PERSUASIVE COMPONENT OF THE METAPHORICAL MODEL “NATURE IS ART” IN ECOLOGICAL DISCOURSE: PRAGMA-COGNITIVE ASPECT

Abstract

Background. The article focuses on the issue of persuasive functioning of a metaphorical model ‘Nature is Art’ in ecological discourse. The relevance is due to the necessity of thorough investigation of a persuasive component of ecological discourse within the framework of pragmatic and cognitive approaches. One of the most acute problems existing nowadays is the problem of interaction of a human being with nature. This problem is widely discussed in mass media. Since one of the main functions of mass media is the function to influence the reader, it is of prime importance to analyze the persuasive component of eco-texts realized by means of metaphors that are connected to the theme of Art. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to present a structure of frames and slots in the metaphorical model ‘Nature is Art’ and provide a linguistic analysis of its persuasive component. Materials and methods. The research material comprises articles on the theme of ecology taken from the digital version of the British magazine ‘The Guardian’. The main research methods include analysis and synthesis of theoretical materials; lexico-semantic, pragma-stylistic and componential analyses with the application of online dictionaries (Merriam Webster Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary); discourse and contextual analysis together with descriptive method. The aforementioned methods have given an opportunity to obtain accurate data on realization of persuasive influence in ecological discourse by means of metaphors. Results. As part of the study the key frames within the metaphorical model ‘Nature is Art’, videlicet, ‘Nature as Dance’, ‘Nature as Literature’ and ‘Nature as Theatre’ have been investigated. The results demonstrated that each frame is characterized by a set of persuasive markers that influence the reader. The ways of linguistic representation of these markers were analyzed. Practical implications. The research results can be used for further investigation of ways of persuasive influence within ecological discourse as well as in the development of courses on ecological discourse, category of persuasion and metaphorical modelling.

Keywords

• ecological discourse
• category of persuasion
• metaphor
• metaphorical model