Abstract:

Abstract The present study explores the cognitive use of archimetaphor belonging to the evaluative devices of persuasion in emotional argumentation. The corpus consists of forty editorials taken from the Internet French newspapers and magazines. The subject matter of the gathered texts includes two thematic groups of reforms concerning the higher education system and the special retirement plan for public sector employees. Thanks to the archimetaphor the addresser may highlight or hide chosen aspects of the described problem in order to activate vital values concerning our life and existence. Therefore, the concept of “conflict” described in the analysed textes is conceptualised by means of four natural forces (elements) such as fire, air (wind), water and earth (soil) which leads both to the mechanism of naturalisation and axiological polarisation of the presented reality. The mechanism itself stems from two opposing relations: identification and differentiation, allowing the grouping of presented facts to the class of US (protagonists) and THEM (antagonists). In consequence, such axiological persuasion aims at influencing the addressees’ will and decisions and allows for nearly absolute acceptance of the opinions presented by the addresser.

Keywords: