THE NOTION OF “LOYALTY” IN LINGUOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Keywords:
loyalty, linguoculturology, value concept, language loyaltyAbstract
The article explores the notion of loyalty as a complex moral and cultural concept reflected in language. Within an anthropocentric framework, loyalty is treated as a value-laden linguocultural concept whose semantic structure, associative field and discursive realizations vary across cultures while sharing a universal core. Diachronic and synchronic analysis of English loyalty and Russian лояльность/преданность shows that the concept is historically rooted in the semantic domains of duty, faithfulness and trustworthiness, later extending to political, civic and commercial spheres. Cross-cultural studies demonstrate that ordinary speakers conceptualize loyalty either as a general moral quality or as interpersonal commitment, and that these prototypical structures shape moral evaluations of loyalty violations. Media discourse and associative experiments further reveal culture-specific components such as reliability, devotion, honesty and constancy in Tajik and broader post Soviet contexts. The paper also examines specialized subtypes of loyalty in sociolinguistics (language loyalty), consumer culture (customer and brand loyalty) and translation studies (translator’s loyalty), arguing that all are grounded in persistent partiality driven by affective attachment and shared identity. By synthesizing these strands, the article proposes a linguocultural model of loyalty that integrates its ethical, cognitive and communicative dimensions.
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