Metaphor of Shame in Chinese and Russian

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of metaphors reflecting the emotion of shame in Russian and Chinese. The methods of conceptual analysis, comparative analysis, metaphorical modeling and corpus research of metaphorical units are used on the material of the Chinese BCC and CCL buildings and the Russian NKRJ corps. The aim of the work is to study the emotional metaphors of shame in Russian and Chinese and to identify similarities and differences in the conceptualization of shame in the two linguistic cultures. The methodological basis of the research is the theory of cognitive metaphors by J. Lakoff. According to this theory, the metaphors of shame in Russian and Chinese were divided into five types: physical, natural, ontological, behavioral and sensory. As a result of the study, it turned out that in different cultures there are similarities in the use of metaphors to express shame, which may indicate a universal biological basis for this emotion.  However, trends and differences in cognitive processes lead to significant differences between Russians and Chinese in how metaphors are used to express shame. The study of shame metaphors in Russian and Chinese is an important topic for comparative analysis of linguistic features, which contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural characteristics and emotional manifestations in various cultural contexts. As a result of the study, it turned out that in different cultures there are similarities in the use of metaphors to express shame, which may indicate a universal biological basis for this emotion. However, trends and differences in cognitive processes lead to significant differences between Russians and Chinese in how metaphors are used to express shame. The study of shame metaphors in Russian and Chinese is an important topic for comparative analysis of linguistic features, which contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural characteristics and emotional manifestations in various cultural contexts.