ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS IN THE LINGUISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE STUDENTS (BASED ON THE DATA OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC EXPERIMENTS)

Abstract

Since the Arctic is one of the most discussed topics, reflecting the global international interest in this northern region, it seems relevant to trace the attitude to it among representatives of different cultures, in this case among Russian and Chinese students. Therefore, this article identifies and compares perceptions of the Arctic in the linguistic consciousness of representatives of Russian and Chinese cultures. The aim is achieved by using the method of psycholinguistic experiment. Using the data of the “Russian associative dictionary” edited by Yu.N. Karaulov and a free associative experiment conducted among Russian students in 2025, the dynamics of the cultural-geographical image in the minds of Russian students is revealed. Using thematic modeling of associative fields for the stimulus “Arctic”, Russian and Chinese students’ perceptions of this region are reconstructed and compared. Both general directions of association associated with the universality and globality of the Arctic theme and certain inconsistencies of the Arctic image in the linguistic consciousness of Russian and Chinese students, reflecting the uniqueness of national linguistic worldviews, are highlighted.