THE CONCEPT OF FIRE IN LINGUOCULTUROLOGY: IMAGE-BEARING AND EVALUATIVE DIMENSIONS

Аннотация

This article explores the main approaches to the study of the concept including its content, structure and classification. The study primarily focuses on the concept “fire” providing its both denotational and connotational meanings in English. In this article, the interpretative field of the concept under study is structured by phraseological units, mythological elements, proverbs and quotations, each of which reveals its part. It further provides an overview of the conceptual metaphors regarding the concept “fire”. Keywords: concept, fire, classification, content, analyses, phraseological units, myth, quotations, proverbs, conceptual metaphors. Introduction. A concept is generally defined as a complex mental construct that constitutes a core element of an individual's worldview, bearing significance either at the level of personal linguistic identity or within the broader linguocultural community. As V.A. Maslova (2004, 2007) observes, conceptual formation is inherently influenced by an individual's emotional, physical, historical, personal, and social experiences acquired through the process of perceiving and interpreting the world. Within the framework of linguoculturology, several essential characteristics of concepts are identified: • they encapsulate structured knowledge about the external world; • they are inherently culturally and nationally specific; • they represent multidimensional mental entities composed of notional, figurative, and evaluative components; • they possess emotional and expressive qualities, often connected through associative networks. Scholars have proposed multiple classifications of concepts. One common typology distinguishes between concrete and abstract concepts, based on their degree of abstraction. Another classification, based on verbal representation, differentiates between verbalized and non-verbalized concepts. In this context, Popova and Sternin 136 SCIENCE SHINE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL Issue 14(49), Volume 1 | ISSN 3030-377X | 15.06.2025 (2002) introduce the terms sustainable (verbalized) and unsustainable (non- verbalized) to describe these respective categories. Verbalized concepts can be further differentiated along several dimensions: 1. Linguistic structure: including lexical, phraseological, grammatical, and syntactic forms (Babushkin, 1996; Vezhbitskaya, 2001; Alefirenko, 2002); as well as simple (single-word) and complex (multi-word) concepts (Schiffer & Steele, 1988); 2. Discourse context: such as everyday, scientific, or artistic discourse (Karasik, 1996; Askoldov, 1997). Artistic concepts may also be categorized based on conventionality, including general artistic types (e.g., archetypes), individual authorial constructs (idiotypes), and original authorial neologisms (Sergeeva, 2006; Ponomariov, 2008); 3. Transmission mode: including active and passive transmission, content stability (modifiable vs. non-modifiable), and translatability across linguistic and cultural boundaries (Karasik, 2004); 4. Sociocultural scope: encompassing universal, ethnic, civilizational, group-based (micro and macro), and individual concepts (Likhachev, 1997; Karasik, 1996). The Voronezh school of thought, led by Professor Z.D. Popova, offers a classification grounded in cognitive layering: a) Single-level concepts, limited to sensory experience; b) Multi-level concepts, involving multiple layers of cognitive abstraction; c) Segmented concepts, composed of a primary sensory base and supplementary layers of equal abstraction (Pavelenis, 2006, p. 34). Main part. The concept fire is ubiquitous and universal in all languages across the globe. Being one of the main sources of life on Earth, fire gave rise to many religious legends, rituals, myths and traditions. For instance, various religions view, represent and symbolize fire differently. More specifically, fire can be regarded as: 1. Punishment. Fire symbolizes hellfire and represents punishment for disbelievers and wrongdoers in Islam and Christianity. 2. Divine Presence. Fire symbolizes spiritual enlightenment and holiness in Christianity (Pentecost) and Judaism (burning bush). There exist some rituals where fire is used. In Hinduism, fire is regarded as a sacred element and purifier. Fire is worshipped directly. They worship Agni, fire god. Similar to Hinduism, in Zoroastrianism, fire is deemed as a divine light, as the manifestation of Ahura Mazda, a supreme god in this religion; hence, they maintain eternal flames in Fire Temples. 137 SCIENCE SHINE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL Issue 14(49), Volume 1 | ISSN 3030-377X | 15.06.2025 Alongside religious views and rituals, there are many traditions closely associated with fire. For example, in Hindu weddings, the bride and groom walk around sacred fire named Agni seven times so that sacred fire binds their vows and blesses the union. Similarly, based on ancient Turkic shamanistic and folk beliefs, in the villages of some Turkic nations, the bridge jumps over fire as it