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Ambiguity is inherent to everyday human communication. It implies that there are two distinct senses assigned to one acoustic form. This research aims to contribute to an integrated interdisciplinary theory of ambiguity as a cognitive phenomenon and identify conceptual mechanisms underlying it. To this end, a variety of empirical and theoretical research methods, including referential analysis (understood in a broader sense as referring to a particular cognitive context used for disambiguation) are employed for th...

Based on current security risks developed countries of the world have defined critical infrastructure as an asset or system whose disruption or destruction should have adverse effect on the performance of economic and social functions of the state, and thus on the quality of life of residents in terms of the protection of their life, health, security, property, as well as the environment. The objective need to ensure protection and defence of important national infrastructure assets against traditional threats suc...

In their study of polysemy, the authors build on the principle of cross-disciplinarity and resort to the methods of conceptual analysis and conceptual modelling in linguistic research. The authors focus on the notion of conceptual structure and analyse the role of different conceptual attributes in word sense formation. The article shows that conceptual attributes have a different status and play different roles in the structure of the concept associated with a sense of a polysemous word. Conceptual attributes var...

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 bu...

The study deals with the cognitive approach to investigation of conceptual metaphors in speeches of American presidents. According to G. Lakoff, conceptual metaphors are cognitive mechanisms that structure the perception of socio-political reality in the minds of population. Conceptual metaphors, used by a particular president, form the scope of key concepts crucial to balancing negative and positive in minds of people. Investigation of these mechanisms within a considerable period of time provided new data for co...