Metaphor in Mahathir’s political speeches in the context of economic crisis

Abstract

This study draws on Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory to examine the use of metaphors in business-related political speeches by Mahathir Mohamad in 2000, a year which marked a turning point for Malaysia as it recovered from the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1999. We adopt Charteris-Black's three-step procedure for metaphor analysis, from identification to interpretation and explanation. The predominant patterns of metaphor use include the predominance of economy-related concepts, demonstrating his primary concern at that time; the predominance of health, journey and war domains, demonstrating how he perceived the economy-related concepts; and a combination of different domains to refer to the same concept, demonstrating how he tried to comprehensively address various aspects of the economy. The study also reveals two strategies employed to create a vivid and effective image in the audience's mind: the use of a wide range of metaphor mappings and a series of connected segments to guide interpretation. The overall effect was that Mahathir was able to make his thoughts on economy and economy-related concepts more accessible to his audience by linking them to metaphors that represent familiar areas of experience.