1979). Poetics of Old Russian literature (3rd ed.). Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.).
10. Николина, Н.А. (2003). Филологический анализ текста: учебное пособие. М.: Академия.
    Nikolina, N.A. (2003). Philological analysis of the text: Study guide. Moscow: Akademiya. (In Russ.).
11. Попова, З.Д., Стернин, И.А. (2007). Семантико-когнитивный анализ языка. Воронеж: Истоки.
    Popova, Z.D., Sternin, I.A. (2007). Semantic and cognitive analysis of language. Voronezh: Istoki. (In Russ.).
12. Соколова, Е.Д. (2025). Дискурсивные маркёры в рассказах И.А. Бунина. В: Русский язык: история, диалекты, современность (Вып. XXIV, с. 215–221). М.
    Sokolova, E.D. (2025). Discursive markers in I.A. Bunin’s short stories. In: Russian Language: History, Dialects, Modernity (Iss. XXIV, pp. 215–221). Moscow. (In Russ.)
13. Топоров, В.Н. (1983). Пространство и текст. В: Текст: семантика и структура (с. 227–284). М.: Наука.
    Toporov, V.N. (1983). Space and text. In: Text: Semantics and Structure (pp. 227–284). Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.).