The value aspect of the meaning of a lexical unit in the language consciousness of Chinese students (with the lexeme ‘courtesy’ as an example)

Among various values, the concept ‘courtesy’ has been studied by Chinese scholars since ancient times and is considered one of the important traditional values of China. The purpose of the study is to reveal the value characteristics in the meaning of the lexeme COURTESY based on the interpretation by Chinese informants, as well as to determine the influence of social strata on the understanding of this moral and ethical lexeme in the minds of students. The research material includes 43 semantic components obtained as a result of a linguistic experiment with 32 Chinese informants. The sample of informants is balanced according to the strata ‘education level’, ‘specialty’, and ‘gender’. The article uses the method of component analysis and the method of constructing the semantic structure of a lexeme. Based on the analysis, the authors come to a conclusion that in the linguistic consciousness of Chinese students, courtesy is a respectful attitude toward people, which is considered an expression of the culture of behavior and etiquette. At the same time, an analysis of the material from the perspective of social strata reveals differences in the understanding of the lexeme COURTESY in the group consciousness of informants: both Bachelor’s and Master’s students note courtesy traits such as sensitivity and politeness, which also characterize traditional culture, Bachelor’s students do not note the value semantic components self-improvement and good deeds, which are noted in the answers of Master’s students; the group of non-humanities majors is characterized by a more frequent use of semantic components respectful attitude to people, culture of behavior, etiquette, while those studying the humanities are characterized by a high percentage of semantic components deeds favorable to others, sensitivity, self-improvement; women believe that courtesy is an individual trait reflected in good deeds, while men evaluate courtesy through sensitivity and good manners and do not associate it with traditional culture. The results obtained can be used in the field of semantics, lexicology, and stylistics of the Chinese language, as well as in methodological recommendations for students carrying out research on lexical semantics. In addition, the analysis of the value aspect of the meaning of a lexical unit gives us the opportunity to better understand the national culture of China.