Mental models of political values in the language of modern youth

The empirical embodiment of the culturally and historically contextualized experiences of native speakers is of particular interest during periods of social upheaval. Within cognitive linguistics, this entails the study of conscious awareness and the linguistic embodiment of the subjective experience of social events and facts that have occurred or are occurring in a specific historical period. This study focuses on the cognitive frames present in the language of modern youth, which reflect the political values of contemporary Russian culture. The object of investigation is political media discourse, which exerts a direct influence on the linguistic embodiment of values in youth language. The aim of this research is to identify the cognitive frames of political values within the language of modern Russian youth, thereby providing a context for understanding their specific linguistic manifestations. The article presents new data on the use of political framing in the linguistic constructions of political discourse within the modern youth environment. The method of mental models was employed to analyze cognitive and political metaphors; cognitive framing techniques were used to examine the relationship between lexical constructions in youth language; and description in the context of linguopragmatics was applied to analyze frame structures expressing political values. Particular attention is given to the qualitative analysis of descriptions of political value meanings obtained through student surveys. Cognitive and communicative frames, as well as occasionalisms in youth language relating to political values, and their modes of formation, are identified and analyzed. This work elucidates how political values are formed in youth language around social facts not directly related to politics, and why such values often emerge as political occasionalisms. The scientific novelty of the study lies in demonstrating the decisive role of communication systems and information processing methods in shaping the meanings of political values in contemporary youth language. It is shown that while young people actively engage with political events, manipulative practices in political discourse aimed at diverting attention from core issues, limited political experience, and the influence of borrowed vocabulary contribute to the formation of metaphors and occasionalisms. Blending is identified as the predominant mechanism of formation, enabling the mixing of non-political meanings alongside emotionally intensifying frames by combining them with cognitively simple concepts of traditional values. The study confirms that cognitive frames are constructed through simple, single-level values to economize decision-making about value choice, and also reflect the limited linguistic resources available for expressing value meanings. The findings have potential applications in both theoretical research aimed at refining theories of mental modeling and in practical political discourse strategies tailored to youth audiences.