IMAGE OF TIME IN LANGUAGE CONSCIOUSNESS OF RUSSIANS AND THE JAPANESE

Abstract

Perception of the image of time in Russian and Japanese linguocultures is analysed. An association experiment has become the main experimental method. Three samplings are under consideration: that of Russians of the early 1990s, that of Russians of the early 21st century, and that of the Japanese of the early 21st century. Russians and the Japanese share general human values, but cultural differences stand out in association reactions of Russian and Japanese respondents. The experimental material available shows that the Japanese are more time-conscious than Russians. The Japanese tend to consider things in a long-term perspective, while for Russians a medium-term perspective is more urgent. The specificity of hieroglyphs leads the Japanese to perceiving a close connection between time and space, while the Russian language does not provide clues of the kind, which results in fewer reactions indicating space in Russian samplings. The paper argues that the perception of time image has altered in the Russian linguoculture recently. Russians of the early 1990s lost their axiological targets in the turmoil of the Soviet Union collapse, which is not characteristic of the 21st century Russians, who started to regain their emotional stability.