PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF ANIMAL METAPHORS IN THE DISCOURSE OF RUSSIAN NATIONALISTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY

Abstract

This paper deals with the metaphors from the source domain ‘Animal world’ used by right-wing politicians and publicists at the beginning of the 20th century in the depiction of the Russian nation and ethnic minorities against the backdrop of the aggravation of the National question in the Russian Empire. Particular emphasis is placed upon pragmatic functions of animal metaphors. It is found that most animal metaphors are negative and serve as instruments to create the image of the Other. While marking the Other, nationalists form so-called ‘our circle’. The non-Russian peoples are portrayed as small animals (metaphors of discredit) or predators (metaphors of aggression). Moreover, Russian nationalists point out that non-Russian peoples treat Russians as agricultural animals (metaphors of exploitation). There are few examples of positive animal metaphors which highlight harmony between the different peoples of the Russian Empire (metaphors of harmonization).