Метафорические модели дискурсивного конструирования негативного образа России в испанских СМИ

Abstract

This article deals with the problem of discourse designing of the negative image of Russia in Spanish mass media using metaphorical models with the target domain “Russia”. Within the framework of this study, a metaphorical model is defined as a mental scheme of connections between different conceptual domains, which is formed and fixed in the minds of native speakers. The material includes Spanish articles from reputable sources (El País and BBC News in Spanish) mentioning Russia (over 500,000 characters in total). With the use of discourse, corpus and lexical-semantic analysis as well as conceptual analysis of metaphorical models, the author found that the negative image of Russia is constructed in Spanish political media discourse through the following metaphorical models: “Russia is the country of Putin”, “Russia is the heir to the USSR” and “Russia is a pseudo-saviour of the world”. The following frames can be distinguished within the structure of the model “Russia is the country of Putin”: 1) Russia belongs to Putin; 2) Putin is a lifelong president; 3) Putinism is an ideology of Russian citizens. The metaphorical model “Russia is the heir to the USSR” includes the following stereotypical scenarios: 1) authoritarian, undemocratic methods of governance; 2) “Soviet” way of living; 3) backward economy. The frame that exists within the model “Russia is a pseudo-saviour of the world” actualizes the scenario of providing humanitarian aid for show. Among the lexical and grammatical representatives of these metaphorical models are the following: prepositional construction with de and the proper name Putin; adjectives with the semes “infinitely long, eternal” and “entire”; adjectives containing semes of distance/separateness; lexeme soviético, etc. The nominative field of the considered image contains both direct nominations, represented by the toponyms Rusia, Moscú and Kremlin, and metaphors that are mainly related to the size of the state. The stereotypical features of the source domain make it possible to create a negative image of Russia as an authoritarian, undemocratic state with an almost monarchical system, outdated Soviet governance methods, saviour-ofthe-world ambitions, and ostentatious behaviour in the international arena.