“PEOPLE MATTER. FREEDOM MATTERS. PEACE MATTERS”: CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR ANALYSIS OF VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY’S SPEECHES

Abstract

This article draws upon the investigation of distinctive features in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speeches delivered during the period of the Russian invasion that started on 24 February 2022 and one month after it. The focus of the article is on the application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) developed by Lakoff & Johnson, and Conceptual Blending invented by Fauconnier & Turner. These two leading approaches have taken a crucial position in cognitive studies and are the central methods used in conducting research in this particular domain. Consequently, in the framework of this article, these theories are regarded as essential resources for scrutinising the peculiarities of the speeches “The war of Russia is not only the war against Ukraine” dated 1 March 2022, and “Ukraine needs heavy weapons” dated 13 April 2022 delivered by the Ukrainian President. Similarly, the data for the study is analysed and processed by means of a corpus-based method and the UAM Corpus Tool, a software program that provides the necessary built-in or self-created layers to implement all-embracing and grounded manual annotation of any type of text corpora. To examine the effective conveyance of meaning in public discourse, this research primarily centers on linguistic and auditory modes, specifically analyzing the speeches of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and their corresponding transcripts. It is worth noting that while this study does not currently encompass visual, gestural, and spatial modes, they hold the potential for inclusion in future investigations of motivational speeches, which could potentially augment the research outcomes. In conclusion, the investigation of these data has revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy tends to utilise a vast range of conceptual metaphors, specifically structural, ontological, and building. With this in mind, ontological metaphors are the most frequent since they depict the “physical experience” of the speaker. Finally, by applying Conceptual Blending, we can examine how the President makes reference to Russia by overlapping the mental space of COUNTRY with the mental space of TERRORISM, and AGGRESSION. Additionally, in the case of Ukraine, he merges the mental space of COUNTRY with the mental space of FREEDOM, and LIFE.