Concepts in Russian Cognitive Linguistics

Xi’an Shiyou University,Xi’an,China Email:464559263@qq.com

Li Yuxiao

Xi’an Shiyou University,Xi’an,China

[Abstract]From the perspective of Russian cognitive linguistics,this paper defines and discusses the concept theory,the research perspective and the research methods of concepts.It applies conceptual theory and conceptual research methods to national characteristics and national thinking in specific languages.

[Keywords]cognitive linguistics;concepts;research perspective;research methods;Russian

Introduction

Russian cognitive semantics has been developed since the 1980s,and it is a discipline that focuses on“lan⁃guage and thinking”.Cognitive semantics,as one of the branches of cognitive linguistics,is committed to the explora⁃tion of the problem“meaning essence”.Jackendoff(1983;1990)deems that semantics is a cognitive phenomenon of concepts;Lakoff&Langacker(1986)consider that the semantics of concepts reflect the correspondence between lin⁃guistic symbols and the objective world;Talmy(1996)believes that semantics builds a bridge between the objective world,human cognition and language symbols.

One of the important hypotheses of cognitive semantics is about the definition and meaning construction of con⁃cepts:

1)Concept is the thought and belief of objective things formed in our mind.It becomes the knowledge system of objective things in our mind,including the construction of concepts in human system of concepts.Language symbols are lexicalized concepts.Therefore,words can express concepts and words can be regarded as equivalent to con⁃cepts.However,not all concepts can be expressed by words.

2)Since semantic structure is equivalent to conceptual structure,semantic construction is naturally equivalent to conceptualization,which is both a result and a process.Structures of concepts have many patterns:register,cogni⁃tive model,intention schema,mapping,mental space,etc..

Definition of the term“concept”in linguistics

Modern science has not yet developed a universal model for defining the concept,as evidenced by the presence of various ways to its study.From the perspective of different disciplines,there are various interpretations of the con⁃cept.The results show that there are at least three approaches to concept research,and each approach has its own unique views on the definition of content and structure in the concept.

The first approach is cultural linguistics.Experts in this field believe that concept is the basic“cultural unit”in the picture of human world.In the interpretation of concept,national characteristics of language and cultural carri⁃er can be found.Yu.S.Stepanov stressed that concepts are inseparable from the cultural world.“A concept is like a group of culture in one’s mind and enters one’s spiritual world in the form of culture.On the other hand,concepts influence culture in some cases”(Stepanov,2001,p.40).From Stepanov’s point of view,all content belongs to con⁃cepts,including cultural facts,historical facts,modern association,evaluation,connotation,etc.The structure of the concept includes three levels:1)main and practical features;2)additional historical features;3)internal form or ety⁃mological features.

In addition to defining features,the image and evaluation features of concepts are also in the structure.Image features are always associated with people’s sense of smell,vision,hearing,touch,and taste.They are elements,phe⁃nomena,and events in memory.The image characteristics of concepts include typical representation,prototype,ste⁃reotype,symbol,etc.(Vorkachev,2001,p.54).Evaluation features focus on the evaluation of concepts(like and dis⁃like),including the study of additional features of concepts,and play an important role in distinguishing similar con⁃cepts.From the perspective of cultural linguistics,a concept has three levels of structure.The core layer of concept is definition feature,and the periphery includes image feature and evaluation feature.

The second aspect is cognitive linguistics.Its supporters are E.S.Kubryakova,D.S.Likhachev,Z.D.Popova,I.A.Sternin,A.P.Babushkin,E.K.Abramova,etc.E.S.Kubryakova expressed a typical view on concept:“concept is the unit of our consciousness;it is the information structure reflecting our knowledge and experience;it is the unit of memory,mental lexicon,conceptual system and language operation in the brain,reflecting the whole world picture in human psychology”(Kubryakova,2004,pp.89-90).In cognitive linguistics,the relationship between concepts and linguistic forms of expressing concepts deserves special attention.

The third aspect is psycholinguistic.From the point of view of psycholinguistics,the concept is understood as a set of conceptual features obtained from the linguistic analysis of all related language units.The reason for a compre⁃hensive psycholinguistic analysis of a concept is that the image it expresses participates in the formation of the world language picture and is also an expression of national language consciousness.As M.V.Nikitin explained,the struc⁃ture of concept includes image,definition,cognitive and pragmatic implications(Nikitin,2004,pp.59-60).

Popova and Sternin,representatives of Voronezh school,theoretically confirmed the conceptual model.They be⁃lieve that the structure of the concept is multi-level.However,different from the methods of cultural linguistics,Pop⁃ova and Sternin hold that the core of concept refers to a basic sensory image,including the perceptual image and cog⁃nitive image existing in the consciousness level.In addition to the basic sense layer in the conceptual structure,there are more abstract layers,which reflect a certain stage of understanding the concept(Popova,2002,p.23).The last layer of the concept structure is the interpretive field,which includes an assessment of the concept content and interprets individual cognitive features.

The study of Maslova’s concept integrates the perspectives of linguistic culture and cognitive linguistics,which is of great significance to our research.She put forward the structure of the field in the explanation of concepts.The core includes the dictionary definition of the concept keywords.All kinds of dictionary materials provide researchers with a huge opportunity to reveal the concept content(Maslova,2008,p.65).

Popova and Sternin developed her point of view.The study of concept can be divided into two stages:the first stage is related to the construction of nominative field,including the analysis of concepts(keywords)in various dic⁃tionaries,common phrases containing key words,synonyms of keywords,etc.the nominative field including all parts of speech units(Popova & Sternin,2007,p.129).The nominative domain also includes the fixed metaphor,deriva⁃tive word group,association field and idiom field of conceptual keywords.The second stage is the reconstruction of conceptual structure(Popova & Sternin,2007).The first stage should be supplemented by language and cultural analysis.

The concept is a multi-faceted phenomenon,so it can and should be considered in various aspects:linguocul⁃turological,linguocognitive,and psycholinguistic.In our work,the concept is considered in linguoculturological and linguocognitive aspects as a complex mental formation with a multi-layer and field structure.

Research methods of concept

Conceptual analysis method

Under the Enlightenment of American cognitive semantics,Russian cognitive semantics has gone out of its own unique way of development,especially in research methods of concepts which have achieved fruitful results.The Russian School of cognitive semantics denies the innate language ability and linguistic self-sufficiency of human be⁃ings and holds a firm belief that if we talk about common and universal rules in different languages of the world,we should first mention semantic rules.Semantics determines the position of words,their components,collocation,phrase structure,sentence function and so on.As a result,many linguists began to advocate“conceptual analysis”in conceptual research.It was proposed by the famous French linguist É mile Benveniste.The core of this method is semantic construction and it should be established on the basis of paying special attention to context(Benveniste,1974,p.332).His follower,N.V.Kruchkova,further described the concrete operation of conceptual analysis,and developed the“conceptual analysis method”into“keyword analysis method”.Many Russian scholars,who support this argument,consider that the linguistic representation of concepts is diverse,involving all levels of corpus.The purpose of conceptual analysis is to establish the deep or subconscious connections among words,between words and sentences,between words and texts in the language thinking consciousness of a certain individual or a certain relatively fixed group(Kruchkova and Kubryakova).When we use this method to analyze concepts,we find that the concept is a multidimensional idealized formation.For a native speaker,it is not monolithic,including a relative number of semantic parameters,the degree of expression of which can be quantified.The method is used to identify many potential parameters,which can be used to build a model of the concept through the interpretation of semantic connections in the minds of native speakers.

Association experiment

In the past few decades,cognitive linguistics has questioned the semantic and grammatical views based on logic and deduction.Therefore,as an empirical research method of concepts,cognitive linguists in the process of conceptu⁃al analysis and interpretation increasingly use“association experiment”.Many cognitive features in concepts can be obtained through“association experiment”,which enriches the results of research as a part of“conceptual analysis”.

It should be noted that verbal and nonverbal associative content plays a leading role in the disclosure of the con⁃cept.The associative method has proved itself as a means of studying the concept.As A.A.Zalevskaya said,“con⁃cepts in long-term memory are represented as network nodes connected to each other by associative connections”(Zalevskaya,1999,p.72).N.V.Frumkina interprets the association as a connection between certain objects or phe⁃nomena,based on the personal,and subjective experience.This experience may coincide with the experience of the culture,which we belong to.He divided associations into the following categories:1)semantic proximity(words-syn⁃onyms);2)semantic contrast(words-antonyms);3)consonance,rhyme;4)the relationship“above-below”;5)the re⁃lationship“part-whole”and“whole-part”(Frumkina,2001,p.192).Associations can tell us a lot about the un⁃conscious structures in which we think of the world.

The psychological experiment was highly evaluated by I.H.North.“The main task of the psychological experi⁃mental research is to build a research situation in which the essential features of the internal mental phenomenon be⁃come available for objective external observation and registration”(North,1999,p.165).It should be emphasized that the associative experiment reveals the features of the language consciousness.It also helps us to find out the con⁃nections of words in our mind,their semantic and hierarchical subordination,and the brightness of certain compo⁃nents in the meaning of the stimulus word.These data can be interpreted as a reflection of the relationship between concepts,which are verbalized by the stimulus and reactions.The relations of the stimulus and reactions externalize and objectify certain relations between concepts in the concept sphere.They also verbalize certain cognitive features of the concept behind the stimulus word.

There are several types of associative experiments:1)Free associative experiment.Subjects are not put any re⁃strictions on their reactions.2)Directed associative experiment.Subjects are asked to give associations of a certain grammatical or semantic class(for example,choose an adjective for a noun).3)Chain associative experiment.For ex⁃ample,researchers can ask subjects to give 10 responses to a stimulus with multiple associations in 20 seconds(Gal⁃sanova,2009,p.272).Associative experiment is a very effective method to analyze the concepts in the cognition of language users and nations by association experiment.

Concept field as a means of concept representation

At the beginning of the XX century,J.Epson introduced the term“field”and defined it as a set of words with common meanings.Representatives of the field method are the German semasiology J.Trier,V.Porzig,L.Weisger⁃ber and others,whose works introduce“semantic field”,“conceptual field”,“syntactic field”and the term“associa⁃tive field”.In the study of“field”,language and its units are mainly considered.These units are combined by means of paradigms,syntax,functional semantics and association(Rudsroger,1952; Lehrer,1999),which have also been confirmed in the works of Russian linguists(Shchur,1974; Karaulov,1994; Apresyan,1966; Kuznetsova,1989;Shmelev,1973).We support Shchur,who defines field as“the existence and grouping of linguistic elements with common invariable properties”(Shchur,1974,p.17).

Through concept analysis,we can establish a concept field,similar to a kind of semantic space,reflecting the content and image of specific concepts.At the same time,we can also say that concept can be regarded as a knowl⁃edge module(linguistic and non-verbal),expressed by linguistic form.In terms of system function,concept field is the structure of concept.In a broad sense,concept field is composed of all concepts;in a narrow sense,concept field plays the role of conceptual modeling.In M.V.Pimenova’s works,the definition of concept field is equally interest⁃ing.She believes that concept field,as a world picture established and preserved for a long time,is supplemented by assimilated knowledge and reflects people’s world outlook,which is fixed in the language and restricted by the con⁃servative national cultural framework(Pimenova,2008,p.294).

In the papers of T.A.Voronova and I.A.Sternin(2000),we try to visualize and clarify the structural model of conceptual field.They believe that the concept content includes several conceptual layers,reflecting the develop⁃ment of concepts and their relationship with other concepts.Yu.E.Lomonsov developed their ideas and interpreted the concept field as a set of conceptual features,which are arranged in a system of interrelated and intersecting cog⁃nitive structures,which are expressed in the linguistic picture of the world through various nomination methods(Lo⁃monosov,2008,p.5).

In discussing the structure of concept field,M.V.Pimenova pointed out five types of characteristics of concept field:1)motivation characteristic directly related to the history of concept keywords; 2)figurative feature realized by specific combination;3)conceptual feature of creating semantic field in a certain way; 4)value feature,of course,re⁃flecting national psychological characteristics implicitly or explicitly; 5)functional or symbolic features of the es⁃sence in a concept(Pimenova,2008,pp.294-295).At the same time,it needs to be added that all these features oc⁃cupy different positions in the conceptual structure,which has the characteristics of openness,while the features con⁃stituting it are in a state of change and addition.

Implications and conclusion

Through the analysis of scientific literature,we come to the conclusion that concept interpretation has different perspectives and research methods,so there are many similarities and differences in the analysis of concept features.These methods are coordinated and complementary to each other,which can make us have a more complete under⁃standing of the concept.

For the mining of conceptual features,the theories and methods of cognitive linguistics and cultural linguistics interact and complement each other.The study from the perspective of cultural linguistics reveals that the close rela⁃tionship between language and culture and their mutual influence are increasingly prominent.Conceptual analysis is a new method of linguistic research,which needs to be developed continuously.It enables us to study the world's multiculturalism and its values more closely.

National concepts and national conceptual sphere cannot be determined accurately,but it is possible to identify them through the analysis of linguistic means.The specificity of nations is reflected in the inconsistency of the con⁃tents in comparable concepts,which is very important for cross-cultural communication.