Friendliness in Russian linguistic worldview

Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Institute of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, 664074, Irkutsk, Russia

^* Corresponding author: ryzhkova08@mail.ru

Abstract

This paper is regarded in the framework of anthropological linguistics and is devoted to the study of the notion of friendliness. Friendliness is defined as friendly disposition or friendly attitude of a person in relation to other people. The paper emphasizes valuable dominants of a friendly attitude – kindness, benevolence, disposition and sympathy. The results of free association experiment allowed the author to generalize ideas about the notion of friendliness among native speakers and describe the image of a friendly person in the Russian linguistic worldview. Friendliness can be manifested by verbal and nonverbal means of communication that reflect positive and good-minded communication style. The paper discusses vocal expressions, lexical means of language, facial expressions, gestures, actions that are regarded as manifestations of friendliness. It is worth noting that the addressee experiences a wide range of positive emotions dealing with manifestations of friendly attitude. The research emphasizes that friendliness is highly valued in the Russian-speaking culture. The results of this paper contribute to the study of the linguistic image of a friendly person as a fragment of the Russian linguistic worldview.