THE CATEGORY “SPACE” IN THE HUMANITIES

Abstract

The paper analyzes the contribution of many linguists to the study of the concept of "space", its properties, and the words, that denotes it, outlines existing scholarly approaches to the space semantics study. As a result of consideration of the achievements of scientists in the study of spatial semantics, differences in their views on issues of terminological, identification and classification nature were revealed. Also, considering the lack of a single approach to the identification and classification of the space nominations characteristics in modern linguistics, the paper carries out the analysis and develops unique identification and differential loci parameters which underlie the concept of space, i.e. a fundamental division of the lexical units semantics into two major groups “real space” and “virtual space”; principles of loci classification are proposed. Also, the research outlines the loci potential implementation spheres and their reflection in the language, types of space, classification criteria, and a wide range of basic identification and distinctive features, which are further on grouped into blocks: recognition signs (what-system)– organisation signs or space types; location and dynamic signs (where-system). In their turn, the distinctive features enable to single out the nominations in question from the empirical material; applying the developed criteria for differentiating the empirical database, it becomes possible to categorise the loci on the basis of recognition, space organisation, and location (opposition between the real / virtual substance based on the features of objective / subjective, individual / social, natural / sociocultural markers, taking into account the space type within its horizontal and vertical localisation: vertical spatial trichotomy (an overland, extraterrestrial world / real world, terrestrial / underground world); three-dimensional spatial trichotomy (close world / transitional world / distant alien world); universal space dichotomy (internal world / external world), etc.).The main criterion when evaluating whether the lexeme belongs to the loci group nucleus or periphery is the degree of the spatial semantics explicitness in the structure of its lexical meanings.