Open AccessConceptual silencing as a rhetorical tool. A cognitive lexical semantics study of the lexical item Europe
Author(s) -
Przemysław Wilk
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
res rhetorica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2392-3113
DOI - 10.29107/rr2021.1.7
Subject(s) - lexical semantics , linguistics , cognition , context (archaeology) , lexical item , rhetorical question , semantics (computer science) , psychology , conceptual framework , expression (computer science) , sociology , cognitive psychology , cognitive science , computer science , social science , philosophy , history , archaeology , neuroscience , programming language
Taking a cognitive lexical semantics perspective, the article introduces the concept of conceptual silencing as a rhetorical tool. Understood as a process of conceptual dissolution of meaning to offer a more coarse-grained sense of an expression, conceptual silencing is demonstrated to have a potential rhetorical value in that it allows for more opaque reproduction of ideology. From a cognitive linguistic standpoint, the process of conceptual silencing hinges upon a polysemous nature of a lexical item and boils down to triggering a given sense of a given lexical item in a given context. To illustrate the workings of conceptual silencing, the article reports on a case study of the lexical item Europe in the Guardian press discourse. It is demonstrated that the ultimate effect of conceptual silencing is silencing the ‘European Union’ senses under the guise of the lexical item Europe.