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All-Russian academic journal
“Issues of Cognitive Linguistics”

INTERACTION OF MENTAL SPACES “WOMAN” AND “FOX” IN RUSSIAN FAIRYTALE DISCOURSE

INTERACTION OF MENTAL SPACES “WOMAN” AND “FOX” IN RUSSIAN FAIRYTALE DISCOURSE


Author:  L.P. Kovalchuk

Affiliation:  Chelyabinsk State University

Abstract: 

Fairytale discourse appeared as a result of interaction between imagination and everyday experience by means of exaggeration and rethinking. Apart from the seeming simplicity of folktales, we can examine them as an encoded source of information about the historic background of a certain nation. The decoding of а fairytale context with the help of conceptual integration theory can reveal the origin of the heroes’ names and can help to understand the mindset of Russian people. 
The aim of the research is to describe two input spaces “woman” and “fox” and to present the process of the blend yielded in Russian fairytales. For the analysis of the folktale blend we introduce the structures of the input spaces “woman” and “fox”. The study of etymological and encyclopedic material revealed some features commonly associated with women in Russian traditions. The further research showed that the metaphoric projection of those features on common biological characteristics typical of the fox gave rise to the folktale blend. The analysis is focused on highlighting the counterparts’ elements reflected in tales and discourse elements that do not refer to the input spaces but can be traced in the fairytale context and, as a result, form part of the blend.
Thus, the research shows that national folktales have preserved fetishistic, totemistic and animalistic features together with magic beliefs, practised in earlier days. In folktale genesis we can still find the descriptions of social and cultural forms of life, as well as rituals and customs that existed in ancient times. For many centuries however they have been metaphorically modified and lost their real essence.

Keywords:  blend, input space, conceptual integration, generic space, mental space, fairytale discourse

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Pages:  16-24

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