Linguoculturological Analysis of the Concept of «Health»

Abstract

The concept of «health» comprises complex structured mental formations that include notional, figurative, and value features, partially coinciding and differing in various linguocultures. The paper contains an analysis of origin of the word «health» in linguistic branches of Indo-European stem. It is found that the origin and meaning of the word «????????» (health), fixed in the Russian language, is older, than the meaning of health as an «integrity of all systems of the organism», fixed in the Roman and Germanic linguistic branches. Health is a lasting value of universal type, but the content and actualization of peculiar features of the concept is different. During comparison between figurative meanings of the concept of «health» a similarity between the Russian and English languages is discovered (health is the most important value, influence of Christian traditions), though there are some differences. There are more differences in comparison with the Chinese language. The found ethnocultural specific features are caused by different development levels of each of the analyzed culture and different view of the world.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s1p291