Metaphors in political campaigning – An anthropological linguistics perspective

Abstract

Language is a means of communication in a society. According to linguistic anthropology, a speaker is a social actor who expresses certain ideologies through language. Concepts and ideas, transmitted through language, are part of larger cultural whole in the society. Linguistic anthropology deals with language from a cultural perspective. People represent their mental realities through language which in turn is shaped by culture. Politics is a field of power and dominance. In political discourse, power is exerted through language. Political discourse is to persuade or to motivate the masses. Hence, linguistic choices are important to achieve certain objectives. In Pakistan, the general elections of 2013 were unique in the aspect as it was the first time that one elected democratic government had completed its turn of 5 years and lead towards the next election. Otherwise, the history of Pakistan is marked by incomplete tenures of democratic government and dictatorship. The elections were held on 11 May 2013 in all constituencies of Pakistan. People from all four provinces Punjab, Sindh, Khayber Pakhtoon Khawah, Balochistan, federal area and tribal area had casted their votes. Keywords: First keyword, second keyword, third keyword, forth keyword;