Upward/Downward and Forward/Backward: Orientational Metaphors in Georgian Political Discourse

Abstract

Orientational metaphors are among the fundamental cognitive mechanisms through which humans conceptualize abstract concepts based on their perception of physical space (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Kövecses, 2010; Dancygier & Sweetser, 2014). Georgian political discourse is rich in such metaphors, in which concepts such as power, hierarchy, progress, and failure are expressed through metaphorical mappings grounded in spatial categories. This paper examines orientational metaphors in Georgian political discourse from an anthropolinguistic perspective, focusing on how political concepts—such as power, authority, and the dynamics of political development—are metaphorically represented through the spatial oppositions upward/downward and forward/backward. The research is grounded in conceptual metaphor theory and discourse analysis. The illustrative material consists of political texts, including public speeches by politicians, interviews, and social media posts and comments from media outlets. The adopted methodology enables the analysis of discursive data within linguistic, cultural, and social contexts. This approach reveals points of intersection between language, culture, and politics and demonstrates that (a) the orientational metaphors upward/downward and forward/backward function not only as cognitive tools but also as mechanisms for evaluating concepts along positive and negative dimensions; (b) in political discourse, orientational metaphors frequently shift across domains, as illustrated by examples related to social status (“upper-level person”, “low-ranking individual”), power (“looking down on someone”), moral value (“fall into moral decay”), and developmental dynamics (“the country is moving forward”, “the country is drowning in a swamp”). From an anthropological and discourse-analytic perspective, orientational metaphors highlight culturally marked meanings and ethnospecific patterns in Georgian political language