On Linguistic Means of Metaphorical Influence in Georgian Pre-Election Discourse

Abstract

This article analyses the role of metaphor in the texts of public election speeches of Georgian politicians. Metaphor is a form of artistic representation of reality through language and an effective tool that contributes to the formation of the linguistic worldview. This tool has the strongest pragmatic effect, since it combines pragmatic, cognitive, and linguistic knowledge in relation to culture, ideology, and history. Often we understand and accept reality through the prism of metaphorical models, established stereotypes, and prototypes. Moreover, it is obvious that political activity cannot exist without the use of language, which implies a certain pragmatic goal. Metaphor is one of the most effective tools of   persuasion in pre-election political discourse, while the analysis of political texts in the pre-election period is one of the most interesting topics for scholars in the field of political communication. Indeed, metaphor can be considered as one of the ways to creatively present one’s ideas and postulates during the election campaign. The use of metaphors is characteristic of contemporary political discourse in many languages. This article attempts to illustrate the main trends in the use of metaphor in political discourse, which is typical of Georgian candidates. The choice of texts from the contemporary preelection discourse in Georgia is explained by the fact that there are no works related to the study of Georgian-language political texts in the framework of political linguistics. The author believes that the materials presented in this paper can be of interest and use for linguists, experts in Kartvelian languages and specialists in cross-cultural communication.