Курсовая работа: Theatre concept in the semantic space of W.S.Maugham’s Theatre
Besides, concept is the base of the linguistic picture of the world, because the human imaginations about the world are the result of the interaction between people and world. If the people got some experience they transform it into concepts. As a result the conceptual system is created in this case. The picture of the world is the reality of the human recognition. And the language is the base of the cognitive process. The picture of the world is reflected in the content of the language. The linguistic picture of the world causes the communicative behavior, interpretation of the external world and internal world of the person.
Concept is the unit of the conceptual sphere or, in other words, totality of the units of the national thought. It includes all mental features of some phenomenon that are reflected during some period of the development of the nation. Concept provides the intelligent interpretation of reality. The conceptual sphere is the totality of the national concepts and informational base of the intellect. The cognitive linguistics represents the study concerning different national conceptual spheres. So we have an ability to define the similar phenomenon of different nations.
There are some peculiarities of the description of concept. For instance:
1) traditional linguistic and experimental methods are applied in case of the description of concept;
2) during the creation of the model of concept the cognitive features instead of the separate means are determined;
3) description of the image, informational content and interpretative field is applied in case of the analysis of the structure of concept;
4) the content of concept is described as the totality of the cognitive features organized according to the principle of the nucleus to the near, far and last periphery.
Generally the structure and dissimilar features of concept are studied by the cognitive linguistics. Image, informational content and interpretative field are the structural parts of concept.
Images may be individual. But if the sensual image is group this image may be studied as the fact of the conceptual sphere. The sensual image is created be the organs sense (the perceptive image) and by the image features formed with the assistance of the metaphorical interpretation of some subject of phenomenon. This image is named metaphorical or cognitive. The perceptive image includes visual, tactual, gustatory and other images [11; 49].
The informational content includes the minimum of cognitive features that determine the main considerable features of the conceptual subject or phenomenon. These features are the most important for the subject and it’s applied. They create the characteristics of the most considerable differential features, obligatory compounds, main function and sex.
The interpretative field includes the cognitive features that interpret the main informational content of concept. It also includes the features that have some derivative knowledge or estimate it. The interpretative field is dissimilar. There are several zones in it. These zones are characterized by the internal content and combine the cognitive features that have the similar content. It is possible to define the estimate and encyclopedic zone. Besides, the encyclopedic features are divided into utilitarian, regulative, social-cultural and paremiological zones.
The structure of concept may be described only after the definition and description of its content. So firstly it is necessary to define the compounds that create the cognitive features of concept.
The proportion between the structural components of concept and its field organization are not symmetrical. Such basic compounds of concept as image, informational content and interpretative field are spread on different field zones of concept. There is no exact consolidation of the structural components according to every field zone.
Image does not always come into the nucleus of concept, though the concrete image comes into the nucleus of concept in case of the individual recognition. In this case it codifies concept for the native speaker.
It is necessary to distinguish the content and structure of concept in the process of the practical description of concept. The content of concept is created with the assistance of the cognitive features. These features reflect the features of the conceptualized subject or phenomenon. The content is usually described as the totality of these features. It is characterized by the internal organization. The mentioned organization is based on the field principle – nucleus, near, far and last periphery.
The structure of concept includes the basic structural components that create concept and are characterized by the different nature. These structural components are following: sensual image, informational content and interpretative field. The structure of concept is usually described as the calculation of the cognitive features that are related to each of these structural components of concept.
Besides, the nominative field of concept is based on the conceptual or, in other words, semantic fields. Words may be classified according to the concepts underlying their meaning. This classification is closely connected with the theory of conceptual or semantic fields. By the term “semantic fields” we understand closely knit sectors of vocabulary each characterized by a common concept. For example, the words blue, red, yellow, black, etc. may be described as making up the semantic field of colors, the words mother, father, brother, cousin, etc. – as members of the semantic field of kinship terms, the words joy, happiness, gaiety, enjoyment, etc. as – belonging to the field of pleasurable emotions, etc. [10; 61].
Semantic dependence of the word on the structure of the field may be also illustrated by comparing-members of analogous conceptual fields in different languages. Comparing, for example, kinship terms in Russian and in English we observe that the meaning of the English term mother-in-law is different from either the Russian as the English term covers the whole area which in Russian is divided between two words.
The theory of semantic field is severely criticized by the linguists mainly on philosophical grounds since some of the proponents of the semantic field theory hold the idealistic view that, language is a kind of self-contained entity standing between man and the world of reality.
Words making up such semantic fields may belong to different parts of speech. For example, in the semantic field of space we find nouns: expanse, extent, surface, etc.; verbs: extend, spread, span; adjectives: spacious, roomy, vast, broad, etc.
There may be comparatively small lexical groups of words belonging to the same part of speech and linked by a common concept. The words bread, cheese, milk, meat, etc. make up a group with the concept of food as the common denominator of meaning. Such smaller lexical groups consisting of words of the same part of speech are usually termed lexico-semantic groups. It is observed that the criterion for joining words together into semantic fields and lexico-semantic groups is the identity of one of the components of their meaning found in all the lexical units making up these lexical groups. Any of the semantic components may be chosen to represent the group. For example, the word saleswoman may be analyzed into the semantic components “human”, “female”, “professional”.Consequently the word saleswoman may be included into a lexico-semantic group under the heading of human together with the words man, woman, boy, girl, etc. and under the heading female with (he words girl, wife, woman and also together with the words teacher, pilot, butcher, etc., as professionals [18; 29].
It should also be pointed out (hat different meanings of polysemantic words make it possible to refer the same word to different lexico-semantic groups. Thus, e.g. make in the meaning of “construct” is naturally a member of the same lexico-semantic group as the verbs produce, manufacture, etc., whereas in the meaning of compel it-is regarded as a member of a different lexico-semantic group made up by the verbs force, induce, etc.
The nominative field of concept is the totality of all linguistic means that objectificate concept during some period of social development. The nominative field is characterized by the complex structure and includes the lexico-semantic group, lexico-semantic field, lexico-phraseological field, synonymic line, associative field, etc. Some concepts are characterized by the presence of the wide nominative field which may be found easily. Other concepts are characterized by the limited nominative field which has not synonymic lines and hyperhyponymic character. There are also concepts that have only subjective and occasional nominations without the name of concept.
The nominative field includes the following components:
1) direct nominations of concept (the key word-represent and its methodical synonyms);
2) derivative nominations;
3) one-root words, units of different parts of language connected with the main lexical means of the verbalization of concept;
4) similar;
5) contextual synonyms;