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19ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ LANGUAGE STUDIES
Doi: 10.12731/2077-1770-2019-1-14-25 uDC 81
use of specific types of conceptual ANALYSIS to study 'old' cultural concepts
Dotcenko D.V.
The article focuses on studying concepts by means of the gestalt analysis that contributes to distinguishing implicitfeatures of the concept. Research works in the field of ancient (so-called 'dead') languages are unlikely to be carried out in terms of a complete conceptual analysis, as, for instance, it is impossible to perform an associative experiment. Thus, the gestalt analysis is of paramount importance in defining the structure of such concepts.
Purpose. To apply the gestalt analysis to studying Old English cultural concepts as it might provide profound understanding of the way the Anglo-Saxons perceived complex phenomena.
Methodology and research methods. To carry out the research, the gestalt analysis was used as the main method for the purposes of the study. In addition, the textual analysis as well as the contrastive one were used.
The results of the study. Upon carrying out the research, the author identified a number of implicit features that form the inner structure of the concept under study.
Practical implications. The results of the work can be used in History of English, Cognitive Linguistics, Linguistic and Cultural Studies, as well as other academic courses that include teaching the interrelation between language and culture.
Keywords: Old English; cognitive linguistics; fides consciousness; cultural concept; conceptual analysis; gestalt analysis; implicitfeature.
The contemporary stage of development of scientific humanitarian trend has recently seen a wide range of studies that deal with issues of knowledge, cognition as well as the way the results of the human cognitive activities are formed and stored. For a linguist, it is the language at all stages of human history that is the key to understanding people's way of thinking as it forms concepts and arranges them into a cohesive worldview that is built differently in each particular culture [18, p. 6].
Language contributes to conceptual comprehension of cultural categories thanks to its all-purposeness [9, p. 148]. At the present stage of the development of cognitive linguistic and cultural linguistics, the issue of the interrelation between the static and the dynamic in the nature of conceptual formations is yet unclear. E.S. Kubryakova defines the conceptual system as a dynamic entity that 'is constantly in a state of development and operational mobility. It is being constantly transformed as being affected by information coming from outside, the one obtained through various channels, as well as the information that has been absorbed and processed by a thinking person'[10, p. 69]. E.Ya. Rezhabek takes notice of the fact that 'in the behavior of a person being part of a particular society, tradition outweighs innovation,' thus pointing out that 'the collective experience can only be a past one in relation to its use by an individual' [16, p. 25].
The structure of a medieval person's consciousness is believed to be at the transition from the primitive type of thinking with its mythological component and modern logical, conceptual thinking. 'The entire history of the myth is the history of the fides consciousness 'reduction' being affected by rational and logical thinking' [14, p. 57]. Mythological consciousness is a specific type of perception of the world, which includes a sensual, figurative understanding of both natural phenomena and facts of social life. It is through the imagination that a human being creates a different reality, substituting that for the objective one. 'The dialectics of the myth lies precisely in the fact that, in their imagination, a person 'dissolves' themselves in nature, merges with it and takes over the forces of nature; which means (albeit in fantasy) the beginning of the history of the 'spirit' and the end of the purely animal beingness'[12, p. 15].
The assimilation of a new religious cultural tradition, i.e. Christianity, led to a change in the pagan worldview paradigm, being a traditional one in the Nordic region. The nature of this interaction should be sought in the corpus found in manuscripts that represents 'old' concepts. Much of the old sacred and worldview-related vocabulary became part of the new terminology system, having undergone a certain rethinking [6, p. 5].
According to Yu.S. Stepanov, the inner form of the word fails to be recognized; however, it is embodied in the outer (i.e. verbal) form of the word [17, p. 47]. In fact, the inner form is represented by a set of motivating features that determine formation and further development of the concept.
According to A Comparative Dictionary of Mythological Symbolism in Indo-European Languages by M.M. Makovsky, the words that mean 'believe / faith' correlate with words that have various meanings. The core idea of the dictionary is based on the theory of multiple etymology proposed by V.N. Toporov, according to which the particular results of etymological development are different degrees of approximation to the 'matrix of etymological relativity' [12, p. 6]. The transitions of word meanings, regardless of which member of the language group they represent, fully reflect the customs, beliefs and ways of thinking of the time period under study. Thus, the form of the Old High German verb gilouban 'believe' is related to the Latvian noun luops 'cattle' and the Albanian lope 'cow'. The horned god is present in many Indo-European mythological systems, in particular, the Celtic one, where the god Cernunnos can be found [13, p. 617]. On the other hand, the root of the same verb is phonetically linked to the common Indo-European root *lub- 'bend; knit; bind,' thus referring to, e.g., binding an animal before making a sacrifice.
In addition, the 'faith' meaning correlates with 'tree', 'the world tree' as well as 'burn / fire' (for example, a Gothic verb galaubjan 'believe' and a Latvian verb lipt 'burn'), which can also be attributed to the idea of burning sacrifice while appealing to the deity. There is another connection 'faith' - 'height / sky' via the second meaning of the root *lub-'top / height' (Gothic galaubjan and Russian лоб 'forehead'). It seems
possible to assume that the basis of the comprehension and nomination of faith by ancient consciousness is a physical action, i.e. making a sacrifice to the object of worship.
At the present stage of the development of the English language, the main representatives of the concept BELIEF / FAITH / TRUST are lexemes belief, faith and trust. These nouns have a different semantic content, thus expressing the concept itself in a different way [19, p. 18].
The modern lexeme belief is defined as a cognate to the Old English prefix yeleafa of the common German root *laub- 'dear'. This verbal representative of the concept comes from the ancient layer of the German vocabulary. This root can be found, e.g., in the Old Saxon lubig 'loving', the Old High German gilob 'precious' and the Old Norse lof'praise'. From the etymological point of view, the modern English lexeme belief turns out to be related to the lexeme love. Thus, the traditional type of etymological dictionaries of the English language notes the subjective emotional-affective feature as the only one being the basis of the nomination of the concept BELIEF.
Taking into account the conclusions made by M.M. Makovsky in his work, as well as the lexicographic sources data, it can be stated that in the era of the All-German community and the early period of the alliance of West Germanic tribes settling down in Britain, faith / belief / trust was perceived as a complex emotionally colored ethical phenomenon. In it, both subjective and objective features were intermingled. Faith / belief / trust was comprehended through specific ritual actions associated with it as well as being its physical manifestations. Further development of the characteristics that determine the nomination of the concept (3E) LEAFA is affected by the clash between the original pagan worldview and Christian religious paradigm.
The conceptual analysis is the method aimed at researching, determining and explaining the ideas and concepts that native speakers have. This is the method that formalizes what intuition knows, what exists in the collective unconscious and is expressed by language in action, i.e. by speech [5, pp. 164-165]. The purpose of the conceptual analysis is to reveal all the knowledge (i.e. ideas, images, gestalts) being character-
istic of a particular culture. The gestalt analysis is literal reading of the semantic combinability of lexemes, which allows singling out implicit features of the conceptual content of mental constructs.
The central role of substantive lexemes in the name of the concept (3E)LEAFA is confirmed by the recorded frequency of their use and combinability as well as by the presence of a large number of derived lexemes that form the main part of the lexical-semantic field 'faith' in the Old English period. The lexeme yelef had the following meanings:
1) Jifwe willap on Drihten jelyfan. .. we sceolon pone yeleafan mid jodum d&lijdum jefyllan; if we want to believe in the Lord, ... we must fill that faith with good every day (23: 10). In this context, the religious faith appears to be a vessel that needs to be filled. Thus, an element of the content of the concept is the implicit material feature, i.e. 'container'. The materiality as an implicit feature of the concept is enhanced by the use of yeleafa with the verb habban 'have': Ne hi on jewitnesse h&fdon on hiora fyrhde fastne yeleafan; they did not have evidence in the firm faith of their spirit (Ps. Th. 77: 36), as well as the use of the adjective fast 'strong, permanent' with the name of the concept.
1a) belief in God, Christian faith: Se rihta yeleafa us t&cp, dxt we sceolon jelyfan on done Haljan ^ast; true faith teaches us that we must believe in the Holy Spirit (Homl. Th. i 280: 22). In this context, the implicit feature of the animacy of the concept (i.e. ' the one who acts') is actualized. According to the metonymic transfer, the concept is endowed with the features of an independently acting entity, which instructs people. Endowing the concept with solar characteristics can be considered a specific manifestation of the above-mentioned feature: D^yes or onwoc leohtes yeleafan; the dawn of light faith rose (Apstls. Kmbl. 131). The connection between light and beauty was noted by many researchers of the medieval culture. Thus, J. Le Goff wrote, 'In the medieval mind, everything beautiful is full of light' [11, p. 124]. The presence of the word leoht in this context, which actualizes the feature 'light', makes it possible to speak of the attraction of the Old English concepts BELIEF, LIGHT and BEAUTY.
In addition, along with the 'container' feature, the implicit conceptual feature 'content' is actualized in contexts that describe the person's
inner world: Eom ic leohte yeleafany&yre 3efylled; I am filled with the faith being full of light (Jul. 653).
2) mental acceptance of a statement or fact: Ic h&bbe me fiestne ye-leafan up to dam ^lmihtejan Jode; I have firm faith in the almighty God up above (Gen. 543: 205). The lexeme jeleafa is used with the attribute fast, which actualizes the material feature of the concept (3E)LEAFA. The combination of the lexeme yeleafa and the verb habban can be found in quite a few contexts, for example: &a men pape Jodes rices jeleafan habbad; those who believe in the Kingdom of Heaven (Bl. H. 55, 17). In another context, the combination of the noun yeleafa and the verb niman is found: Heo yeleafan nom p&t he pa bysene from Jode brunjen h&fde; she took the faith (i.e., 'believed') that he had brought commandments from God (Gen. 650). Belief / faith / trust, being the result of complex psycho-emotional activities, is comprehended by the ancient consciousness through physical actions. Thus, having analyzed the ancient names, it can be concluded that 'the names of the feelings of the Old English and Old Norse epics were much less adapted to designate the actual mental states compared to their modern translation equivalents' [7, p. 138].
3) what is believed, the proposition or set of propositions held true; the doctrines of a religious system: Nu we wyllap secjan eow done yeleafan de on dam credan stent; now we will tell you about the faith that is in that creed (Homl. Th. i. 274, 23: 292). A literal translation would contain information about faith, which 'stands (stent) in this creed.' Along with other contexts, this one illustrates the tendency to represent faith, which, being a 'phenomenon of spiritual life' (according to Y.S. Stepanov), is metaphorically comprehended by ancient consciousness through mundane, everyday actions. In this meaning, the lexeme is combined with emotive-evaluative attributes, such as sop 'true': Ne jelyfe ic no hit jeweorpan mihte . . . and ic no ne wearp of pam so^an yeleafan; I do not believe that this could happen ... and I did not connect with that true faith (Bt. 5: 3; F. 12: 6).
The lexeme yeleaffulnes 'faithfulness, belief, trust' with spelling variants -ness, -nys, -nyss was recorded as a gloss for the Latin lexemes fidelitas and credulitas: We scedan andettan da sodan yeleaffulnesse
on urne Drihten; we must confess true faith in Our Lord (Blickl. Homl. 111: 6). The low frequency of the use of the lexeme itself, the presence of derived affixes in its composition, as well as the use of this lexeme as a gloss in the Latin original sources of an exclusively Christian religious nature implies the secondary character of the 3ELEAFFULNES concept in relation to the concept 3ELEAFA.
Of particular interest is the example in the Bosworth-Toller dictionary of the use of the compound noun je-leafnes-word, recorded in Beowulf: No her cudlicor cuman onjunnon lind-h&bbende // ne ye-leafnes-word jud-fremmendra jearwe ne wisson // maja jemedu; Never before has a force under arms disembarked so openly - not bothering to ask if the sentries allowed them safe passage or the clan had consented (Beo Th. 496; 8, p.18). This compound lexeme translated in the dictionary as 'password' is one of just a few non-religious examples recorded in lexicographical sources of the words within the lexical-semantic field 'faith' of the Old English language, derived from the noun jeleafa. The structure of the concept 3E-LEAFNES-WORD contains the idea of trust between subjects based on a preliminary agreement, thus actualizing the implicit feature 'agreement' of the central concept 3ELEAFA.
The lexeme geleafleasness (-ness, -nys, -nyss) 'incredulity, want of belief' is one of lexemes with the negative meaning. The derivative nature of the name of the concept 3ELEAFLEASNESS shows its secondary role in relation to the nuclear one. The analysis of the literary sources also indicates the use of this lexeme exclusively in the religious (Christian) texts. On the other hand, a number of contexts actualize the 'ability to be understood' as an implicit feature of the concept 3ELEAFLEAS-NESS and of the central concept 3ELEAFA, respectively: Onpam d&ye w$s h&lijra Judeiscra manna yeleafleasnys jewiten fram; on that day, the weak Jewish people learnt incredulity from a person (Wlfst. 294: 2).
The noun yeleafleast(-leaflyst) with the meaning 'want of faith, unbelief, infidelity, unfaithfulness' found as a gloss for the Latin words infidelitas and incredulitas, belongs to the group of negative lexemes: Nu sind adw&scede ealle yeleaflystu; now all disbeliefs have been put
out (i.e. eradicated) (Deut. 1:40). This context actualizes the implicit feature 'fire' in the structure of the concept 3ELEAFLEAST. Studies of the Old English concept FIRE itself show that, on the basis of the segment of the concept 'Doomsday fire' a new cognitive layer was formed during the Christian period, i.e. 'fire for punishment for sins in hell,' thus adding a negative connotation to the Old English concept FIRE [15, p. 3].
The facts of juxtaposing belief / faith vs disbelief / unfaith as complexes of specific psychological modes can also be found in other contexts: Lariowas ut jewitun of Anjla lande forpaere yeleafleste pe him pa onsxye yewear^; teachers left the land of the Angles because of their (i.e. the Angles') unexpected unbelief (lit., 'the unbelief that attacked') (Cht. Crw. 19: 7). The analysis of Old English contexts of the concept names shows that belief / faith is based on logical, conscious acceptance of the 'rules of the game', i.e. a particular behavioral model, while disbelief / unfaith appears to be an active force, but at the same time a spontaneous, accidental, uncontrollable one. Disbelief does not imply atheism at that time. The latter, being a phenomenon of the Modern Age, is antithetical to the medieval fides consciousness (according to M.V. Nikitin). The lack of faith in the literary sources implies worshipping the devil or pagan gods, which was considered by the authors of that time as similar phenomena in the conditions of the new religious paradigm. That deeply negative attitude to such 'lack of faith' expressed in the sources is confirmed by numerous cases of using the word combination deofles yeleaf-least: Nele ure heofonlica Fwder us syllan pxs deofles yeleafleaste, jif we hine biddapp&t he us sylle sodne jeleafan; Heavenly Father will not plunge us into that diabolical disbelief if we pray to him to instill true faith in us (Hml. Th. i. 252: 29).
Thus, it is possible to determine and describe the structure of the concept 3ELEAFA by identifying certain implicit features that form its structure. The results of the analysis show that the conceptual structure of the concept include the following implicit features:
• container
• content
• the one who acts (e.g. teaches, stands)
• sun / light
• something material
• agreement
• ability to be understood
• fire
This concept, due to its high degree of productivity and combinabili-ty, is considered to be a central one in relation to other mental constructs that form the Old English concept sphere BELIEF / FAITH / TRUST along with LEAFA and TREOW.
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DATA ABouT THE AUTHOR Dotcenko Dmitry Vasilevich, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor
Bonch-Bruevich Saint-Petersburg State University of Telecommunications
22, bld. 1, Bolshevikov Ave., St. Petersburg, 193232, Russian Federation
dmitchina@gmail.com
ДАННЫЕ ОБ АВТОРЕ Доценко Дмитрий Васильевич, кандидат филологических наук, доцент
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет телекоммуникаций им. проф. М.А. Бонч-Бруевича пр. Большевиков, 22, к.1, г. Санкт-Петербург, 193232, Российская Федерация dmitchina@gmail.com
