Lexical units with the semantics of duration as means of expressing space durable notions in Russian and English linguocultures

The article is devoted to the means of expressing durable notions of space relations in Russian and English languages; the notion of space is viewed with concern to its national and cultural peculiarities of perception. In the focus of the issue lies the semantic structure of the lexical units with the meaning of duration on the horizontal axis in the Russian and English languages (daleko, blizko, far, close etc). The semantic structure of the analyzed linguistic units is considered in terms of the hierarchy of categorical, integral semes and differential features. The categorical seme 'duration of space' is realized through the integral semes 'nature of duration' and 'nature of orientation' which are represented by the set of differential features. The article analyzes the results of existing research in this domain. The analysis of factual material allows to draw conclusions about the analyzed problem and to compare these results with the work of predecessors. The results of the semantic analysis show that denotion of duration on the horizontal axis has much in common both in Russian and English languages but for the Russian and English native speakers there is certain ethnic differentiation typical of national linguocultures as far as the perception of space is concerned within the aforementioned lexical systems. National peculiarities of space perception make themselves evident in the fact that representatives of Russian linguoculture have "unrestricted" space perception, but for British one it is important to provide clear borders and space structure.