The concept soul in the English worldview (based on the monolingual lexicographic sources)

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Oles Honchar Dnipro National University

THE CONCEPT SOUL IN THE ENGLISH WORLDVIEW (BASED ON THE MONOLINGUAL LEXICOGRAPHIC SOURCES)

L.V. Repp

Annotation

concept soul english monolingual

The article focuses on the analysis of the concept soul in the English language based on the monolingual lexicographic sources. The research deals with the English monolingual dictionaries in order to shed some light on the issue of the concept soul from the point of view of the language. The aim of the investigation is to study certain English monolingual dictionaries to reveal the fixed definitions of the concept soul in various lexicographic sources and find out the cognitive features of the concept that is under research.

It should be stressed that the research is based on the seven monolingual lexicographic sources of the English language. Thus, the investigation deals with the following dictionaries, chosen for the research: Cambridge Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Macmillan Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, MerriamWebster Learner's Dictionary and Oxford English Dictionary.

The conducted investigation of the definitions of the concept soul, based on the monolingual lexicographic sources mentioned above, shows that the concept soul possesses ten different meanings that represent its cognitive features. Thus, these cognitive features form the structure of the concept soul, described in the field theory of the structure of concepts. It was discovered that the structure of the concept soul includes the core, the close periphery and the far periphery. The core consists of five cognitive features: 1) somebody's spirit; 2) a person; 3) a person of a stated type; 4) embodiment of special quality; 5) genre of music, whereas the close periphery includes four cognitive features: 1) sense of beauty; 2) a person's moral or emotional nature; 3) the culture of African-Americans 4) the central or most important part of something and the far periphery counts only one cognitive feature - a leading figure of something. It should be emphasized that the detailed analysis of the soul issue from the point of view of the English monolingual lexicographic sources proves the diversity of the cognitive features the concept soul represents.

Keywords: concept, soul, cognitive features, the structure of the concept, lexicographic sources, definition, the English language, dictionary.

Анотація

Л.В. Репп Дніпровський національний університет імені Олеся Гончара

КОНЦЕПТ ДУША В АНГЛОМОВНІЙ КАРТИНІ СВІТУ (НА МАТЕРІАЛІ ОДНОМОВНИХ ЛЕКСИКОГРАФІЧНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ)В статті досліджується концепт душа в англійській мові на основі одномовних лексикографічних джерел. Для аналізу було використано англійські одномовні словники, щоб визначити специфіку концепту душа з точки зору мови. Мета дослідження - вивчити певні англійські одномовні словники для того щоб виявити зафіксовані визначення концепту душа в різних лексикографічних джерелах та з'ясувати когнітивні особливості концепту який досліджується.

Варто зазначити, що для дослідження було відібрано сім одномовних лексикографічних джерел англійської мови. Таким чином, аналіз проводився з використанням таких словників: Кембриджський словник, словник англійської мови Коллінза, словник сучасної англійської мови Лонгмена, словник Макміллана, словник Мерріам-Вебстер, студентський словник Мерріам-Вебстер та Оксфордський словник англійської мови.

Дослідження визначень концепту душа, проведене на матеріалі вказаних вище одномовних лексикографічних джерелах, показує, що концепт душа має десять різних значень, які відображають його когнітивні ознаки. Таким чином, ці когнітивні ознаки формують структуру концепту душа, описану в польовій теорії структури концептів. Отже, структура концепту душа складається з ядра, ближньої периферії та дальньої периферії. До ядра входять п'ять когнітивних ознак: 1) дух; 2) особа; 3) особа певного типу; 4) втілення особливої якості; 5) жанр музики; близька периферія включає чотири когнітивні ознаки: 1) почуття краси; 2) моральну чи емоційну натуру людини; 3) культуру афроамериканців; 4) центральну або найважливішу частина чогось, а дальня периферія налічує лише одну когнітивну ознаку - провідну фігуру чогось. Варто зазначити, що детальний аналіз концепту душа з точки зору англійських одномовних лексикографічних джерел показує різноманітність когнітивних особливостей, які представляє досліджуваний концепт.

Ключові слова: концепт, душа, когнітивні ознаки, структура концепту, лексикографічні джерела, визначення, англійська мова, словник.

Аннотация

Л.В. Репп Днепровский национальный университет имени Олеся Гончара

КОНЦЕПТ ДУША В АНГЛОЯЗЫЧНОЙ КАРТИНЕ МИРА (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ ОДНОЯЗЫЧНЫХ ЛЕКСИКОГРАФИЧЕСКИХ ИСТОЧНИКОВ)

Исследование сосредоточено на анализе концепта душа в английском языке на материале одноязычных лексикографических источников. Для анализа были использованы английские одноязычные словари, чтобы изучить концепт душа с точки зрения языка. Цель исследования - изучение определенных англоязычных словарей для того чтобы выяснить зафиксированные определения концепта душа в различных лексикографических источниках и выявить когнитивные характеристики исследуемого концепта.

Стоит отметить, что для исследования было отобрано семь одноязычных лексикографических источников английского языка. Таким образом, анализ проводился с использованием таких словарей: Кембриджский словарь, словарь английского языка Коллинза, словарь современного английского языка Лонгмена, словарь Макмиллана, словарь Мерриам-Вебстер, словарь для студентов Мерриам-Вебстер и Оксфордский словарь английского языка.

Исследование определений концепта душа, проведенное с использованием упомянутых выше одноязычных лексикографических источников, показывает, что концепт душа обладает десятью различными значениями, которые представляют его когнитивные характеристики. Таким образом, эти когнитивные характеристики формируют структуру концепта душа, упомянутую в полевой теории структуры концептов. Следует отметить, что структура концепта душа состоит из ядра, ближней периферии и дальней периферии. Ядро состоит из пяти когнитивных характеристик: 1) дух; 2) человек; 3) лицо указанного типа; 4) воплощение особого качества; 5) жанр музыки. Тогда как ближняя периферия включает в себя четыре когнитивные характеристики: 1) чувство прекрасного; 2) нравственную или эмоциональную природу человека; 3) культуру афроамериканцев. 4) центральную или наиболее важную часть чего-либо, а дальняя периферия имеет только одну когнитивную характеристику - ведущей фигуры чего-либо. Таким образом, детальный анализ концепта душа с точки зрения английских одноязычных лексикографических источников доказывает разнообразие когнитивных характеристик, которые представляет собой концепт душа.

Ключевые слова: концепт, душа, когнитивные характеристики, структура концепта, лексикографические источники, дефиниция, английский язык, словарь.

Introduction

It should be noted that despite the fact that a lot of philosophers, researchers and scientists [1, 6, 11, 12] consider and clarify the phenomenon of concepts in their studies, this problem is still under research and requires further investigation to reveal the issue from different points of view.

According to some scientists [1, 6, 11, 12], language does not form concepts, but serves as a means of their exchange in the process of communication. Concepts exist in the real mentality of a person, thus, to communicate they have to be verbalized, that is, to be expressed by language means. It is obvious that the study of concepts in all its aspects has been one of the most important research directions in linguistics in recent years.

The article is dedicated to the deep and detailed analysis of the concept soul in the English worldview from the point of view of the language. In addition, it should be emphasized that the analysis of the concept soul is based on the English monolingual lexicographic sources [2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9].

The aim of the research is to study certain English monolingual dictionaries [2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9] in order to reveal the fixed definitions of the concept soul in various lexicographic sources and find out its cognitive features. The objectives of the investigation are to study the definitions of the concept soul, find out the common and peculiar cognitive features of the concept soul, and build the structure of the concept soul using the field theory of the structure of concepts [10].

The materials of the research are seven monolingual lexicographic sources of the English language: Cambridge Dictionary [2], Collins English Dictionary [3], Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [4], Macmillan Dictionary [5], Merriam-Webster Dictionary [7], Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary [8] and Oxford English Dictionary [9].

It should be mentioned that in order to reach the aim of the research the following methods were used: the descriptive method, the comparative analysis, the constructive method, the cognitive analysis.

Having analyzed the lexicographic sources mentioned above, it should be stressed that the maximum number of definitions that the notion soul owns is ten and the minimum - six.

It should be emphasized that Collins English Dictionary [3] presents the greatest number of definitions of the concept soul. In total the number of definitions that is fixed in the dictionary is ten: 1) the spirit or immaterial part of human beings, the seat of human personality, intellect, will, and emotions, regarded as an entity that survives the body after death; 2) the essential part or fundamental nature of anything; 3) a person's feelings or moral nature as distinct from other faculties; 4) a type of Black music resulting from the addition of jazz, gospel, and pop elements to the urban blues style; 5) of or relating to Black Americans and their culture; 6) nobility of spirit or temperament; 7) an inspiring spirit or leading figure, as of a cause or movement; 8) a person regarded as typifying some characteristic or quality; 9) a person, individual; 10) spiritual or emotional warmth, force, or evidence of this. Moreover, it should be mentioned that the definition an inspiring spirit or leading figure, as of a cause or movement was found only in this lexicographic source.

The next stage of the research is based on the analysis of the soul definitions given in Oxford English Dictionary [9]. The dictionary presents eight definitions of the concept soul that coincide with the ones found in Collins English Dictionary. However, it should be stated that such definitions as a leading figure of something and the central or most important part of something are not fixed in Oxford English Dictionary. The definitions presented in this lexicographic source are as follows:

1) The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.

2) A person's moral or emotional nature or sense of identity. 3) Emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, especially as revealed in a work of art or an artistic performance. 4) Black American culture or ethnic pride. 5) Music. 6) The essence or embodiment of a specified quality. 7) An individual person. 8) A person regarded with affection or pity.

Furthermore, Merriam-Webster Learner's dictionary [8] counts eight definitions of the concept soul that coincide with the definitions found in Collins English Dictionary but the soul's relation to Black American's culture and the definition of an inspiring spirit or leading figure are not fixed in MerriamWebster Learner's dictionary: 1) the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever; 2) a person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature; 3) a human being; 4) a person of a certain type; 5) a quality that gives emotional force and effectiveness to a performance, a work of art; 6) soul music; 7) a person who has a lot of a particular quality; 8) the central or most important part of something that makes it effective, valuable.

Dealing with Merriam-Webster Dictionary [7], seven definitions of the concept soul have been counted. The dictionary does not reveal the concept soul as a leading figure of something, a person of a stated type, sense of beauty. Thus, only seven definitions coincide with ones mentioned in the dictionaries above: 1) the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe; 2) a person's total self, person; 3) personification; 4) an active or essential part of something; 5) the moral and emotional nature of human beings: the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment; spiritual or moral force; 6) a strong positive feeling (as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor) conveyed especially by African American performers; cultural consciousness and pride among people of African heritage; 7) soul music.

To continue the idea it should be mentioned that Cambridge Dictionary [2] also gives seven definitions of the concept soul but three definitions fixed in the dictionaries mentioned above were not found in Cambridge Dictionary. Thus, soul as a leading figure of something, soul as the central or most important part of something and soul as a person's moral or emotional nature are not shown in this dictionary but the others are similar to ones discussed before and they are as follows: 1) the spiritual part of a person that some people believe continues to exist in some form after their body has died, or the part of a person that is not physical and experiences deep feelings and emotions; 2) the quality of a person or work of art that shows or produces deep good feelings; 3) popular music that expresses deep feelings, originally performed by Black Americans; 4) a person of a stated type; 5) soul can also mean any person, and is usually used in negative statements; 6) a deep understanding of and being proud of the culture of black people (African - Americans); 7) If you say that someone is the soul of a quality, you mean the person has that quality in a high degree.

Macmillan Dictionary [5] also presents seven definitions of the concept soul: 1) the part of a person that is capable of thinking and feeling, the spiritual part of a person that most religions believe continues to exist after their body dies; 2) a person;

3) a particular type of person; 4) a quality in a piece of art, music, or writing that expresses strong feelings and affects people's emotions; 5) the ability to feel strong emotions such as happiness and sadness; 6) the qualities that are typical of something and make it special; 7) a type of African-American music that developed in the 1960s, combining R & B with pop, rock 'n' roll, and gospel styles. Soul music usually has a strong beat and places emphasis on singing. It is often simply called soul. However, the following three definitions: Black American's culture, an inspiring spirit or leading figure and the central or most important part of something, revealed in the lexicographic sources mentioned before, are not given in Macmillan Dictionary.

At the final stage of the research, it should be mentioned that Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [4] clarifies the matte of soul, giving six definitions of this phenomenon that coincide with the definitions previously found and discussed: 1) the part of a person that is not physical, and that contains their character, thoughts, and feelings; 2) used to mean a person; 3) used in particular phrases to mean a certain type of a person; 4) a type of popular music that often expresses deep emotions, usually performed by black singers and musicians; 5) sense of beauty: the ability to be emotionally affected by art, music, literature; the quality that affects people emotionally, that a painting, piece of music has; 6) the special quality or part that gives something its true character. It should be noted that the following four definitions: reference to Black American's culture, an inspiring spirit or leading figure, the central or most important part of something and a person's moral or emotional nature are not mentioned in the dictionary.

Results and discussions

The detailed analysis of the definitions of the concept soul in the studied lexicographical sources [2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9] allows the researcher to find out five key cognitive features of the concept soul that coincide in all the lexicographic sources mentioned above and, thus, form the core of the concept soul.

Thus, the first definition, mentioned in all the dictionaries used for the research, means somebody's spirit, that is, the soul is the spiritual part of a person that is not physical, and that contains their character, thoughts, and feelings. Many people believe that a person's soul continues to exist in some form after their body has died. The following examples, taken from Cambridge Dictionary: She suffered greatly while she was alive, so let us hope her soul is now at peace [2], Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: the immortality of the soul [4] and Oxford English Dictionary: Even though our bodies die, we are made in the image of God, and thus we have souls that are immortal [9] allow the researcher to illustrate the first and the key cognitive feature of the concept being studied.

Having analyzed all the lexicographic sources under study, it can be stated that the soul can also be used in the meaning of an individual person. At this point it must be stressed that in this meaning three different subdivisions can be specified, they are: a person, no one and number of people. The following examples found in the analyzed dictionaries prove the idea better: the soul as an embodiment of a single person - I promise I won't tell a soul [5]. Some poor soul was asking for handouts on the street [8], soul as no one: There wasn't a soul to be seen [5]. The night was dark and still, and there was not a soul in sight [4]. I've never harmed a soul in my life [3]. There was not a soul there [3], soul in plural as number of people: a village of two or three hundred souls [4]. But among the candidates are 27 individual brave souls who are not affiliated to any party [9].

All the studied lexicographical sources highlight that the soul can describe a person of a stated type. Example sentences, withdrawn from Cambridge Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford English Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary and Macmillan Dictionary present a wide range of situations to research the concept soul in this meaning: She's a happy little soul [2]. Some poor soul hadfallen 500 metres to their death [2]. He is really quite a sensitive soul [4]. Her husband was killed in the war, poor soul [5]. Josie was a gentle soul who was highly regarded by his neighbours [9]. As a youth, I was a friendly soul, palling around with all and sundry [9]. He's a jolly soul [3].

It should also be mentioned that the soul concept can be used as an embodiment of specified quality. For example: He was the soul of discretion [9]. In public, at least, Kirk, who lives close to the Wight memorial in Thirsk, is the soul of diplomacy, maintaining that the amateur route will eventually reap dividends [9]. He is the soul of integrity [8]. I promise I'll be the soul of discretion [8].

The research allows us to state that the soul can be used to refer to music, especially a type of popular music that often expresses deep emotions, usually performed by Black Americans. The following context sentences demonstrate the usage of the soul matter as reference to the music genre: Promising more of his signature mix of rock, soul andfolk music, the album is also said to venture into new territory, while journeying back to explore some of his roots [9]. My favorite types of music are jazz and soul [8]. He is regarded by critics as the greatest soul singer of his generation [3]. Soul music is often an affirmation of, and a manifesto for, black dignity [2]. He listens to a lot of soul [4].

According to the field theory of the structure of concepts [10] a certain concept may include core, close periphery and far periphery. As it was mentioned above, five common cognitive features form the core of the concept soul. However, the analysis of the seven monolingual lexicographic sources shows that the concept soul also has close and far peripheries.

It should be highlighted that all the dictionaries chosen for the investigation with the exception of Merriam-Webster Dictionary demonstrate that the concept soul has the cognitive feature of the sense of beauty, meaning the ability to be emotionally affected by art, music, literature or the quality that affects people emotionally, that a painting, piece of music can have. The following examples demonstrate this cognitive feature of the concept soul: My brother thinks that anyone who doesn't like poetry has no soul [4]. Her performance was technically perfect, but it lacked soul [4]. His poetry contains many beautiful images, but it lacks soul [5]. If you can't enjoy this music you've got no soul [2]. Lacking in intensity and soul, the album comes off as a bland mix of all things electronic - in this cafe only decaf is on the menu [9]. He's a skillful performer, but his music lacks soul [8]. A cold painting, without soul [3]. Thus, the cognitive feature the sense of beauty can be referred to the close periphery of the concept soul rather than to the core as it was found out in the six out of the seven lexicographic sources.

It should be emphasized that the second cognitive feature of the concept soul represented as a person's moral or emotional nature can also be referred to the close periphery of the concept as it was found out in the five out of the seven lexicographic sources. This cognitive feature can be illustrated with some examples mentioned in the analyzed dictionaries: In the depths of her soul, she knew he would betray her [9]. Mothering is a journey we experience with our whole selves: our senses, our souls, our emotions, our minds [9]. It's happy music, but it comes from our souls, from our emotional scars [9]. These images, this news, does something to us, eats away at our souls and sense of hope for the world [9]. It was as if those grey eyes could see into the very depths of her soul [4]. I felt my soul rebel against the injustice [7]. The restlessness deep in his soul [4]. He could not escape the guilt that he felt in the inner recesses of his soul [8]. If you 're not touched by this film, you 've no soul [5].

The third cognitive feature that can be referred to the close periphery is the reference to the culture of African-Americans that was discovered due to Collins English Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary and Cambridge Dictionary.

Furthermore, the fourth cognitive feature that is on the close periphery is the central or most important part of something revealed in Collins English dictionary, Merriam-Webster Learner's and Merriam-Webster dictionary: Honesty is the very soul of any good relationship [8]. Our employees are the heart and soul of our company [8]. Daniel Boone, soul of the frontier [3]. He was the soul of the campaign [7]. The loss of local shops has destroyed the soul of the community [5].

Moreover, it must be stated that the concept soul has only one cognitive feature - a leading figure of something - that can be referred to the far periphery as this feature was revealed only due to Collins English Dictionary.

Thus, the investigation shows that four cognitive features can be referred to the close periphery and only one cognitive feature is on the far periphery.

At the final stage of the research, all the found and received results of the investigation are diagrammatically represented in Figure 1 “The structure of the concept SOUL ”.

Figure 1 “The Structure of the concept SOUL”

In conclusion, it is reasonable to present the results of the research. Thus, having investigated the definitions of the concept soul on the base of seven monolingual lexicographic sources of the English language, it can be stated that the concept soul may possess ten different meanings that represent its cognitive features. Moreover, these cognitive features have been illustrated with the examples taken from the dictionaries used for the research. Thus, the field structure of the concept soul includes the core, the close periphery and the far periphery. The core consists of five cognitive features: 1) somebody's spirit; 2) a person; 3) a person of a stated type; 4) embodiment of special quality; 5) genre of music, the close periphery of the concept soul includes four cognitive features: 1) sense of beauty; 2) a person's moral or emotional nature; 3) the culture of African-Americans 4) the central or most important part of something and the far periphery counts only one cognitive feature - a leading figure of something. The diagrammatic representation of the structure of the concept soul is given above in Figure 1“The Structure of the concept SOUL”.

To sum up, it has to be highlighted that the completed analysis of the concept soul from the point of view of the English monolingual lexicographic sources helps to clarify the complexity of the studied concept, gives good reasons to reveal the cognitive peculiar features of the conceptualized lexeme soul and explains the diversity of situations where the concept soul can be used as a cognitive conceptualized element of the language.

References

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3. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/soul

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5. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. [Електронний ресурс]. Режим доступу: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/soul

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