Coordinative chains as a means of linguistic representation of the concept “persistence”

Abstract

   The article discusses the linguistic representation of the concept “persistence” in the aspect of syntactic coordinative relations. The work is carried out within the framework of the semantic-cognitive approach to linguistic phenomena. The consideration of coordinative chains as a means of explicating the content of the concept is based on their close connection with the mental, cognitive activity of a person. We have established that cognitive processes of conceptualization and categorization of reality can be reflected in coordinative constructions. This study, based on the texts of the newspaper subcorpus from the National Corpus of the Russian Language, considers coordinative chains with the key lexeme-representative of the concept “persistence”. By analyzing the semantic characteristics of the components in coordinative chains, we have identified various semantic features of the concept. The study shows that persistence belongs to the thematic categories of “character traits”, “volitional qualities”, representing the inner spiritual strength of a person. It often manifests itself in striving to achieve a set goal and performs an important function in labor, sports activities, or other activities that require the use of great effort. We have also found that if persistence is understood as a character trait, it is most often accompanied by many other positive qualities, such as patience, courage, hard work, determination, self-discipline, etc. When it points to a certain action, persistence can be characterized as a negative quality.