Binary conceptual oppositions in the linguistic worldview: The life – death model

Abstract

The article examines the binary conceptual opposition “life – death” as one of the fundamental means of structuring the linguistic worldview. The aim of the study is to identify the structural-semantic and axiological features of this model and the nature of its representation in Spanish. Unlike the traditional approach, life and death are interpreted not as independent concepts or antonyms, but as interrelated poles of a single conceptual formation. The material comprises dictionary definitions of the lexemes vida and muerte, their derivational and syntagmatic relations, phraseological units and contexts drawn from lexicographic sources and corpora of the Spanish language. Conceptual, definitional, componential, contextual and linguocultural methods were applied. It was established that the relations between the concepts VIDA and MUERTE are characterized by mutual conditioning, axiological asymmetry and a transitional zone associated with notions of time, fate, memory, the soul and eternity. VIDA is associated with activity and creation, MUERTE with cessation, limit and transition; however, religious and metaphorical contexts may neutralize this polarity. The results clarify the role of binary models in the linguistic worldview and reveal the national-cultural features of the conceptualization of life and death in the Spanish linguistic consciousness.