Cognitive-Discursive Aspect of Coronavirus Metaphorization in the Russian Language Media Ecosystems

Abstract

AbstractThis article is devoted to the metaphorical modeling of situations during the pandemic era in Russian language media ecosystems. The widespread use of metaphor on social media platforms may be due to the influence of the increasingly complex surrounding reality, when the figurative and emotional language of metaphor is necessary to express abstract concepts. The purpose of the work is to analyze the most typical models that allow to conceptualize phenomena related to the situation under consideration, to show the ways and mechanisms of their linguistic representation. The theoretical foundations for the study of metaphorical modeling are given. The study is carried out in the light of the cognitive-discursive and frame approaches, which make it possible to identify the conceptual features of metaphorization in this type of discourse, critical analysis of which enables to establish the connection between language and social reality. In the process of the research, several most significant models were identified and carefully described. Thus, the undertaken study made it possible to show the different aspects and properties of the virus and the pandemic, through the mechanisms of metaphorical assimilation to present the virus as a living being, a natural phenomenon, an information bug. The relevance of the work is due to the description of motivational grounds in the information perception and reasoning by the Russian language speaker, in the determination of the conceptual models of the way the media influences the mass consciousness. The results of the study give a particular key to understand the most efficient ways of managing the recipient’s perception. KeywordsConceptualizationMetaphorMetaphorizationMetaphorical modelsMedia discourseThe concept of “Coronavirus”Media ecosystems