Conceptual Basis for Metaphorical Image Interpretation in Different Linguocultures

Abstract

The article considers Russian and English figurative words and expressions that demonstrate metaphorization of bakery products images. The cognitive basis of metaphorical projections, universal and specific models of figurative analogies are revealed. The material includes 36 English units metaphorically motivated by 12 names of bakery products (biscuit, bun, cake, cookie, doughnut, dumpling, muffin, pancake, pie, pudding, tart, toast) and 98 Russian figurative units motivated by 16 culinary names (baranka, blin, bublik, bulka, kalach, karal'ka, keks, kovrizhka, krendel', lepeshka, pampushka, pirog, pljushka, ponchik, pyshka, suhar'). The speech material consists of the corpus data and includes 167 Russian and 109 English contexts. The analysis methodology is based on the cognitive metaphor theory, the semasiological theory of lexical and phraseological figurativeness, methods of contrastive analysis, linguocultural commenting and corpus research techniques. Static salient criteria of bakery products were revealed (round, spherical, ring-shaped, flat; specific colour; lush, soft, elastic, crumbly structure; high temperature; sweet, pleasant taste), as well as process and dynamic characteristics associated with cooking and food intake procedures. It is proved that these criteria in both linguistic cultures are grounded at the source of figurative characteristics of some human body parts, figure and hairstyle, social and political life phenomena, animate and inanimate objects. The results of the study contribute to metaphorology, linguoculturology, cognitive semantics and pragmatics, comparative lexicology and phraseology; they can be used in teaching of Russian and English as foreign languages, as well as in lexicographic practice.