COVID-19 target Sphere in English-language media text (based on The Economist magazine)

Abstract

The subject of the study is a conceptual metaphor in the English-language media text. The current vocabulary associated with coronavirus infection is taken as an analysis. The cognitive paradigm of language research is based on the general methodological principle of cognitive linguistics: to draw conclusions about the structures of consciousness from the facts of language. The article examines certain images in relation to the description of COVID-19 in the modern English-language media text. Special attention is paid to the selection of ontological, orientation and structural metaphors, where the target sphere is SARS COV-2. Metaphorical expressions are analyzed, which are recognized as an important tool for the study of the conceptual sphere of a person. The main conclusions of the study are the fact that the COVID in the English text is considered as an ENTITY, an ANIMAL and the SEA. Highlighting the conceptual metaphors COVID-19 IS A SUBSTANCE, COVID-19 IS AN ANIMAL, COVID-19 IS A SEA, we came to the conclusion that the British consider coronavirus infection as something tangible, dangerous and endless.Different metaphors highlight different sides of the same phenomenon, and the speaker/writer always chooses between them, guided by current communicative goals. Each metaphor inevitably emphasizes, or highlights, some aspects of a particular concept, and obscures others.