Food metaphor as a means of expressing evaluation and values (based on figurative lexis and phraseology of the Russian language)

This article presents the axiological analysis of figurative words and phraseology motivated by names of plant foods; models a fragment of the evaluative picture of the world represented by Russian food metaphor. The relevance of the research is due to the attention to the study of culture in language codes that reflects metaphorical and symbolic reinterpretation of food traditions; cognitive research of metaphor as a world-modeling mechanism; analysis and research of evaluation lexis that demonstrate the national characteristics of perception of the world. The object is figurative words and expressions translating the food metaphor and having an evaluative meaning. The source of material was the first edition of Slovar' russkoy pishchevoy metafory ("Dictionary of Russian Food Metaphor"). The article presents a range of questions related to the definition of evaluation as a linguistic category. Interpretation of the basic terms is given, the structure of evaluation (subject, object, character and basis), types of evaluation (general and specific), means of evaluation (rational and emotional) are described. Specific types of values are listed that express the axiological attitude to the object through gastronomic images and corresponding evaluative scales: ethical (moral + / immoral -); aesthetic (nice + / ugly -), intellectual (reasonable + / unreasonable -), psychological (calm + / stress -), healthful (healthy + / unhealthy -), utilitarian (helpful + / useless -), parametric (normal 0 / excessive +/-) evaluation. A method of the axiological analysis of figurative words and expressions is developed; it includes seven stages: 1) identification of the component of rational evaluation expressed as a positive or negative qualification of the object in the semantics of a language unit; 2) identification of the basis of evaluation, a model with respect to which evaluation is formed; 3) determination of the type of evaluation; 4) identification of emotional, evaluative or expressive connotations; 5) research of the object of evaluation, identification of its properties that are the focus of evaluation; 6) research of the nature of the figurative analogy; 7) reconstruction of a fragment of the evaluative picture of the world. Figurative words SAKHARNIY("sugary"): tender, pleasant (voice, music); KONFETKA ("candy"): a nice, attractive girl; V SHOKOLADE ("in chocolate"): excellently, perfectly. The second part of the article demonstrates a fragment of the evaluative picture of the world. The author identifies the main spheres of extra-linguistic reality to be evaluated by a food metaphor (human behavior, human figure, appearance of objects, phenomena of the economic sphere etc.). Figurative analogies and bases of evaluation are described. It is noted that evaluation of objects of reality through food metaphors is predominantly negative. Cases of mixed evaluations that combine different types of evaluation modality are analyzed.

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