Situational locutheme as object of morphothemic analysis in representational aspect

The article describes the peculiarities of speech representation of category of situation by language units having a situational component in their semantics and placed in the subject position in the sentence. In the research, the method of morphothemic analysis is applied, which combines the study of semantics and the form of the language unit. The research is based upon the proposed by the author classification of language units with situational component in their semantics, in particular, situational substantivized units, among which remotivated, verb-determinated, adjective-determinated, substantive-determinated and deictic units are named as most frequently used. The article features the models of interaction between a syntagmeme and a contentional within a structure of a situational locutheme when actualized categories can be partly or fully replaced according to a speech context. Among such models are: 1) the cases of retaining a stereotyped syntagmeme (contentional tautology) when in speech a word actualizes the objectivized meaning, and 2) the cases of forming a non-stereotyped syntagmeme when the speech meaning is modified by the contentional or the structure of the syntagmeme itself (contentional asymmetry (2a) and contentional identity with a change of a relator (2b) or category (2c). The processes of speech modification of mental concepts are demonstrated by authentic linguistic material comprising text fragments by Russian and English authors, and verify the original thesis about a syncretic character of a situational locutheme. The results of the research can lead to linguo-cultural conclusions about preferences of Russian-speaking and English-speaking users when referring to a specific life situation.