Spatial Generation in Indo-European Languages and Culture

The article examines the connections between space, language and cognition in the Indo-European linguistic and cultural sphere. The relevance of the research topic is due to the growing recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of humanitarian research and the ongoing debate about the relationship between language and cognition, including in relation to spatial categories. In order to deepen the understanding of the bidirectional relationship between the environment and cognition, the concept of ‘spatial generation’ is introduced – an interdisciplinary understanding of the signification functioning. The subject of study is archaic texts of the Indo-European culture. The interdisciplinary approach includes the following combination of methods: etymological, structural, comparative conceptual text analysis, philological text analysis, semiotic. Materials are the sources of ancient Indian, ancient Iranian, ancient Germanic, ancient Greek and Anatolian traditions served as materials. The research focuses on Indo-European cultures, emphasizing their consistent spatial conceptualization: anthropocentric organization, binary oppositions and direction archetypes. In particular, gender spatial concepts are considered, while male terms are associated with power and activity and female terms with passivity and fertility. These concepts can be considered not just as ideas, but as fixed in language and cognition, strengthening social hierarchies and power structures. The concept of spatial generation is tested on archaic texts of Indo-European languages. A distinction is made between intradirectional generation, when the physical world directly shapes cognition and language, and extradirectional generation, when human cognition and culture are projected onto the world and change it. The article emphasizes the ability of the concept to integrate various disciplines, from philology and archaeology to psychology and cognitive science, which allows for a more holistic understanding of cultural phenomena. It demonstrates how spatial generation improves the interpretation of texts, artifacts and rituals, emphasizing the role of ecological context and iconic semiosis. Pointing to the crucial role of space in shaping human experience, the concept of spatial generation offers a tool for future research, innovation and the pursuit of a more comprehensive understanding of the world and a human in it.