The word nettle as a culturally marked linguistic unit

Abstract

Plant names (phytonyms) are associated with the symbolisation of mankind’s achievements in cognitive studies. The primary function of these lexical units is referential. However, many of them contain additional semantic characteristics in addition to the main (referential) meaning. They perform expressive and cumulative cultural functions reflecting the specific mentality of a particular nation. Some phytonyms have strong national cultural connotations and deserve special attention. For example, one such word is the lexeme nettle. The paper aims to reveal the cultural connotations of this lexical unit. We consider the word nettle as a unit of the Russian lexicon and an object traditionally used in the Russian people’s customs as well as a characteristic element of the Russian oral tradition. The analysis enables us to conclude that the word nettle in Russian has a neutral referential "botanical" meaning, but at the same time it contains extremely negative national cultural connotations. These are most actively manifested in phraseology and folklore texts.