VERBALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT OF ABSENСE IN MODERN ENGLISH

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the ways of expressing and representing the concept of ABSENCE in modern English. The article analyses how this concept is reflected in different linguistic forms and contexts, studies the lexical means by which the concept of absence is verbalised in English. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the peculiarities of verbalisation of the universal concept of ABSENCE. The object of the analysis is the concept of ABSENCE, the subject of the study is its semantic and axiological features. The research material was based on 5 well-known English-language explanatory dictionaries. The methods of etymological analysis, which made it possible to identify the primary semantic characteristics of the ABSENCE concept; analysis of lexicographic sources, which allowed to form the first idea of the concept and the means of its expression; the method of semantic analysis, which helped to identify the conceptual features of the studied concept were used. The study examines the etymology of the English lexical unit nominating the ABSENCE concept, analyses the interpretation of the words representing the ABSENCE concept on the basis of dictionaries of the modern English language, identifies the main conceptual meanings and axiological characteristics of the analysed concept. It has been established that the universal, abstract concept ABSENCE in modern English is a multifaceted, semantically voluminous concept; it is verbalised with the help of the noun absence and the adjective absent. According to its etymological meaning, it developed as the absence or lack of presence. The ABSENCE concept is cognitively more negatively labelled. Based on the analysis of dictionary entries, the following features of the ABSENCE concept have been identified: existential absence, temporary absence, spatial absence, inaccessibility (unattainability), lack, lack of possession. We see the prospect of further research in the comparative analysis of the verbalisation of the concept of ABSENCE/ABSENSE in Ukrainian and English languages. The practical value of the research results lies in the possibility of using its materials and results in the development of theoretical and practical courses on the problems of general linguistics, cognitive linguistics, discourse studies, linguistic and cultural studies. The materials of the study can be reflected in lexicography in the compilation of cognitive dictionaries of basic concepts.