SOMATIC METAPHORS OF WAR: COGNITIVE PATTERNS IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA

Аннотация

The study presents a comparative analysis of the conceptual metaphor war is a human body in Russian and English media discourse. Its relevance stems from the key role metaphors play in interpreting and emotionally perceiving military conflicts in the media. The aim is to identify universal and culture-specific features of this anthropomorphic model. Using data from the Russian National Corpus and the COCA corpus and applying the MIPVU procedure, the analysis reveals that, despite a common cognitive basis, the metaphor's realization differs. Russian discourse emphasizes concrete somatic images (хребет, кровь, лицо), highlighting structural stability and sacrifice. English discourse favors abstract concepts (body politic, soul, lifeblood), reflecting a systemic view of war. A common feature is the portrayal of war as a disease. The findings are significant for linguistics, political communication, and media literacy.