RIDDLES AS A SOURCE OF CONCEPTUAL FEATURES OF A CONCEPT UNDER CONSIDERATION (USING RIDDLES RELATED TO THE CONCEPT ROAD AS SOURCE MATERIAL)

Abstract

The article shows that riddles about a certain reality are a valuable source of conceptual features of a concept under consideration. This idea is predetermined by pragmatics of the riddle. In traditional culture the aim of asking someone to solve a riddle is to receive a right answer from a concrete person who the riddle is addressed. That is why the text of a riddle is built on well-known, widely-spread beliefs about an object. These beliefs appeal to background knowledge of a communicator. Concepts are represented in riddles through a set of certain features. The subject matter of our research is riddles that represent concept ROAD. The array of Ukrainian and Russian riddles describing road was analysed. Main and peripheral features of the concept under consideration were discovered. It is shown that the image of the road portrayed in riddles represents mainly external characteristics of the road that are accessible to visual perception. The main conceptual features that represent concept ROAD in Ukrainian and Russian riddles are its considerable extension in space (length), permanent horizontal location in space (irremovability and inactivity) and ability to lead somewhere. These features are presented in a large number of riddles. Other conceptual features (such as curvature of a road, its usefulness for people, old age, ability to gain knowledge and availability of great number of roads) should be referred to peripheral ones as they are observed only in few riddles.