ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF ABSOLUTE AND REGULATORY CONCEPTS IN GERMAN LANGUAGE CULTURE

Abstract

The article deals with the role and functions of absolute and regulatory units in German ethno- and linguistic culture. It was found that the new semantic structures of a certain cultural paradigm are concepts of the linguistic picture of the world, its “cultural gene” (V. L. Ivashchenko). Concepts are the basic unit of “a person’s mental code, have an ordered internal structure, are the result of the cognitive (cognitive) activity of an individual and society” (A. Prikhodko). In order to understand the conceptual dominants of German ethnoculture, we apply the linguisticcultural approach, which interprets the concept as a semantic entity that has a marked conceptual system, a whole set of ideas about the subject and phenomena characteristic of representatives of a certain ethnic group. The analysis of the German language culture gives reasons to assert the dominance of two types of concepts – absolute and regulatory. Such concepts reflect the national picture of the world, are indicated by non-equivalent vocabulary, i.e. are characteristic of the carriers of a specific culture. The conceptual, figurative and value components of the key concepts GEMÜTLICHKEIT and SICHERHEIT are analyzed. It was observed that the semantic nuances of the lexeme gemütlich do not find analogues in English and French, which, according to the German phraseologist K. Kruger- Lorentzen, emphasizes the fact of the uniqueness of the concept and its significant value for German linguistic culture. The analysis of the synonyms of the key word GEMÜTLICHKEIT (more than twenty synonyms of the lexeme have been recorded) makes it possible to identify the differential features of this concept and is evidence of its multidimensionality. The concept has great value for German culture, as it belongs to the private spheres of life in society and actualizes the meanings of the inner state and emotional mood. The concept of SICHERHEIT is distinguished by a wide semantic field. Thus, six lexical-semantic variants of the name of the concept were recorded. More than forty synonyms of the lexeme are recorded in lexicographic sources. Determinative nouns for the sign of SICHERHEIT often nominate new concepts. The analysis of the lexical-semantic units of the discourse gives reason to assert the predominance of the sign of SICHERHEIT in the textual implementation, which covers all the principles of being – from the sphere of feelings, safe existence to the sphere of economic, social and political life. Therefore, the studied concepts have a significant value in the German linguistic culture and form a unique configuration, which is often the cause of inconsistencies in other languages.