Corpus analysis in determining the structure of metaphorical frames: A case study of nominations of fear in Modern Greek media texts

The article focuses on the study of realization of nominations of fear — one of the most pronounced emotions in media texts, and their metaphorization, that reflect interrelation between linguistic consciousness and sociocultural processes. The corpus analysis enables to specify lexical meaning in the context and to set the features of figurative word usage that are at the core of linguoculture under study. The first stage of the research included the selection of nominations that contain the seme of fear, the analysis of dictionary definitions, including component analysis. Following that the results were assessed from the perspective of their usage in the texts; the material was the Corpus of Modern Greek (media texts). The results demonstrate the central (ο φόβος, το άγχος, ο τρόμος and о πανικός), semi-peripheral and peripheral zones of the nominative field of fear, as well as ethnospecific type of fear (το δέος) that dominates in Modern Greek linguistic culture. Frame analysis contributed to structure of cognitive metaphors, the source domains of which contain one of the nominations of fear. The study sets several types of target domain. Most commonly it follows from the name of the slot that is occupied by the fear nomination, including combination of slot and frame names (Horror is the perception of a picture: frame picture, slot perception). However, the target domains may vary for different emotions and states of fear (or for the same emotion), depending on the different content of the same slot (Panic is a thriller and Panic is a horror-movie: frame film, slot genre). The third option with the target domain entitled with the name of the frame is possible in cases, when fear fills the slots of subject, object or state (Panic is a disease: frame disease, slot state).