'We are the Sons and Daughters of Our Mother, the State': family metaphors in presidential speeches in the Baltics - a comparative analysis
ENThe present study uses the Discourse Historical-Approach (DHA) to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and a comparative analysis to identify, analyse, and compare the use of family metaphors in a corpus of 175 speeches by the presidents of the Baltic States over a century. The study shows that the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania address the national spirit, family ties, and sense of belonging of the people by addressing them as children of the states and particular state as a mother or father figure. Likewise, the states are often referred to as motherland (by the presidents of Lithuania), fatherland (Latvia), or homeland (Estonia) that marks a significant difference in how maternal or paternal roles are translated on to the abstract concept of nation, thus effectively anchoring social and political belief systems of the citizens in the moral and emotional values of family life.
