Да уж, простите, но так вышло что...:
In this thesis peculiarities of Russian linguistic picture of the world are considered. The way space is reflected in this very picture is analyzed, along with the space itself, in the framework of which a speaking person makes self-determination while claiming the confines of the space as safe for oneself, thus dividing the world on “US and THEM”.
Of great interest and importance nowadays is the idea to conduct research on the subject of “US”-to-“THEM” transfer, since all the space surrounding a person in the range from his or her house to deep space is divided, delineated, and bound by a variety of real or ideal borders that define safe and dangerous space for an individual. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate this very space transfer from “US” to “THEM”, alongside with the arising reconstruction of the opposition of “US” and “THEM” conditioned by modern cross-cultural communication, and to describe the relationships in this opposition.
Such notions and terms as linguistic picture of the world, concept, cognition, ethnicity and ethnic identification, basic national concept sphere, speaking person, language personality, ethnonym, space, and space conceptualization are examined in this research.
The thesis is written in accordance with the modern tendency to analyze a language as a system of signs reflecting national world images and frames in different situations of communication. Also this system functioning can be observed for a group of people (selected according to their social status, age, gender, and location) or for some minor situation formed by using words-ethnonyms “US – THEM”.
The peculiarities of these ethnonyms functioning in discourse are analyzed in a number of Russian language spheres, such as idioms, political discourse, journalism, and guitar poetry. The research results were verified in the process of the linguistic scientific experiment that included people from different social groups classified by their profession, age, place of living. The major focus is laid on the space aspect of this word opposition’s functioning and being represented in the Russian picture of the world and in communication.
In the political discourse analysis the word combination “our (own) land” plays a very important part, because it reflects the real conceptual meaning for Russians. It diverts the “US” vector towards the speaker and underlines the cultural component of the concept “US”, thus forming the image and defining the modern understanding of ethnonyms “US – THEM”.
The results of this research are represented in charts and schematic models.