HEALTH Metaphor in Political and Economic Discourse: a Cross-Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

The present paper sets out to examine the conceptual metaphor of HEALTH through its linguistic realisation in English and Lithuanian political and economic discourse. The investigation relies on the cognitive theory of metaphor and applies its main theoretical principles alongside with the frequency count and cross- linguistic comparison. The results have revealed that HEALTH metaphors are twice as frequent in English; however, both languages are equally prone to conceptualise political and economic difficulties in terms of health problems. Of the seven types of HEALTH metaphors, the most numerously represented is the PROBLEM IS AILMENT/ MALFUNCTION metaphor. The same major tendencies of metaphorical reasoning have been preserved in both languages. The lexical realisation, however, remains in some types of metaphors very culture-specific. Overall, the results have demonstrated that the socio-economic discourse is conceptualised in accordance with the universal embodiment/ anthropocentric parameter of the cognitive linguistic theory of metaphor and has preserved some culture-specific features.