Zoomorphic Metaphors “Livestock” in Russian and Galician Language Pictures of the World

Abstract

The article analyses zoomorphic metaphors with the naming units "livestock". The universal and specific features of the representation of these zoomorphic metaphors are determined in the compared languages. Names of domestic animals belonging to the sub-group "livestock" have been considered in order to determine the peculiarities of the associative and symbolic links of animals' appearance, behaviour, and way of life with the particular appearance and personality, behaviour and way of life of a person in Russian and Galician linguistic consciousness, to identify the set of animal metaphors characterising a person, which are significant in the view of culture, paradigms and stereotypes of linguistic consciousness, as well as value priorities of Russian and Galician linguacultures, similarities and differences between the two cultures of different types. The study is built on a semantically grounded zoonym classification, which is based not only on phenotypic traits of animals, but also on their functional role in people's life. Characteristics of domestic animals, their behavior and environment forming a basis for metaphorical reinterpretation have been analysed in the context of a comparative analysis of linguistic metaphors, figurative comparisons, idioms with a zoonym component. Metaphorisation results from the perception of the animal world through the worldview of people, their acquired social experience and subjective evaluation of animal behaviour and habits. The analysis of zoomorphic metaphors related to the "livestock" subgroup in Russian and Galician linguacultures shows that, in the centre-periphery structure of zoomorphic metaphorical naming, some of the dominant features of the animal are marked. This feature is developed according to association in the system of linguocultural axiological references. The variability of features attributed to animals and the stereotypical attitude towards them are conditioned by the specific worldview of native speakers. Universal associations that are the basis of zoomorphic metaphors in the compared languages largely correlate with the general characteristics of the animal. The most relevant features for both languages that are represented in the figurative name are behaviour and inner qualities, physical characteristics and mental abilities. Features related to appearance and activity are less frequent. The differences are revealed in the choice of the basis for modelling a metaphorical image, in the repertoire of evaluative meanings, as well as in the degree of productivity of the development of metaphorical meanings. The coincidence of the features in the Russian and Galician languages can be explained by animal domestication, their area of distribution, as well as common subjects of mythological texts. More complex metaphorical comparisons are predominantly nationally marked.