Multimodal representation of the English conceptual duplex HOUSE/HOME

Abstract

This paper focuses on the English conceptual duplex HOUSE/HOME, its conceptual properties and means of linguistic representation; and examines the contribution of the data of its multimodal discourse actualization to the cognitive linguistics framework. In cognitive semantics, HOUSE/HOME proves to be a conceptual duplex constituted by various meanings of the polysemantic nouns house and home, and elaborated by the meanings of their synonyms. Within a conceptual network, their common meanings are arranged according to the domains where they are profiled: HUMAN LOCATION / DWELLING, FAMILY. The study of their salience in speech (in literary texts) considers their contextual elaborations, and establishes groups of lexical-semantic variants which are finally blended together within a conceptual model of HOUSE/HOME. This model is a unity of an integral and two differential parts. The integral part is constituted by the meanings: "building where a person lives (with his family)", "dwelling place", family life", "family" shared by the lexemes house (n) and home (n). The differential parts of the model are formed by the meanings which are specific for each polysemantic lexeme. To analyse the HOUSE/HOME actualization in discourse the study adopts a broad perspective on multimodality. It relies on the interaction of verbal and graphic codes and reveals that these semiotic systems are non-isomorphic in representing various meanings of the concept duplex.