Gender representations in associative meaning: The image of woman in Russian and Yakut language consciousnesses

Sargylana Filippova,Karina Pokoyakova,Varvara Filippova,Aureliia Khikhlun

doi:10.1051/shsconf/202213400046

Abstract

The study is focused on representations of the concept ‘woman’ existing in the language consciousnesses of representatives of the Russian and Yakut ethnic groups. The image of ‘woman’ was investigated by means of a free-associative experiment. The associative field, collected in the course of the experiment, is considered as the verbalization of language consciousness that reflects the image of the world, mediated by language. To identify the effect of the social environment as well as the role of native language in the preservation of traditional worldview elements, the associative experiment was conducted among Russians, Urban Yakuts (for whom Russian was the main or only language), and Rural Yakuts (who speak Yakut). The conclusions of our research are the following: the components of the associative meanings of the three experimental groups overlap due to commonalities in traditions and gender stereotypes existing in Russian and Yakut cultures. However, some responses of Rural Yakuts were specific for that group, showing that they preserved some elements of traditional perceptions of ‘woman’ in comparison with Urban Yakuts. Thus, we think that the usage of the ancestral language and the rural way of life contribute to the preservation and retention of traditional worldview elements.

Highlights

The images of consciousnesses of different ethnic groups are interesting objects of investigation and our work, which focused on images of language consciousnesses of members of the Yakut ethnic groups, is no exception
Our previous studies revealed that those who are socialized in rural territories traditionally inhabited by the Yakuts preserved some elements of the traditional worldview that Urban Yakuts had lost [7]
We found that in spite of globalization and the unification of cultures in the Russian Federation, gender stereotypes are the most stable representations; all three groups of subjects demonstrated highly ‘gendered’ strategies of association, indicating qualities, spheres and attributes characteristic of traditional perceptions of ’woman’

Summary

Introduction

The images of consciousnesses of different ethnic groups are interesting objects of investigation and our work, which focused on images of language consciousnesses of members of the Yakut ethnic groups, is no exception. The urban environment leads to the assimilation of minority ethnicities with majority ones and such ‘unifying’ processes result in the modification of the character of social connections, behavior, beliefs and worldview. In this context, we think that rural areas, where most activities are separated into male and female spheres, are more stable [4, 5]. We found that in spite of globalization and the unification of cultures in the Russian Federation, gender stereotypes are the most stable representations; all three groups of subjects demonstrated highly ‘gendered’ strategies of association, indicating qualities, spheres and attributes characteristic of traditional perceptions of ’woman’

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion