The concept of “Bel Paese” in the light of Italian national and cultural identity
The article covers the expression «il bel paese» as an epitome of the cognitive concept of «motherland». The significance of the concept in the general concept sphere of the Italian language is revealed - the issue of the search for national identity for the Italian state is extremely important and throughout the history of its existence have been proposed various ways of uniting the people, including linguistic ones. The etymology of the linguistic concept reveals that originally it was a part of the title of a popular XIX century publication about the natural beauty of the country; the analysis of the semantics of the components shows that due to the vast range of interpretations for the adjective bello, it is possible to determine the real assessment of the subject of the utterance to the expression only in context. Contextual analysis based on a source "La Repubblica" reveals a set of stable features of the concept, which vary depending on the topic of the statement, the nature of the assessment, the lexical and grammatical means used. The concept of a "beautiful country", used in relation to the Italian state by its own citizens, can indicate a positive assessment of the speaker regarding various aspects: natural resources, cultural heritage, political and economic stability, tourist appeal. The meaning of the adjective bello in each individual case can change its meaning, conveying the material or spiritual beauty, approaching to the meaning of the words buono or bravo. On the other hand, in contexts of a different kind may show an obviously ironic use of the expression used to highlight weaknesses in politics, economics and the social sphere. The data obtained gives an idea of the modern process of searching for the national and cultural identity of Italy.