Phenomenon of Theater in Consciousness of Contemporary Individual: Evidence from an Associative Experiment

This paper investigates the contemporary semantic content of the concept of “theater” within the linguistic consciousness of representatives of two distinct linguocultures. The object of the study comprises the associativeverbal fields “Theater” and “Թատրոն” (Theater), which were modeled through an experimental methodology involving Belarusian and Armenian respondents. The empirical data consists of associative responses elicited by the stimulus words “тэатр” and “թատրոն” (Theater). The study establishes the correlation between the lexicographic definitions of the respective lexemes and the associative responses generated by the participants. A detailed analysis is conducted on the internal structure of the cognitive profiles of the theater concept as instantiated in the consciousness of Belarusian and Armenian speakers. The research identifies both universal characteristics and culture-specific features in the perception of the theatrical phenomenon, which serve as a reflection of ethnocultural consciousness. The primary research instrument is the free chain associative experiment, complemented by modeling techniques for constructing cognitive profiles, descriptive methodology, comparative analysis, quantitative methods, and general scientific procedures of data analysis, synthesis, and interpretation. The findings highlight points of convergence in the perception of theater by Belarusians and Armenians, alongside semantic variations that foreground different cultural dominants. The experimental evidence substantiates the claim that a lexical unit may acquire additional semantic nuances within the everyday consciousness of speakers from different linguocultures.