The Perception of Medical Doctors on the Part of Hindu, Russian and Kazakh Linguoculture Bearers: Association Experiment

. The objective of the article is to study the perception of medical doctors by Hindu, Russian and Kazakh linguoculture bearers by means of cognitive analysis of association data obtained from the psycholinguistic experimental study conducted among Hindi, Russian and Kazakh native speakers. Methods of the research include a free association experiment with a stimulus words डॉक्टर in Hindi, врач in Russian, and дəрігер in Kazakh, modelling the associative field DOCTOR and its cognitive structure, defining the universal and ethno-specific features of medical doctors as perceived by the representatives of Indian, Russian and Kazakh nations. The obtained associative data were distributed according to the frequency criterion, followed by content analysis and categorization. As a result, while comparing association fields in Hindi, Russian, and Kazakh languages the quantitative asymmetry of semantic zones and their associates is revealed. Conceptualization of medical doctors in the Hindu, Russian and Kazakh language consciousness includes both universal and ethno-specific features. The results of the study integrate the experiences of different nations simplifying the perception of their peculiarities, and may have a positive impact on cross-cultural interactions.


Introduction
Reference to materials of word association tests has gained a particular relevance for the studies with cognitive focus [1]. An association experiment sheds light on human linguistic consciousness and subjective-intuitive world outlook, which is not usually perceived by the native speakers and is not revealed by other research methods, and it has proved to be a reliable tool in psycholinguistics to explore the psychological, categorical, and substantive meaning of words [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].
Linguistic consciousness, synonymous to "the image of the world" [13] represents mental images having linguistic equivalents that reflect cultural and mental peculiarities and moral standards of a specific community. This makes linguistic consciousness a tool not only for psychological and linguistic analysis but also for the analysis of cultural perspectives of a community [14]. Thus, the importance of the association experiment in the cross-cultural ethnic language consciousness studies increases day by day.
Uncontrolled associations are a direct projection of internal content of consciousness. They represent the phenomenon of mass consciousness and are able to identify convincingly the national and cultural specifics of the images of consciousness of speakers of different language communities and cultures [15]. Associations act as "a logical link in the contents of consciousnesssensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, etc. -in the person's experience, proving that the appearance in the mind of one of contents entails the appearance of another" [16].
Association field is a specific cognitive structure of the linguistic consciousness, which is involved in the forming of the conceptual picture of the world [17]. Semantic gestalt of an association field [18] reconstructs the knowledge about the surrounding world in the linguistic consciousness of native speakers by means of dividing the reactions of one association field into several semantic zones each of which covers similar features of an object or a phenomenon.
Thus, the data obtained through an association experiment can be interpreted as a consciousness reflection of representatives from different cultures, and is going to reveal the national and cultural specificity of a particular ethnos.
The study is aimed at describing Indians', Russians' and Kazakhs' conceptualization of medical doctors. Being a universal concept inherent in any nation and "an integral part of any modern society" [19], medical doctor, verbally represented by the lexemes "डॉक् टर" in Hindi, "врач" in Russian, and "дәрігер" in Kazakh, is of undoubted interest for research. It is one of the key concepts of the medical discourse, forming the structure of the whole category [20]. The relevance of the study is defined by the interest in one of the key concepts during the times of COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period, the significance of the intersection between culture and language, and the possibility to describe the content and structure of conceptualization of medical doctors in Hindi, Russian and Kazakh languages. Study of perceptions of the concept under study by the Indians, Russians and Kazakhs contributes to fixing the constants of ethnic consciousness and culture, determines the importance and place of medical doctors in lives of the representatives of these ethnic groups.

Data and Methodology
A psycholinguistic study was conducted among the native speakers of Hindi, Russian and Kazakh languages. Verbal associations were collected by means of a free association experiment which represents the specifics of a certain language or culture bearers' consciousness [21]. The experiment was conducted online, the survey was administered by providing links to Google Forms.
Participants of a free association experiment received the stimulus word doctor in their native language (डॉक् टर/врач/дəрігер) to provide verbal reactions. The respondents were asked to state the first associations with it that came to mind. The number of responses was not limited.
A total of 300 people (aged 17-23) took part in the experiment. The Russian native speakers were 100 students at Orenburg State Pedagogical University (Russian Federation). The representatives of Indian ethnos comprised of 100 international students of the West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University. The Kazakh respondents consisted of 100 students of K. Zhubanov Aktobe Regional University (Republic of Kazakhstan).
The association field DOCTOR and its contents in three languages were identified and further on categorized based on the calculation of indices of verbal associations.

Data analysis and Discussion
As a result of the free association experiment, 691 associative responses were received from the representatives of the Kazakh ethnos, 531 -from Indians, and 515 -from Russians. Kazakh students' responses exceed the responses of Indians and Russians by nearly 30 %.
Based on the frequency of lexical associations, the association field (AF) including the centre (identified by reactions from more than 20 subjects), the near periphery (identified by reactions from 10 to 20 subjects), the far periphery (identified by reactions from less than 10 subjects), and the outer periphery (individual associates) were determined.
The AF structure in three languages is as follows: in Hindi -103 components, of which 39 components are stated only once (individual associations (IA), in Russian -181 (124 IA), and in Kazakh -307 (212 IA).
Features of medical doctors as perceived by the Russian ethnic group are presented in the form of the AF DOCTOR in Table 2.
Features of medical doctors as perceived by the Kazakh ethnic group are presented in the form of the AF DOCTOR in Table 3.
Features of medical doctors obtained as a result of the association experiment in three languages were categorized forming the semantic zones without remainder (Fig. 1). The most voluminous category in the association field DOCTOR as perceived by all three ethnic groups is "Carries on medical work" (in Hindi -132 (24.9%), in Russian -170 (33%), in Kazakh -166 (24.02%).
Kazakhs' perceptions of medical doctors are mostly associated with the use of medical facilities -144 (20.8%), work at medical institutions and holding medical profession -81 (11.7%), character features and relation to patients and work -66 (9.6%).
The results of the axiological analysis of conceptualizations of medical doctors by the representatives of Indian, Russian and Kazakh nations identified negative perceptions of medical doctors (Fig. 2) Medical doctors are conceptualized by the representatives of Indian ethnos mostly as communicative, kind helpers with good behaviour and good nature, wearing a white gown with a stethoscope, working in surgery, a hospital with patients' history, prescriptions, diagnosing and treating, sometimes causing an uncomfortable feeling.
As perceived by Russians, medical doctors wear a white gown, work in a hospital, where they help to preserve health, treat illness, prescribe drugs, injections, and save lives.
The significant features of medical doctors for Kazakh language consciousness are hospital, white gown, patients, remedy, educated, cleanliness, noble, kind.

Concluding remarks
Summing up the conceptualization of medical doctors by the representatives of Indian, Russian and Kazakh nations actualized from the data of the word association experiment, the conducted study proved to be an effective tool in determining the specifics of ethnic language consciousness.
The results of the study define the differences and commonalities in perceptions of medical doctors in Hindu, Russian and Kazakh linguistic mentality according to the constants identified in the ethnic language consciousness.
As a result of the study, it was revealed that the concept under study is of the utmost significance in the consciousness of the studied ethnic groups, and it is especially noticed from the variety of words-associations and cognitive features in those three languages. Informational, communicative and functional features of medical doctors are most actualized in the language consciousness of respondents. Medical doctors are conceptualized by Indians, Russians and Kazakhs as highly qualified specialists with high moral qualities, related to medical activity and respected in society.
The results of the study simplify the perception of medical doctors from the cross-cultural perspective, and may have a positive impact on intercultural communication.