IN SEARCH OF A UNIVERSAL CONCEPT OF THE MEANING OF THE LINGUISTIC SIGN

This article describes the conceptions of the meaning structure of independent words and relative language measures. Types of information underlying the meaning of the linguistic sign are classified. We analyse the content of the terms differential feature, integral test, background knowledge, connotation, image-schema, cultural choice, etc. Geometrical, functional theory of preposition meaning is presented, the essence of the cognitive perspective on the meaning of the preposition is revealed, the role of spatial concepts in its formation is studied. A specific approach to the description of linguistic meanings, which is implemented in Russian semantics, is described. It consists in the fact that the semantic description is based on a thorough analysis of contextual behaviour of the linguistic sign. We found that the conceptions of independent and relative measures do not have formal terminology matches, but have some meaningful ones. The intersection points of various theories are that the structure of the meaning of the linguistic sign is information about the object named, background and conceptual information. The need to introduce a semantic description of the terms cognitive image of the situation and the prototypical situation is justified. The volume of these terms is defined. The meaning of the situation, the prototype are specified. The information contained in the prototypical situation ( perceptual and conceptual) is classified. Types of conceptual information are described. The article demonstrates that the use of the term prototypical situation reveals the cognitive basis for identifying the various denotational situations and varying linguistic meanings. The semantic structure of a polysemantic word in this conception is represented as a radial one, organized around prototypical situation; different meanings are related indirectly through the cognitive image of the situation. The universal nature of this conception of the meaning is proved. The author's point of view is shown by example of locative adjective prefixes and locative suffix-prefixed adjectives.