COGNITIVE MECHANISMS OF MANIPULATIVE EUPHEMIZING

COGNITIVE MECHANISMS OF MANIPULATIVE EUPHEMIZING

Author:  V.I. Zabotkina, E.M. Pozdnyakova

Affiliation:  Russian State University for the Humanities

Abstract:  The article discusses the cognitive mechanisms underlying the creation of manipulative euphemisms; it presents the essence of those cognitive tools that are used by the media to manipulate the recipients, consuming their content.
The research tasks are: identification of the parameters enhancing the cognitive mechanism of reframing in relation to euphemisms; determining what part of the original meaning structure is inherited in a new creative meaning of the euphemism formation.
The methods used are: conceptual analysis, frame analysis, analysis of socio-cultural interpretant, principle of dynamic conceptual semantics.
As a result of the study, we obtained the data on how the process of reframing is carried out with euphemisms used for manipulation purposes. For its implementation, the cognitive mechanisms of analogy, conceptual deviation and conceptual blending are used, backstage cognition is activated. During reframing, the slots of the source frame are mapped onto the slots of the construed frame. Word or phrase representing the source frame profiles the conceptualization and triggers the set of target frame slots. In the case of using a euphemism for reframing, a contextually justified, but more neutral expression that does not carry negative conceptual attributes is chosen.
The results can be used in cognitive linguistics and journalism studies.

Keywords:  euphemisms, mass communication media, manipulation, conceptual deviation, reframing.

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Acknowledgments:  The research is financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 22-18-00594.

For citation:  Zabotkina, V. I., & Pozdnyakova, E. M. (2022). Cognitive mechanisms of manipulative euphemizing. Voprosy Kognitivnoy Lingvistiki, 4, 55-64 (In Russ.).

Pages:  55-64