LINGUISTIC PERSONALITY OF NATIVE SPEAKERS OF CHINESE AND RUSSIAN (BASED ON THE CONCEPT <i>CHILDHOOD / </i><i>童年</i>)

Abstract

The article describes the representation of a linguistic personality in Russian and Chinese linguocultures on the basis of an associative experiment with the stimulus word childhood / 童年. The concept of CHILDHOOD is an important component of the social life of the bearers of any culture. The purpose of this article is a comparative analysis in the Russian and Chinese linguistic personality. To achieve this goal, a free chain associative experiment is used, which allows us to describe the real consciousness of native speakers. The proposed research methodology consists of two successive stages: (1) analysis of the concept of childhood in the explanatory and etymological dictionaries of the Russian and Chinese languages; (2) analysis of the perception of childhood in Chinese and Russian cultures using an associative experiment. Semantic analysis of the word-stimulus childhood / 童年 and associative reactions reveal the picture of the world of two linguocultures. Comparison of the definitions of the lexical unit of childhood in explanatory and etymological dictionaries made it possible to identify the similarities and differences in semantic specificity in the Russian and Chinese languages. As a result of an associative experiment with the participation of 150 native speakers of Russian and 150 native speakers of Chinese, the frequency respons es were identified in the three most significant thematic groups: “associations associated with household life”; “Associations related to education”; “Associations associated with children’s psycho-emotional perception, feelings and sensations”. Differences in the representation of the concept of CHILDHOOD in Chinese and Russian linguocultures are determined by the differences in national traditions and customs of the Chinese and Russian peoples. Associations associated with education have, among other things, a political overtone. Reactions to the stimulus word childhood / 童年 give an idea of the lifestyle and value system of representatives of the Russian and Chinese linguistic cultures. The research materials led to the conclusion that the specificity of the definition of childhood and associative-verbal reactions is due to the structure of Russian and Chinese societies. Differing units identified in the materials of the experiment require comments in a foreign audience. The results of the research can be used in the process of teaching Russian as a foreign language, when clarifying the data of associative dictionaries and compiling educational dictionaries in Russian and Chinese.