APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF THE CONCEPT

This article is devoted to the analysis of the concept as one of the central notions of modern cognitive linguistics. The study aims to systematize various scientific approaches to the interpretation of the concept and to clarify its cognitive, linguistic, and cultural characteristics. The research is based on theoretical works of Russian and foreign scholars in the fields of cognitive linguistics, linguoculturology, philosophy, and psychology. Descriptive, comparative, analytical-synthetic, cognitive, and discursive methods are applied in the study. The results show that the concept is a complex, multidimensional mental unit that reflects not only logical knowledge but also emotional, evaluative, and cultural components of human experience. It is established that the concept differs from the notion by its dynamic nature, cultural conditioning, and discursive realization. The study also reveals that conceptualization and categorization are fundamental cognitive processes that structure human knowledge about the world, resulting in the formation of the conceptosphere. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the theoretical foundations of cognitive linguistics and may serve as a basis for further interdisciplinary research.