Metaphor in Political Media Discourse: Mental Political Leader Portrait

In the article, we realize the aim of the study. We identify the role of metaphor in the political media discourse as an important part of the mental political portrait. The paper deals with the analysis of Chancellor’s metaphoric image structured by the expansion onto the source domain of professional activity, based on simple and compound models and their varieties. The complex methods of cognitive and pragmatic analysis of the mental political leader portrait are used. The article describes the pragmatic power of professional metaphoric models defined by the constant conceptual vectors of ruin and destruction and conceptual vector of protectionism. The ways of analysis are useful for development of communication theory, cognitive linguistics, socio- and psycholinguistics, linguapragmatics, cultural, media, and virtual linguistics. In the article, we establish that the political portrait of the German leader is formed by metaphorical expansions onto various areas of professional activity: law, pedagogics, theatre, circus, fine arts, building, transport (railway), medicine, service, law enforcement, music, hunting. On the material taken simple and composite (double-projected) metaphoric models have been identified. The complex metaphoric unity defines the genre peculiarities and the stylistics. The pragmatic power of professional metaphoric models is defined by constant conceptual vector of ruin and destruction.