“THUNDERSTORM” AS A NATURAL EVENT SITUATION (on the material of Mordovian and Russian riddles)

Folk riddles about a natural complex phenomenon “THUNDER” in Mordovian (Moksha and Erzya) and Russian languages, in which ethnic complexes and individual units of a given situation are realized in one or another language, were the material for this article. The selected material allows us to characterize the mechanisms of interaction between language and culture through mythology, perception, as well as video code (including etymology and mythometaphorization), tactile and audio codes, attributes and axiology. This complex approach allows defining and describing in detail the relationship between a person (an Observer) and nature (Observed) in terms of the perceptual and evaluative situation. The chosen method, combining a definitional and a cognitive-semantic analysis, and also an algorithm of research of an emotive potential of a concept “THUNDER”, define its novelty, relevance and timeliness of an analysis made.