Concept of time in language and text (contextual time markers)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study different time representations in language and text. Time is an abstract category firmly connected to human life, it can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space. Time has been studied from different points of view and in different aspects. The perception of time can vary depending on the social and cultural environment. That is why it is so important to pay special attention to a variety of time representations when studying a foreign language. In this article I consider different time markers represented in language (English and Russian) and contextual time markers we can find in texts for reading comprehension activities at advanced levels when studying Russian as a foreign language. I compare language and contextual time markers using a cognitive approach to text units. As an example, I take time markers from the texts published in a popular Russian literary magazine Novy mir at the turn of the 21 century. Novy mir is a very famous in Russia for its liberal position and history within the dissident movement during Soviet epoch

Keywords

• concept of time
• time markers
• text and discourse
• cognitive linguistics