“The road ahead will be difficult” : An analysis of conceptual metaphors used in political speeches

Abstract: Political speeches are complex in nature and call for a thorough exploration to unravel the underlying messages. Politicians tend to simplify their speeches by using conceptual metaphors as a means of taking a shortcut. When examining political speeches, an interesting factor to consider is how politicians utilise conceptual metaphors influenced by their gender, as gender impacts both our language usage and how we are perceived in the world. This research examines the impact of conceptual metaphors used in political discourse pertaining to gender in two African nations: South Africa and Liberia, where one male and one female politician is selected from each country. In order to examine and interpret the corpus, a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was conducted, and metaphors were identified using the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP). Broadly speaking, the research findings indicate that the four politicians established their identities through the utilization of conceptual metaphors. Furthermore, they commonly employed metaphors related to JOURNEY when discussing the progress and growth of their countries. In terms of gender distinctions, women tended to place a higher priority on establishing a sense of togetherness and connectedness with their community.