ОЦЕНОЧНАЯ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИЯ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ В ЛЕКСИКО-ФРАЗЕОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ СИСТЕМЕ ЯЗЫКА

Introduction

The research deals with the problem of interrelation of language, consciousness and culture, correlation of linguistic and mental structures. When solving this problem we examine mechanisms of national-cultural stereotypes reflection in lexical and phraseological nomination, mechanisms of value guiding lines transmission, we reveal parameters of evaluative categorization of professional activity, and also determine discoursive peculiarities of evaluative sense formation (on the material of modern publicistic and fiction literature) and principles of harmonization of the conceptual systems of the Russian, British, American and Chinese when evaluating professional activity.

The research aims at revealing integrative mechanisms of evaluative conceptualization and categorization of professional activity in modern publicistic and fiction literature in Russian, English and Chinese.

Russian and foreign linguistics has elaborated cognitive conception of language, theory of interrelation of language and culture, cognitive semantics as theory of conceptualization and categorization that provides explanation of peculiarities of man's perception and comprehension of the surrounding world and representation of man's cognizing experience in linguistic units' meanings. The necessity of this scientific research is determined by controversy of the issues related to the studies of evaluative lexical and phraseological units semantics in different types of discourse, of correlation of this semantics and man's conceptual system and his/her peculiar categorization processes. Besides, at the current stage of development of philological knowledge the most promising direction is studying cognitive and communicative aspects of language in their interrelation and within interdisciplinary approach to the object. Our goal is to analyze integrative mechanisms of evaluative categorization of professional activity in modern publicistic and fiction literature (since 2000) in Russian, English and Chinese, to reveal salient for these linguocultures evaluative categories and value-sense guiding lines when evaluating professional activity. Understanding of regular patterns of evaluative senses formation and development in language about professional activity that reflect national value views of the world, gives an opportunity to fulfill competent and effective professional communication with foreign partners.

To reach our goal we've set four tasks in the research:

1) to justify the place and role of evaluative units in national-cultural cognition of professional activity; 2) to examine peculiarities of evaluative categorization of professional activity in lexis and phraseology from the point of national-cultural ideas and stereotypes; 3) on the basis of the analysis of lexical and phraseological units functioning in modern publicistic and artistic discourses to reveal mechanisms of development of new evaluative senses (with interrelation of everyday and professional types of knowledge) that reflect changes in people's mentality; 4) to juxtapose the results of evaluative categorization of professional activity which are characteristic of the Russian, English, American and Chinese linguocultures, with the purpose of harmonization of these ethnic groups’ conceptual systems when evaluating professional activity.

Methodological base of the research includes key theories of modern linguistics: theory of phraseological semantics (N.F. Alefirenko, A.M. Melerovich, V.M. Mokienko, V.N. Teliya, etc.), cognitive conception of language (E.S. Kubryakova, N.N. Boldyrev, V.Z. Demyankov, R. Jackendoff, G. Lakoff, E. Rosch, Ch. Fillmore, etc.), conception of interrelation of language and culture (Yu.S. Stepanov, V.V. Vorobyev, G.G. Slyshkin, S.G. Vorkachev, G.V. Tokarev, M.V. Pimenova, etc.). In the research in order to describe evaluative sense of the lexical and phraseological subsystems of language that are connected with perception of professional activity, from cognitive and linguoculturological points of view, to determine universal and ethnospecific characteristics of linguistic consciousness and communicative behavior when evaluating professional activity, we resort to using method of modeling, component analysis, conceptual analysis, method of linguistic description, method of frame analysis, method of discourse analysis.

Main findings

On the basis of modeling semantics of the Russian, English and Chinese lexical and phraseological units we’ve reconstructed and juxtaposed ethnocultural hermeneutical peculiarities of cogniotypes in the process of historic development of professional activity spheres.

In terms of the global spiritual and civilizational crisis there appears an acute necessity for applying to national-cultural values conserved in lexical and phraseological units. Correct dialogue with the past can actualize unique knowledge of the mankind that is not enough introspected and that is kept in language. On the basis of modeling of semantics of the Russian, English and Chinese lexical and phraseological units as peculiar means of linguistic conceptualization of evaluative knowledge we’ve reconstructed and juxtaposed parameters of evaluation of professional activity that are the most meaningful for the national cultures under analysis. These parametres are the following: worker’s zeal (responsibility), worker’s qualification, productivity (effectiveness) of work, complexity of work, quality of work, social value of work, time consumption, financial reward for the work done, creative approach to work, constructive character of work, relation to physical work. In most cases professional is evaluated according to these criteria, though there are specifications in shades of evaluative sense in different languages when perceiving this or that profession.

For example, in the research of the American point of view on the Chinese political elite we specify the evaluative category Worker’s zeal (responsibility). Here it implies responsibility and transparency/openness of professional activity. The Chinese are known by their diligence and serious approach to work:

At the time, we’d see Jiang Zemin talk or laugh loudly or take out his comb or say a few phrases of English, and we thought it was normal… But you don’t see any other Chinese leaders doing this. It’s only after Hu Jintao, who’s like a wooden board, and Xi Jinping, who’s very serious, that Jiang Zemin is suddenly remembered as having a lot of personality [The New York Times. Ridicule Turns to Affection as Chinese Social Media Embraces Jiang Zemin. 2015.10.20].

The American journalists consider the Chinese politicians be reserved, not showing their true intentions, tend to transform their name and personality into cult or myth:

A year and a half into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rule, who he is and what he wants remains something of a mystery [Foreign Affairs. Mao and Forever. 2014.06.03].

But anyway the Chinese politicians and civil servants are evaluated as very competent professionals by Western mass media, and by Eastern media as well:

“特别是在乡铮一级基层公务员是万能手.” (In the countryside in particular most civil servants are masters of all trades) [http://theory.people.com.cn/2014.04.15].

We’ve revealed dominant types of thinking and knowledge used in evaluative categorization of professional activity and cogniotypes that have been changing in the process of historical development of professional activity spheres. The research describes complex mutually-reverse character of interrelation of structures of everyday and professional knowledge in evaluative categorization of professional activity, evaluative metaconcept as a unit of secondary knowledge that is formed on the basis of conceptual derivation and metaphorical model of correlation of essences referring to different categories. In discoursive space we’ve analysed linguistic forms of nationally predetermined evaluative interpretation of professional activity. The analysis of the Russian, British, American and Chinese publicistic and fiction literature shows that metaphor and conceptual derivation underlying it are universal mechanisms in these linguocultures, with everyday knowledge as a dominant type of knowledge used in evaluative categorization of professional activity. In terms of the increasing cognitive complexity of the world and global processes of differentiation and integration of knowledge and activity it is especially important to reveal opportunities of optimization of everyday and professional communication taking into account universal and ethnocultural hermeneutical peculiarities.

The research first sets and reaches the goal of developing method of describing evaluative sense of lexical and phraseological units of Eastern and Western languages related to perception of professional activity, from cognitive and linguoculturological points of view. Integrative approach to the study of the category of evaluation in publicistic and artistic discourses allows to model evaluative knowledge about professional activity with parametrical system of the most important for the national cultures criteria of evaluation of professional activity within their value views of the world.

Elaborated theoretical-methodological basis for understanding the Russian, English and Chinese nominative units and texts allows to consider national peculiarities of evaluation of professional activity in scientific papers, at international meetings and in educational process.

The research aiming at revealing national peculiarities of evaluative conceptualization of professional activity in modern publicistic and fiction literature, develops ideas of cognitive semantics, theory of evaluative conceptualization and categorization. The result of the research is elaboration of cognitive-discoursive method of describing category of evaluation of professional activity; creation of theoretical-methodological basis for understanding the Russian, English and Chinese lexical and phraseological units, and also publicistic and artistic texts that reflect stereotypes of everyday and professional consciousness; development of typology of nominative units verbalizing cognitive guiding lines and priorities in different spheres of professional knowledge and activity; sociodynamic description of the units that reflect stereotypes of everyday and professional consciousness when evaluating professional activity.

Conclusion

Further application of the results of the research is the following. The results of the research allow to harmonize the conceptual systems of the representatives of national cultures of Russia, Great Britain, the USA, China, to optimize processes of intercultural cooperation, on the Eurasian territory in particular, on the basis of the revealed from the cognitive stance mechanisms of creation and development of evaluative sense about professional activity, interlingual and intralingual transmission of professional knowledge, conditions and factors of effective interrelation of professional activity subjects.

These results can be applied in projects aiming at forming images of professions in order to regulate labour market, in translation practice on political, economic, sociocultural, etc. issues, and also in educational process when teaching bachelors and masters in international relations and foreign region studies.