Authors

Metaphor functioning in political communication is a widely investigated scientific field as this rhetorical device is able to influence the addressee’s opinions and attitudes and change the perception of reality. The purpose of this paper is to describe the pragmatic potential of metaphors in Christmas messages (which are considered the main instrument of communication of the Head of State with his citizens) made by Juan Carlos I from 1975 to 2013, analyzing three metaphorical models (“War”, “Construction”, and “Way”). The solution to the current problems of Spanish society is associated with national unity, which is the leitmotif of all the analyzed Christmas messages. The metaphorical model “War” calls for fighting against common “enemies” (unemployment and terrorism); the metaphorical model “Way” convinces the audience of the correctness of the chosen political course, which leads to the country’s prosperity; the metaphorical model “Construction” shows that every citizen needs to participate in the development of the state, based on democratic values, and to underscore the important role of Spain in the European integration process.

The paper analyzes the ways and means of constructing the country and national image in the public speeches of the Spanish King Felipe VI, which represent an example of the discourse of power. The study was carried out taking into account the theoretical developments of V. Demyankov, S. Zolyan, A. Chudinov, N. Klushina, E. Malysheva, J. Austin, J. Searle and D. Vanderveken and is based on the discourse analysis of the speeches from 2014 to 2024. Its main aim is to systematize ideas about ideologemes and metaphors as linguistic means of translating national identity in relation to the communicative intention of the speaker. It was revealed that ideologemes play a decisive role while constructing the image of Spain as a country and a nation. The authors also described the most productive metaphor sphere-sources needed to create this image. Moreover, it was concluded that in the discourse of the modern Spanish monarch the image of Spain is mainly transmitted by declarative and directive statements.