SEMANTIC UNITS PROSODIC ACCENTUATION OF TRAGIC CONCEPT OF WAR (ON THE MATERIAL OF W. SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS)
SEMANTIC UNITS PROSODIC ACCENTUATION OF TRAGIC CONCEPT OF WAR (ON THE MATERIAL OF W. SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS)

Summary/Abstract: This study investigates the conceptual-semantic structure of the concept WAR in the context of William Shakespeare’s historical chronicle Richard III, with a focus on its cognitive links to the concepts KILL and DEATH. Using a combination of corpus-based linguistic analysis and experimental phonetics, the research identifies lexical and prosodic markers that encode war-related meanings in actor-delivered monologues. Perceptual and instrumental analyses reveal systematic patterns in pitch, intensity, temporal organization, and pause placement that correspond to the information and pragmatic centers of war-related discourse. Building on these findings, the study proposes conceptual-semantic models of WAR and its associated notions, highlighting how prosodic cues realize cognitive and emotional dimensions of conflict. The research further outlines the potential for computer-based speech processing to extend the analysis, enabling automated modeling of war-related discourse and the synthesis of vocal performances that preserve the cognitive and affective structures identified in Shakespeare’s texts. The results provide insights for cognitive linguistics, historical pragmatics, digital humanities, and applied phonetics.

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