Metaphorical Models of the Conceptual Opposition “Us – They” in Different Types of Discourse (By the Material of the English Language)

Abstract

The conceptual dyad “us – they” is a multidimensional mental formation that translates the functions of language and communication in general, reflecting the process of knowing oneself through someone else. The aim of the study is to determine the ways of representation and categorization of this opposition in various types of English-language discourse. Contextual and comparative analysis of the discourse allowed us to conclude that the categorization of the surrounding objects as “ours” or “theirs” is presented in metaphorical and narrative forms. Emotionality and evaluativeness are an integral feature of the linguistic expression of the dyads “us – they/ friend – foe”. The metaphorical verbalization of the oppositions “us – they/ friend – foe” in the institutional types of discourse due to their communicative scope and suggestive potential is articularly relevant. Many metaphorical projections of the awareness of “us – they/ friend – foe” are associated with the hyperconcept “home”. The state, social group, stratum, the totality of citizens are associated with the concept of home. In institutional discourses, there are a lot of terms, formed by means of metaphorical transfers on the basis of the model “inside the house – outside the house”. Metaphorization of the concept of “us” occurs on the basis of images of relatives and friends, as well as on the basis of symbolic color designations. Institutional discourse contains metaphors that reflect the mobility of the border between “foreign” and “own”, the possibility of the transition of alien into the category of ours. “Alien” does not always mean “enemy”; metaphors show a certain gradation of the alien: “known alien”– “unfamiliar alien”–“hostile alien”.