LEXICALISATION PECULIARITIES OF COGNITIVE FEATURES OF CONCEPTS “LANGUE”, «МОВА», «ЯЗЫК» IN FRENCH, UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN LANGUACULTURES

Abstract

Purpose. The article aims to study the peculiarities of lexicalisation of cognitive features of concepts “langue”, «мова» and «язык»in French, Ukrainian and Russian languacultures by analysing phraseological units with representative words langue, мова and язык.The objects of the study are the concepts “langue” (language in French), «мова» (language in Ukrainian) та «язык» (language inRussian), and its subjects are phraseological units with lexicalised figurative features of these concepts.

Methods. The article defines methodological features of the structure principle of selection of phraseological units, semioticanalysis and method of linguistic reconstruction. The article also provides definitions of key notions such as concept, conceptualisationand languaculture.

Having performed the sample list of the research material, based on a structural principle, a semiotic analysis of the phraseologicallocutions was carried out to bring them to the corresponding domains of concepts “langue”, «мова» and «язык» and the methodof linguistic reconstruction was used to correlate the figurative components of the phraseological locutions and their meaning withthe corresponding lexicalised cognitive features of the concept. Further, a comparative study of the obtained results in French, Ukrainianand Russian languacultures was carried out.

Results. All the results of the study are provided in the summary tables. It was revealed that all three studied languacultureshave only one common cognitive feature – verbality, which proves that language in different languacultures is primarily a meansof verbalisation and communication. Ukrainian and Russian languacultures also have (mis)understanding, identification and searchamong the common cognitive features, demonstrating that for the speakers of these languacultures, language is also a meansof understanding and identification. Further, a number of specific for each languaculture cognitive features were singled outand analysed (Ukrainian – “mentality”, “periodicity”, “dynamism”, “desire”, “emotionality”, “ability”, “starting”, “control”, “successfulconversation”, “spoiled conversation”, “logic”, “mysteriousness”, “topicality”, “precision”, “reticence”; Russian – “quantity”,“possession” and French – “motherhood”, “nationality”, “age” “reproductive preperty”, “dogmatism/stereotype”, “argotic”, “mannerof expression”, “art”, “divinity”, “individual author’s style”, “use”, “tyranny”, “wood” and “green colour”).

Conclusions. The performed research of phraseological units with words-representatives langue, мова, язык made it possibleto identify a number of common and specific to French, Ukrainian and Russian languacultures domains and cognitive featuresof the concepts “langue”, «мова», «язык».

Common domains of the studied concepts of Ukrainian and Russian languacultures are “language-ability” and “language-means”,and among the specific domains of the languacultures we can find Ukrainian “language-conversation” and French “language-typeof language”, “language-code”, “language-lect/style” and “language-system”.

Considering the results of the study, the conclusions were drawn concerning the specificity of conceptualisation of the language byFrench, Ukrainian and Russian native speakers. Language in all the analyzed languacultures is primarily the means of communication,and for the speakers of the studied Slavic languages it is also the means of understanding and identification in society. For the Ukrainians,the language also has a connection with thinking processes, emotions and feelings, as well as it is related to the concepts of competence,control and language/conversation character. For the speakers of Russian languaculture, cognitive features of the language like“quantity” and “possession” belong to the group of features about the language’s governance by speakers. And the French speakersconceptualise the language in connection with the concepts of motherhood, art and divinity and correlate the language with its use.The concept “langue” can also have the features of objects. Language for the French can be dogmatic and stereotypical, and its mannerof expression can be specific (argotic or individual). For the speakers of French languaculture, language can also indicate the nationalityand the age of its speakers, from which they began to use it.