The Concepts of Academy and University in A. Kh. Vostokov’s Linguistic Worldview

Abstract

Aim. To identify the specific features of the representation of the concepts University and Academy in the linguistic worldview of A. Kh. Vostokov and to determine their role in the organisation of scientific knowledge.

Methodology. The research corpus included A. Kh. Vostokov’s scholarly works, prefaces, correspondence, and memoirs. The study employed contextual and syntagmatic analysis, as well as elements of corpus analysis, nominative field analysis, and quantitative analysis of concept representatives. 

Results. The analysis demonstrated that the concept University is represented only fragmentarily in A. Kh. Vostokov’s texts and is primarily associated with the social status of members of the scholarly community. By contrast, the concept Academy is characterised by a broad range of representations and is associated with scholarly communication, publishing activities, professional integration, and the organisation of academic communities. The findings indicate that the academic model played a more significant role in the representation of scientific knowledge than the university model.

Research implications. The study refines our understanding of the linguistic representation of scientific space in A. Kh. Vostokov’s texts. The results contribute to the study of the scholar’s linguistic personality and expand current knowledge of the ways scientific knowledge was conceptualised in Russian philological culture of 19^th century.