Problems in describing metaphorical semantics in a dictionary: New meanings recording and interpretations unification

The problems of the lexicographic description of metaphorical semantics are examined on the material of The Dictionary of the Russian Food Metaphor. The objectives of the article include examination of the methodology for identifying metaphorical meanings, methods of lexicographic description, creation of a dictionary definition, development of unified models of interpretation. Compilation of The Dictionary of the Russian Food Metaphor was carried out on the basis of two sources: published dictionaries and the metaphorical contexts base. A continuous sampling method was used to compile the primary list of interpreted units from explanatory dictionaries and dictionaries of figurative words and expressions. The units were used to search for metaphorical contexts. New figurative meanings (previously not described in dictionaries) were identified while collecting contexts and analyzing them. A special objective is the classification of the figurative units in terms of their structural-semantic type, usage and occasionally. Quantitative and systemic criteria were used for this purpose. Using the figurative word in the same meaning in at least three to five contexts indicates the stable character of the metaphorical meaning. The system criterion is based on paradigmatic relations and relations within lexico-phraseological figurative microsystems. The definitions for The Dictionary of the Russian Food Metaphor were made based on the interpretations presented in published explanatory dictionaries and dictionaries of figurative words and expressions. If the systematically used metaphorical meaning was not previously fixed, the authors formulated the definitions using the interpretations of synonymous words in the dictionaries and the results of their research using component, definition and contextual analysis. The general rule in interpreting the semantics of figurative words and expressions is the avoidance of metaphorical elements in the definitions of secondary figurative nominations. Interpretations should be informative, understandable, not misleading, not causing additional questions. The dictionary explanation of the semantics of the original motivating units and secondary figurative nominations presupposes the development of unified models of a dictionary definition. The specificity of interpretation is determined by the structural and semantic variety of the figurative means of language, the partial attribution of the main structural and semantic component of figurative expressions and the actual semantics of the figurative unit.

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