Homeland: Cross-Cultural Value Study Based On Modern Indo-European Languages

Abstract

The article under consideration deals with archetypal and ethnic-specific features of one of the initial linguocultural values based on the English, French and Russian languages. Homeland in its core is looked upon as a universal, omnipresent concept and a fundamental human virtue. At the same time, specific idio-ethnic properties, characteristic of each cultural and social framework, mark national specificity in the contrastive cultures and explore the ethnic-psychological potential of the given concept. The current study presupposes two stages: 1) delving deeply into the static language projection, shaping the associative circle of 'Homeland', as it is represented in the paremiological fund of the English, Russian and French languages; 2) comparing it with the dynamic associative mapping of the value, which is gained due to an associative experiment, providing keen insight into the up-to-date perception of the concept and communicating the direction of its present-day transformation. The authors reveal the presence of some ethno-specific associative layers through their relationship with the key features of national identity.