Abstract
This research is sequel to the earlier research of universal basic concepts as exemplified in association experiment. Association experiment as a psycholinguistic method makes it possible to consider the concept constituents in multi-structural languages, to describe the field structure thereof and to bring light to the most cognitive attributes relevant to the modern consciousness and thereby to broaden knowledge about peculiarities of ethnic mentality. This paper presents the ‘father’ concept in Russian/Kazakh/English languages that is one of the most significant concepts. Goal of this article consists in the study of said concept content in linguistic consciousness of the Russians, Kazakhs and Englishmen. The tasks set to achieve this goal are as follows: conduct the association experiment on the given stimulus word, identify core and peripheral criteria of the concept, collate the fragments of linguistic consciousness core and describe the macro-component structure of the concept. In the popular mind, the ‘father’ concept is associated with the kinship, procreation, parenting process, and the model for father dominance in a family as well. It is traditional to attribute to a man the role of a family head, a breadwinner who provides his wife and children with everything necessary. In modern society, the great attention is paid to the father’s role in family because a father is the personality who should be an ideal of conduct and without whom the full-fledged parenting is impossible.
Keywords: Ethnic mentalitylinguistic consiousnessasassociation experimentconceptcoreperiphery
Introduction
In view of the fact that the concept constitutes the mental attitude toward reality and, as information structure, becomes localized in the human conscience often having linguistic objectivation, it is associated with the notion of linguistic consciousness. At the present stage of linguistics development such word combination as ‘linguistic consciousness’ sounds habitually enough and is perceived as a single complete notion, regardless of the fact that language and consciousness refer to different fields: language relates to linguistics, consciousness relates to psychology, and one cannot conflate them. Nevertheless, the existence of ‘linguistic consciousness’ term is indicative of the close interrelation between language and consciousness that is under discussion by the scientists within long period of time.
Scientists give different definitions to the concept of ‘linguistic consciousness’: as a part of conscience, image of the world (Ufimtzeva, 2017, p.7); combination of conscience images dementalised using the linguistic means (Tarasov, 2015, p.12); verbal-and-notional construct; thought fulfilling itself in the linguistic forms (Gudkov, 2017, p.64); combination of mental mechanisms for originating and understanding of speech, and keeping the language in conscience (Babushkin & Sternin, 2018, p. 32). In our research we consider the linguistic consciousness as a part of ethnic consciousness, method of verbal perception and the world image reflection by means of mental processes of the speech origination and perception, as well as the form of ethnos life activity intermediated by language, mechanism of its adaptation the outside world.
There exist different methods for study of the linguistic consciousness but one of the most widely used methods is the association experiment. Babushkin and Sternin (2018), considers association experiment as the only possible and objective method for study of the linguistic consciousness whereby it is possible to reconstruct the links of linguistic units in the conscience and to detect the nature of their interaction in the processes of functioning thereof (understanding, keeping etc.) Shapilova (2015) also believes that association experiment is “the effective method for access to the human linguistic consciousness”, it “helps to detect the concept content in the cognitive consciousness of the language speakers and range the concept – forming attributes by the brightness thereof” (p. 252). Theoretical basics of the linguistic consciousness study by the method of association experiment have been formed by Deese (1965), Osgood (1988), Bondarko (1996), Krongauz (2001), Kobozeva (2019). In their scientific works they have developed the main issues related to the content of a word not only as a unit of language and speech but also the element of various associative groups. Zalevskaya (1980), Zolotova (2005) have formed the bases for linguistic-and-cultural analysis of associative norms, developed the association models as exemplified in Russian, German, Kazakh, Kirgiz and Uzbek languages. Conceptual study based on the method of association experiment were conducted by Kubryakova and Demyankov (2018). Results of her research have proved that the human mental lexicon is based on associations.
Problem Statement
Though the linguistic consciousness was many times treated as a scientific subject, and it has already become possible to say that the substantial methodological base is formed to study thereof, psycholinguistic methods for conduct of association experiments including those on study of core and periphery of linguistic consciousness, have been described, and scientifically grounded approaches and ways to study thereof have been formed, however, the proper attention to issue on linguistic consciousness study in ethnic aspect, considering thereof as a source for study of mentality has not been paid yet neither in foreign nor in domestic linguistics. Ethnic mentality issue requires broadening of knowledge about collective linguistic consciousness, that reflects the memory of historical past of the ethnos, behavioral patterns, norms, links with culture and ethnic identity.
Research Questions
In the research course, it was assumed to get answers to following questions:
What responses does the stimulus word ‘father’ cause in the conscience of Russians, Kazakhs and Englishmen?
What responses, among those pointed, are core and peripheral?
What responses are common for Russian, Kazakh and English respondents, and what of them are ethnos-specific ones peculiar only to a particular nation?
What cognitive attributes has the concept in Russian, Kazakh and English languages?
Purpose of the Study
Purpose of this paper is to study the content of concept in the linguistic consciousness of Russians, Kazakhs and Englishmen. The tasks set to achieve this goal are as follows: conduct association experiment on the given stimulus word, identify core and peripheral criteria of the concept, collate the fragments of linguistic consciousness core and describe the macro-component structure of the concept.
Research Methods
Research methods are conditional upon the specific nature of the language material object, and upon the research goal and objectives as well. Methodological procedures are based on general-linguistic postulate considering the language as communication tool and means. Methods and techniques used in the work include common scientific methods for benchmarking and generalization; statistical methods, as well as properly linguistic (componential and conceptual analysis) methods and techniques.
Research was based on the methods of psycholinguistic analysis of the linguistic consciousness core developed in the works of Zalevskaya (1980), Zolotova (2005), Ufimtzeva (2017), Dmitryuk, Cherkasova, and Artykbayeva (2016), and also based on methods of semantic-and-cognitive analysis proposed by Babushkin and Sternin (2018). At the first stage of lingual-and-cognitive analysis serving as the stimulus word we studied the concept content by performing the field stratification of concept, that is, detection of the core, close, far and extreme periphery. At the second stage we analyzed the macro-structure of concept with simultaneous distinguishing the classification attributes thereof.
Findings
This research is sequel to the earlier research of universal basic concepts as exemplified in association experiment (Abildinova, 2019). Let us now proceed to consider the results of our research. Students, candidates for master’s degree and doctoral students of Tambov state university and Moscow state university (Russia), Pavlodar state university and Pavlodar state pedagogical institute (Kazakhstan), and Swansea University (Great Britain) took part in the experiment. 300 Russian people (147 men and 153 women), 300 Kazakh people (149 men and 151 women), 300 English people (135 men and 165 women) were involved in the enquiry. In the course of experiment, it was suggested to the Russian-speaking, Kazakh-speaking and English-speaking respondents to respond to the stimulus word ‘father’ spontaneously, uttering the first words, phrases or sentences that had come to their mind.
1050 responds to the stimulus word ‘father (in Russian)’ were received from Russian-speaking respondents. Among those responds there were 993 various and 57 individual responds (with frequency of 1), and 9 refusals. Core part is formed by following responds:
Comparison of the results obtained from association experiment conducted among Russians, Kazakhs and Englishmen shows the similarity of the ‘father’ concept core content in Russian/Kazakh/ English languages by following responds:
Cognitive-and-contrastive analysis of responses has shown, on the one hand, the identity of meanings of the analyzed ‘father’ concept in Russian/Kazakh/English languages, and, on the other hand, it makes it possible to detect some differences. So, the ‘father’ concept is perceived by the Russian conscience as ‘
In the linguistic world view of Kazakhs ‘father’ is, first of all, a man who deserves respect and worship, and is characterized via such euphemisms as:
In the linguistic world view of Englishmen, the gender attribute turned out to be weighty, since the father is
Macro-component structure is interpreted as listing of the detected cognitive attributes belonging to each of the components: imaginative, information layer and interpretation field. Imaginative content of the concept is represented by perceptive and cognitive components. Imaginative sensory component is represented in the languages with insignificant quantity of attributes. Among the perceptive attributes of the ‘father (in Russian)’ concept there were separated following visual:
As the analysis of experiment results has shown, the language-speakers do not make attempts to formulate the concept content in their conscience, it is perceived automatically at the level of images and associations. Information content of the ‘father’ concept in Russian consists of such attributes as:
Interpretation field of the concept discloses the information content in details and supplements it as well. It includes peripheral attributes and is divided into evaluation, encyclopedic, identification, symbolic, mythological, utilitarian, regulative, social-and-cultural, paroemiological areas. Evaluation area includes cognitive attributes that reflect axiological component of the concept. In Russian language the evaluation area is represented by following cognitive attributes:
Encyclopedic area integrates multiple cognitive attributes that reflect background knowledge acquired on the basis of life experience and interaction with the concept denotation. In Russian language this area is characterized by following set of attributes:
Identification area, according to its content, represents the set of attributes what individualize the concept, illustrate typical tangible embodiment of the concept in real life. In the Russian linguistic consciousness the ‘father’ concept is identified by such lexical items as:
Symbolic area, as it is seen from the name thereof, integrate the attributes reflecting information about sumbolyc perception of the object or phenomenon conceived by the conscience. Symbolic area in Russian, Kazakh and English languages is represented by not large set of attributes. Attributes entered the symbolic area composition in Russian language are:
Mythological area constitutes the set of cognitive attributes which have been formed under influence of mythological beliefs concerning phenomena and objects. This group of attributes is also insignificant. In Russian language it is represented by such attributes as:
Utilitarian area reflects knowledge comparable to possibility of using them for some practical purposes. In Russian language the utilitarian area contains following attributes:
Regulative area integrates the attributes prescribing what has to be done and what not to be done with the object or phenomenon under conceptualization in the field covered by this concept. Regulative area in the languages under consideration is represented by insignificant set of attributes. In Russian:
Social-and-cultural area integrates cognitive attributes containing data on history, literature, art, workers of literature and culture, way of everyday life of the people, as well customs, traditions and festivals thereof. Social-and-cultural area of ‘father’ concept includes such attributes as:
As a component of interpretation field the ‘father’ concepts explicates amalgamation of folk observations, reasoning and ideas about the objects and phenomena through the units of paremiological fund. Proverbs (paroemia) attributed to the ‘father’ concept are as follows:
Conclusion
As it is seen from the above, analysis of the results obtained from association experiment on identification of ‘father’ concept in Russian/Kazakh/English linguistic consciousness made it possible to come to following conclusions:
The ‘father’ concept in Russian/Kazakh/English languages constitutes the complex mental formation in which it is possible to distinguish universal and ethnos-specific attributes. Attributes that coincided in Russian, Kazakh and English languages are as follows: closed person, love, family, inspirational person, respect, best friend. It is obvious that these perceptions are the constant universal components of the ‘father’ concept.
Study of cognitive structure of ‘mother’ concept in Russian/Kazakh/English allowed to detect following differences: in the Russian linguistic world view, father is represented as a man who granted the gift of life, strong person, head of family, master in his house, prop and stay of the home, teacher, upbringing his child; in Kazakh linguistic world view, father is represented as a well-regarded man who deserves respect and worship, support, inaccessible mountain, teacher and advisor, just and inspiring.
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Cite this article as:
Zhanara, A. (2020). Concept ‘Father’ In Linguistic Consciousness Of Russian, Kazakh And English People. In N. L. Amiryanovna (Ed.), Word, Utterance, Text: Cognitive, Pragmatic and Cultural Aspects, vol 86. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 1-9). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.08.1