Levishchenko M. Linguistic and cultural peculiarities of the Late Victorian Discourse (Case Study of English prose fiction of the end of the 19th century)

This thesis is dedicated to the complex description of Late Victorian Discourse (LVD) on the basis of the Cognitive and Communicative Knowledge Paradigm. The benchmark point of analysis is the interpretation of LVD as a linguosociocultural phenomenon, in which the communicative behaviour, of Great Britain (at the end of the 19th century) is reflected. Special attention is focused on the conceptual space of LVD and its communicative culture fixed in a number of prose fiction texts. The conceptual space of LVD is considered as a specific system of concepts where mentally meaningful units are displayed from superordinative (hyperconcepts EMPIRE, HUMAN, THINGS) to subordinative (hypoconcepts ЕNGLISHNESS, HOLIDAY, SPACE, WEALTH, SPORT, FAMILY, FOOD, INTERIOR, CLOTHES) levels of abstraction where the endpoint of taxonomisation is (cata)concepts interpreted as the dominant values of LVD that influence its communicative culture. The last is analysed in terms of speech traditions emphasizing speech etiquette, tactics and strategy, peculiarities of Victorian communication predefined by teleology of politeness, its conventional and value components, the phenomenon of the "compliment" and gender marked speech. Key words: Victorian discourse, speech traditions, conceptual space, system of concepts, conceptual dominants, communicative culture, speech etiquette, politeness, compliment, gender.