Obshchestvo and Society: Concept Representation in Lexicographic Discourse

The article deals with the description of the representation of the concept “society” in Russian and English lexicographic discourse which is understood as a variant of a scientific text containing semantic and pragmatic information as well as cognitive characteristics. The concepts are formed in each culture and reflect the perception of reality by an individual and society as a whole. They are verbalized in language, and therefore language can be considered as the key to the interpretation of human thinking. The concept “society” in Russian and British cultures is chosen for study because of the anthropocentricity of the scientific paradigm. The representation of the concept in lexicographic discourse is considered in synchronic and diachronic terms. To study the concept formation, a historical-etymological analysis is used. It is aimed at determining the origin of the name of the concept and identifying its original meanings. To study the concept in synchrony, a definitional analysis of the dictionary entries characterizing the name of the concept is used. This analysis allows determining the core features of the concept. However, lexicographic discourse makes it possible not only to verify the most relevant features of the core but also to determine the peripheral ones. The study of the data of the Russian Associative Dictionary and the Associative Thesaurus of English is used for that. The offered analysis makes it possible to consider different aspects of the concept. The study of the formation of the concept and its study in synchrony show the concept in the socio-cultural aspect. The definition of peripheral features using the associative dictionaries allows presenting the cognitive aspect of the concept. The study of the compatibility of the name of the concept characterizes its communicative and pragmatic aspect. Based on the findings, the authors model the complete structure of the concept “society” in Russian and British cultures. The Russian concept “society” is characterized by the following core features: blood-based bonding; association for spending time together; association for a specific goal; association for criminal activities and class association. The core features of the English concept are the following: people in general, residents of one country (region), association for a specific goal, association for spending time together, the highest strata of society, and a way of life. The peripheral features of the concept in the two cultures were formed on the basis of associations of culture representatives, so they can be stable or spontaneous with an indirect connection with the core. Special attention is paid to a comparative analysis of the representations of the concept in lexicographic discourse in the two languages to identify similarities and differences in the Russian and British conceptual worldviews.

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