English Occult Discourse as a Cultural Phenomenon

Abstract

The paper reveals structural and functional peculiarities of English occult discourse as a cultural phenomenon. The research is based on the material of English explanatory and etymological dictionaries and texts manifesting occult discourse on the Internet. The paper uses a comprehensive methodology involving general scientific and special linguistic methods. The paper identifies the institutional forms and types of English occult discourse and outlines ways to study them. The term “occult discourse” denotes the general direction of discourse, which studies the peculiarities of communication in all institutional activity areas beyond science and official religion. Based on the results of etymological and componential analyses, we conclude that occult discourse contains such primary genre varieties as astrological, magical, and alchemical. Regarding socio-cultural features, we note that the function of these types of discourse stem from the symbolic and social meanings that are added to the relevant practices. Thus, the acquisition of occult sciences is part of the general system of thinking and beliefs in a particular society, allowing us to study the relevant fragment of the English worldview in mythological and naive versions.