Father in the Worldview of the Lithuanian Language (Based on Associations with the Word tėvas (Eng. father) and Combinations of the Words tėviškas,-a (Eng. fatherly)

Abstract

Research into the linguistic worldview is relevant because it demonstrates the changes that occur in the image of the world captured in language, correlating with changes in non-linguistic reality. The object of this study is the field of associations of the word tėvas (Eng. father) and examples of the use of all forms of the word tėviškas,-a (Eng. fatherly), collected from two corpora. The present study employs a cognitive linguistic approach to the relationship between category and concept to demonstrate how the Lithuanian worldview perceives the figure of the father and the characteristics, values, and behavioural patterns attributed to him. It has been concluded that the field of associations of the word tėvas, as well as the linguistic material associated with different periods representing the concept of FATHER, expresses almost the same semantic dominants. Summarising the information about the concept of FATHER, it can be stated that this concept is static and can be described as a typical pattern. The examples of usage typically delineate permanent characteristics, but not a sequence of situations or actions. In other words, the content of the concept most closely reflects the subject’s relationship with the father and the characteristics of the father that motivate his behavioural patterns.