Prabowo’s Metaphor in International Stage: Case Study of Conceptual Metaphor Function in the Propositional Structure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v13i2.8668Keywords:
Conceptual Metaphor, propositional structure, Political SpeechAbstract
This study aims to identify and analyze the functions of conceptual metaphors used in Prabowo’s ASEAN summit’s speech, particularly in how they concretize abstract political challenges, personify values, and motivate collective actions. The data conducted in this study is taken from President Prabowo speech at ASEAN summit 2025. Beside classifying the conceptual metaphors, the mapping proposition structure by agent, actor, and object are also used in this study. By examining the domain source and target based on Lakoff and Johson theory of conceptual metaphor and also proposition by Lakoff and Johnson, the result shows that the most metaphorical expressions used in the speech is ontological metaphor. The findings highlight that the speech particularly demonstrates ontological metaphors to concretize abstract global political challenges while personifying values such as inclusivity, collaboration, and desire also create developmental, collaboration, and stability ideologies. Furthermore, the propositional mapping showed that the president as a leader or navigator collectively join in navigating and countering transboundary threats, thereby strengthening the persuasive function of the speech. Thus, this study provides an advance of the understanding of metaphors function in political communication and provides practical insights for improving rhetorical strategy and critical public discourse
References
Abu Rumman, R. N., Hamdan, J. M., & Al-Adwan, A. (2024). A Corpus-Based Study of Corruption Metaphors: The Case of the Jordanian `Hirak’ Protest Movement. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), 2371494. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2371494
Ahrens, K., & Zeng, W. H. (2022). Referential and Evaluative Strategies of Conceptual Metaphor Use in Government Discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 188, 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.11.001
Aliurridha, & Efendi, A. (2021). Fungsi Kognitif dan Pragmatik Metafora dalam Debat Pilgub DKI Jakarta 2017. Ranah: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, 10(1), 132–143. https://doi.org/10.26499/rnh.v10i1.1328
Atmawijaya, T. D. (2025). The strategic use of metaphor in political discourse: Critical Metaphor Analysis. Russian Journal of Linguistics , 29(2), 272–295.
Brugman, B. C., Burgers, C., & Vis, B. (2019). Metaphorical framing in political discourse through words vs. concepts: a meta-analysis. Language and Cognition, 11, 41–65. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2019.5
Charteris-Black, J. (2011). Politician and Rhetoric: The Persuasive Power of Metaphor (2nd Edition). (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Giang, N. T. B., & Hiep, T. X. (2025). An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in Donald Trump’s 2024 Victory Speech. Studies in Media and Communication, 13(2), 360–372. https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v13i2.7659
Hidalgo-Downing, L. (2020). Towards an integrated framework for the analysis of metaphor and creativity in discourse. (L. H. Downing & B. Kraljevich Mujic, Eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Hidayat, M. S. (2021). Penggunaan Hermeneutika dalam Penelitian Manajemen. Bisman: The Journal of Business and Management, 4(2), 170–180.
Hotaling, S. R. (2023). Conceptual metaphor usage in Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 gubernatorial campaign. Old Dominion University.
Kamalu, I., Anasiudu, O., & Fakunle, R. O. (2023). Metaphoric Construction of Corruption in Nigerian Media Discourse. Topics in Linguistics, 24(1), 67–81. https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2023-0005
Kövecses, Z. (2010). A new look at metaphorical creativity in Cognitive Linguistics. Cognitive Linguistics, 21(4), 663–697.
Ksatria, A. (2024). Conceptual Metaphor as a Means of Persuasion in Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s Speech. JADEs Journal of Academia in English Education, 5(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.32505/jades.v5i1.8798
Kusmanto, H. (2019). Konseptualisasi Metafora Wacana Politik: Studi Semantik Kognitif. Jurnal Pendidikan Nilai Dan Pembangunan Karakter, 3(2), 27–41.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors We Live by. London: The University of Chicago Press.
Malah, Z., & Taiwo, D. S. (2020). Conceptual Metaphors in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Political Rhetoric. International Linguistics Research, 3(4), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.30560/ilr.v3n4p27
Meng, H., Li, X., & Sun, J. (2025). Large language models prompt engineering as a method for embodied cognitive linguistic representation: a case study of political metaphors in Trump’s discourse. Frontiers in Psychology.
Nguyen, D. T. (2025). Conceptual Metaphors in English Political Discourse. International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 8(7), 4942–4947. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v8-i7-01
Pérez-Sobrino, P., Semino, E., Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I., Koller, V., & Olza, I. (2022). Acting like a Hedgehog in Times of Pandemic: Metaphorical Creativity in the #reframecovid Collection. Metaphor and Symbol, 37(2), 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2021.1949599
Sari, R. P., & Tawami, T. (2018). Metafora Konseptual Pada Wacana Retorika Politik. Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial Akrab Juara, 3(4), 59–69.
Syahrizal, T. (2016). Political Conceptual Metaphors in Political Discourses: A Cognitive Semantic Study. ELTIN Journal.
Wang, S. (2025). The propositional meaning of metaphor: A critical review against the Davidsonian approach. Language and Communication, 105, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2025.08.002
Woods, K. N. (2022). War, Love, and Journeys: A Comparative Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in Political Speeches. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nisrina Dewi Ambarwati, Syihabbudin, Mahardhika Zifana

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access)
