The article aims to explore how the metaphors representing cognitive processes, common to European philosophical discourse, were reconceptualized in the XVII philosophical discourse. Integrating the methods of cognitive and corpus linguistics we show that Ralf Cudworth complicates the model of representing human cognition by combining two image-schemas of SURFACE and CONTAINER. He challenges the passive model of knowledge acquisition embodied in the metaphor of an imprint on a wax tablet or a sign on paper. The focus shifts from the object to the subject of knowledge: it is not external objects that leave imprints on the passive soul, but the soul itself that possesses innate activity and power to drive its perception and process it within the mind - a kind of storage space. He uses these schemas in similar contexts arguing that the cognitive processes are much more complicated than leaving an imprint on a SURFACE. Finally, we show that the metaphor of looking glass, mirror, crystal globe that he introduces is a way to resolve epistemological contradiction between the world of objects and the world of ideas, between static perception and the inherent dynamics of the cognitive process, between the insoluble dualism of corporeality and disembodied thinking. Through integrating the results from corpus and cognitive analyses we show the place of the introduced term - consciousness - in this model of human cognitive processes. Overall, the integrated analysis allows us to reconstruct the nuances of the deep conceptual structures underlying both the use of metaphors and the development of philosophical discourse.
The article presents an interpretation of an unpublished letter from David Burliuk to the Tambov collector N.A. Nikiforov (1964) through the prism of the concept of entelechism developed by the “father of Russian futurism”. It establishes that the text under study is a unique epistolary document in which poetic, graphic and biographical registers intersect, allowing one to perceive the letter as a synthetic self-portrait of the artist at the end of his life. The language of Burliuk’s epistolary genre, which acts as the general theoretical basis of entelechy, reflects the linguistic features of the author’s handwriting, his worldview and self-image. At the same time, the concept of entelechy serves not only as an object of analysis, but also as a methodological tool that makes it possible to reconstruct the emotional and existential state of the author and demonstrate the heuristic potential of entelechy as a humanitarian method. The authors prove that the text of Burliuk’s letter reflects the features of personal auto-correction and a meaningful reassessment of his own creative path. Replacing the gloomy metaphor of death with the image of the “the delight of wandering” reveals the content of the letter as an act of philosophical reorientation: it contains the power of a gaze directed not towards the past, but towards the internally destined completion of the creative movement towards entelechy as the actualization of life in art.
In line with cognitive-semantic theory, the theory of the epistemological foundations of categorization, the theory of semantic stratification, interpretive semantics, and the theory of precedent, this article examines the semantics of a linguistic sign as a carrier of precedent knowledge about the world. The study investigates the cognitive foundations of derived linguistic signs that are relevant for their secondary categorization. The author substantiates the epistemic (knowledge-based) component of the semantics of linguistic precedent signs as a nuclear one. This semantic component constitutes the interpretative (hermeneutic) potential of linguistic precedent signs. It is motivated by different types of knowledge, all reducible to one categorically significant type - precedent knowledge. Using specific linguistic examples, it is demonstrated that the meaning of grammatical and lexical precedent signs is grounded in precedent meaning as a product of precedent thinking. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the substantiation of the categorically significant epistemic foundations of the precedent sign. This also indicates the theoretical significance of the presented material for the further development of the semantic theory of the epistemological foundations of categorization in language and the general theory of precedent in linguistics. The research methods employed include explanatory description, methods of cognitive and conceptual-taxonomic modeling, precedent-based reasoning, and conceptual-definitional and propositional analysis. The author concludes that the meaning of a precedent sign is not a given, but rather a construct shaped by precedent knowledge.
The article presents a sociolinguistic analysis of the phenomenon of uptalk in contemporary English-language communication. The subject of the study is the prosodic pattern of rising intonation in declarative utterances (uptalk). The aim of the work is to identify the extralinguistic factors determining the use of this intonation model, to analyze its pragmatic functions, and to examine the mechanisms of stigmatization associated with its usage. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive approach combining analysis of theoretical literature (works by R. Lakoff, P. Warren, P. Roach) with an empirical study of video content from the TikTok platform, selected through continuous sampling method. The main results demonstrate that uptalk performs important communicative functions: establishing and maintaining contact with the listener, regulating turn-taking in conversation, softening categorical statements, and creating a cooperative tone of communication. The analysis of TikTok videos reveals that uptalk serves as a tool for building trustful communication and retaining audience attention in digital environments. The findings contribute to the fields of sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and digital communication studies, and can be applied in further research on language changes in new media. The study concludes that uptalk should be regarded not as language degradation, but as a significant linguistic innovation with specific social and pragmatic functions, effectively serving as a conversational tool for dialogue management and rapport building in the digital era.
Conditional connections in language are fundamental types of connections that express the logic of thinking. In modern science, they play a key role in artificial programming languages. In application to specific languages, these connections vary considerably and are used to express not only formal logical dependencies, but also relationships that go beyond formal logic. The article is devoted to the study of one type of such connections in the constructions wenn/falls/sofern überhaupt in modern German. The aim of the article is to determine the degree of idiomaticity and categorical status of constructions that are being considered in German studies for the first time. The study revealed varying degrees of idiomatization of constructions with synonymous conjunctions. Functioning as non-integrated into the structure of the sentence, parentheses ensure the transition of constructions from the status of subordination to the status of a commentary on the position of the subject of speech.
