Ludic Image of Space: Russian and Spanish Riddles about Cities

The article discusses Russian and Spanish riddles about cities. According to the authors, being of a later origin, riddles about cities, compared to the riddles of traditional folklore topics of nature and everyday life, are focused on entertaining and didactic functions. Until now, riddles about cities have not yet become the object of special consideration which determines the novelty of the undertaken research. The hypothesis of this article is that riddles about cities create a ludic image of space, meanwhile each riddle text acts as a topographical image and a sign of collective memory. On the material of 100 Russian and 100 Spanish riddles, the structural, rhetorical, discursive means of the ludic representation of Russian and Spanish cities, respectively, are interpreted and compared. The study showed that riddles about cities combine experiences, associations, and real topographical features, all together forming a system of topographic images of the cities on the principles of bio-morphism, direct questions, the use of polysemy, homonymy, popular etymology, sound symbolism, and allusions to proverbs.