The Use of Framing to Conceptualize Specialized Terminology
355application of frame semantic theory to specialized domains, Faber (2012:
23) underlines the usefulness of studying scientific texts:
[U]nderstanding a terminology-rich text requires knowledge of the domain,
the concepts within it, the propositional relations within the text, as well as
the conceptual relations between concepts within the domain.In suggesting a frame semantic approach to specialized language, I
wish to link some of the main premises of cognitive semantics to the
investigation of terminology, namely the importance of context in the
construction of meaning, and the alignment of meaning and conceptualization
(Evans and Green 2006). Frames consist of “frame elements” which present
participant roles in the event, as well as other items of the conceptual
assembly, e.g. the component of temperature in the cooking scenario
(Fillmore 2006, Ruppenhofer et al. 2010). Furthermore, the frame itself
suggests relationships between these elements, such as when an action
triggers a certain reaction in another component. This could be exemplified
with the mastication frame in which the action of biting on a food product
will cause it to break into pieces. As the research studies resemble the
sequential character of an event–the relationships between various
conceptual components are represented by the structure of the texts.
Events per se are dynamic processes. A frame analysis of scientific
terminology allows us to not only capture the more static actors involved
in an action (e.g. the isolated food product sample) but also the changes
which it undergoes during force application. In contrast to classical
taxonomies which present a static organization of scientific concepts, the
frame semantics approach depicts frame components based on their
relationship to one another, thus providing a more “dynamic and process-
oriented” picture (Faber et al. 2005).
The scientific corpus at stake
This analysis draws on a corpus of research articles from two renowned
international journals of food science, namely Food Quality and Preference
and LWT – Food Science and Technology. Both journals publish innovative
work in the fields of sensory science, and food chemistry and technology.
As the name suggests, the latter has a focus on the instrumental
investigation of food products, while Food Quality and Preference deals
with the hedonic evaluation of foods. Both dimensions–the hedonics and
the development–are main foci in the field of food science. The corpus is
made up of 152 articles, published exclusively in 2015. In total, the corpus
contains 996’520 word tokens and 33’140 word types.