Diachronic Political Metaphorology: Linguistic Personology

Abstract

The present research was conducted in the framework of such novel linguistic approaches as diachronic political metaphorology and linguopolitical personology, which allow linguists to explicate cognitive strategies behind a politician’s linguistic behaviour. Approaches allow establishing the connection between events in one’s political career and metaphors used to describe them. To verify this hypothesis, the authors analyzed the dynamics of the metaphorical models that were extricated from political speeches given by Yulia Tymoshenko, who remains one of the most prominent female politicians in the world. The analysis revealed that each period of her political career can be characterized by one dominant metaphorical model. During her first participation in the presidential elections, Tymoshenko’s speeches were full of military and sport metaphors, which demonstrated her desire to win. When indicted, the politician exploited theater metaphors to show that she had been framed up and the trial was unlawful. During the elections of 2014, Tymoshenko used the criminal metaphor to highlight the faults of her opponents and describe the situation in the country. Since 2015, the dominant metaphor has been of military character, which reflects the current military and political conflict in the country. Thus, the change of the prevailing metaphorical model is directly determined by the political situation and the ideological attitudes that shape the goals a politician seeks to achieve in a particular period of his or her career. The present research substantiates methodological principles that can be used to describe the dynamics of metaphorical models in the political idiolect.