Метафорическое моделирование имиджа политика с применением искусственного интеллекта (на материале британской прессы)

The present chapter proposes to build bridges between political discourse analysis and corpus linguistics. We intend to bring to light methodological benefits arising from the synergy of (political) discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, pointing to fruitful contribution from French text statistics. Taking the discourses of Nicolas Sarkozy as an example, we show how political discourse analysis can benefit from a reflection on corpora (their constitution, their role in the research process); on linguistic analysis and processing methods (particularly the computer-assisted methods of text statistics); and finally on the interpretative paths at a time of establishment of a numerical hermeneutics.

Metaphor scholars have widely explored metaphor use in political discourse. Nevertheless, the current research does not account for the ‘gradable metaphoricity’ in political discourse analysis. This dissertation fills this gap by addressing this specific issue in two frameworks: (1) viewing political metaphor from a static and gradient perspective (Source-Target mapping; Conventional vs. Novel vs. Dead), and (2) viewing political metaphor from a gradable and dynamic perspective (a matter of salience and awareness of metaphoricity). A systematic literature review in chapter 2 points out that the static and dynamic perspectives differ significantly in underlying assumptions and organizing principles, although both are indistinctly referred to by metaphor scholars as constituting a ‘gradable’ view. The former takes metaphor as a static conceptual unit or lexical unit, but the latter tends to accord a central role of activation of metaphoricity to metaphorical expressions. To launch a theoretical advancement about the dynamic view in political discourse, chapter 3 offers a usage-based model of gradable and dynamic metaphors—the YinYang Dynamics of Metaphoricity (YYDM). In addition, this thesis investigates political metaphors from an interdisciplinary angle, incorporating theory from the field of International Relations. An empirical evaluation of political (discourse) studies in chapter 4 shows the large absence of transdisciplinary perspectives. Addressing the abovementioned gaps, this dissertation reports on two empirical analyses of trade metaphors in a big corpus that represents the official trade positions of the United States and China during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Jiang Zemin (1993-1997) as well as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping (2017-2021). Based on a codebook of a cross-linguistic metaphor identification procedure in chapter 5, the first empirical part contributes to the static and gradient perspective and includes two corpus-based studies of metaphorical framing about trade (chapters 6-7). The diachronic and cross-linguistic use of source domains from a socio-cognitive approach in chapter 6 reveals that source domains are semantic fields that vary with trade discourse contexts (interests, power, and power relations). Chapter 7 shows that the use of trade metaphors (source domains of Conventional and Novel metaphors) to construct and legitimize political ideologies correlates with differences between political genres. The second part contributes to the gradable and dynamic view by applying the transdisciplinary model of YinYang Dynamics of Metaphoricity in chapters 8-10. In chapter 8, an evaluation of the new model in the Clinton-Jiang trade discourse shows that the dynamic cognitive process (transformation of metaphoricity) and rhetorical process (argumentation and persuasion) mutually develop with the evolution of the socio-political process (trade perspectives and trade events). Chapter 9 investigates the transformation of metaphoricity in the Trump-Xi trade discourse and finds that cognitive processes (patterns of metaphoricity activation) and affective processes (emotions or sentiments) mutually develop with the evolution of socio-political processes (trade perspectives and trade events). Based on the findings in chapters 8-9, chapter 10 further shows several phenomena in the Clinton-Jiang and Trump-Xi trade discourses: the movement of metaphors on the metaphoricity spectrum, the bodily motivation of gradable and dynamic metaphoricity, and the interconnected political discourse systems. Drawing on all the theoretical and empirical insights revealed in the dissertation, the final section of the thesis outlines a future direction, i.e., moving towards a transdisciplinary and dynamic approach to metaphor in political discourse analysis.

Relevance. Since the modern world is constantly transforming in terms of linguistic means, i.e. communication is undergoing several changes, there is a high need to study the national peculiarities of political gender discourses. Purpose. The study aims to provide a national interpretation of political discourse regarding gender aspects manifested in the context of linguistic and communicative parameters in the speech activities of male and female politicians. Methodology. The study analyzed political speeches by Kyrgyz and British politicians, examining linguistic parameters such as hesitation, categoricity, irony, and tone, to compare gender-specific communication strategies in both countries' political discourses. Results. This study presents the national specificity of Kyrgyz and British political gender discourse. The analysis identified the main differences between the speech activities of men and women politicians. In the Kyrgyz political discourse, men are characterised by hesitations, categorical and directness, irony, raising the tone of voice, active metaphorisation and hidden meanings. British political discourse in terms of male communication is characterised by a high degree of categoricity, almost no pauses, active use of irony, metaphorical and implicit means, and a moderate degree of emotionality. Conclusions. The Kyrgyz discourse reflects "soft power" approaches, while the British discourse shows women more actively defending their positions. Both discourses employ metaphorical language. These findings highlight the interplay between gender, national culture, and political communication styles. Keywords: speech; linguistic resources; implicitness; categoricity; emotionality

The war unleashed by Russia in 2022 is widely presented in online versions of English-language newspapers; Ukraine is constantly in the epicentre of the world news. This study highlights political and ideological contexts of the war in Ukraine, the sociopolitical and cognitive aspects of news according to an interdisciplinary approach considering the language as a social practice. The article highlights the polarization in the presentation of the events and the main actors entitled in the discursive strategies, representing the dichotomy In- versus Out-group. The study is aimed at the investigation of the ideological structures and their manifesting linguistic devices in political discourse based on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of discursive strategies for constructing the images of Ukraine and Russia in the British and American press. The integrated Critical Discourse Analysis was applied to the research of the news to study the media discourse and the language, where CDA focuses on social practice, social power and ideology. Political Discourse Analysis (PDA) is used to research the ideology of war images presented in the language of news reports. The relevance of this study determined by the aim is to show the main discursive strategies of polaeization in political media discourse. The research methods of the article combine three vectors of the analysis by Fairclough with explanatory tools (by van Dijk), and the elements of stylistic analysis and Critical Metaphor Analysis. The illustrative material was collected by information search and continuous sample from the open access newspapers and magazines issued in the US and Great Britain (The Daily Mail, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and others). Conclusion. This research argues that polarisation is being demonstrated in the media discourse on the war in Ukraine in 2022. The taxonomy of the identified discursive strategies of polarization deployed in the media political discourse includes labelling, evidentiality, number game, hyperbolism, victimization, personalization and analogy, that can either be used singly or intervened. The discursive strategy of evidentiality is applied to authorities, officials, witnesses that are accepted as trustworthy sources of data; the number game strategy combined with victimization are verbalized by metaphoric simile, metonymy, enumerating and magnifying the numbers with the modifying adverbs; the strategy of hyperbole conveys the positive impression of the in-group and negative acts magnification of the out-group verbalized by metaphor, metonymy, metaphtonymy; the personalization strategy is deployed with the purpose of foregrounding the positive actions of the in-group that implies negative out-group actions; the strategy of analogy is applied in the comparison of the war in Ukraine and the struggle of the Ukrainians for their independence with other historical events. Linguistic means used to realize the discursive strategies of polarization include the conceptual metaphor, metonymy, simile, idioms, metaphtonymy, intertextual allusion and personification.

The article deals with the metaphorical image of the future of Russia in the context of anti-Russian sanctions. The study of the image of the future is performed on the material of Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse. It is defined as a hybrid format of media and political discourses that transmits axiological attitudes of agents of electronic - mediated communication and provides their status equality. The web - based opinion exchange service 知乎 (Zhihu) is used as the source of research material. The aim is to analyze the meanings of political metaphors that are verbalized when modeling images of the future of Russia and its anticipated relations with other powers. The object of the research is metaphorical models involved in conceptualization of the image of Russian future in the Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse. The analysis of the material is held within the framework of linguistic political prognostics. The article presents the study of the system of metaphorical models, which is fixed in Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse about the future of Russia. The paper employs the methods of metaphorical modeling, linguistic, cultural, cognitive and discourse analyses. The analysis of the system of metaphorical models contains quantitative and content processing. The authors identify and analyze dominant metaphorical models and factors that influence activity of certain models in Chinese political Internet discourse. Dominant models include metaphors of inanimate nature, relationship, organism, sport, games, wildlife, and monarchy. The analysis of the system of metaphorical models proves that the present relationship between Russia, America and Europe determines their “dark” future, which is why metaphorical units with a negative component prevail, while positively colored metaphorical units model the “bright” future of Russian-Chinese relationships, which is determined by the existing relations between Russia and China.

Isabela and Norman Fairclough have written a very important book whose full significance is perhaps in danger of being missed if we view it simply, in their own self-depiction, as a text for advanced students. Indeed, in what follows I want to argue that their book is much better seen as the occasion for a debate that we desperately need to be having about how to conduct political discourse analysis rather than as the elucidation of an agreed, almost official, methodology for the conduct of such a form of discourse analysis. At times their book reads like the definitive statement of the only credible approach to the analysis of political discourse as both political and as discourse, derived logically and forensically from a consideration of the specificity of the political itself. While I have considerable sympathy for the attempt to reflect and preserve the specificity of the political in an avowedly political discourse analysis, I have rather more problem, as will become clear in what follows, in the methodological absolutism that leads the Faircloughs to present their approach as, in effect, the only way to do political discourse analysis properly. At this stage in its development political discourse analysis needs a proliferation, not a narrowing, of methods and acknowledgement that there is more than one way to analyse political discourse politically. I will argue for a certain methodological pluralism in political discourse analysis, pointing to problems both with the approach to political discourse analysis that the Faircloughs espouse and with their attempt to foreground such an approach in an essentially Aristotelian account of the specificity of the political.

The article examines cross-cultural aspects of metaphorical framing in political discourse. The author notes the importance of conceptual metaphor in framing the conceptual domain of politics, political discourse as a whole, its perception as well as political reality itself. The author shares an opinion that the metaphorical structure of basic concepts of a nation always correlates with its fundamental cultural values. However, the examination of political discourse from the cross-cultural perspective reveals the cases of metaphor uses that don't meet the requirements of cultural coherence and may lead to negative cognitive and communicative consequences. Along with admitting a wide discrepancy between metaphorical models in western and oriental political discourse, the author gives some examples of metaphorical coherence as well as its violation in a number of basic metaphors in American, British and Russian political discourse. To illustrate how cross-cultural factors determine the specific character of metaphorical framing, the article analyses the dynamic character of metaphorical models that can realize diverse scenarios in different national varieties of political discourse. An observation is made about the dependence of metaphoric scenarios in different national varieties of political discourse on the cultural, historical, social and political components of the national cultural cognitive map. The latter is heterogeneous as it is structured by the objectified individual, group, and national verbal and nonverbal experience. This explains, for instance, why there are examples of similarity as well as discrepancy between metaphorical framing in ideologically different party varieties of political discourse within the national political discourse as well as in the rhetoric of politicians belonging to different generations. The observations are illustrated by cross-linguistic data proving the dynamic character of metaphorical models, their variability and potential for conveying new meaning nuances that reflect culture-specific characteristics of the political situation in discourse.

В статье на примере политического медиадискурса рассматриваются и анализируются метафорические модели и метафоры как лексические способы реализации имплицитной оценки в печатных СМИ с целью раскрытия их прагматического потенциала. В качестве материала исследования выступают медиатексты онлайн-версии газеты “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, опубликованные с ноября 2024 г. по февраль 2025 г., т. к. данный временной период характеризуется распадом правящей в ФРГ «светофорной» коалиции и началом досрочных выборов в бундестаг. Общий объем исследуемых единиц составляет 86 онлайн-статей, основными действующими лицами которых являются канцлер Германии Олаф Шольц, кандидат в канцлеры Фридрих Мерц, бывший федеральный министр финансов Кристиан Линднер. Актуальность настоящего исследования обусловлена возрастающей частотностью использования политических метафор в немецких СМИ и, как следствие, необходимостью детального лингвистического анализа метафорических моделей в немецком политическом медиадискурсе. Для анализа исследовательского корпуса применяются такие методы, как сплошная выборка, контекстуальный и семантический анализы, а также стилистический анализ, с помощью которого определена роль стилистических средств при достижении прагматического эффекта. В результате установлено, что метафоры являются мощным инструментом для реализации имплицитной оценки в немецкоязычных газетных статьях, особенно в политическом дискурсе. Они позволяют журналистам передавать идеи ярко и эмоционально, не прибегая к эксплицитным суждениям. In this article, metaphorical models and metaphors as lexical ways of implementing implicit assessment in print media are considered and analyzed using political media discourse as an example in order to reveal their pragmatic potential. The research material includes media texts of the online version of the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published from November 2024 to February 2025, since this time period is characterized by the collapse of the ruling traffic-light coalition in Germany and the beginning of early elections to the Bundestag. The total volume of the studied units is 86 online articles, the main characters of which are German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Chancellor candidates - Friedrich Merz, and former Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. The relevance of this study is due to the increasing frequency of use of political metaphors in German media and, as a consequence, the need for a detailed linguistic analysis of metaphorical models in German political media discourse. The analysis of the research corpus uses the following research methods: the continuous sampling method, contextual and semantic analysis, as well as stylistic analysis, which determined the role of stylistic means in achieving a pragmatic effect. As a result, it was found that metaphors are a powerful tool for implementing implicit evaluation in German-language newspaper articles, especially in political discourse. They allow journalists to convey complex ideas and emotions in a vivid and often emotional way, without resorting to explicit judgments.

Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects rely heavily on detailed engineering data and accurate 3D models. Artificial Intelligence (AI) opportunities offer a transformative vision for this process, promising automation, optimization, and improved collaboration. Also, AI is being developed to build 3D models of process plants with multiple design scenarios augmenting human knowledge. However, integrating AI in FEED Engineering workflows comes with several challenges: Integration and collaboration of data: EPC projects involve numerous stakeholders with diverse data formats and software tools. Ensuring seamless data exchange and interoperability between AI-powered modelling platforms and existing software used by engineers, designers, and fabricators is crucial for such integration.Engineering Data Quality: AI models need to be trained on data that reflects specific engineering design requirements, codes and design practices relevant to each EPC project or process package. As part of this challenge is validation and verification of data. The complex nature of EPC projects necessitates robust validation processes to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of AI-generated models.The AI "black box": Capturing the design intent of specific design and modelling options or decisions is crucial for EPC projects. The "black box" nature of some AI algorithms can make it difficult to understand the rationale behind generated designs or gain support from engineering organizations for company wide deployment.Cultural Resistance to AI: Cultural resistance to AI solutions stems from hesitation, scepticism, or outright opposition that some individuals or groups within an organization may have towards adopting and implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. This paper seeks to raise awareness of the challenges recognized by current literature in the industry and discuss opportunities for implementing AI solutions when developing 3D models for FEED projects. This paper will also propose best practices for harnessing the strengths of AI to optimize its benefits. The following key areas are discussed as AI opportunities on EPC projects during 3D modelling in FEED: Data Quality, Integration and Standardization: Ensure data used to train AI models is accurate, reliable and follows standardised formats throughout the EPC project lifecycle for seamless data exchange. Inconsistent data can lead to unreliable AI outcomes.Verification and Validation: Develop robust verification and validation processes to ensure the accuracy, quality, safety, and constructability of AI-generated 3D models.Integration of human knowledge and AI tools: While AI automates tasks, human expertise remains crucial. Integrate human oversight throughout the process for design intent capture, validation of AI outputs, and final decision-making.Develop Human skills: The effective use of AI in EPC projects requires a workforce with a blend of engineering expertise and AI skills. Developing an AI culture within the organization and investing in training programs that embraces human-AI collaboration is critical. By implementing the AI opportunities outlined in this paper, EPC projects can harness the advantages of AI to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve project outcomes. Engineering firms should also focus on empowering and developing their employees with AI skills to foster collaboration between human expertise and AI tools, while addressing the cultural concerns surrounding job security. AI has the potential to serve as a powerful tool for automation, optimization, and collaboration of data during the full project lifecycle, revolutionizing the design and construction of complex engineering projects.

The article deals with structural models of metaphors used in English and Azerbaijani media. Words, phrases and sentence models of metaphors used in the English and Azerbaijani media were analyzed. The abundance of metaphors observed in The New York Times, 525th newspaper, Gundem, and Musavat newspapers allows us to say that all structural models of metaphors are actively used in press language. In particular, it should be noted that metaphors are often used in order to correctly assess the current historical conditions in political discourse; as if that historical situation is evaluated. Therefore, experts in political discourse show that as tensions in society increase, the number of metaphors used in political discourse increases. The article generally is related to models of metaphors used in English and Azerbaijani press. We tried to explain what they mean, give much more clearer explanations of them and and conduct in-depth analysis. Therefore, this article is of great importance in terms of our point of view and topic. The practical value of the work results is that they can be used in research.

Introduction Author Arthur C. Clarke famously argued that in science fiction literature “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Clarke). On 30 November 2022, technology company OpenAI publicly released their Large Language Model (LLM)-based chatbot ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer), and instantly it was hailed as world-changing. Initial media stories about ChatGPT highlighted the speed with which it generated new material as evidence that this tool might be both genuinely creative and actually intelligent, in both exciting and disturbing ways. Indeed, ChatGPT is part of a larger pool of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that can very quickly generate seemingly novel outputs in a variety of media formats based on text prompts written by users. Yet, claims that AI has become sentient, or has even reached a recognisable level of general intelligence, remain in the realm of science fiction, for now at least (Leaver). That has not stopped technology companies, scientists, and others from suggesting that super-smart AI is just around the corner. Exemplifying this, the same people creating generative AI are also vocal signatories of public letters that ostensibly call for a temporary halt in AI development, but these letters are simultaneously feeding the myth that these tools are so powerful that they are the early form of imminent super-intelligent machines. For many people, the combination of AI technologies and media hype means generative AIs are basically magical insomuch as their workings seem impenetrable, and their existence could ostensibly change the world. This article explores how the hype around ChatGPT and generative AI was deployed across the first six months of 2023, and how these technologies were positioned as either utopian or dystopian, always seemingly magical, but never banal. We look at some initial responses to generative AI, ranging from schools in Australia to picket lines in Hollywood. We offer a critique of the utopian/dystopian binary positioning of generative AI, aligning with critics who rightly argue that focussing on these extremes displaces the more grounded and immediate challenges generative AI bring that need urgent answers. Finally, we loop back to the role of schools and educators in repositioning generative AI as something to be tested, examined, scrutinised, and played with both to ground understandings of generative AI, while also preparing today’s students for a future where these tools will be part of their work and cultural landscapes. Hype, Schools, and Hollywood In December 2022, one month after OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Elon Musk tweeted: “ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI”. Musk’s post was retweeted 9400 times, liked 73 thousand times, and presumably seen by most of his 150 million Twitter followers. This type of engagement typified the early hype and language that surrounded the launch of ChatGPT, with reports that “crypto” had been replaced by generative AI as the “hot tech topic” and hopes that it would be “‘transformative’ for business” (Browne). By March 2023, global economic analysts at Goldman Sachs had released a report on the potentially transformative effects of generative AI, saying that it marked the “brink of a rapid acceleration in task automation that will drive labor cost savings and raise productivity” (Hatzius et al.). Further, they concluded that “its ability to generate content that is indistinguishable from human-created output and to break down communication barriers between humans and machines reflects a major advancement with potentially large macroeconomic effects” (Hatzius et al.). Speculation about the potentially transformative power and reach of generative AI technology was reinforced by warnings that it could also lead to “significant disruption” of the labour market, and the potential automation of up to 300 million jobs, with associated job losses for humans (Hatzius et al.). In addition, there was widespread buzz that ChatGPT’s “rationalization process may evidence human-like cognition” (Browne), claims that were supported by the emergent language of ChatGPT. The technology was explained as being “trained” on a “corpus” of datasets, using a “neural network” capable of producing “natural language“” (Dsouza), positioning the technology as human-like, and more than ‘artificial’ intelligence. Incorrect responses or errors produced by the tech were termed “hallucinations”, akin to magical thinking, which OpenAI founder Sam Altman insisted wasn’t a word that he associated with sentience (Intelligencer staff). Indeed, Altman asserts that he rejects moves to “anthropomorphize” (Intelligencer staff) the technology; however, arguably the language, hype, and Altman’s well-publicised misgivings about ChatGPT have had the combined effect of shaping our understanding of this generative AI as alive, vast, fast-moving, and potentially lethal to humanity. Unsurprisingly, the hype around the transformative effects of ChatGPT and its ability to generate ‘human-like’ answers and sophisticated essay-style responses was matched by a concomitant panic throughout educational institutions. The beginning of the 2023 Australian school year was marked by schools and state education ministers meeting to discuss the emerging problem of ChatGPT in the education system (Hiatt). Every state in Australia, bar South Australia, banned the use of the technology in public schools, with a “national expert task force” formed to “guide” schools on how to navigate ChatGPT in the classroom (Hiatt). Globally, schools banned the technology amid fears that students could use it to generate convincing essay responses whose plagiarism would be undetectable with current software (Clarence-Smith). Some schools banned the technology citing concerns that it would have a “negative impact on student learning”, while others cited its “lack of reliable safeguards preventing these tools exposing students to potentially explicit and harmful content” (Cassidy). ChatGPT investor Musk famously tweeted, “It’s a new world. Goodbye homework!”, further fuelling the growing alarm about the freely available technology that could “churn out convincing essays which can't be detected by their existing anti-plagiarism software” (Clarence-Smith). Universities were reported to be moving towards more “in-person supervision and increased paper assessments” (SBS), rather than essay-style assessments, in a bid to out-manoeuvre ChatGPT’s plagiarism potential. Seven months on, concerns about the technology seem to have been dialled back, with educators more curious about the ways the technology can be integrated into the classroom to good effect (Liu et al.); however, the full implications and impacts of the generative AI are still emerging. In May 2023, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA), the union representing screenwriters across the US creative industries, went on strike, and one of their core issues were “regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in writing” (Porter). Early in the negotiations, Chris Keyser, co-chair of the WGA’s negotiating committee, lamented that “no one knows exactly what AI’s going to be, but the fact that the companies won’t talk about it is the best indication we’ve had that we have a reason to fear it” (Grobar). At the same time, the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) warned that members were being asked to agree to contracts that stipulated that an actor’s voice could be re-used in future scenarios without that actor’s additional consent, potentially reducing actors to a dataset to be animated by generative AI technologies (Scheiber and Koblin). In a statement issued by SAG, they made their position clear that the creation or (re)animation of any digital likeness of any part of an actor must be recognised as labour and properly paid, also warning that any attempt to legislate around these rights should be strongly resisted (Screen Actors Guild). Unlike the more sensationalised hype, the WGA and SAG responses to generative AI are grounded in labour relations. These unions quite rightly fear the immediate future where human labour could be augmented, reclassified, and exploited by, and in the name of, algorithmic systems. Screenwriters, for example, might be hired at much lower pay rates to edit scripts first generated by ChatGPT, even if those editors would really be doing most of the creative work to turn something clichéd and predictable into something more appealing. Rather than a dystopian world where machines do all the work, the WGA and SAG protests railed against a world where workers would be paid less because executives could pretend generative AI was doing most of the work (Bender). The Open Letter and Promotion of AI Panic In an open letter that received enormous press and media uptake, many of the leading figures in AI called for a pause in AI development since “advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth”; they warned early 2023 had already seen “an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control” (Future of Life Institute). Further, the open letter signatories called on “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4”, arguing that “labs and independent experts should use this pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts” (Future of Life Institute). Notably, many of the signatories work for the very companies involved in the “out-of-control race”. Indeed, while this letter could be read as a moment of ethical clarity for the AI industry, a more cynical reading might just be that in warning that their AIs could effectively destroy the w

Politics and political discourse are closely related to people’s daily life, and this study aims to propose a new approach to political discourse analysis by combining English and Chinese corpora. By exploring the composition of formal language and the grammar generation process, this paper proposes an improved N-gram algorithm to address the shortcomings of the N-gram model in dealing with low-frequency words with low accuracy and uses the strategy of introducing alternative words to alleviate the problem of sparse data. Then, a critical metaphor analysis of political discourse in the English-Chinese corpus is conducted based on the improved statistical language model, and the convergence of political discourse is studied in terms of space and time. By analyzing the political discourse of American presidents, the spatial centrality factors of “we” and “our nation” were accurately extracted, and their correlations were 0.83, 0.73, 0.68, 0.51, 0.76, and 0.41 in order. The correlations of the unqualified facsimile noun phrases in the temporal convergence of political discourse reached 0.28, 0.25, 0.72, 0.68, and 0.54, respectively, and the accuracy of the improved N-gram model improved by about 28.1% compared with the traditional method, making using statistical linguistic models for political discourse analysis feasible and applicable.

Systemic Functional Political Discourse Analysis: A Text-based Study is the first book which takes a comprehensive systemic functional perspective on political discourse to provide a complete, integrated, exhaustive, systemic and functional description and analysis. Based on the political discourses of the Umbrella Movement – the largest public protest in the history of Hong Kong, which occupies a unique political situation in the world: a post-colonial society like many other Asian societies and yet unlike the others, it is a Special Administrative Region of China. Though it enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, it is still confined to being part of the ‘One Country’. The book demonstrates how a systemic functional approach can provide a comprehensive, thorough, and insightful analysis of the political discourse from four co-related and complementary approaches: contextual, discourse semantic, lexicogrammatical and historical. Apart from a thorough discussion of various systemic functional conceptions, it provides examples of various analyses from a SF perspective, including contextual parameters, registerial analysis, semantic discourse analysis, appraisal analysis, and discusses important issues in political discourse, including negotiation of self-identity, association of language, power and institutional role, and expression of ‘evidentiality’ and ‘subjectivity’. It is written not only for those who are interested in Hong Kong politics in general and political discourse in Hong Kong in particular, but also for those who work on political discourse analysis, and those who apply SFL to various other discourses such as mass media discourse, medical discourse, teaching discourse, etc. Last but not least, this book is also intended to provide a theoretical framework in discourse analysis from the systemic functional perspective for those who work in Cantonese and in other languages.

The present paper is concerned with metaphors used to create the image of the future in the British political discourse “General Election-2001”. The analysis focuses on a) some metaphors used to create the image of the future and its periods (“near future” - “distant future”), b) frequency of metaphorical models used to create the image of future and its periods, and e) correlation of metaphorical representations of future and its periods. The research is based on the cognitive linguistic theory of metaphor first expounded by G. Lakoff but also draws useful insights from other explorations dealing with the prospective function of political discourse (D. Graber, E. Lassan, A . Chudinov, T. Shmeleva, etc.). The conclusion is that the most frequent metaphor models used in portraying the “near future” are war, disease and family relationships in conceptualising the “distant future”– journey, architecture and disease. The results of the study show that the metaphorical representation of the future is that the mass media and politicians use frequent and efficient means in the British political discourse “General Election-2001“.

The relevance of this study is conditioned by the comparison of the original texts (in Kazakh) and translated texts (in English) within the framework of the analysis of political discourse and translation analysis. The purpose of the study is to identify the features, patterns, and difficulties for translators to comprehensively assess the adequacy (quality) of the translation and recommendations for compilation to facilitate the translation process. The paper provides a comparative analysis of the modern Kazakh political discourse and its translation into English to identify the features of the translation of language tools, taking into account their pragmatic potential. The theoretical relevance and originality of this research are due to the considerably increased interest in the study of political discourse in the aspect of translation. A comparative approach in political discourse consisting of two languages can be a useful material for studying and comparing political discourse in each of the languages, as well as arouse interest in further research of translation in this language pair. The practical relevance lies in the fact that the presented results can be used in teaching courses of the following disciplines: onomastics, pragmalinguistics, terminology, political science, LSP (language for special purposes), and SPVE (special professional vocabulary of the English language). The materials of this paper can be useful in the field of international relations for international specialists, journalists, translators.