Applying conceptual blending theory, the paper analyses the construction of the meaning of a satirical text ridiculing the language employed by politicians to frame the debate on current political and social issues. In particular, it focuses on the language used by Donald Trump in explaining his anti-immigration stances through a poem based on the fable about the farmer and the viper, and a satirical text providing a new version of the poem, which criticizes Trump’s immigration policy. The paper examines the creation of the humorous meaning of the text in conceptual blending. The humorous meaning is created in the blended space due to the unusual combination of related structures, which results in incongruity (Coulson 2002; Marín-Arrese 2003). Furthermore, as blending can be used as a rhetorical tool influencing the audience to change the reality and even act upon it (Coulson 2006; Coulson & Oakley 2006; Coulson & Pascual 2006; Oakley & Coulson 2008), the analysis of the construction of the meaning of the satirical text as a product of conceptual blending can reveal rhetorical and argumentative goals in political discourse.

Applying conceptual blending theory, the paper analyses the construction of the meaning of a satirical text ridiculing the language employed by politicians to frame the debate on current political and social issues. In particular, it focuses on the language used by Donald Trump in explaining his anti-immigration stances through a poem based on the fable about the farmer and the viper, and a satirical text providing a new version of the poem, which criticizes Trump’s immigration policy. The paper examines the creation of the humorous meaning of the text in conceptual blending. The humorous meaning is created in the blended space due to the unusual combination of related structures, which results in incongruity (Coulson 2002; Marín-Arrese 2003). Furthermore, as blending can be used as a rhetorical tool influencing the audience to change the reality and even act upon it (Coulson 2006; Coulson & Oakley 2006; Coulson & Pascual 2006; Oakley & Coulson 2008), the analysis of the construction of the meaning of the satirical text as a product of conceptual blending can reveal rhetorical and argumentative goals in political discourse.

Abstract Applying MIPVU (Steen et al., 2010) to the corpus of media articles about the European migrant crisis in the period from August 2015 until March 2016 in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, this paper analyzes the IMMIGRANTS ARE ANIMALS metaphor within the framework of the deliberate metaphor theory by considering the three dimensions of this metaphor, namely, the linguistic dimension of (in)directness, the conceptual parameter of conventionality, and the communicative dimension of (non)deliberateness. Specifically, the paper examines the use of the ANIMALS metaphor as a deliberate metaphor in the immigration discourse in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian. The paper aims to determine to what extent and in which situations the authors of the texts tend to divert the addressee’s attention to viewing immigrants in terms of animals. Using the IDeM protocol for the identification of deliberate metaphor (Krennmayr, 2011), the paper also focuses on the rhetorical potential and the effects of the use of deliberate metaphors in the media discourse. Such metaphors are often used in the media discourse to dehumanize immigrants and consequently reduce the addressee’s empathy for them.

Abstract The paper investigates the interaction of conceptual blending and conceptual metaphor in producing figurative creativity in discourse. The phenomenon of figurative creativity is defined by Kövecses (2005) as creativity arising through the cognitive mechanisms of metonymy, metaphor, and blending. Specifically, the paper examines the use of creative figurative language in the British public discourse on the topic on Brexit. The aim of this paper is to show that conventional metaphors can be creatively stretched through conceptual blending, producing instances of creative figurative language. Specifically, applying blending theory, we will analyse innovative conceptual blends, motivated by the conventional marriage/divorce metaphor. In addition, the paper also examines the way in which creative figurative language produced in metaphorical blends provides discourse coherence at intertextual and intratextual levels.

The aim of the paper is to uncover the extent to which different forms of political Internet humour can criticise current political affairs in a developing democracy such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Specifically, applying a cognitive linguistic theory of meaning construction, namely conceptual integration theory, the paper analyses the construction of meaning of humorous Internet forms, such as memes, demotivational posters, hashtag posts, and memetic photographs, representing innovative ways of providing political commentaries on current political affairs. The meaning of political humour is constructed in conceptual blending as a basic cognitive mechanism. As it is claimed (Coulson & Pascual 2006, Coulson & Oakley 2006, Coulson 2006, Oakley & Coulson 2008) that blending can be used as a rhetorical tool influencing the audience to change the reality and even act upon it, the analysis of the construction of meaning of political humour as products of conceptual integration can reveal hidden ideologies in political discourse.

The paper examines the use of creative figurative language in American political discourse. In particular, the paper focuses on the use of the expression to play the race card and the creative figurative language motivated by the use of this expression in the contemporary American political discourse. The aim of this paper is to show that conventional metaphors can be creatively stretched through conceptual blending, producing instances of creative figurative language which contributes to achieving different discourse goals and discourse coherence. Specifically, applying conceptual integration theory, the paper analyzes innovative conceptual blends, motivated by the conventional CARD GAME metaphor, which are used to achieve different discourse goals. In addition, such creative metaphorical blends also provide discourse coherence at the intertextual level.

Conceptual integration theory, proposed by Fauconnier and Turner in 1993, has been successfully used in the study a wide range of phenomena of human thought and action, from counterfactuals to metaphors, proving blending to be present in the simplest kinds of human thinking. In that sense, conceptual integration theory has emerged as a powerful theory that can account for a wide variety of linguistic and non-linguistic phenomena. Therefore, it is not surprising that conceptual integration theory has found its application in the study of advertising. Advertising requires both conscious and subconscious mental interpretation of the hidden messages. The primary objective of this paper is to show that conceptual integration theory is equipped with the mechanisms that can explain the construction of the meaning of text-image advertisements. Specifically, analyzing several text-image advertisements, this paper attempts to explore to what extent hidden cognitive mechanisms involved in the interpretation of advertising can be explained using the postulates of conceptual integration theory.

During the course of their English language studies, many students are asked to learn various kinds of idiomatic expressions in English, ranging from phrasal verbs to idioms. While learners may be able to memorize the standard meanings of such phrases, they frequently lack the contextual knowledge in order to use them appropriately. This presentation will describe a series of classroom activities conducted with 20 first-year English language students at the University of Tuzla in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The activities are designed based on cognitive theory of metaphor and metonymy (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, Kovecses 2002, Radden & Kovecses 1999) and are intended to bridge the gap between learners’ understanding of meaning and usage of idioms. Specifically, these activities will encourage learners to hone their fluency via appropriate use of idioms while also suggesting ways for instructors to devise assessment mechanisms for appropriate use of these phenomena. The benefits of linking cognitive linguistic theory to meaning-focused classroom approaches and materials design will also be discussed.