Dominant Metaphorical Model “MOVEMENT” in the Discourse of British Prime Minister David Cameron: a Technique for Studying Temporal Dynamics

Abstract

The article analyzes the metaphors used in the texts of the contemporary British politician David Cameron. The authors carry out metaphorical modeling of the political discourse of D. Cameron, on the one hand, during his election campaign and, on the other, during the period when he held office of the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The article argues that the metaphorical model with the source domain “MOVEMENT” is dominant for D. Cameron’s discourse. The authors present a detailed analysis of the frames and typical slots employed. The following frames are very frequently used: “Travel”, “Type of movement”, “Character of movement”, “Obstacle to movement”, “Factors facilitating movement”. It has been found that D. Cameron regularly uses the following slots: “Way”, “Walking”, “Motor transport”, “Climbing”, “Walking in circles”, “Change of direction”, “Movement forward”, “Obstacle”, “Trap”, “Dead Weight”, as functional and structural elements that provide vertical relationships. The authors conclude that during the period when David Cameron held the position of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the metaphorical load of his speech significantly increased, the quantity of bright images grew up, and new spheres and frames of metaphorical attraction became more active. The change of politician’s functions naturally leads to the transformation of his rhetoric. In its final part, the article provides statistical information to confirm the results of the work carried out.