Edward V. Budaev
Political Metaphorology:
Contemporary Mosaic of
Methodologies
The important
role of metaphor in political discourse is beyond doubt nowadays. Hundreds of
contemporary researches into political metaphor display a variety of approaches
to analysis of the phenomenon and form a special branch of investigation called
political metaphorology (Budaev, Chudinov 2008a,
2008b). Methodologies within this branch are far from being completely shaped,
however it is possible to delineate the basic approaches to political metaphor
analysis.
The
analysis of contemporary researches reveals a set of trends, which may be
correlated with scholarly disciplines, namely cognitive linguistics, linguoculturology, psycho- and neurolinguistics.
1. Cognitive linguistics approach. This approach derives from the conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff,
Johnson 1980; Lakoff 1993) arguing that metaphor is not just a stylistic
device, but an integral tool of thought. The conceptual metaphor theory holds
that metaphor is a cognitive phenomenon that is realized on the surface level
of language. Metaphor is seen as not an isolated linguistic phenomenon, but as
one of the most ordinary means through which humans conceptualize the world.
A large body of work has been inspired by comprehending metaphor in terms of human conceptualization, and nowadays there exists a number of theoretical approaches derived from the conceptual metaphor theory. In Russian linguistics the TCM evolved within the framework of the metaphorical models theory (Baranov, Karaulov 1991; Baranov, Zinken 2003; Chudinov 2001, 2003). A metaphorical model serves as a culturally determined conceptual pattern, a set of linked frames, used for comprehension of political reality and elaboration of metaphorical inferences. An alternative cognitive approach to metaphor analysis have been elaborated within the scope of blending theory (Fauconnier, Turner 1998, 2002; Turner, Fauconnier 1995, 2000), however this approach has not been applied to corpus analysis of political discourse.
Nowadays
studies in cognitive metaphors in political discourse are more than
widely-spread. Yet investigators are inclined to accentuate the factor of
individual body experience, and sometimes socio-political experience, while the
subject of cultural specific has hardly been modeled by cognitive researchers. Linguocultural approach is likely to fill this gap.
2. Linguocultural approach. Linguoculturogy is a discipline combining heuristics of linguistics and cultural studies. This approaches focuses primarily on the correlation of political metaphor and culture, and different approaches may be used to investigate this correlation.
Metaphor has been predominately discussed as the universal cognitive phenomenon rooted in embodied mind. It has been argued that the body supplies the basis for a wide variety of metaphors that humans use to communicate the meaning of abstractions including the concept of political power (Anderson 2007). Unfortunately, the investigation of metaphorical frames in connection with culture has not been at the forefront of modern metaphoric studies, while the necessity of taking into consideration the cultural dimension of political metaphors is evident.
However this approach does not exclude cognitive methodologies. The combination of both methodologies leads to comprehension of political metaphors as a complex of cognitively and semantically linked images organising knowledge into cognitive schema based on embodied, empirical, and cultural experience. A metaphorical model serves as a culturally determined conceptual pattern, a set of linked frames, used for comprehension of political reality and elaboration of metaphorical inferences. An example of combining both methodologies may be found in our article devoted to comparative investigation of conceptual metaphors and identification of cross-cultural difference reflected in systems of political concepts (Budaev, Chudinov 2007).
A similar approach has been developed by J. Zinken (2003). The researcher promoted the integration of cultural experience into the experientialist framework in cognitive metaphor research proposing to differentiate correlational and intertextual metaphors. Evidence for the important role that intertextual metaphors play in ideological discourse came from an analysis of Polish newspaper discourse on the tenth anniversary of the end of communism.
So, special
investigations show that culturally specific metaphors actively shape and give
meaning to national socio-political experience, and play as important role in
political discourse as universal ones.
3. Psycho- and neurolinguistic approach. This trend is initiated by pragmatically oriented investigations. While other approaches aim at modeling conceptual structures or revealing intentions of communicants, psycho- and neurolinguists deal with persuasive force of political metaphors.
Generally citizens do not take part in constructing political discourse, they are objects for metaphorical persuasion. That is why psycho- and neurollinguists focus on ordinary speakers and questionnaires and not on mass media or political discourse when researching how persuasive political metaphors are. Bosman and Hagendoorn’s (1991) investigation is an example of such a study. They researched into the relative effectiveness of metaphorical and literal persuasive political messages. Participants of their experiment read a literal or a metaphorical description of a racist political party and subsequently filled out a questionnaire about that party's policy. Results suggest that, although metaphors influence the participants, literal messages are not less effective.
A similar research was carried out by T. Bell (2003). His results indicate that metaphors are not necessarily persuasive, but must interact with certain characteristics of the audience in order to be effective. These characteristics include the priority placed by the audience on certain social values communicated by the metaphor as well as individuals' emotional interactions with the metaphorical message.
Despite the variety of approaches and contemporary
mosaic of methodologies scholars are inclined to view metaphor as not only as a
stylistic or rhetoric tool. Researchers are inclined to view political metaphor
as a phenomenon of culture and thought providing the linguistic realization for
the mental activity and framing the socially determined schemata in which
political sphere is conceptualized.
Reference
Baranov A.,
Karaulov Yu. Russkaya Politicheskaya
Metafora. Materialy k Slovaryu. Moscow, 1991.
Baranov A., Zinken J. Die metaphorische Struktur
des öffentlichen Diskurses in Russland und Deutschland: Perestrojka- und
Wende-Periode // Metapher, Bild und
Figur: Osteuropäische Sprach- und Symbolwelten. Hamburg, 2003.
Belt T. Metaphor and political
persuasion.
Bosman J., Hagendoorn L. Effects of literal and metaphorical persuasive messages // Metaphor and Symbolic Activity. 1991. Vol. 6(4).
Budaev E.V., Chudinov A.P. Metafora v politicheskoi kommunikatsii.
Budaev E.V., Chudinov A.P. Zarubezhnaya politicheskaya lingvistika.
Fauconnier G, Turner M. Conceptual Integration Networks // Cognitive Science. 1998. Vol. 22(2).
Fauconnier G, Turner M. The Way We Think.
Lakoff G. Contemporary theory of metaphor
// Metaphor and thought / ed. A. Barcelona.
Lakoff G., Johnson M. Metaphors We
Live by.
Turner M., Fauconnier G. Conceptual Integration and Formal Expression // Metaphor and Symbolic Activity. 1995. Vol. 10(3).
Turner M., Fauconnier G. Metaphor, Metonymy, and Binding // Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective
/ ed. A. Barcelona.
Zinken J. Ideological Imagination: Intertextual and Correlational Metaphors in Political Discourse // Discourse
Society. 2003. Vol. 14.