N.V. Tatsenko. Figurative modus of empathy in modern English-speaking discourse. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of EMPATHY concept as a cognitive and communicative formation, embodied by means of modern English language, using modus structuring. In particular, the notional, axiological, and figurative modi of empathy are singled out. The figurative modus is analyzed with actualization of its main components. The figurative modus is a non-reflexive metaphorical conceptualization, which is carried out by means of forming explicit and vivid representations of empathy.
In its figurative image this concept is subject to the cognitive operation of reification, i.e., it is shaped by
a “naive user” of language as a physical body or physical mass. Herewith, the characteristics of the corresponding communicative action or activity rather than its procedural properties prove to be in the focus of attention, and empathy takes part in it as a physical substance.
Key words: axiological modus, empathy, figurative modus, non-reflexive metaphorical conceptualization, notional modus, reification.