Open AccessCognitive operations of plant meat construal in Engish media discourse
Author(s) -
Tatiana Ivanovna Semenova,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
teoretičeskaâ i prikladnaâ lingvistika
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2410-7190
DOI - 10.22250/2410-7190_2021_7_4_97_111
Subject(s) - conceptual blending , construals , conceptualization , categorization , focus (optics) , cognition , construal level theory , psychology , computer science , social psychology , artificial intelligence , physics , neuroscience , optics
This paper examines discursive representation of the concept PLANT MEAT in English mass media. The study discusses cognitive operations of categorization, conceptual integration, focus shift involved in conceptualization of a trendy meatless food product. The focus is made on nominal compounds like meatless meat and fake meat in terms of conceptual integration. The study of the relations between formally integrated linguistic structures and conceptually integrated structures supports the claim that the meanings of the compounds are not predictable from their parts. The conclusion is made that the compounds prompt for a specific complex mapping scheme and conceptual blending. Conceptual blends meatless meat and fake meat are viewed as alternative construals of the concept PLANT MEAT and as a result of focus shift mechanism in the semantic structure of the blends. Conceptual blend meatless meat highlights the property ‘absence of meat’ while conceptual blend fake meat focuses on the property ‘imitation’. The concept PLANT MEAT is a way of understanding food made from plants with the appearance similar to meat. The paper reveals pragmatic potential of the conceptual blend PLANT MEAT in shaping health and environmental benefits of a meat-free food style in media discourse.