Cognitive and pragmatic peculiarities of positive and negative food representation in Russian media discourse

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of cognitive and pragmatic aspects of food representation in media discourse as well as peculiarities of the language means of such representation. The language means used for the realization of cognitive models referring to the spheres of entertainment, cooking and eating as well as the models referring to the negative aspects of food representation in Russian media discourse are investigated. The article also studies the connection between the realization of cognitive models and journalists’ pragmatic goals aimed at a positive or negative representation of food in media discourse. The cognitive models’ dominant components are analyzed. The promotion of such components as participants, food and drink, place, entertainment, characteristics of the object (food), action, consequences, etc., is driven by journalists’ pragmatic goals aimed at drawing attention to particular dishes or preventing the negative consequences of consuming a certain food. Filling the components of the cognitive model with particular contents by means of language units results in achieving the journalist’s goal. The article also investigates the connection between various spheres of human life established by the representation of food. The authors refer to the peculiarities of the realization of the cognitive model “Food as a source of danger”. The results of the undertaken research can be used for analyzing the realization of cognitive models in other types of discourse as well as in theoretical courses on text linguistics, discourse analysis, and media linguistics.