Figurative-metaphorical means of realizing communicative intentions in the German-language political online commentary
Abstract
The study aims to construct a typological model of communicative intentions objectified through figurative-metaphorical means in the German-language journalistic online commentary. The article analyzes German figurative-metaphorical expressions using Charles Osgood’s semantic differential method, identifying nine intentional groups: ascertainment, criticism, warning, encouragement, call to action, affective-metaphorical description, empathy, acknowledgment of merit, and irony. The scientific novelty of the study lies in developing an integrative methodology for analyzing figurative-metaphorical devices in journalistic discourse, synthesizing a pragmalinguistic (intentional) framework with Osgood’s semantic differential technique. The research establishes that ascertainment and criticism constitute the dominant intentions within the genre of political commentary. Each intentional group displays a stable profile across the three core semantic differential dimensions: Evaluation (“E”), Potency (“P”), and Activity (“F”). Furthermore, persistent correlations between metaphor type and the intentional capacity of figurative-metaphorical means are substantiated.