The dissertation focuses on linguistic and cultural aspects of the CAT and DOG concepts in the British English. The significance of CAT and DOG concepts is motivated by the degree of verbal explication and their value in English culture. In our work, the reconstruction of English world view fragments, marked by CAT and DOG concepts, was carried out on the material of lexical and phraseological units. Concepts reflect stereotypes and cultural beliefs of certain people. Concepts arise in the process of obtaining knowledge and information about both the surrounding reality and the objects of imaginary worlds.
According to the existing classifications of concepts considered in the paper, we can add CAT and DOG concepts to mental pictures (since these are specific visual images presented in the human mind). CAT and DOG concepts are biological concepts as well as key concepts, because they are widely represented in folklore and fiction.
The nucleus of CAT concept was structured on the basis of a common definition in seven English dictionaries: a small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short snout, and retractable claws. It is widely kept as a pet or for catching mice, and many breeds have been developed. The notional component of CAT concept is represented by the following features: kitty, kitten, puss, gossiper, fellow, guy, jazz devotee. The nucleus of DOG concept was based on a definition: a domesticated carnivorous mammal that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, non-retractable claws, and a barking, howling, or whining voice: a) a wild animal of the dog family; b) the male of an animal of the dog family, or of some other mammals such as the otter. The notional component of DOG concept includes the following features: pup, puppy, hound, chap, fellow, beast, bleeder.
The figurative component of CAT and DOG concepts is formed by traditional metaphors: HUMAN BEING IS A CAT / DOG (MAN IS A CAT / DOG, WOMAN IS A CAT / DOG). The periphery of CAT and DOG concepts encompasses connotations and cat and dog’s features which are perceived physically while the distant periphery includes idioms.
The most common conceptual metaphors with CAT and DOG concepts were established as follows: HUMAN BEING IS A CAT / DOG (MAN IS A CAT / DOG, WOMAN IS A CAT / DOG). These cognitive metaphors, in their turn, serve as a basis for an unlimited number of language metaphors, both frozen and image ones. Metaphor is also the underlying cognitive process in other extensions of the figurative component, namely personification and simile.
CAT and DOG concepts are commonly used not only within phraseology, they are also traditional for fiction, where the semantic-associative field of the concept expands through individual-author understanding and interpretation of explicit components. Various concept verbalizers actively function in all English literature genres.
The explicators of the concept in literary discourse include language units that objectify the concept. CAT concept is implemented by the tokens cat and kitten in works of art. DOG concept is represented by the words dog, puppy, hound.
CAT and DOG concepts are objectified in literary discourse on the basis of the general metaphor HUMAN BEING IS A CAT / DOG, which forms the derived metaphors MAN / WOMAN IS A CAT and MAN / WOMAN IS A DOG. CAT concept can be represented in literary works by metaphorical models «аnimal > human physical condition», «animal > human physiological state», «animal > human emotional state».
CAT concept, explained by means of phraseology, is associated with something bad, it has a negative assessment of something or someone, means disapproval, condemnation, irony, contempt, weakness, cunning, meanness. DOG concept is objectified in literary discourse using a metaphor of the general level HUMAN BEING IS A DOG, and in some works the following metaphorical models with DOG concept are presented: «аnimal > human social state», «animal > human emotional state». DOG concept can characterize something positive or negative. The negative features include rudeness, meanness, insignificance, mysticism, and the positive – persistence, loyalty, perseverance, experience. The CAT and DOG concepts study in literary discourse includes the analysis of their linguistic explication by the units of lexical and phraseological language levels.
