Features of the formation of the linguistic picture of the world in the functional field of cognitive processes

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the cognitive mechanisms of human consciousness in the context of the linguistic picture of the world. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing interest of modern science in the problems of the relationship between language, thinking and culture. The purpose of the work is to identify the features of the functioning of cognitive processes underlying the formation of the linguistic picture of the world. The tasks include analyzing the role of language in the structuring and representation of knowledge, studying the mechanisms of categorization and conceptualization of reality, and considering the cultural conditionality of linguistic consciousness. The methodological basis of the research consists of cognitive, linguocultural and psycholinguistic approaches. The empirical material includes data from associative experiments conducted with native speakers of Russian (n=500), English (n=500) and Chinese (n=500) in the period 2020-2023. The results of the study indicate the presence of both universal and culturally specific features in the structure and content of the linguistic worldview. It is revealed that the processes of categorization and conceptualization of experience are mediated by linguistic meanings (correlation coefficient r=0.78, p<0.01). The relationship between the type of culture and the specifics of the associative-verbal network has been established (χ2=35.46, p<0.05). Differences were found in the ratio of the core and periphery of linguistic consciousness of representatives of the West and East (t=6.32, p<0.01). The data obtained contribute to understanding the mechanisms of interaction between language and thinking, expand the understanding of the role of the cultural factor in the processes of cognition and communication. Prospects for further study of national peculiarities of linguistic conceptualization of the world are outlined. The importance of comparative research in the field of ethnopsycholinguistics and linguocognitology is emphasized.