Andreas Musolff

The Nation’s Soul and Motherhood: Conceptualizations of the State as a Body or Person in Slavic L1-ELF Responses

Introduction

The nation’s soul and motherhood: conceptualizations of the state as a body or person in slavic l1-elf responses. Uncover how the nation/state is conceptualized as a body or person. Using Slavic L1 data from a global survey, this study details two levels of this key metaphor & cultural scenarios.

Abstract

One of the key-metaphors in conceptualizing national identity is that of the nation as a body or a person. Nation-embodiment and -personalization have had a long conceptual history spanning more than two millennia and still figure prominently in present-day political discourse. Both the target and source-domains have changed considerably over time, so it may be asked in which sense the metaphor has remained the same. New evidence from an interpretation survey conducted in 30 countries in 2011–2020 suggests that this conceptual metaphor functions at two levels, i.e., 1) an abstract general mapping and 2) pragmatically enriched “scenarios” that lead to creative applications. As evidence for such scenarios, the article presents data from Slavic L1 survey samples that illustrate the interplay between the matrix mappings and innovative meaning aspects that are grounded in culture-specific discourse traditions.

Review

This article promises a fascinating exploration into the enduring and complex conceptual metaphor of the nation as a body or person. By engaging with a metaphor that boasts a two-millennia-long history and remains central to contemporary political discourse, the research tackles a highly significant topic in political science, linguistics, and cultural studies. The central question of how this metaphor has maintained its relevance despite considerable shifts in its target and source domains is particularly pertinent, setting the stage for a timely and insightful contribution to our understanding of national identity construction and representation. The methodology outlined, involving an extensive interpretation survey conducted across 30 countries over a decade (2011–2020), suggests a robust and comprehensive empirical foundation for the study. The abstract highlights a key finding: the conceptual metaphor operates on two distinct levels – an abstract general mapping and pragmatically enriched, culture-specific “scenarios” that enable creative applications. The paper's specific focus on Slavic L1 survey samples to illustrate this interplay between matrix mappings and innovative, culturally grounded meaning aspects is a particularly strong point. This nuanced approach promises to reveal how broader conceptual structures are localized and enriched through specific linguistic and cultural traditions. The strength of this work lies in its ambitious scale, its longitudinal data collection, and its sophisticated analytical framework that distinguishes between general conceptual mappings and culturally inflected pragmatic scenarios. By focusing on Slavic L1 data, the article is well-positioned to offer valuable insights into how specific cultural and historical contexts shape the interpretation and application of universal metaphors, especially within an ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) context, which hints at potential cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communicative implications. This research is poised to significantly enhance our understanding of how abstract political concepts are embodied and personalized, offering a rich basis for further comparative studies and deeper dives into the discursive construction of national identity.

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