An Analysis of Metaphor in Selected Political Speeches

Abstract

Metaphor is an instrument that is highly used in politics. It is considered as a powerful tool that politicians use a lot in their speeches either to manipulate listener's feelings, ideas, beliefs, or even controlling other's values. The main goal of the present study is to explore how politicians tend to convey their massages and ideas through the use of different types of metaphors. The data of the study are four speeches by two American presidents, two speeches by Obama and the other two by Trump. The modal proposed is Lakeoff and Johnson (1980). The analysis of the data under study reveals that the American president Donald Trump uses ontological metaphors when he addresses the American citizens in his speeches to affect their emotions whether it was positively or negatively, while he uses structural and orientational metaphor in his speeches when he addresses the Congress. Barak Obama, on the other hand, uses both of the ontological and structural metaphors in his speeches when he addresses the American citizens as well as the Congress, to make them understand and experience one concept in terms of another and also to affect their feelings and emotions.