THE CONCEPT OF THE FRONTIER: ITS LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE IN AMERICAN ENGLISH

Abstract

The article deals with the linguistic and cultural aspects of the concept in question. Special emphasis is made on the importance of diachronic and synchronic approach to the issue under consideration. Otherwise stated, the article is concerned with some features of the formation and evolution of the concept of the Frontier in American English, the modern state of affairs in so far as the Frontier is concerned, as well as the significance of its awareness in understanding the conceptual and linguistic worldview of the Americans. Turning to authoritative dictionaries and reference books, the author gives a concrete definition of the word “Frontier” in American English, as well as the interpretation of the term “concept” used in the article. Numerous examples illustrate the influence of the above-mentioned concept on the vocabulary of the American variant of English. Several lexical strata which have appeared as a result of the westward movement of the settlers are adduced, namely: words denoting various representatives of flora and fauna; borrowings from American Indian languages; words and word-combinations which have become phraseological units, but which had a concrete material meaning in the 19th century. Besides, a new comprehension of the analyzed concept in the second half of the 20th - the beginning of the 21st century is given.