Subjective Perception of Space in Russian and French (A Case Study of Locative Prepositions)

Aim. To identify the specific features of spatial conceptualisation through the semantics of prepositions denoting the ‘location of a subject.’
Methodology. Based on the comparative method and component analysis of the semantics of the prepositions of the Russian and French languages, the article determines not only how prepositions encode the parameters of the national linguistic picture of the world, but also the ability to predict the spatial characteristics of related nouns through prepositional semantics.
Results. The results of the study can be used in theoretical studies devoted to the Russian and French national linguistic worldviews to clarify the features of each of them.
Research implications. The results of the research can be used both in lecture courses on lexicology and intercultural communication and in the practice of teaching French and Russian as a foreign language.

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