ИСТИНА

The talk deals with the concept of “Insularity” as the essential component of the conceptual and linguistic worldview of Britons during several centuries. It is usually believed that it is the geographical position of the country which has played a crucial role in forming the insular mentality of its people. This mentality inevitably finds its linguistic manifestation in British English. The latter statement is borne out by examples borrowed from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “The Remains of the Day”. Besides, definitions of the word “Insularity” from authoritative monolingual dictionaries are adduced. Moreover, two vital constituents of the concept in question are discussed: namely, xenophobia and snobbishness. It is pointed out that further research in the field would promote better understanding of not only the “insular mentality” of the British, but also of the peculiarities of British English.