LINGUOCULTURAL PERSONALITY TYPE “LAOWAI” IN CHINESE LINGUISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS

Abstract

The paper deals with typical image of foreigners in the Chinese culture. The author analyzes dictionary definitions and emotional coloring of the notion “laowai”, describes the recognizable peculiarities in their appearance, thinking, the Chinese language skills and general characteristics of their perception of China. Evaluations of this group of people show certain variety, but on the whole are mainly positive. The word “laowai” reflects not only Chinese cultural specificity, but also a complex attitude of Chinese people to foreigners during a very long historical period. In this work, the linguocultural type “laowai” was modeled based on the analysis of conceptual, figurative and value characteristics established in dictionary definitions, the CCL Corpus, news reports, and a survey of Chinese respondents. This paper can be useful for teachers in courses of linguoculturology and Chinese as a foreign language. Modeling the “laowai” type contributes to a deeper understanding of the cultural background of this word.