The conceptualization of morality in modern english-language globalization discourse: evidence from the United Nations Speeches

Abstract

The increased interest of international cognitive linguists in the mechanisms of conceptualizing modern social phenomena has necessitated cognitive linguistic analysis of such phenomena as globalization, which is one of the most important trends setting the vector for modern society development.This study attempts not only to identify key concepts and means of their representation in terms of the globalization phenomenon, but also to build with the help of these concepts elements of the modern moral system inherent in the English-speaking community. To this end, a conceptual and cognitive-semantic analysis of contemporary English-language political discourse was carried out on the basis of speeches delivered by delegates to the United Nations.The investigation is premised on the theory of conceptual metaphor, emphasizing the need to understand the metaphorical foundations of human consciousness and communication. The study collected and analyzed empirical data that can be used to draw conclusions about the models of representation and assessment of reality by members of the English-speaking community, which in turn opens up prospects for further research in a linguistic pragmatic way and studying the specific features of English-speakers’ view of the world.As a result of lexicological and discourse-based analysis of speech transcripts, the paper uncovers several basic metaphorical models (Morality as 1. Commitment; 2. Nurturant Parent; 3. Resilience; 4. Fairy Tale of the Just War; 5. Progress), which outline globalization within the conceptual view of the world and which are underlined by such antitheses as “moral - immoral,” “success - loss,” “strength - weakness” etc.