Turchenko V. Cognitive and Communicative Characteristics of the Concept MODESTY in the English-language Discourse of the 14th - 21st centuries

The paper focuses on the concept MODESTY, lexicalized in the English language, as well as on its linguocognitive properties as an attributive regulatory concept of communicative behaviour and its historical dynamics in the 14th-21st centuries. Defining the cognitive-communicative properties of the concept MODESTY, its place in the English-speaking world view; peculiarities of its verbalizing and discourse actualizing in the 14th-21st centuries constitutes the main research purpose. The paper methodological apparatus is based on the linguocognitivistics, theory of cognitive metaphor, historical conceptology, discourse and politeness theories. The scientific novelty is determined by defining lexical means of MODESTY objectivization in English and its metaphorical/ metonymical discourse actualization; notional, value and figurative concept components, its categorial properties; semantic space of the lexemes nominating MODESTY and its implementing in the strategies of politeness. The theoretical significance of the paper is determined by its contribution to the cognitive linguistics, cognitive discoursology and historical cognitivistics. The practical value of the obtained results lies in the possibility to apply them in teaching lexicology of the English language (themes "Lexical semantics", "Phraseology"), general linguistics ("Language and thought"), English language history ("Lexical structure of the middle and early-new English language"), courses in the theory of language communication, cognitive linguistics, as well as in students' and porsgraduates' research papers.