Vertical image schema as a cognitive basis for the formation of the prototypical meaning of the satellite “up” in English verb-adverb composites

<jats:p>The relationship between the language system and speech realization remains a central issue in modern linguistics. In this paper, this problem is examined through the prism of cognitive mechanisms, in particular, the vertical image schema. The aim of the research is to develop a cognitive-spatial model of the prototypical meaning of the satellite “up” in English verb-adverb composites based on the vertical image schema, which makes it possible to explain the mechanisms of semantic derivation of its contextual meanings. The scientific novelty of the work lies in demonstrating the universality of the vertical image schema as a cognitive tool through the mechanism of forming the contextual meanings of the satellite “up” within slang and colloquial verb-adverb composites. The research material comprised examples from modern dictionaries of general vocabulary and slang. The study employed methods of cognitive modeling, componential analysis, and the continuous selection method. As a result of the study, it was established that behind the entire semantic structure of the component “up” lies the following invariant as a set of the most stable semantic features: ‘movement (or location) from a lower point to a higher point on a vertical or scalar axis, often up to a limit/endpoint’. Such a conceptual core is consolidated in the linguistic consciousness of native speakers and participates in the process of decoding a specific contextual meaning. This bundle of features functions at the level of the language system as a semantic invariant, serving as the basis for understanding even the most semantically "distant" lexico-semantic variants.</jats:p>