REFLECTION OF SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUMAN HEAD AND THEIR COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN ENGLISH PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

Cognitive approach in linguistics focuses on the role of human factor in speech-thinking processes and studies the cognitive base of linguistic concepts and categories. Some of the most important cognitive processes are those of space perception and categorization of human spatial experience. The way these cognitive components can be reflected in the language is of particular interest. In this respect, the relevance of our research is determined by the necessity to study the representation of the existential category of space in the language.

The purpose of the research is to reveal how peculiarities of spatial characteristics and their cognitive processing influence the semantics of set expressions. The object of the work is English phraseological units containing the word head. The choice of this very body part is explained by its vital importance for a human-being. Besides, it is a well-known fact that space perception and conceptualization are anthropocentric. It is the head that serves a key reference point in man’s orientation in space.

The novelty of the work is determined by an attempt to describe the reflection of spatial characteristics of the human head in the phraseological system of the English language. It should be noted that the description of phraseological units with the word head referring to an animal body part goes beyond the scope of this article.

The research material comprises seven English-Russian and English-English general language and phraseological dictionaries

A special range of issues in cognitive linguistics is associated with the study of how spatial perception and its further conceptualization and categorization are reflected in the language. Foreign and domestic scientists have carried out significant research in this area

Apart from research in cognitive linguistics, the theoretical and methodological basis of our study was scientific works on phraseology

In the course of the study, general and specific methods of cognition of both theoretical and empirical levels were used. The research, along with the general scientific inductive-deductive method and the method of quantitative calculation and classification of phenomena, is based on a methodology for studying cognitive processes. The complex use of these methods provides a new vision of some theoretical aspects of cognitive linguistics and phraseology.

For clarity, the spatial relations in the studied phraseological units with the word head are presented in the form of schemes.

The reference point in describing spatial relations is usually a human-being: it is relative to him that the location of other objects is viewed. The head, as a part of the body, is an important element in space orientation. In this regard, it appears necessary to consider the reflection of the spatial characteristics of the human head in phraseologisms with the lexeme head, which is one of the basic words of the English language.

The position of the head in relation to the human body as a whole is determined by its normal spatial orientation. The canonical position of man is the upright one and it explains the dominant role of the vertical dimension for him. Due to anatomical peculiarities, the perception and conceptualization of the human body is directed along the “top-bottom” line, which makes vertical position in space inherent in man

Spatial characteristics of the head not only of humans, but also of animals are reflected in dictionary definitions. Thus, according to Oxford Dictionary the word head is polysemantic:

1. The anterior part of the body of an animal, when separated by a neck, or otherwise distinguished, from the rest of the body.

2. In man, the upper division of the body, joined to the trunk by the neck

In Webster’s Dictionary head is defined in the following way: the top part of the body in humans, the apes, etc., or the front part in most other animals

Being the upper part of a human body, the head can be contrasted to the lower one, which is observed in the set expression from head to foot – over the whole length of one’s body; in every part of one’s being, nature, character: And with another explosion the water hit him from head to foot

Figure 1 - Spatial relations in the phraseological unit from head to foot

DOI:10.18454/RULB.2023.48.41.1

Phraseologism not know if one is on one’s head or one’s heels – be disorientated, confused, over-busy, over-stimulated, etc: To tell you the truth the doctors have pumped her so full of drugs she doesn't know if she is on her head or her heels half the time

[15, P. 412]

emphasizes the fact that, unlike the normal vertical position of the body (head at the top), the position of a person upside down leads to his disorientation in space, and consequently, to a feeling of confusion and mental discomfort. The head position at the bottom is generally regarded as something unnatural: stand / turn smth. on its head – to reverse the order or nature of smth.: She stood my argument on its head

[14, P. 550]

. The meaning of the expressions considered is based on the activation of the concepts TOP – BOTTOM and is determined by the semantic structure of the word head, namely the idea of the head as the upper part of a human body.

It is notable that when running or walking, a human body is perceived to be positioned not strictly vertically, but somewhat leaning forward. This fact may be the reason for the head to have a “dual locative potential”: it is interpreted as being above and in front of other parts of the body

Figure 2 - Spatial relations in the set expression head first

DOI:10.18454/RULB.2023.48.41.2

In the latter case, we imagine a walking or running person with the wind blowing in his face (cf. the Russian expression “ветер в лицо”). The dynamic situation described by this phraseological unit as viewed by an outside observer can be presented as follows (see Fig. 3):

Figure 3 - Spatial relations in the set phrase head wind

DOI:10.18454/RULB.2023.48.41.3

Similar spatial relations are depicted in the phraseological units meet something head on – meet smth. directly, head first, in physical contact; (fig) approach and deal with smth. directly: It was as if we’d been fused together, melting into each other like amoebae, but violently, like cars crashing head on

[15, P. 383]

and on head – straight forward; towards the front, or in front

[17, P. 1270]

. In these stable expressions, the view of the head not only as the upper, but also as the front part of a person is confirmed by the preposition on, used to denote “with the specified part in front or at the point of contact: enter the harbor broadside on”

[14, P. 808]

. Therefore, the meaning of these phraseological units is determined by the corresponding concepts both in the semantic structure of the word head and that of the preposition on.

Let us turn to the conceptualization of spatial experience in phraseological units with the word head. This part of the human body includes important sensory organs and the brain, which controls all life processes. The structure of the human body and peculiarities of man’s subject activity determine the distinction between “top” – “bottom”, “front” – “back” and explain the greater importance of the upper and front parts compared to the lower and back ones. This hierarchy of spatial relations exists not in the objective world, but only in human consciousness. Since basic spatial concepts have a pronounced anthropomorphic nature, the imposition of such a spatial structure on any object is the first natural step in identifying and categorizing it as an objective entity

The position of the head at the top of the human body, the importance and significance of this organ is expressed in the phraseological unit at the head – in the position of command or superiority; chief, principal, capital

Figure 4 - Conceptual shift explaining spatial relations in the phrase at the head of the list

DOI:10.18454/RULB.2023.48.41.4

Something of the kind is observed in the phraseological unit come to a head –

1) to burst (about a boil): It’s a boil, you know. There’s nothing to do but wait for them to come to a head;

2) reach the highest point; sharply escalate: It was after the 1959 election that the battle within the party against the nuclear strategy of the Right Wing came to a head

3) to come to a state of climax or crisis when urgent action is needed: The government’s difficulties came to a head when the miners went on strike

The conceptual shift makes it possible to use the word head in reference to an inanimate object: the upper part of a furuncle is attributed anthropomorphic features and it is identified in its shape and position in space with a human head. Moreover, as the examples above show, further processing of spatial characteristics can lead to the extension of the described spatial relations to a wide range of non-spatial concepts, such as a battle, difficulties, etc. It is interesting to note that in the phraseological unit in question the reference can be not only to a furuncle, but also to a head of cabbage: “This expression may refer to farmers waiting for cabbage leaves to grow together and form a head”

The phraseological unit the head and front of something has two meanings:

1) the limit, the top of something; the most important, essential: Othello: ... true, I have married her: the very head and front of my offending hath this extent, no more (W. Shakespeare, “Othello”, act I, sc. 3);

2) leader, head, chief of something: You are the nominal head and front of this whole movement, in opposition to me at present, and you are the one I have to look to

Based on metaphorical transference, the upper front part is associated with the most important and significant property of an object, be it animate or inanimate, real or abstract. Furthermore, the given example shows that the meaning of phraseological units can be built on an orientational metaphor that has not only a physical, but also a social basis. Status is correlated with (social) dominance, and (physical) dominance is oriented as TOP. Such metaphorical orientations are not arbitrary: they are based on our physical and cultural experience.

The undertaken study shows that spatial characteristics of the human head and their cognitive processing are vividly reflected in the English phraseological system.

Stable word combinations indicate that the head is perceived as the upper part of the human body in statics and the upper-front part in dynamics. English phraseology also views the head as having a round shape.

Thanks to the metaphorical transference from the source area to the target area, the concept of head can be applied to the upper-front part of an inanimate object attributing anthropomorphic characteristics to it. Man’s physical and cultural experience makes it possible to describe non-spatial, for example, social relations in terms of spatial ones.

Since the research carried out at the junction of cognitive linguistics and phraseology turned out to be fruitful, we consider it to be one more reason justifying the introduction of the term “cognitive phraseology” into linguistic usage.

Information about the world cannot help finding its reflection and its fixation in linguistic forms.

The research of the representation of spatial relations in the language shows how an infinite variety of spatial configurations undergoes spatial conceptualization and categorization in the process of human thinking. It also helps to reveal what spatial characteristics are considered relevant enough to receive their linguistic expression.

To conclude, the study on how spatial perception and spatial experience are manifested in the language allows scholars to comprehend the complex nature of the relationship between language and cognition.