The linguocultural concept based on word frequency: correlation, differentiation, and cross-cultural comparison

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper proposes (1) to develop mixed research framework for linguocultural concept analysis by integrating word frequency analysis using Google Books Ngram Viewer with Pearson correlation, word collocation, integrating qualitative analysis; and (2) to determine its feasibility and effectiveness with regards to correlation, cross-cultural comparison, and differentiation of linguocultural concepts. Findings suggest that war may be one of the contributing factors to the religious consciousness of the Russian people (r = 0.471, p < 0.001). The results of the collocation analysis suggest that ‘freedom’ has boundaries, whilst the ‘will’ has none. A cross-cultural study of Chinese and American cultures revealed that the consciousness of sacrifice was stronger than that of obedience. In addition, frequencies of conceptual words show that China has a stronger collectivist culture as compared to the United States. However, it is difficult to obtain a correct and credible statement of conceptual differences only by relying on word frequency.