Scholarly record

DYNAMICS OF VALUE SYSTEMS IN ANGLO-AMERICAN AND RUSSIAN CONCEPTUAL WORLD VIEWS: A TEMPORAL PERSPECTIVE

V. I. Zabotkina. M. Konnova

Abstract

The article analyzes complex cognitive mechanisms which underlie multiple changes that have affected value systems of English and Russian speaking communities throughout the centuries. It is assumed that values permeate conceptual world view at all its levels and changes in axiological system are bound to have far-reaching consequences – sometimes even posing a threat to the viability of a community. In the present paper changes in axiological underpinnings of Anglo-American and Russian world views are examined building on the example of socio-temporal concept of “everyday life”. The method employed is that of conceptual analysis, which is still viewed as quite authoritative and reliable. Drawing on diverse empirical data from the English and Russian languages the authors argue that general vector of everyday life perception dynamics is that of successive devaluation. The latter is thought to be caused by the shift of the concept’s basic reference value that might be prompted by universal cognitive mechanisms of metaphoric, metonymic and metaphtonymic mapping. Leading to a common result – elimination of some or all of the conceptual value features – the process of devaluation in each language has a number of unique characteristics. These culture-specific features reflect a direct correlation between main tendencies in temporal experience categorization and various non-linguistic factors.

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