Models of conceptual metaphorization of the lexeme “truth” in the language objectification of the concept of the same name

the article examines the features of conceptual metaphorization of the lexeme “truth” according to the models of reification and animation, presented in Russian speech, as a language representation of the concept of the same name. The methodological basis of the study is the theory of cognitive metaphor by G. Lakoff and M. Johnson. The work uses the methodology of complex, linguo-cultural and cognitive-oriented, conceptual analysis developed by researchers of the Nizhny Novgorod Scientific School. The material of the study is a selection of examples extracted from the main corpus in the Russian National Corpus. The volume of the material was 244 units. It is shown that the lexeme “truth”, in the aspect of the universal tendency of concretized representation of abstraction in natural languages, is consistently realized in speech according to the models of reification, being understood as a concretely perceived entity – a thing, substance, container, etc., and according to the models of animation, being understood as an animated being, a purposefully and actively acting agent. It is concluded that the procedure of conceptual analysis of conceptual-metaphorical models proposed in the work is an effective scientific instrument for identifying and interpreting the specifics of the embodiment of significant cultural concepts in the ethnic language picture of the world. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying its main results in university teaching of Russian as a foreign language, as well as in the practice of compiling dictionaries of concepts of Russian national culture, including for educational purposes.

concept TRUTH, lexeme “truth”, conceptual metaphor, reification, animation, linguo-cultural approach, Russian language picture of the world