Axiological aspect in contemporary conceptualization of bread: on the material of russian phraseological units

Abstract

The authors argue that Russian ideas about bread have found their expression in several set expressions, units of the food cultural code and manifestations of an axiological ethnically marked paradigm, which was verbalized in the language. By addressing to the National Corpus of the Russian Language one can present a picture of the speech use of set expressions containing the bread component, which confirms the real demand for these expressions and the nature of their conceptualization by the speakers. This topic is particularly interesting because over time both the interpretation of a set expression and its axiology may change, showing the phraseological creativity of the speakers. On the one hand, the original semantics may undergo an axiological shift, and on the other hand, it may become necessary to express additional connotations. Special attention is paid to several most popular expressions, collected in phraseological dictionaries. The analysis of the material has shown that the basic vectors of conceptualization of bread are reflected in its perception as the food product, that guarantees life, and in the acceptance of its high axiological status by the speakers of Russian. First, it is possible to identify several elements of the cultural code connected to the image of bread, such as the religious one (daily bread; not by bread alone), the gastronomical one (a crust of bread) and the ethical one (bread and salt). Secondly, the examination of the function of phraseological units with bread in contemporary discourse has shown the ambivalence of bread which may symbolize either something very necessary and highly valued (do not feed bread) or something minimal and inadequate (and that is bread too). This situation can be observed using the expression slice of bread which serves as the component of several idioms: the speakers use it to construct an entire scale of values used to define one’s income and prosperity, ranging from minimal needs (to work for a slice of bread) to self-sufficiency (earn one’s slice of bread) and, finally, high (earn for a slice of bread with butter/caviar).