DATA VISUALIZATION COMPUTER PROGRAMS IN DIACHRONIC COMPARISON OF THE BRITISH POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF THE 20<sup>TH</sup> - 21<sup>ST</sup> CENTURIES (BASED ON ORIENTATIONAL METAPHORS)

Abstract

This article opens a series of publications related to the use of methods of statistical processing and data visualization in the field of political linguistics for the analysis of orientational metaphors identified in the official speeches of British politicians in the period of 1900—1920 and 2000—2020. The urgency of this article lies in the study of human cognitive processes by means of fundamental linguistic units (orientational metaphors), as well as in the use of advanced computer technologies in linguistic research. This approach allows the researcher to come to objective conclusions, to carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis, as well as to visually present the results obtained. The aim of the work is both to identify the criteria that influence the metaphorical character of the text and to compare the temporal changes of the British political discourse from the point of view of diachrony. The following methods were used in the work: the method of diachronic analysis (with the aim to identify temporal changes in orientational metaphors), quantitative analysis and statistical processing of linguistic material. During the study, the authors analyzed 42 official speeches of British politicians, in the framework of which they identified 2,500 orientational metaphors. On the basis of the data obtained, it has been revealed that the 21 st century is more metaphorical than the 20 th , while the second decade always surpasses the first in metaphoricity. Moreover, using data visualization tools, it was shown that the first decade of the 21 st century is approximately equal in terms of metaphorical density with the second decade of the 20 th century. This work can be of interest to Russian and foreign specialists in the field of comparative political metaphorology, cognitive linguistics, history, political science, computer data analysis, and informatics.