The THE CONCEPT “THAMES” IN THE ASPECT OF SECONDARY LINGUISTIC INTERPRETATION

Abstract

This article discusses the problem of individual interpretation of knowledge about the world by the author of a literary work in the process of cognition and reflection of the objective reality in language. The article supports the idea of an interpretive function of language as a cognitive activity. Language acts as an important tool for the author’s subjective interpretation of the world and knowledge of the world influencing the formation of meanings in the context of the work.

The article is aimed at analyzing linguistic interpretation of the factual knowledge in the content structure of the concept “THAMES” in the literary and regional work"Thames: Sacred River”by Peter Ackroyd with a focus on the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms of the author’s construction.

The methodology of the study is based on a functionally-representative analysis as a kind of conceptual analysis.

The received outcomes of the analysis consist of the following additional meanings about the Thames resulting from the author’s interpretation of the factual, i.e. collective (physical-geographical, hydrological, and temporal) information: the River Thames as a part and gift of the everlasting Nature has defensive-strategical, administrative-political, navigational, agricultural and historical-cultural significance and so becomes the main hero of the work with its origin, character, and role in the development of the country. Main cognitive and linguistic mechanisms and means of the secondary linguistic interpretation were revealed, analyzed, and grouped.

The scientific value and practical significance of the study are determined by the fact that the results of this study can become the basis for further in-depth analysis of the interpretative function of language, the materials of the work can serve as a methodological guide, as well as in the development of special courses on the interpretation of artistic discourse.