CONCEPT CHARM IN THE ENGLISH LEARNER’S DICTIONARIES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the concept CHARM verbalization in English-language learner’s dictionaries. The research has been done on the material of Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus and Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. The communicative specificity of learner’s dictionaries consists in their targeting to a clear segment of the readership. These are non-native speakers of English, studying it as a foreign language and living outside the area of its functioning, and, therefore, outside the situational context. The features of users to whom learner’s dictionaries are addressed determine the content and presentation of lexicographic material, which is aimed primarily at expanding the vocabulary of the reader and, moreover, familiarizing him more closely with the culture of English-speaking society. The analysis of the verbalization of the CHARM concept in English-language learner’s dictionaries showed that the MAGICNESS “magic, witchcraft” (a feature that is inexplicable, akin to magic) and ATTRACTIVENESS (a feature associated with a person’s psychological ability to attract others) are decisive cognitive features of the CHARM concept in English). The sememe charm = the power or quality forms a wide range of derived lexical units – mono-lexemes and phrases with the charm component. The synonymous series of the charmer lexeme is formed by allurer, enticer, inveigler, smoothie, sweet talker, heart-throb, lady-killer nouns, which refer to the characteristics of only males. In turn, charming female human beings are named as a sweetie, a sweet girl, pippin, sweetpie, sweetie pie, lovey, honey, dearie. Gender neutral nomination is cutie. Such options as a little charmer, little kiddie charmers, little angel are used to denote charming children.