Conceptual and figurative characteristics of the linguocultural concept of “boundlessness”

The aim of the research is to establish the conceptual and figurative embodiment of boundlessness in Russian linguistic culture. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it is the first one to identify the conceptual and figurative characteristics of the linguocultural concept of “boundlessness”. The research found that boundlessness in Russian linguistic culture is conceptualized as a property of an object or a quality of a subject, characterized by the absence of visible boundaries, limits, and a large extent, typical for space, opportunities, for the expression of feelings, mind, development, and is extremely powerful in its expression. The analysis of examples revealed the correspondence of the images presented in the texts to the basic conceptual features of boundlessness. It was found that space, time, and the number of objects can lack visible boundaries, while boundlessness itself can be associated with something fragile, divisible into parts. In addition, boundlessness is inherent in God and the spiritual world of man. Symbols of boundlessness also include the Internet and new technologies, under the influence of which the boundaries of human requests, choices, and morality disappear. Metaphorically, boundlessness is understood as water or a bottomless body of water in which one can dissolve, into which one can plunge.