Precedent Name

In this article, we consider the metaphorical use of precedent names from the source spheres “literature” and “cinema” in the political discourse of modern Spanishlanguage mass media. The names of heroes of ancient mythology, works of classical Spanish and foreign literature, including children’s literature, as well as movie characters, carriers of certain qualities and properties, are widely used as precedents. As a result of the study, the grounds for metaphorical transfer from the named source spheres to the target sphere are established. The function of precedent names is also revealed not only as actualizers of the precedent situation, but also as a means of characterizing political opponents in the sphere of political discourse in the context of the struggle of political forces for the possession, preservation and disposal of power. The modern political discourse of the Spanish-language media as an arena of political confrontation is characterized by intolerance, agonality, and the “language of hostility” marking opponents as “alien” in the “friend – alien” binary opposition with the predominance of discrediting characterizations of political opponents aimed at debunking a given politician’s claims to leadership, demonstrating his or her incompetence and hanging labels. In the context of the language game, precedent names are used as a metaphorical definition of the names of current politicians. For characterization, precedent names are taken with both negative and positive connotations, imparting a negative connotation to the object of characterization due to the emerging phenomenon of enantiosemy when used as a metaphorical definition of proper names. The atmosphere of language play created in journalistic texts using well-known precedent names from works of popular culture, as well as the playful connection of the name of a politician with the precedent name of a fictional character, imbue such texts with the quality of informational and entertainment journalism. At the same time, these techniques implement the pragmatic function of precedent names aimed at manipulating the addressee, encouraging him or her to act for the purposes of one political actor or another, and reveal a certain political strategy, despite the obvious intentions of the author

Binary opposition · Connotation · Phenomenon · Politics · European Cultural and National Identity · Historical and Modern Theater Studies · Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies