THE VALUE COMPONENT OF THE CONCEPT EPIDEMIC IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD PICTURE

Abstract

The article is devoted to an in-depth analysis of the value component of the concept EPIDEMIC in modern English-language artistic and journalistic discourse. The aim of the study is to identify the features of the implementation of the evaluative characteristics of this concept and to determine the mechanisms of their verbalization in different contexts. The analysis found that the lexeme epidemic in its semantic structure contains a distinct evaluative component, the intensity of which varies depending on the connotative coloring of the lexical environment of the basic nominative of the concept. Such evaluative potential is often based on stable associations with negative emotions, in particular fear, anxiety, threat and death. Considering that the influence of the concept "epidemic" on public consciousness and the interpretation of certain phenomena is largely determined by the context of its use, the article examines the figurative and value aspects of the concept EPIDEMIC, which form the idea of it as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Special attention is paid to linguistic means that reflect the emotional-evaluative reaction to the epidemic phenomenon in English-language discourse.Based on the analysis of linguistic material, three main groups of lexemes were identified that represent a partial negative assessment of the concept, which are implemented through the use of emotionally colored adjectives, such as deadly, uncontrollable, devastating, etc. At the same time, the presence of a separate group of lexemes of positive assessment was established, which, despite the general negative context, show a tendency to metaphorical or ideological rethinking of the EPIDEMIC concept (for example, in expressions such as epidemic of kindness or epidemic of hope).The use of a contextual approach to the study of the value component of the concept is justified by the fact that the concept, as a cognitive-discursive unit, closely interacts with the surrounding reality, which is constantly changing and evolving. External factors — social, economic, cultural — directly influence the dynamics of the semantic content of the concept, determining the features of its perception, interpretation, and linguistic reflection in modern discourse.