The Image of Don Quixote in the Dictionary “Native — Alien” (Linguoimagological and Ethnopsychological Approaches)

Abstract

The research is based on the methodology of linguoimagology, which studies the image of people and a country in the perspective of other nations, as well as ethnopsychology, which focuses on the psychology of ethnically related groups. The author analyzes the evolution of Don Quixote’s image in the dichotomy "native-alien" and proves that in early XVIII century, when M. Cervantes's novel was first translated into Russian, Don Quixote was an «alien» name, though a universal precedent phenomenon. In length of time (XX — XXI centuries), the name has become a national precedent and a concept in Russian linguistic consciousness and culture (possibly even East Slavic, but this hypothesis requires additional research). A transitional moment is connotonimization which is reflected in the dictionary of E.S. Otin.
The paper examines the linguoimagological and ethnopsychological factors that caused assimilation of Don Quixote’s image in Russian culture, changing its status from "the alien" to "the native".