CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE ASSOCIATIVE FIELD OF THE CONCEPT IDENTITY IN THE MEXICAN LANGUAGE PICTURE OF THE WORLD

Abstract

The article is focused on the construction and analysis of the associative field of the concept. The main aim of the given investigation is to demonostrate the results of using the associative experiment in the study of the semantic content of the concept IDENTITY in the mexican language picture of the world. The research has been done in the framework of modern cognitive linguistics. As a result of the experiment more than one thousand word-reactions have been received. To describe the content of the concept under study, generalized results obtained in free and directed types of associative experiment were used, since the combined features have an index of frequency of use, which allows them to be correctly placed in the final model of the concept model. Semantic associations to the word-stimulus identidad were grouped according to the thematic proximity, thus defining a specific thematic associative group. The semantic components of the associations combined in this way were arranged according to quantitative characteristics. Thus, verbal correlates of associative fields that exist in the minds of respondents were obtained. The experiment made it possible to describe the macrostructure of the concept IDENTITY in the mexican language picture of the world and to reveal its linguistic and cultural aspect. In the linguistic picture of the world of Mexico, personal identity lies in its inseparable connection with the desire to have rights, freedom, personality, security, dignity (tener derechos, libertad, personalidad, seguridad, dignidad). The national identity is defined in the light of such concepts as mestizaje, machismo and indigenismo, and is interpreted as duality (una gran dualidad), great diversity (una diversidad enorme), another way of life (una manera distinta de vivir), equal opportunities (igualdad de opportunidades).