Paremiological representation of concept “Word” (in the English, Russian and Uzbek Languages)

The aim of this article is to study the national-cultural specifics of the concept Word and peculiarities of its verbalization on the material of paremiological units of the English, Russian and Uzbek languages. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the identification of the specific features of the verbalization of the image-bearing and evaluative components of the concept Word in the languages under consideration. The image-bearing component of the concept Word in each language is represented by metaphorical nominations, which, according to the way of reflecting cognitive thinking, are subdivided into objective, natural, ornithological and anthropomorphic. The evaluative component of the concept Word is characterized by the accentuation of evaluative component, which expressing cognitive-conceptual signs of a positive and negative character, forms the conceptual space of axiological dominants, a set of which forms a certain conceptosphere topical for a particular culture and gives opportunity of revealing the national identity of each linguoculture under consideration. As a result of the comparative and cross-cultural analysis of cognitive-conceptual features identified at the level of proverbial units, universal and national-specific features of the verbalization of the concept Word were determined. National and cultural specifics of the concept Word is determined by the peculiarities of the national perception of this concept by the representatives of the studied linguocultures in accordance with their axiological dominants. Analyzed units were compared according to the followings: a) metaphorical nominations and cognitive-conceptual features (image-bearing, evaluative) expressed by them; b) according to the degree of representation of cognitive-conceptual features in each of the languages under consideration; c) by the thematic relevance of the identified cognitive-conceptual features; d) on the basis of the presence/absence of cognitive-conceptual features in a particular linguistic culture.

Radical Islam in the Western Academy

Scholarly interest in radical Islam is long-standing and crosses multiple disciplines. Yet, while the labelling of Islam and Muslim actors as ‘radical’ is extensive, this has not been interrogated as a particular scholarly practice. And while studies of non-Western radicalism have grown in recent years, cross-cultural analysis of radicalism as a particular concept in political thought has been neglected. This article aims to begin to address this question, with reference to radical Islam. By treating radicalism as a meta-concept, it identifies radical Islam as a malleable and composite category that is constituted by, and made legible through, conceptual properties associated with four discourses in the study of radicalism with origins in the Western academy: Euro-radicalism, identified with the European left and critical theory; fundamentalism; radicalisation; and liberalism. I argue that radical Islam is under-theorised and over-determined as a scholarly category. This can be explained by how concepts originating in the Western academy to address Western contexts and phenomena function as master frameworks, narratives, or pivots against or around which radical Islam is defined. This is the case even when Eurocentrism is contested by critical theorists who tend to reproduce it because they do not abandon Western conceptions of radicalism but rather draw on them. Academic accounts of radical Islam also authenticate Islam by advancing selective, strategic or apologetic descriptions of what constitutes radicalism. In these ways, critical scholarship, including within IR, can also be insufficiently attentive to marginal and heterodox voices that fall outside hegemonic conceptions of Islamic normativity.

Ideology and Culture

In this chapter, cross-cultural psychology is discussed in relation to the influence of ideology and culture on journalism. As a case study, a cross-cultural analysis of media systems is reported. One major finding is that in countries in which media have a strong public service mandate and public broadcasting systems, there is a better quality of news provision and a higher level of informed and engaged citizenry. Particular attention is given to the research of Hofstede, who has identified six major dimensions for cross-cultural analysis, and that of Schwartz (1992), who has identified value dimensions with universal meaning (e.g., security, happiness, and benevolence). Social identity theory is also considered, illustrated by the way in which the media may create and foster an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality. In conclusion, the chapter affirms that there is no one nation which holds the gold standard for journalism and can be used as a reference point for all others.

Cross-Cultural Component in the Works of Dagestan Russian-Speaking Authors as a Teaching Subject

Cross-cultural analysis has firmly taken its place in linguistics, while the novelty of the term is relative: we are dealing with a new definition of what was meant by the concept of ethnolinguistics, linguistics, and cultural studies. In literary studies, cross-cultural analysis is a new term for culturological comparative studies, i.e. an analysis from the point of view of the "dialogue of cultures", which makes it possible to single out the national images of the world. The aim of the present research was to study the cross-cultural component in the works of the national authors of Dagestan who write in Russian. The study featured Russian-language poetic texts created by Dagestan authors and how they reflect the national identity of the author. Cross-cultural analysis relies on the idea about universal cultural patterns. As a result, Dagestan Russian-language literature can be interpreted as a set of national works written in Russian. Literary text as a role model plays a fundamental role in language acquisition. Reading fiction allows language learners to move away from standardized teaching texts and immerse into the "living" language. While studying a foreign work of art, the learner touches upon both linguistics and culture: it provides information about the social and cultural structure of a foreign community. A positive aspect of using literary texts for educational purposes makes it possible to learn more about the culture of the people, since the texts always reflect the language in its historical, social, and cultural context.