CC BY
22
УДК 409.35
В. Д. Шевченко, ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6357-2477
Самарский национальный исследовательский университет имени академика С. П. Королева,
г. Самара, Россия
КУЛЬТУРНЫЕ АСПЕКТЫ РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИИ ЕДЫ
Настоящая статья посвящена анализу культурного значения пищи в обществе. Данное значение часто передается посредством специальных текстов, связывающих еду с определенными культурными практиками прошлого. Автор приходит к выводу о том, что дизайнеры упаковок для продуктов питания используют тексты, относящиеся к различным эпохам и культурам и имеющие особый смысл с целью подчеркнуть культурную значимость еды и оказать специфическое воздействие на потенциальных потребителей. Таким образом, слова, обозначающие еду и пищевые ингредиенты, выполняют сравнительную или посредническую функцию, сопоставляя различные эпохи, культуры и практики.
Ключевые слова: культурное значение еды, тексты, упаковки продуктов питания, сравнительная/посредническая функция.
Introduction. The role of food cannot be ascribed solely to satisfying one of the basic human needs. The food has become the object of numerous sociological, cultural, ethnographic, linguistic, philosophical researches as it involves appealing to cultural, historical, religious social, industrial and other practices of people consuming it (Barthes [1], Fischler [3], Olyanich [5], [6], Tomascikova [10]). The present paper aims at investigating historical and cultural aspects of food representation in the media including the texts on the packages.
Results and discussion. A leaflet contained in a bar of chocolate produced in Kazakhstan has an extract from one of the American Indian myths and a text telling about the peculiarities of chocolate production at the Rakhat factory (Almaty, Kazakhstan):
"One of the American Indian myths says that the god of the air, Kecalcoatle, gave cocoa tree to mankind after he had been driven away from
the Eden-like Garden. This tree was predestined to be the substitute for favor and delight left in Eden".
The shape of the text has been preserved and it reflects the shape of a cocoa bean. So, the authors use various semiotic means including the visual ones (the shape of the text, pictures describing American Indians grinding cocoa beans etc.) to influence the reader (Eco [2], Lotman [4], Shevchenko [9]).
The extract contains a narrative, the function of which is to carry and transform ideologies and practices to individuals, to be a basic mechanism that allows people to make sense of their experience of real (Barthes [1]). In this case the narrative serves to link food to cultural practices of other societies that date back centuries ago, thus, the narrative by using specific language means (Kecalcoatle, cocoa tree, Eden-like garden and others) becomes a medium linking today's consumers, their eating practices with eating and cultural practices of the American Indians (Rinck et al. [7]). The text in the leaflet also contains signs of such modern practices as growing cocoa beans in a specific place, sorting them out, roasting and grinding them, producing and eating chocolate:
B. fl. WEBVEHKO
"Subject to growth area cocoa beans duffer appreciably in composition and therefore peculiar "specialization". The African variety grown in the Republic of Ghana has deservedly a high reputation. It is the high quality Ghana cocoa beans sorted out with great care according to long classical technology, skillfully roasted, thoroughly ground and run through sophisticated equipment, hands and souls of Almaty confectioners that we offer you in this bar of chocolate. Thanks to the composition of natural factors that influence cocoa beans and the art of our technologists, this chocolate enables you to take a delight in harmonious completeness, classical and new taste ofpopular and prestigious dessert".
Consequently, two different epochs and societies, their social (industrial) and cultural practices are compared by means of the narrative, the central element of which is such food element as chocolate.
It should be mentioned that chocolate as an important type of food is able to link different epochs and practices alone, but without a narrative the relevant fields of knowledge that allow to contrast different historical and cultural aspects do not become actualized. The process of linking, comparing and contrasting the practices of various societies, their epochs etc. takes place in the mind of a modern consumer.
Thus, food, remaining the means of satisfying the basic human needs, is by means of the narrative transferred into a different sphere and becomes an element of culture: the consumer views chocolate not only as something sweet that can make him/her pleased, but also as an important element that formed the identity of American Indians. For a modern consumer chocolate with the help of narrative becomes an element of religious belief of American Indians as it gets associated with the god of the air - Kecalcoatle, in particular. From the semiotic point of view, chocolate becomes a sign of a different historical and cultural identity. The chocolate and cocoa words can be referred to as "food signs" performing a comparative or mediator's function: they are juxtaposing different epochs, cultures and practices and, thus, constructing a new reality in the recipient's mind (Searle [8]). In the leaflet both words are used in a combination with the word delight meaning spiritual delight in the extract from the mythological text and culinary delight in the text about chocolate produced in the Almaty factory.
The elements performing a similar comparative/mediator's function can be found in a text on a box of chocolates produced by Bind Chocolate company from Turkey:
"The story of the mastic tree
According to the rumors, a tree grew out of the grave of Saint Isidoros. He begged the Lord in Heaven for milk to flow in the tree instead of blood. Now, it is believed that milk is flowing inside the mastic tree.
The mastic tree that normally grows in the island of Chios "Island of gum" is nowadays grown in Qesme or Alagati in Turkey.
From the past until now, gum is used in many sectors. With all the health benefits of the gum, BIND CHOCOLATE experts created a unique product to leave an amazing taste in your mouth.
Gum Mastic
Enjoy".
This text has practically the same structure as the previous one. It begins with a religious legend referring to an Orthodox Christian Saint. In this text the comparative/mediator's function is performed by the words mastic tree and gum juxtaposing an epoch from the past, an event from life of Saint Isidoros and modern epoch and practices referring to industry (From the past until now, gum is used in many sectors) and chocolate production in particular (With all the health benefits of the gum, BIND CHOCOLATE experts created a unique product to leave an amazing taste in your mouth).
The producers and designers tend to place such texts on the food packages, because food and food ingredients they produce by means of these texts become the elements of culture along with their utilitarian function.
The point regarding combination of visual and linguistic signs on food packages and their functions should also be addressed. The package designers also use visual signs to link food with culture it refers to. In such cases the visual and linguistic signs can perform significant functions.
The following example demonstrates the case when the visual signs on the package do not relate to food or food consumption directly, but serve only as cultural signs of the country that the product refers to (Picture 1).
Picture 1. Ahmad Tea Package
This package bears the image of Taj Mahal, which is the most famous Indian architectural landmark. The image is used as a sign of Indian culture, which serves to inform the consumer of culture of the country that the product comes from. By means of this sign the consumer links the product with the country and its rich heritage. Such linguistic sign as Indian Assam Tea intensifies this process. Tea as a drink becomes strongly associated with India - a land rich in various cultural traditions.
Another example is the case when the visual signs on the package indirectly relate to food or food consumption and at the same time serve as cultural signs of the country (Picture 2).
Picture 2. Azerjay Tea Package
As it has been mentioned above, the picture on this package indirectly relates to the process of drinking tea as it demonstrates the process of picking tea leaves - something that precedes drinking tea. At the same time the picture (visual sign) serves as a sign of Azerbaijani culture as it depicts an everyday scene from life of the Azerbaijanis. By means of this visual sign the recipient gets information about local people, their typical occupation, the country's nature etc. With the visual sign rendering cultural content and such linguistic signs as with thyme, black tea a new frame is constructed in the recipient's cognitive system: Azerbaijan is viewed as a state the everyday culture of which is associated with tea production and tea drinking.
Conclusion. Food has always been an integral part of a nation's culture influencing people's various practices and communication. Culture has also influenced views on food and interpretation of its role in a society. For instance, adopting new religion can change the practice of consuming certain foods significantly. The food package designers try to appeal to cultural potential of food: they use narratives (referring to various epochs and cultures) about food possessing specific sense to foreground the cultural meaning of food and, thus, exert significant influence on prospective consumers. The words referring to food and food ingredients perform a comparative or mediator's function, juxtaposing different epochs, cultures and practices.
В. Д. ШЕВЧЕНКО
Список литературы
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Шевченко Вячеслав Дмитриевич, доктор филологических наук, доцент, Самарский национальный исследовательский университет имени академика С. П. Королева, Социально-гуманитарный институт, факультет филологии и журналистики, заведующий кафедрой английской филологии, г. Самара, Россия
Vyacheslav D. Shevchenko,
Samara National Research University, Russian Federation
CULTURAL ASPECTS OF FOOD REPRESENTATION
The present paper is devoted to analyzing the cultural meaning of food in a society. It is often revealed by means of specific texts linking food to particular cultural practices that existed in the past. The author come to a conclusion thatfood package designers use texts referring to various epochs and cultures and having specific sense to underline the cultural meaning offood and exert specific influence on prospective consumers. The words referring to food and food ingredients perform a comparative or mediator's function, juxtaposing different epochs, cultures and practices.
Key words: Cultural meaning of food, texts, food packages, comparative/mediator's function.
References
1. Barthes R. Toward a Psychosociology of Contemporary Food Consumption. - In: Counihan Carole and Penny Van Esterik (Eds.). Food and Culture: A Reader, London and New York: Routledge, 1997, p. 23-30.
2. Eco U. La struttura assente, Milano: Bompiani, 1968.
3. Fischler C. Food, Self and Identity. - In: Social Science Information, 1988, vol. 27, p. 275-293.
4. Lotman Y. M. Semiosfera [Semiosphere], Sankt-Petersburg: Iskusstvo-SPB, 2004.
5. Olyanich A. V. Gastronomicheskiy diskurs [GastronomicalDiscourse]. Diskurs Pi [DiscoursePi], 2015, vol. 12, no 2, p. 157-160.
6. Olyanich A. V., Zemskova A. Y. Lingvosemiotika angloyazychnogo gastronomicheskogo diskursa [Lin-guosemiotics of the English-language Gastronomical Discourse], Volgograd: Volgograd State Agrarian University Publishing House, 2015, 392 p.
7. Rinck M., Williams P., Bower G. H., Becker E. S. Spatial Situation Models and Narrative Understanding: Some Generalizations and Extensions. - In: Discourse Processes, 1996, vol. 21(1), p. 23-55.
8. Searle J. R. The Construction of Social Reality, New York: The Free Press, 1995.
9. Shevchenko V. D. Teoriya interferentsii diskursov [Theory of Interference of Discourses], Samara: Samara University Publishing House, 2010, 212 p.
10. Tomascikova S. Cultural Heritage and Food - New Media Narratives - New Meanings and New Identities. - In: European English Messenger, 2015, vol. 24, issue 2, p. 49.
Vyacheslav D. Shevchenko, Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor, Samara National Research University, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Philology and Journalism; English Department, Head, Samara, e-mail: [email protected]
Для цитирования: Шевченко В. Д. Культурные аспекты репрезентации еды // Актуальные проблемы филологии и педагогической лингвистики. 2017. № 2. С. 112-116.
For citation: Shevchenko V. D. (2017). Cultural Aspects of Food Representation. Aktual'nye problemy filologii i pedagogiceskoj lingvistiki, 2017, 2, рр. 112-116 (In Russ.).
