FOOD REPRESENTATION IN RUSSIAN MEDIA: COGNITIVE AND PRAGMATIC ASPECTS

The present paper is devoted to the problem of representing food in the Russian media discourse. Food has been the object of numerous sociological, cultural and linguistic studies. The authors analyze social and linguistic factors of food representation in the media discourse, in particular, the social factors that influence the journalist as well as the peculiarities of linguistic forms of food representation. Playing one of the major roles in life of society, food gets specific representation in Russian media discourse due to the current economic, social, cultural and political situation. The authors also analyze realization of a specific cognitive model Food as a source of healthy life within the media discourse and its impact on the readers’ consciousness and behaviour. Realization of this model is determined by the fact that society faces serious health problems caused by eating unhealthy food. The connection between cognitive model realization and the journalist’s pragmatic goal aimed at positive representation of food in the Russian media discourse is investigated in the paper. The dominant components of the cognitive model are also analyzed. The authors pay particular ttention to analysis of language means used for realization of the cognitive model. Foregrounding such components as food, characteristics of the object (food), action and consequences is determined by the journalist’s pragmatic goal to persuade the readers to change their eating habits, i. e. choose a healthier diet and, consequently, improve the nation’s state of health. The authors come to a conclusion that the reader’s every-day eating practices are transformed due to the impact of the media discourse, in which Food as a source of healthy life cognitive model is realized.