Categorization of Political Terms in the Image and Likeness of the Container

Abstract

The research was based on the News on the Web Corpus (NOW). It featured political terms associated with the image of a container. The list of terms included caucus, democracy, election, federalism, hegemony, legislation, monopoly, policy, politics, populism and socialism. The English cryptotype "Res Continens" includes classifying constructions / collostructions of the characteristic word container, which makes it possible to refer particular nouns to this cryptotype. They are a full container, a container is full, an empty container, a container is empty, a container is filled (with smth), a container is deep, SVexist in / inside a container, VO / V in / into a container, VO / V out of a container, and a container contains. The article introduces some social abstractions that are habitually or occasionally associated with a container. The authors analyzed word tokens with the indicated lexical units in the corresponding collostructions, as well as processes of categorization of these terms. Metaphorical units that define political phenomena were described as filled with some events or objects, full, empty, or deep; something can be taken out of them or put in/into them; one can take some data out of them to learn their essence better, etc.

Keywords

• political term
• social abstraction
• linguistic categorization
• analogy
• container
• cryptotype