THE NOTION OF CONCEPT IN CULTURAL LINGUISTICS: HISTORY, STRUCTURE, CLASSIFICATION
The notion of concept, one of the key notions of cultural linguistics, is considered in the article. The authors give a detailed analysis of the concept research history in the contemporary-day linguistics. The main goal of this article is to represent the concept as a primary notion of contemporary -day cultural linguistics. To reach the aforementioned goal, the authors have described the development history as well main research priorities of conceptology, i.e. the branch of cultural linguistics studying the history and structure of concepts. The results of the analysis carried out by the article authors show that in cultural linguistics the language is regarded as one of the primary ways and sources of formation of the basic intellection units (concepts) in the person’s mind. Besides that, the concept is a multi-dimensional mental formation leading to a multitude of various approaches to the definition thereof. A concept is peculiar of a strict logical organization as well as certain specifics; therefore it comprises both formal and meaning-oriented structure elements, making it close to the person’s worldview and mentality as well as culture and history. It is via the conceptual sphere that the word becomes a part of linguistic worldview and correlates with other linguistic units. The category of concept is primary in terms of the linguistic description of the person’s worldview. Besides all the aforementioned factors, the concept form a part of the nation’s cultural heritage, since they are based on its cultural experience as well as the results of the nation’s perception of the environment.