Suvremena lingvistika, Vol. 47 No. 91, 2021.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.22210/suvlin.2021.091.02
“When a chicken thinks she’s a swan”: discourse construal through dichotomization
Janja Čulig Suknaić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3870-6258
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sažetak
h e paper presents a social network discourse analysis example that uses pairs of lexemes that carry
opposite meanings only in that particular discourse. Th e analyzed example appeared as a form of negative
public opinion of Croatia’s former President, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, after she climbed on stage after a
ballet performance at the Croatian National Th eatre in Zagreb, taking a bow with the ensemble. Th is led to
the use of new contextually conditioned pairs of lexemes with opposite meanings. Th e lexemes kokoš and
labud (ENG chicken and swan), are used in this discourse as the basis of further communication among its
participants. Th is discourse is characterized by the dichotomization of conceptual knowledge as the mirror
image of the context of situation, as well as the context of culture (Žic Fuchs 1991) which spawned the
discourse itself. By understanding antonymy in the widest sense (Jones et al. 2012) as a semantic relation
that arises from the juxtaposition of concepts with respect to their real or perceived characteristics, we
can explain how and why the lexemes kokoš and labud, along with other lexemes used as antonyms in this
discourse, were construed as antonyms even though they are not conventionally seen as such (Jeff ries
2010, Jones 2002, Murphy 2003). Th rough these kinds of pairs of lexemes, discourse participants are able
to communicate powerful social messages. Since the discourse in question is highly culturally specifi c, it
is analyzed according to its comprising conceptual domains that represent the background knowledge of
its participants (Sharifi an 2011), or its macro–context (Van Dijk 2009). Th is macro–context then enables
the construal of a micro–context (Van Dijk 2009) through the dichotomization of concepts, and the
juxtaposition of lexemes that do not usually represent semantic opposition (Jones et al. 2012). An example
such as this can show us the value of semantic opposition in everyday discourse structuring, but also its
relevance for the construal of our conceptual system. Th e notion that even unconventionalized pairs of
lexemes can be construed as semantically opposite if the discourse allows it corroborates the claim that
antonymy in the widest sense is a fl exible and creative meaning relation that could unveil some of the
bounds between language and the mind.
Ključne riječi
anytonymy; discourse construal; dichotomization; conventionalization of lexemes; context of culture; Croatian
Hrčak ID:
261009
URI
Datum izdavanja:
27.7.2021.
Posjeta: 1.032 *