Mental factor in the structure of university students’ linguistic consciousness: psycholinguistic analysis

Abstract

EN: The article presents the results of the theoretical and methodological research of leading, in particular motivational, factors of University students’ linguistic consciousness as well as its structural model, based on the mental factor. The main attention is paid to the analysis of linguistic consciousness as a concept, which includes person’s attitude towards the world, which is reflected in language. The authors have analyzed the structure of the personality’s linguistic consciousness, which synthesizes mental processes. It has been mentioned that these processes shape the mentality and are expressed in the language as one of the means of fixing the mental world. The research of mentality, as the basis of linguistic consciousness, and language, as a representation of the mentality, which functions as an instrument of consciousness, makes it possible to consider the linguistic consciousness to be the ethnospecific way of interpreting the world, which is reflected in the language. It is emphasized that in the process of linguistic consciousness development it is important to take into account the fact that it is a rather complicated psychic phenomenon, which 1s formed under the influence of mental factor. From the other hand, this factor is developing under the influence of many factors, in particular, natural phenomena, socio-economic, political processes, interaction with other ethnic groups, etc. The linguistic consciousness is recognized as the in-depth foundation of the mentality and the source of its research. A three-component structural model has been designed. Its components are represented by the three level elements. Consciousness, which is the highest form of the surrounding reality reflection and the highest form of the psyche, is defined as the main, fundamental element. It makes the whole system of elements a workable one. The research provides a rational for using its results while planning and creating psychological and pedagogical guidelines for the content and ways of students’ linguistic consciousness development in educational institutions. We believe that this approach will increase the motivation of students to use their mother tongue in communication, as well as contribute to the development of the axtological and emotional components of the linguistic consciousness, based on the mental factor.