2024 Vol. 15 №3

Functioning of the frame environment in various conceptual knowledge domains in the English language

DOI

10.5922/2225-5346-2024-3-2

Pages

22-38

Abstract

This article presents the frame environment, exploring its conceptual structure by analysing how linguistic units function within immediate linguistic contexts across various conceptual knowledge domains. It is proposed to define and distinguish between the theore­tical concepts of 'frame', 'cognitive context' and 'conceptual domain'. The English word 'en­vironment' was selected to describe the manifestations of frame structure at the linguistic le­vel. The etymology and definitions of the lexical unit were analysed using English lexico­graphical sources and texts and contexts from the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English. Based on this foundation, the frame environment was constructed, encompassing the knowledge structures that define the concept of ‘environment’ and shape its linguistic expressions across various specialised knowledge domains. The au­thors hypothesise that while the generalised frame structure remains unchanged, the con­tent of its slots transforms under the influence of the conceptual domain, which affects the un­derstanding and structuring of information by a linguistic personality. The content of fra­me slots aligns with the conceptual domain, whose information scope guides the selection of lin­guis­tic means while producing a verbal message. In turn, the linguistic means describing the con­tent of the slots serve to reconstruct the frame in the process of understanding. Text ana­lysis has shown that the frame structure does not change substantially, with some slots pos­sib­ly remaining inactivated within a particular conceptual domain. Such a structure facilitates the connections of concepts and, consequently, aids in understanding and focusing attention when addressing background knowledge.

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