CC BY
15
https://doi.org/10.29013/EJLL-20-3-16-25
Prokudina Galina Sergeevna, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk Universityy Czech Republic E-mail: lokochemp@bk.ru
NATIONAL SPECIFICS OF THE 'CRIME' CONCEPT IN RUSSIAN AND CZECH COGNITIVE SYSTEMS (EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES). PART I
Abstract. This article deals with the concept of 'crime' on the basis of an association experiment. The experiment has been carried out among 70 both Russian and Czech respondents aged from 18 to 35. Based on the obtained material, the author has highlighted cognitive attributes (such as Legal definitions of a crime, Punishment, Literature based associations, Negative emotions, feelings and states caused by a crime) and cognitive layers (for example, Evaluation definitions of a crime, Participants of a crime, Reasons for committing a crime).According to the data on cognitive layers and based on the frequency of associations obtained, we distinguish the core, near, far and extreme periphery. Then we carry out a detailed analysis of the results and suggest possible reasons for such results. The core and near periphery are of particular importance. Personal associations may also be of interest. Through their further analysis, the author has discovered differences in the concept of 'crime' in the Russian and Czech cognitive view of the world.
Keywords: national specifics, concept of 'crime', cognitive view of the world, association experiment, comparative analysis.
Our research is dedicated to revealing national The respondents were asked to write down the specifics of the 'Crime' concept in the Russian and first five associations, which came to their mind as Czech cognitive systems. To determine the pecu- a reaction to the word 'crime'; they were also asked liarities of the concept cognitive content, we have to specify their age, sex and professional occupation. carried out a chain association experiment using the The questionnaire of the association experiment is 'crime' stimulus word, in which 70 Czechs and 70 attached here to as an annex [8, 89-100]. Russians took part, both males and females, with dif- Structure of the 'Crime' Concept in the Conferent education level and of different occupations, temporary Russian Linguistic View of the World aged from 18 to 35 (inclusively). The reactions of the Having analyzed the respondents' reactions, Czechs were not translated into Russian, so as to de- we have determined 28 cognitive attributes of the termine more precisely the national specifics of the 'crime' concept in the contemporary Russian linguis-concept, including lexical and grammatical peculiar- tic view of the world: ities. As a methodological guide, we used the work 1. Legal definition of a crime - type; by Popova Z. D., Sternin I. A. 'Essays on Cognitive 2. Legal definition of a crime - nature; Linguistics', in particular, the chapters dedicated to 3. Punishment; description and studying of association experiments 4. Consequences of a crime; [7, 115-134; 6, 37-50]. 5. Pecuniary punishment;
6. Accompanying (parts) of a crime;
7. Instrument of a crime;
8. A way to avoid a crime;
9. Literature based associations;
10. Scene of a crime;
11. Time of a crime;
12. Preparing to commit a crime;
13. Atmosphere in which a crime is committed;
14. Negative emotions, feelings, states and abilities accompanying a crime;
15. Abilities accopanying a crime;
16. Evaluation definition of a crime - type;
17. Evaluation definition of a crime - nature;
18. Legal documents;
19. A set of the behavioral standards prohibiting crime;
20. Law enforcement bodies and persons investigating a crime;
21. Actions taken to catch the perpetrators;
22. Data on a crime;
23. Places related to deprivation of liberty;
24. Things related to deprivation of liberty;
25. Perpetrator;
26. Target of a crime;
27. The one who was punished for committing a crime;
28. Reasons for committing a crime.
When united, the cognitive attributes form cognitive layers. The 'crime' concept has a complex structure: here, 9 cognitive layers can be distinguished:
1. Legal definition of a crime;
2. Consequences of a crime;
3. Atmosphere (setting) in which a crime is committed;
4. Negative emotions, feelings and states caused by a crime;
5. Evaluation definition of a crime;
6. Impact on an offender;
7. Items related to deprivation of liberty;
8. Participants of a crime;
9. Reasons for committing a crime.
Specifics of the 'Crime' Concept in the Contemporary Czech Linguistic View of the World
Having analyzed the respondents' reactions, we have determined 30 cognitive attributes of the 'crime' concept in the contemporary Czech linguistic view of the world:
1. Legal definition of a crime - type;
2. Legal definition of a crime - nature;
3. Accompanying (parts) of a crime;
4. Instrument of a crime;
5. Scene of a crime;
6. Preparing to commit a crime;
7. Crime situation;
8. Atmosphere accompanying a crime;
9. Crime movies;
10. A way to avoid a crime;
11. Things associated with a crime;
12. Punishment;
13. Consequences of a crime;
14. Pecuniary punishment;
15. Places related to deprivation of liberty;
16. Things related to deprivation of liberty;
17. Perpetrators;
18. Targets of a crime;
19. Those who were punished for committing a crime;
20. Appearance of a penetrator;
21. Evaluation definition of a crime - type;
22. Evaluation definition of a crime - nature;
23. Negative emotions, feelings and states accompanying a crime;
24. Characteristics accompanying a crime;
25. Law enforcement bodies and persons investigating a crime, as well as instruments they use;
26. Actions taken to catch the perpetrators;
27. A set of the behavioral standards prohibiting crime;
28. Legal documents;
29. Religious documents;
30. Reasons for committing a crime.
In the Czech linguistic view of the world, as in the Russian one, we have distinguished the same 9 cognitive layers:
1. Legal definition of a crime;
2. Atmosphere (setting) in which a crime is committed;
3. Consequences of a crime;
4. Items related to deprivation of liberty;
5. Participants of a crime;
6. Evaluation definition of a crime;
7. Negative emotions, feelings, states and characteristics accompanying a crime;
8. Impact on an offender;
9. Reasons for committing a crime.
Specifics of the 'Crime' Concept in the Russian
Cognitive System
The concept CORE consists of the cognitive layers 'Definitions of a crime' (84) - 24% and 'Consequences of a crime' (63) - 18%. People picture to themselves what a crime is, what it is composed of, what it is in particular. At the same time, the most numerous cognitive attribute is 'Legal definitions of a crime - type' (70) - (83%), which once again proves the above-mentioned opinion. It includes such associations as, for instance, убийство - 20 (murder), насилие - 8 (violence), кража - 8 (theft), ограбление - 5 (robbery), драка - 2 (fight), угон - 1 (highjacking), клевета - 1 (slander). We have also included in this group the following associated adjectives - совершённое [преступление] - (committed [crime]) and спланированное [преступление] - 1 (planned [crime]).
The following voluminous cognitive layer is 'Consequences of a crime' (63) - 18%. The most numerous cognitive attribute within this layer is Punishment (41) (or 65%). It includes the reaction word НАКАЗАНИЕ (or возмездие - 2) - 38 (!) PUNISMENT (or retribution) as well as deprivation, restriction of свобода - 3 (liberty). Among the 70 interviewed Russian respondents, more than half of them named the association 'punishment' as the most strong one. It means that it is enshrined in the Russian
people's consciousness that a CRIME is something that is followed, without fail, by a punishment. Besides, such large number of reaction words can also be explained by a certain precedent text, which the Russians are familiar with. This cognitive layer also includes the attribute 'Consequences of a crime' (21), in which, for instance, quite a frequent reaction word was used суд -13 (court), as well as ответственность - 4 (liability), вина^ виновность - 2 (fault, guilt). A minor cognitive attribute with one reaction word is 'Pecuniary punishment'- штраф - 1 (penalty)
The Near Periphery
is formed by the cognitive layers 'Atmosphere (setting) in which a crime is committed' (48) - 14%, 'Negative emotions, feelings and state scaused by a crime' (39) - 11,2% and 'Evaluation definition of a crime' (37) - 11%.
The first cognitive layer includes the following five cognitive attributes: 'Accompanying (parts) of a crime' (21) - 44%, 'Instruments of a crime' (15) -31%, 'A way to avoid a crime' (4), 'Literature based associations' (4), 'Time of a crime' (1), 'Scene of a crime' (1), 'Preparing to commit a crime' (intent-1), The most numerous cognitive attribute is 'Accompanying (parts) of a crime' (21) - 44%, which includes such associations as наркотики - 4 (drugs), опасность - 3, (danger), кровь - 3 (blood), риск - 1 (risk), экстремальность - 1 (extremeness), ругань -1 (scolding), неизвестность - 1 (obscurity), смерть -1 (death), несправедливость -1 (injustice) etc. So, we can come to a conclusion that in the Russian people's consciousness a crime is related to bloodshed, danger, drugs, etc. In the second most numerous cognitive attribute, 'Instruments of a crime', the most frequently used reaction word is топор - 5 (axe), which is conditioned by a precedent text all Russians are familiar with, - the 'Crime and Punishment' novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, in which the main character committed a crime - killed an old lady with an axe.
The cognitive attribute 'A way to avoid a crime' includes the following three associations: спрятаться - 2 (hide), убегать - 1 (run away) as
well as the proverb - Бережёного Бог бережёт - 1 (God helps them that help themselves).
The cognitive attribute 'Literature based associations', included in the layer, is rather interesting: Достоевский - 3 (Dostoyevsky), роман - 1 (novel). This shows that the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky entered the Russian people's consciousness and his novel 'Crime and Punishment' has become a precedent crime related text. 'Time of a crime' is ночь - 1 (night), and 'Scene of a crime' once again represents a personal association, Автозавод - 1 (Avtozavod). This resident lives in Nizhny Novgorod city, in which one of the districts called 'Avtozavod' (the district where GAZ, or Gorky Automobile Plant ('Avtozavod' in Russian) is located in), is considered to be a district with the highest crime rate in the city.
In the Russian linguistic view of the world, the cognitive layer 'Negative emotions, feelings and state caused by a crime' includes the following two cognitive attributes: 'Negative emotions, feelings and states accompanying a crime' (38) and 'Abilities accompanying a crime'. In the Russian people's consciousness, a crime is a completely negative phenomenon, with which negative reactions are associated. So, the first cognitive layer includes such associations as страх - 8 (fear), зло - 6 (evil), ужас - 3 (horror), боль - 3 (pain), боязнь - 1 (dread), стресс -1 (stress), жестокость - 1 (cruelty), горе - 1 (grief), жуть - 1 (grimness), разочарование - 2 (disappointment), страдание - 1 (suffering), etc. The cognitive attribute 'Abilities accompanying a crime' includes only one reaction word - совесть - 1 (conscience).
The cognitive layer 'Evaluation definition of a crime' includes the following two cognitive attributes: 'Evaluation definition of a crime - type' (28) -76% and 'Evaluation definition of a crime - nature' (9) - 24%. The cognitive attribute 'Evaluation definition of a crime - type' includes reaction words, which mean what is a crime from the standpoint of the Russian nation representatives. It is interesting that in the first place here comes ложь - 6 (lie). This means that to tell a lie, to lie for many Russians is
equivalent to committing a crime. Here we can also see предательство - 2 (betrayal), измена - 1 (cheating), война - 1 (war). The Russians are very well familiar with what a war may bring with it, that's why it is considered to be a crime. Here we can also find хамство - 1 (rudeness), безответственность - 1 (irresponsibility), [преступление] совести и чести - 1 ([crime] of conscience and honor), [преступление] правительства - 1 ([crime] of government) против системы - 1 (against system). Such personal associations, as спортивные штаны - 1 (sports trousers), когда машина не починилась - 1 (when a person didn't manage to repair his/her car), are also included in this attribute.
The Far Periphery
- is formed by the cognitive layer 'Impact on an offender' (33) - 9%.
The second cognitive layer here is 'Impact on an offender', that includes the following five cognitive attributes: 'Legal documents', 'A set of the behavioral standards prohibiting crime', 'Law enforcement bodies and persons investigating a crime', 'Actions taken to catch a perpetrator' (задержание - 1 (detention), уголовное преследование - 1 (investigation), расследование - 1 (criminal prosecution) and 'Data on a crime' (доказательства - 2 (proofs), формальность - 1 (formality).
The most numerous cognitive attributes here are the following: 'Legal documents' (9) - 27%, including Уголовный кодекс РФ - 7 (the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), Конституцию РФ - 2 (the Constitution of the Russian Federation) and закон - 8 (law), as well as права и обязанности - 1 (rights and obligations); moreover, these answers were not answers of people specializing in law. It follows that in the Russian people's consciousness a crime is associated with the Criminal Code, establishing the punish ability of such actions, as well as with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and law. A crime constitutes a violation of law, which entails a punishment, the nature of which is specified in the above-mentioned documents. The cognitive attribute 'Law enforcement bod-
ies and persons investigating a crime' is interesting, since 3 reaction words here are милиция - 3 (militia), полиция - 1 (police) and one respondent wrote 'militia' and added the word полиция ('police') in brackets. Despite the fact that onthe 1st of March 2011 the Russian милиция 'militia' was renamed to полиция 'police', the former concept still has not been replaced by the new lexical item in the Russian language speakers' consciousness, which once again gives rise to the matter on expediency of such renaming. There is also a slang expression here - мусор 'musor' -1 (meaning a cop, a pig), as well an association connected with a movie - Жеглов - 1 (Zheglov). Глеб Георгиевич Жеглов (Gleb Georgiyevich (movie patronymic -Егорович (Egorovich) Zheglov is one of the main characters of a novel by Vainer brothers (братья Вайнеры) - «Эра милосердия» 'The Era of Mercy' (1976) and of a movie shot based on this novel, 'The Meeting Place Cannot be Changed' (1979) («место встречи изменить нельзя». Gleb Zheglov is a field officer ofthe Moscow Criminal Investigation Department. This movie can also be considered as a 'precedent movie' for the Russian people.
The Extreme Periphery
is formed by the cognitive layers 'Items related to deprivation of liberty' (20) - 6%, 'Participants of a crime' (19) - 5% and 'Reasons for committing a crime' (6) - 2%.
The first cognitive layer consists of the cognitive attributes 'Places of deprivation of liberty', which, naturally, include тюрьма - 16 (prison), решётка - 1 (prison bars) and сизо [Следственный изолятор] - 1 (sizo [pre-trial detention center]), 'Things related to deprivation of liberty' - наручники (handcuffs) - 1.
'Participants of a crime' include 'Perpetrators' (15) - 79%, 'Targets of a crime' (2) - 11%, 'Those who were punished for committing a crime' (2) -11%. The 'Perpetrators' include such reaction words as преступник - 5 (offender), маньяк (maniac) - 2, бандит - 1 (bandit), плохой человек - 1 (bad man), 1, злодей - 1 (villain), фашист - 1 (fascists), etc. There are also personal associations here - ведущий инженер - 1 (chief engineer) (employer) and the surname of a subordinate - Бондарь - 1 (Bondar), which is connected with dissatisfaction with poor work performed by those people.
Table 1. - Contents of the 'Crime' Concept in the Russian Cognitive System (EN)
Legal definitions of a Legal definition of a murder - 20
crime (84) crime - type (70) theft- 8
violence - 6
robbery - 5
stealing - 4
plunder - 3
fight- 2
accident - 2
act of terrorism, terrorist attack - 2
violence (violence against children, violence against
animals) - 2
hooliganism - 2
highjacking - 1
causing damage - 1
beating someone - 1
corruption - 1
slander - 1
pedophilia - 1
terror - 1
bribe - 1
drug abuse - 1 harm - 1
threat - 1
committed - 1
planned - 1 assault - 1
Legal definition of a violation - 5, violation of law 3-8
crime - nature (14) action - 3 illegal action - 1 offense - 1 committed by - 1
Consequences of a crime (63) Punishment (41) punishment (retribution - 2) - 38 deprivation of liberty 2, restriction of liberty 1-3
Consequences of a crime (21) court (justice 1) - 13 liability - 4 fault, guilt - 2 impunity - 1 accusation - 1
Pecuniary punishment (1) penalty - 1
Atmosphere (setting) in which a crime is com- Accompanying (parts) of a crime (21) drugs - 4 danger - 3
mitted (48) blood - 3 risk - 1 extremeness - 1 scolding - 1 obscurity - 1 death - 1 life - 1 government - 1 edge - 1 injustice - 2 power -1
Instrument of a crime (15) axe - 5 knife 3, knives 1-4 cold weapon 1, weapon - 3-4 gun, guns - 2
A way to avoid a crime (4) hide - 2 run away - 1 God helps them that help themselves - 1
Literature based associations (4) Dostoyevsky - 3 ['Crime and Punishment'] novel - 1
Atmosphere (setting) in which a crime is committed (48) Scene of a crime (1) Avtozavod - 1
Time of a crime (1) night- 1
Preparing to commit a crime (1) intent- 1
Atmosphere (1) darkness- 1
Negative emotions, feelings and statescaused by a crime (39) Negative emotions, feelings, states and abilities accompanying a crime (38) fear (fearfully 1, terrible 1) - 8 evil 3, malice 2, anger 1-6 horror - 3 pain - 3 pity - 2 dread - 1 stress - 1 hysterics - 1 hatred - 1 insult - 1 cruelty - 1 suffering- 1 grimness - 1 grief-1 nervousness - 1 emptiness - 1 negative - 1 envy - 1 misfortune - 1 disappointment - 1 psychosis -1
Abilities accompanying a crime (1) conscience - 1
Evaluation definition of a crime (37) Evaluation definition of a crime - type (28) lie - 3, deception 3-6 betrayal - 2 bad, very bad - 2 war - 1 cheating - 1 deceit- 1 omission - 1 rudeness - 1 irresponsibility - 1 unpunished - 1 crime of conscience and honor - 1 crime of government - 1 absurd - 1 personal - 1 when a person didn't manage to repair his/her car - 1
Evaluation definition of a crime (37) Evaluation definition of a crime - type (28) sports trousers - 1 negligence - 1 against system - 1 disrespect - 1 very wrong - 1 sometimes is necessary - 1
Evaluation definition of a crime - nature (9) mistake, mistake to commit - 2 bad deed - 1 mayhem - 1 something terrible and with consequences - 1 bloody deed - 1 sin - 1 nightmare - 1 vice - 1
Impact on an offender (33) Legal documents (9) Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - 7 Constitution of the Russian Federation -2
A set of the behavioral standards prohibiting crime (9) law - 8 rights and obligations - 1
Law enforcement bodies and persons investigating a crime (8) militia - 3 (militia (police) 1, police 1-5 Zheglov - 1 investigator - 1 musors (cops, pigs) - 1
Actions taken to catch a perpetrator (3) detention - 1 criminal prosecution - 1 investigation - 1
Data on a crime (3) proofs - 2 formality - 1
Items related to deprivation of liberty (20) Places related to deprivation of liberty (17) prison - 16 sizo (pre-trial detention center) - 1
Things related to deprivation of liberty (3) bars - 2 handcuffs - 1
Participants of a crime (19) Perpetrator (15) offender - 5 maniac - 2 Raskolnikov - 2 bandit - 1 bad man - 1 villain - 1 chief engineer - 1 fascists - 1 Bondar - 1
Target of a crime (2) victim - 1
old lady - 1
The one who was punished convicted - 1
for committing a crime(2) accused - 1
Reasons for committing Reasons for committing a money - 3
a crime (6) crime (6) vodka - 1
lucre - 1
lawlessness - 1
■ Legal definition of a crime
■ Consequences of a crime
■ Setting in which a crime is committed
■ Negative emotions, feelings and states caused by a crime
■ Evaluation definition of a crime
■ Impact on an offender
■ Items related to deprivation of liberty
■ Participants of a crime
Reasons for committing a crime
Fifure 1. - Structure of the "Crime" Concept in the russian Conitive System
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