Baikal as a central concept of a Siberian's conscience

The article considers the concept of Baikal, the content of which is reflected in the poetry and prose of the Siberians. The concept is regarded as a well-structured holistic mental unit. It is proved that all the structural components of the concept are interdependent and demonstrate the important place of Baikal in the world picture of a Siberian. Objective qualities of the lake form the basis of the value component of the concept of Baikal. Dimensions, depth, purity and quantity of water determine the place of Lake Baikal. From the point of view of a native speaker, Baikal is a special object that stands out from the rest of the world, this lake has the ability to influence the environment and the individuals. At the same time, Baikal is a brand of the territory and is interpreted as a special ideological and economic value which a group of people assigned to it. The conceptual component of the concept reflects the specifics of the naive categorization: Baikal in the Siberian picture is simultaneously conceptualized as a lake and as a sea. This dual categorization shows features of distribution. Baikal is included in the category of lakes when the speaker refers to Baikal as a geographical object; when compares with other lakes; when wants to avoid a repetition; in the texts of scientific and official style. The word "lake" is used in the evaluation contexts only in a special emotional-expressive and semantic language environment. Categorization of Baikal as a sea is based on the irrelevant attributes of the object which are perceptible to the senses and are important for the speaker in their everyday life. The speaker calls Baikal a "sea" in the texts with the emotional and evaluative component, in the texts about people whose life is directly connected with Baikal. Means of different language levels and precedent texts demonstrate that the categorization of Baikal-sea is more important. Thus the conceptual component of th concept is coordinated with the axiological. The imaginative component of the concept has a holistic structure and it is mainly anthropomorphic by nature. The texts consistently express physical characteristics of a person. Baikal is conceptualized as a strong old man possessing all human physiological systems. The emotional sphere of the image is associated with polar states: destructive emotions in their extreme manifestations or serenity. Social characteristics are associated with the concept of family. Baikal is conceptualized as the dominant member of society, however, this position is never connected with domination or oppression; it is almost exclusively realized as protection. Baikal is conceptualized as a wise, generous and loving father whose strength is caused and maintained by the presence of his family. People and nature elements are represented as Baikal's children. Baikal is included in the personal sphere of the speaker by the use of certain linguistic means.

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