On the function of the concept Žemė (Earth) within the deep structure of Lithuanian idioms

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas koncepto „žemė“ turinys lietuvių frazeologijoje, aptariami frazeologizmų asociacijų raiškos ypatumai. Tyrimas atliekamas remiantis kognityvinės metaforos funkcionavimo šnekos akte samprata. Straipsnyje į pirmąjį planą iškeliamas sisteminis tipologinis semantinių reiškinių, siejamų su fenomenaliu žemės, kaip talpyklos, ženklu, tyrimas, teikiama išsami konceptualiojo tipologizavimo pagal jungiamuosius koncepto „žemė“ požymius sistema. Frazeologizmų mikrosemantinių modelių tipologinė analizė siejama su šių pastoviųjų žodžių junginių gilumos ir išorės struktūros tyrinėjimu, apibendrintu emocinių ir ekspresinių išgalių aptarimu. Metodologinis šio straipsnio tyrimų pagrindas yra kognityvinė lingvistika ir semantinė tipologinė analizė.The process of world modeling by means of the concept of earth in the consciousness of a language user (a nation) has been dictated by the laws of human existence. However, it is evident that the model of the world conceptualization by the image of earth is greatly influenced by the ethnic culture of the Baltic world perception and its associative interpretation. Phraseologisms including the concept of earth have different expressive emotive connotations: from gentle lyricism (melancholy, sadness) to dramatic grotesque. That is a language layer of especially active emotive expressive stylization, where the style of expression units is predetermined by the content of reality provided with associative meanings by different microcontexts. Conceptual metaphors of the image of earth formed as a discrete layer of emotive-expressive linguistic expression meant to denote not only existential and socio-ethical, but also ethnic-cultural or even pragmatic relationships of man with the earth; therefore, the conceptualization of the said phraseologisms is especially pithy and multi-branched. The typology of lexical expression of Lithuanian phraseologisms that depict the reality by means of associations with the concept of earth is characterized by the fact that the models of their lexical expression are based on the vocabulary of the basic, or the so-called universal, word stock. That also proves the assumption that the decisive influence on the formation of the lexical-phraseological layer in question was made by the universal system of common human values and existential consciousness. The semantic model of MOTION is the most typical way of reality conceptualization by means of the image of earth. In the system of earth as a RECEPTACLE, the said model integrates phraseological metaphors on the so-called horizontal and vertical axes. One can see the conceptualization of phraseologisms on the vertical axis is much more productive; it essentially takes place by modeling the reality in the directions of upward and downward. The essential semantic fragment in that kind of modeling is biological termination of a physical body. The second most productive group on the vertical axis is the conceptualized model of the loss of balance of a physical body (falling down or staggering). The productivity in that case is predetermined by the activeness of visual impressions, with the details of reality being included in associative links. One can note that the indication of going upward in the said model does not boast extensive associative links due to the stereotype of existence as a constant inculcated in the consciousness. [...] The research into conceptual expression of phraseologisms including the image of EARTH proves the fact that the dominating type of phraseological metaphors is constellation metaphors. The second most productive group is made of the so-called images – schemas. It is to be expected that the associative expression in phraseologisms where reality conceptualization is oriented towards the feature of thingness should be related to ontological earth metaphors