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THE CONCEPT OF FIRE IN LINGUOCULTUROLOGY: IMAGE-BEARING
AND EVALUATIVE DIMENSIONS
Tairova Shahnoza Bahromovna
O‘zbekiston
Davlat Jahon Tillari Universiteti, ingliz tili
o‘qituvchisi
Abstract:
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
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(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.
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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 is believed fire
banishes evil curses from the bride, so it means the purification of the bride.
The concept fire is witnessed in Greek Mythology, too where it symbolizes
knowledge, rebellion and civilization. According to the myth, Prometheus, ancient
Greek Titan, steals fire from the gods in order to give it to humanity.
The initial stage of linguistic analysis of any concept involves examining its
notional component through a thorough study of its dictionary meanings.
According to Cambridge Advanced
Learner’s
Dictionary, fire folds the
following definitions:
1.
Flames (noun)
–
the state of burning that produces flames which send
out heat and light, and might produce smoke
2.
Emotion (noun)
–
strong emotion
3.
Excite (verb)
–
to cause a strong emotion in someone
4.
Heat (verb)
–
to heat objects made of clay in a kiln (= a special oven) so
that they become hard
From the linguistic perspective, the concept fire embodies a wide variety of
lexical and phraseological forms such as collocations, idioms, proverbs, sayings,
quotations as well as aphorisms. Below the image bearing and evaluative components
of the concept fire on the basis of phraseological units are illustrated:
Collocations. There are a multitude of collocations containing the term fire
which are grouped according with some particular grammatical patterns.
Verb + fire combinations: start a fire, light a fire, fight a fire, build a fire, set fire
to something, catch fire, fan the fire.
Adjective + fire combinations: deadly fire, blazing fire, raging fire, devastating
fire, electrical fire, friendly fire, open fire.
Fire + noun combinations: fire alarm, fire fighter, fire station, fire drill, fire
extinguisher, fire engine, fire hazard, fire brigade, fire escape, fire plug, fire truck.
Noun + fire combinations: house fire, kitchen fire, forest fire, bush fire, gas fire.
These collocations manifest both positive and negative evaluations and they are
demonstrated in the table vividly:
Positive
Light a fire, fight a fire, build a fire, blazing fire,
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evaluations
fire fighter, fire station, fire drill, fire extinguisher, fire
truck, fire engine, fire brigade, fire escape
Negative
evaluations
Start a fire, set fire to something, catch fire, fan the
fire, deadly fire, raging fire, devastating fire, electrical
fire, friendly fire, open fire, fire hazard, house fire,
kitchen fire, forest fire, bush fire
Neutral
evaluations
Fire alarm, fire plug, gas fire
Idioms and figurative expressions. The English lexica are rich for idiomatic
expressions featuring the word fire. These are as follows: play with fire, fight fire
with fire, come under fire, add fuel to the fire, trial by fire, in the line of fire, baptism
by fire, fire and brimstone, go through fire and water.
Positive
evaluations
Trial by fire, baptism by fire, go through fire and
water
Negative
evaluations
Play with fire, come under fire, add fuel to the fire,
fire and brimstone, in the line of fire
Neutral
evaluations
Fight fire with fire
Proverbs. There are also numerous proverbs which lie traditional wisdom and
moral lessons. The most common ones are the following:
Don’t
play with fire. Where
there’s
smoke, there is fire. No smoke without fire. Fire is a good servant but a bad
master.
Negative
evaluations
Don’t
play with fire. Where
there’s
smoke, there is
fire. No smoke without fire.
Neutral
evaluations
Fire is a good servant but a bad master.
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Sayings. Sayings also exist which feature the concept fire such as set the world
on fire, like a moth to a fire, old flames die hard, if you play with fire, you will get
burnt, to pull someone out of the fire or to have a fire in your belly.
Positive
evaluations
set the world on fire, you will get burnt, to pull
someone out of the fire, to have a fire in your belly
Negative
evaluations
like a moth to a fire, if you play with fire, you will
get burnt
Neutral
evaluations
old flames die hard
Quotations. It is no noteworthy that there are a great number of remarkable
quotations about fire by prominent literary figures featuring a mix of literary,
philosophical and poetic sources such as:
“Education
is not the filling of a pail, but
the lighting of a
fire”
(William Butler Yeats),
“To
learn to read is to light a fire; every
syllable that is spelled out is a
spark”
(Victor Hugo),
“A
spark neglected makes a
mighty
fire”
(Robert Herrick), Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable
spark…”
(Ayn Rand),
“What
matters most is how well you walk through the
fire”
(Charles Bukowski).
Positi
ve
evaluations
“Education
is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a
fire”
(William Butler Yeats),
“To
learn to read is to light a fire;
every syllable that is spelled out is a
spark”
(Victor Hugo), Do not
let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable
spark…”
(Ayn Rand),
“What
matters most is how well you walk through the
fire”
(Charles Bukowski).
Negat
ive
evaluations
“A
spark neglected makes a mighty
fire”
(Robert Herrick)
The concept fire possesses a multitude of conceptual metaphors to reveal its
unique complex structure. They are as follows:
1.
FIRE IS EMOTION
Example: He exploded in a fiery rage.
2.
FIRE IS LOVE
Example: the fire of love
3.
FIRE IS CREATIVITY
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Example: She sparked a resolution in thought.
4.
FIRE IS MOTIVATION
Example: Fuel your dreams.
5.
FIRE IS DESTRUCTION
Example: He is playing with fire.
6.
FIRE IS TRANSFORMATION/PURIFICATION
Example: Trial by fire
7.
FIRE IS SPIRIT
Example:
Don’t
let your fire go out.
8.
FIRE IS ENLIGHTENMENT
Example: Prometheus stole fire.
9.
FIRE IS HELL
Example: torments of fire
10.
FIRE IS HEAVEN
Example: A warm fire of love in the soul
Conclusion.
In conclusion, the concept of fire emerges as a richly layered and
multifaceted phenomenon within the English linguocultural context. Through an
analysis of its literary and figurative meanings, phraseological expressions,
mythological references, proverbs, quotations, and conceptual metaphors, this study
demonstrates that fire embodies both constructive and destructive dimensions. It
symbolizes not only physical phenomena but also abstract human experiences such as
passion, purification, danger, and transformation.
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