Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2016 9) 625-636 ~ ~ ~ УДК 81`37 Semiotic Development Potential of Henry Lawson’s Individual Concept “Mate/Mateship” Irina S. Dobryaeva* Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia Received 02.11.2015, received in revised form 26.12.2015, accepted 12.02.2016 The paper envisages semiotic development potential of semantic structure of individual concept “Mate” created by Henry Lawson. <...> The image in question is iconic for Australian culture. <...> A certain share of idealization and romantization entails further development of the semantic meaning of this concept. <...> The rooted semantic components of the concept-image “Mate” gradually turned into concept-symbol “Mateship”. <...> H. Lawson was the fi rst Australian author, who made this concept one of the core concepts of Australian culture. <...> Moreover, “Mateship” refl ects the historical development of socio-economic relations within Australian society in 19 – 20 centuries. <...> Having identifi ed axiological meaning of the concepts “Mate / Mateship”, we could be aware of the basic values of Australians as a nation, and understand connections of the language and society. <...> Keywords: Australia, Henry Lawson, Mate, Mateship, individual concept, artistic concept, conceptimage, semantic deviation, conceptual derivation, cultural script, conceptual antinomies, semiotic dynamics, socio-cultural values. <...> Introduction Australia is the country of immigrants whose hallmarks are multiculturalism and pluralism. <...> New migrants, who want to become Australian citizens, should meet a series of requirements: to pass the English language test (IELTS), as well as to complete a multiple choice test, checking out historical issues understanding, political and legal system awareness, and core elements of Mateship phenomenon. <...> All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: irena_do@rambler.ru # 625 # these areas of Australian social life can unite people in Australian society, at the same time promoting respect for cultural and ethnic diversity. <...> Mr Howard said that “Mateship is a great Australian concept, it’s a concept of everybody pulling together in common adversity, a concept of treating people according to how you fi nd them, not according to the colour of their skin… It is very <...>