Information on the thesis

The dissertation focuses on the linguistic and cultural aspects of the SUN concept in the
American variant of the English language. The work manifests a complex methodological
approach with three concept models involved: a three-dimensional concept model elaborated
by S. Vorkachev and V. Karasik, a nucleus and periphery model developed by Z. Popova and
I. Sternin and a five-layer structure suggested by V. Maslova, the latter being the cornerstone
of the undertaken study.
The declared diachronic approach to the cognitive unit language representation study
enabled the author to establish the dynamics of such unit structure formation, conduct the 20
comparative analysis of its verbalizers and connotations with references being made to the
realities of a certain time period.
Decompositional analysis revealed the semantic components which constitute the
nucleus of the concept under study: [+body], [+light], [+heat]. These are the components
which form the semantic prototype of the noun “sun”, i.e. they appear to be a more salient
semantic substructure. In addition, eight more semantic components were singled out:
[+round], [+energy], [+far], [+big], [+heavy], [+substance], [+space], [+life]. All of them give
rise to new meanings which are metaphorically linked to the prototype. This set of semantic
components is arranged largely due to the use of a large number of lexicographic sources
since some of the components could be traced in specialized dictionaries definitions only.
Particular attention is paid to the nucleus of the concept SUN that was structured based
on the definition in Longman Dictionary of American English – the large bright object in the
sky that gives us light and heat, and around which the Earth moves. The notional component
of the concept SUN in the language picture of the world of Americans comprises the
following features: light, warmth, globe, red colour, acre, can thrust, heat, time and place.
The image component contains the traditional features found in the people’s cognition: God,
alive, in the sky. The concept SUN periphery encompasses connotations and sun features
which are perceived physically while the distant periphery includes idioms.
Free associative experiment with the American participants is an integral part of the
study. The results of the experiment indicated that the lexicographic representation of concept
SUN coincides, to a great extent, with the representation of this concept in individual pictures
of the world. The latter are more scientific than naïve in nature as clearly shown by the
verbalizers and associations listed by the participants.
The axiological dimension of concept SUN is studied in relation to the values
entrenched in the American society the accumulation of which is known as American dream.
Having analyzed the verbalizers of the concept in the American anthem, we may conclude
that the sun is the embodiment of hope, victory, forces of good and light.There is a shift in
connotations towards the negative pole starting in the 20th
century. The sun is regarded not
only as a source of happiness and joy but also as a danger, a medical factor and a deadly
force. The study also deals with the way the concept SUN is verbalized in fiction and in
religious discourse. 1200 verbalizers were detected in the works by the American writers
spanning three centuries. Verbs constitute the biggest bulk, therefore one may assert that the
American picture of the world is action-oriented when the conceptual relations involving sun
are being established.
Concept SUN demonstrates few metaphoric connections in the institutional (religious)
discourse. The rare metaphors discovered reveal that sun is taken to mean God. Sun can also
have the metaphoric meaning of time, virtues and the good.
Key words: concept, linguistic culture, verbalizer, semantic component, meaning
extension, conceptual metaphor, metonymy, idiom, association, connotation, language picture
of the world, discourse.