The Role of Linguocultural Studies in Modern Times: Basic Principles and Method of Research

Abstract

The author presents the arguments for the defining role of linguocultural studies at the present stage of the development of linguistics. It is noted that linguistics continues its search for the space of language studies in the light of integral human knowledge. Whereas structural approach views any language as an autonomous semiotic formation, “self-enclosed and self-supported”, as a rule, without taking into account extralinguistic aspects, which are studied in the framework of other humanities, anthropological approach is based on understanding language as a constitutive human property, as a part of humans’ daily living activities and their spiritual life. Linguistics has reached the point of studying language as an anthropological phenomenon and at this point solely linguistic analysis is not enough as it is insufficient to rely just on the traditional pattern including linguistics plus deep introspection or accidental, non-systematic knowledge taken from various humanities and sciences. It is suggested that anthropological “twist” in linguistics will let us overcome the long-running stage of spontaneous connection of the existing and potential linguistics. The article highlights the process of differentiation of linguistic approaches existing on the neighboring, but not identical, scientific platforms. At the same time the research conducted reveals the trend towards their convergence in the framework of the unified linguo-anthropological methodology. It is claimed that the defining role in this process belongs to linguocultural studies. The study deals with the basic principles of linguocultural approach. Various signs such as words, phraseological units and even the signs of the text size are used to identify the points of convergence between so similar, though not identical, branches - linguocultural studies and ethnolinguistics. The processes of interaction of mental structures and the language forms of their representation are explicated. Culturally marked signals in the semantics of language signs are identified and described.