The Role of the ‘Path’ and the ‘Container’ Image Schemas in Political Discourse in Kenya
1Dr. Raphael Francis Otieno
Email: otienoraphael2010@gmail.com
Abstract
The study of conceptual interaction has attracted the attention of many scholars in Cognitive Linguistics. Primarily, the analysis has focused on the role of image-schemas in the construction of metaphors. This study explores the PATH and the CONTAINER image-schemas and the role they play in conceptual formation of metaphors in political discourse in Kenya. The study presents the PATH and its subsidiary image schemas of Verticality, Process and Force-Motion and the CONTAINER image-schema and the subsidiary image-schemas of Excess and In-Out. The analysis reveals that both the PATH and the CONTAINER image-schemas structure the relationship between the source domains (journey and container) and the target domain (politics) by activating subsidiary image-schemas in metaphors of politics in Kenya. The study further reveals that image-schemas provide the axiological value (positive or negative) of metaphorical expressions in political discourse. A positive political environment is a key ingredient for green growth and knowledge economy. The study contributes to the field of metaphor in political discourse by examining the politicians’ conceptualization of politics as a journey, which consists of four structural elements (a source, a destination, contiguous locations which connect the source and the destination and a direction) and as a container, which consists of an interior, an exterior and a boundary. The study used the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) as a tool to establish conceptual metaphors used during the 2005 Draft Constitution referendum campaigns in Kenya and the Image-Schema Theory to account for the presence of image-schemas in political discourse in Kenya. Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory is the locus classicus of the image schema theory.
Keywords: cognitive linguistics, image-schema, political discourse, conceptual metaphor
Introduction
The Theory of Interaction (Richards, 1936) posits that the philosophical basis of cognitive study of metaphor is experientialism, which characterizes meaning in terms of embodiment. According to experientialism, all concepts are structured on the basis of our experience, which is a product of our body or interactions between us and the physical environment or other people within our culture. Human experiences while interacting with the environment leads to the formation of image schemas (Johnson, 1987).
Image schemas represent schematic patterns arising from imagistic domains, such as containers, paths, links, forces, and balance that recur in a variety of embodied domains and structure our bodily experience (Lakoff 1987: 453; Johnson 1987: 29; Talmy 1972, 1977, 1983) and our non bodily experience via metaphor. The schemas are pre-conceptual in origin (Johnson, 1987) and recur as we construct the world, trying to get meaning as we interact with the environment. As Mandler (2004) put it, once the recurrent patterns of sensory information are extracted and stored as an image schema, sensory experiences give rise to conceptual representations. This study gives a cognitive analytical account of the PATH and the CONTAINER image schemas in political discourse in Kenya.
Objective of the Study
To assess the role of the PATH and the CONTAINER image schemas in political discourse in Kenya.
Theoretical Framework
The study employed the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and the Image Schemas Theory (IST).
The Image Schemas Theory
Human beings use image schemas to comprehend the world around them (Santibáñez, 2002; Evans and Green, 2006). The Image Schemas Theory, therefore, enabled the study through schematic representations of image schemas and their subsidiary image patterns to guide the comprehension of politics, an abstract phenomenon. Image schemas are known to be the basis of many metaphorical constructions. The theory, therefore, enabled the study to explain the embodiment of human experiences since human cognition is explained through their experiences. This is consistent with Richard’s (1936) view that metaphor is a mode of cognition based on our experience with the environment.
The theory also assisted the researcher in determining the axiological value of the metaphors. As Krzeszowski (1993) posits, all image schemas exhibit a bipolar property of conferring positive or negative associations. Metaphor uses language to activate unconscious emotional associations and influences our values and beliefs by transferring positive or negative associations into the metaphor target (Charteris-Black, 2005).
Conceptual Metaphor Theory
Conceptual Metaphor Theory views metaphors primarily as matters of thought and action, only derivatively of language. There is a close correlation between language, metaphors and thought and whether consciously or not, people think in metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson 1980). Our conceptual system is largely metaphorical and our ordinary conceptual system in terms of which we both think and act is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. “The locus of metaphor is, not in language at all, but in the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another” (Lakoff, 1993:203). CMT thus allows us to understand one domain of experience in terms of another. Thus, it is possible for us to make use of a relatively familiar, tangible domain of experience to deal with a relatively unfamiliar, less tangible domain of experience. For proponents of CMT therefore, thought has primacy over language. As Ungerer and Schmid (2001) put it, metaphor is not just a way of expressing ideas by means of language but a way of thinking about things. Cognitive linguistics thus views metaphor as a cognitive instrument.
Deignan (2005) states that CMT views metaphor as a link between the source domain which is physically experienced and the target domain which is abstract. We can only perceive and understand abstract notions through the filter of directly experienced, concrete notions. When we use metaphor, we map features from a source domain onto a target domain. To Lakoff and Johnson (1980:246-247), “conceptual metaphor is a natural part of human thought and linguistic metaphor is a natural part of human language.” A close examination of the metaphor used is, therefore, an important key to the way people have mentally constructed abstract domains like politics.
Literature Review
Gathigia (2014) set out to study metaphors of love in Gĩkũyũ. This study used Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) to establish the metaphoricity of the lexical items collected. The study noted that embodied experience manifests itself at the cognitive level in terms of the CONTAINER, PATH, FORCE and OBJECT image schemas.
Magonya (2012) took a cognitivist viewpoint in her study and used the Relevance Theory (RT), Blending Theory (BT) and Idealized Cognitive Models (ICM) to find out whether Kenyans of dissimilar socio-cultural and educational backgrounds homogenously comprehend AIDS messages coined in English and Kiswahili languages. She affirmed the existence of a cognitive model by which people’s embodied experiences with AIDS are conveyed in conceptual metaphors (such as SEX IS A GAME), similes and metonymies.
Makachanja (2006) carried out a comparative analysis of the reconstructed ontology and epistemology of the domains involved in the metaphorical expressions of English with those of Shona. The study noted that because the UP/DOWN orientations are embodied, both English and Shona conceptualize them in the same way. It thus sheds light on the UP/DOWN schema. The study also demonstrated that both English and Shona experience journeys in similar ways and therefore construe LIFE AS A JOURNEY. It, therefore, affirms that conceptual metaphors are motivated by embodied experience which is a key tenet on the conceptualization of phenomena such as politics.
The ‘Yutong’ bus metaphor in Ghanaian political speeches is examined by Mensah (2012) using Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) conceptual metaphor theory. The study notes that the use of metaphors can minimize direct vilification in Ghanaian political communication. The study also demonstrates that features of conceptual sources can be manipulated by politicians to achieve positive rhetorical ends. As Isabel and Velasco (2001) note, image schemas are capable of endowing an expression with a strong axiological value, either positive or negative Opeibi (2006), for instance, while studying negative political advertising, observed that many of the political office aspirants abandoned positive, issue-focused advertisement and engaged in rhetorical strategies of direct attacks on their opponents. Van Dijk (1997) stated that politicians often use metaphorical association to elicit positive self-presentation while the opponent is presented negatively. Mensah (2012) asserts that positive or negative associations of source domain over a period of time can become a natural part of it. Even though Mensah’s study confines itself to the bus metaphor, it offers insights on how Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory has been adequate in dealing with abstract phenomena such as politics.
In his study, Taiwo (2010) states that political discourse in Nigeria had centered on socio-political experiences that Nigeria had been going through. This view is supported by Wei (2001) who argues that recent social events and specific cultural contexts are responsible for the production of metaphor. This argument is consistent with the embodiment of human experience which manifests itself at the cognitive level though image schemas.
Both Charteris-Black (2004, 2005) and Deignan (2005), who have looked at political texts and speeches in British and American English, have noted extensive use of metaphor in such texts. Charteris-Black’s study of metaphors in political discourse mainly focuses on press reporting and religious discourse in English. He uses corpus data to claim that metaphor use is shaped by societal and ideological factors as well as cognitive ones. Deignan (2005), on the other hand, argues that metaphor is a powerful persuasive tool in political discourse. These studies, like the current paper, focus on politics and recognize metaphor as a cognitive instrument that enhances people’s understanding of abstract phenomena.
Yu (1998) investigated conceptual metaphor and its interaction between body and culture and states that while body is a potentially universal source for emerging conceptual metaphor, culture functions as a filter for selecting them. In other words, metaphors are generated from body experience but formed by culture realization and so are culture-specific. Yu (2008) also asserts that the face is the body member by which the Chinese and English make a lot of conceptual metaphors because the face is the most distinctive part of the body and we identify people by their faces.
Methodology
Data Collection Procedure
To describe the diverse set of families of metaphors in a language, the study identified the linguistic metaphors used to talk about politics in the 2005 referendum campaigns in Kenya using the Metaphor Identification Procedure developed at Vrije University, Amsterdam (MIPVU). The metaphors were obtained from the referendum campaign rhetoric in two mainstream newspapers in Kenya-the (Daily) Nation and The Standard.
Each of the four coders (two PhD Linguistics students and two secondary school teachers of English properly trained on how to use MIPVU to identify MRWs), who worked independently, was given 120 newspaper leaves that had captured the 2005 referendum campaign rhetoric. They carried out document review to look for verbatim reports of politicians’ speeches relating to the referendum campaigns. Each determined the lexical units in the text identified. For each lexical unit, the coder established meaning in context. They then determined the basic meaning of the lexical unit by checking the first more concrete meaning of a lexical unit which was listed in the dictionary and adopted it as the word’s basic sense. According to MIPVU, the first meaning in the dictionary is always considered the basic and concrete meaning of a word. Three dictionaries were used to define the word meanings: The Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (Rundell and Fox, 2007), the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Summers, 2005) and the Oxford English Dictionary. Each one of them decided whether the basic meaning of the lexical item was sufficiently distinct from contextual meaning and whether the contextual meaning was related to the basic meaning by some form of similarity. If the last two conditions were met, the unit was marked as metaphorical and hence the phrase or sentence. Where there was disagreement, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Summers, 2005) was consulted to get the meanings and a group discussion carried out to resolve such cases so as to reduce analyst bias.
Reliability
The reliability of coding was assessed through an inter-coder reliability check. The assessment of results from the inter-coder reliability tests consists of determining whether the score test is above or below accepted reliability standards. Cameron (2003) states that where the inter-coder reliability rate is 75% or more, the lexical unit is accepted as a metaphor. Cameron’s rating was adopted by this study and each coder, therefore, represented 25%. A total of 75 instantiations of metaphors of politics were, therefore, found with varying degrees of agreements of either 75% or 100%. The instantiations obtained allowed an initial overview of the appropriate metaphorical concepts used to reflect upon politics in Kenya, among which was POLITICS IS A JOURNEY. Human experience with journeys is discussed in the PATH schema below.
Reconstruction of Metaphors
From the linguistic metaphors collected using MIPVU, underlying conceptual metaphor models, which were presumed to have motivated them, were postulated using Systematic Metaphor Analysis (SMA) procedure. Systematic Metaphor Analysis (SMA) (Schmitt, 2005) is an approach to metaphor which attempts to reconstruct models of thought, language and action, and draws on the results of Cognitive Linguistics by Lakoff and Johnson (1980).
In reconstructing metaphors, all metaphors belonging to the same image source and describing the same subject area were grouped into metaphorical concepts. The process of allocating metaphorical idioms to metaphorical concepts was continued until all metaphorical manifestations were listed under concepts. The metaphors were, therefore, analysed thematically by coding categories which were presented as different conceptual metaphors. The list obtained broadly indicated metaphorical concepts used to reflect upon politics in Kenyan political discourse.
Research Findings
The PATH Image Schema
One of the most common schemas that emerge from our basic body experience is the PATH schema (Yu, 1998). The PATH schema consists of four structural elements: a SOURCE (a starting point) a DESTINATION (end point), a number of contiguous locations which connect the source and the destination (PATH) and a DIRECTION (Lakoff (1989:119). The basic structure of this schema, therefore, includes the SOURCE of motion (JOURNEY), the PATH traveled and a GOAL (DESTINATION). The schematic structure of the Source-Path-Goal Schema can be represented schematically as shown below:
Figure 1: Schematic Structure of the PATH Image Schema
Source: https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu>lecture 12
The arrow shows a forward movement towards a particular direction by the traveler along the PATH.
There is a vast number of “path metaphors” in which the everyday experience of movement along a path serves to conceptualize many other more abstract experiences. The study found the VERTICALITY, the PROCESS and the FORCE-MOTION subsidiary image schemas as conceptual dependencies of the basic PATH image-schema.
The VERTICALITY Subsidiary Image Schema
Human physiology ensures that our vertical axis gives rise to the VERTICALITY image subsidiary schema as a result of how we interact with our environment (Johnson, 1987). The VERTICALITY is as a result of the asymmetry of the human vertical axis which interacts with gravity. Due to the human vertical orientation, humans look downwards for fallen objects and upwards for rising objects (Lakoff, 1987). Figure 2 shows the representation of the VERTICALITY subsidiary image-schema.
Vertical Axis-Up/Down
Up
Down
Figure 2: Schematic Structure of the VERTICALITY Subsidiary Image Schema
Source: https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu>lecture 12
Sixteen (16) metaphors were activated by the VERTICALITY subsidiary image schema: 10) I said it is going to be a tsunami. The only way to avoid it is to go to higher ground; 11) Our wave is so strong and no turn coat or reject will be left standing in the path of the leadership of this county; 12) I warned them (yes team) to move to higher grounds, but those who fail to heed my advice will be swept into the ocean by the strong waves; 13) Why should we fight over this referendum? If you fail, wait for another chance; 14) This is a battle that I am confident the Yes team will win with ease…; 15) There are two arch-enemies in Kenya today: (name withheld) and (name withheld). Then he led the crowed in exorcising the two: ‘(name withheld) ashindwe’ (Down with (name withheld)), ‘(name withheld) ashindwe’ (Down with (name withheld)); 16) Voting for it is to kill democracy; 17) (Name withheld) the monster should be hit on the head and killed so as not to destabilize the (name withheld) government; 18) …is like a dog which drops its piece of meat thinking that its image in the water is another dog with a bigger piece; 19) Although I wrestled with president (name withheld) for the top seat, he called me into his government to neutralize and quash the plan to remove him from power; 20) They have sensed defeat and are now using youths….to cause chaos across the country; 21) If they stop (name withheld) pension, then the (name withheld) and the (name withheld) communities will invade State House; 22) People should prepare for war if ‘NO’ wins; 23) They are already sensing defeat and that is why they are intimidating us; 24) Even God has disowned them and that is why their rallies are bloody; 25) The Bible says “Thou shall not kill” But it does not say Thou shall not kill subject to a chapter in St. Luke’s gospel.
The sixteen metaphors listed encode the UP/DOWN orientation which is one of the configurations of directionality of the PATH schema. Five of the sixteen metaphors: “ …go to higher ground …standing …move to higher ground, …win, …top seat” encode the ‘UP’ side of the orientation while eleven of them: “…fail …down…kill…killed…drops…chaos …invade…war…defeat…disowned…kill” encode the ‘DOWN’ side of the orientation. The metaphors, therefore, fit the vertical directionality configuration of the PATH schema.
The study notes that the VERTICALITY subsidiary image schema is affected either positively or negatively. This is consistent with Kreszowski’s (1993) assertion that all image-schemas exhibit a bipolar property of conferring positive or negative associations. In this paper, the eleven metaphors that encode the ‘DOWN’ side of the vertical orientation confer negative associations to their reference. For instance, exorcising a politician the way Christians do to the devil (metaphor15) has a negative connotation as it is meant to bring down the person, both emotionally and politically. Equally, ‘killing’ as brought out in metaphors (16) and (17) brings a person down. On the contrary, a ‘win’ in metaphor (14) makes a person happy and therefore ‘high.’ This is consistent with Lakoff’s (1992) assertion that:
The MORE IS UP metaphor is grounded in the experience of pouring more
fluid into a container and seeing the level go up or adding more things to a
pile and seeing the pile get higher. … These are experiences with a structure
correspondence between the domain of quantity and the conceptual domain
of verticality: MORE corresponds in such experiences to UP and LESS corres-
pond to DOWN (Lakoff 1992:34).
The aim of any politician is to ascend to a position of power. Each side of the political divide, therefore, presents its position as the one that deserves the power. Due to this, both sides present a positive self-presentation and the negative other-presentation. These presentations correspond to the VERTICALITY image schema’s UP and DOWN orientations respectively. It is the VERTICALITY schema that activates the vicious verbal attacks that politicians engage in during campaigns against their competitors and the self praise that makes them promise what they cannot offer. The attacks are a strategy meant to bring down the opponent to a horizontal (low) level and the praises to let the attacker remain vertical (high).
The PROCESS Subsidiary Image Schema
Mapped onto the PATH schema, a process has three stages: a SOURCE (beginning), a PATH and a GOAL (end-point). In this paper, the PROCESS subsidiary image-schema is instantiated by the following metaphors of politics: 26) we have moved along way in fighting for democracy in this country and we cannot allow one or two bad elements to derail our dream; 27) if they beat us on November, 21, it will be impossible for the (name withheld) government to continue operating smoothly; 28) we shall continue fighting for a better Kenya even if we are sacked…; 29) the Wako draft would provide Kenyans with chance to move to The Promised Land with no detention without trial, no more land grabbing…and tribal clashes; 30). …if he turns back public perception will be that …has been bought; 31) the train of change is unstoppable and he could be left behind; 32) we want a peaceful path to the achievement of a new Constitution; 33). …it should be clear to them; they are treading on a very dangerous path.
Metaphors activated by the PROCESS subsidiary image schema demonstrate that politics as a journey is a process riddled with turbulence. For instance, the metaphor ‘We shall continue fighting for a better Kenya even if we are sacked…’ implies that the journey is not a smooth one and entails sacrifices. The journey is also riddled with corruption (…if he turns back public perception will be that …has been bought), struggles (‘fighting’) and other obstacles ready to derail the process (…cannot allow one or two bad elements to derail our dream). However, it is an unstoppable process that entails hope and, therefore, should be peaceful (we want a peaceful path…) to enable people to reach the Promised Land (chance to move to The Promised Land with no more land grabbing, no political assassinations, no tribal clashes, no corruption). Without a peaceful political process, the country would be treading on a dangerous path and would, therefore, not achieve its goals. Achievement of the Big Four agenda, for instance, is threatened by theft of public funds by corrupt government officials. This has led to serious division in the government, with one wing defending corruption and the other fighting it.
The FORCE-MOTION Subsidiary Image Schema
Scholars such as Johnson (1987), Lakoff, (1987) and Talmy, (1988) have identified FORCE as one of the image schemas underlying conceptual metaphors. According to Talmy (1988), force dynamics, the interaction of entities with respect to force, includes the exertion of force, resistance to force, overcoming resistance, blockage of force and removal of blockage.
What Johnson (1987) calls gestalts of force and Talmy (2000) describes as force dynamic schemas is a key concept of cognitive linguistics. This study takes the view that the term ‘force’ is used metonymically to refer to a moving object, its velocity or trajectory and that no object moves along a path on its own without some force being exerted either internally or externally. The gestalts of force are discussed below.
Compulsion
Compulsion a situation where the force comes from somewhere, has a given magnitude, moves along a path and has a direction. This schematic gestalt can be represented with the following visual image:
Figure 3: Schematic Structure of Compulsion gestalt
Source: Woẑny 2013
Arrow (B) represents an actual force vector and the broken arrow (A) denotes a potential force vector or trajectory (Johnson 1987:45). The force “moves along a path. The following metaphors instantiate compulsion in the FORCE-MOTION subsidiary image-schema: 34) we are aware that money has been poured to woo voters; 35) you may have defeated us in parliament under streams of money but …; 36) we, the orange supporters, being Kenyan patriots do hereby swear to ensure we have achieved a new democratic Constitution and end dictatorship. Help us, oh God; 37) It is like asking the legendary athlete (name withheld) to run 1500 metres without a competitor and later declaring he had won the race.
The metaphors above invoke compulsion in the FORCE-MOTION subsidiary image schema. In metaphors (34) and (35), which have a cognitive construct of POLITICS IS BUSINESS/FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, the metaphors indicate that money, power and control of resources is the force that drives politicians. The compulsion is so strong that in metaphor (36) a semblance of an oath is taken by the politicians, disguised as a fight for democracy. The comparison in metaphor (37) using a famous and fast Kenyan international athlete shows the force and the speed with which a politician needs to act to secure a position. The speed involves securing strategies that would give the competitor advantage over the opponent.
It is the ‘compulsion’ gestalt that explains why politicians would go to any length to ascend to power, including curving off parts of the country as ‘political strongholds’ or even eliminating opponents. It further shows why contest for the presidency in Kenya has been a matter of life and death and almost led to secession in 2017. The current division in the government is all about who will be in power and, therefore, control of resources in 2022 and the perception that someone is being blocked from doing so.
Blockage
The blockage gestalt can be represented as a force vector encountering a barrier and then taking any number of possible directions (Johnson, 1987). In figure 4, a force vector is shown to have encountered a barrier and, therefore, either bounced back, or hit and displaced the barrier and passed through or found its way around the barrier. This schematic gestalt can be represented with the following image:
Figure 4: Schematic Structure of the Blockage gestalt
Source: Woẑny 2013
Peña (2003) states that blockage occurs when we encounter some obstacles that prevent a moving entity from reaching a destination. The barrier exerts a force on the moving object, causing it to change its trajectory as shown in figure 4. This phenomenon is exemplified by the statements below. 38) physically resist encroachment by the orange team into Nyandarua; 39.) the train of change is unstoppable and he could be left behind; 40) our wave is so strong and no turn coat or reject will be left standing in the path of the leadership of this county; 41) I warned them (yes team) to move to higher grounds, but those who fail to heed my advice will be swept into the ocean by the strong waves.
All the metaphors in the preceding paragraph allude to resistance. The resistance is meant to curtail efforts of the competitor from making political progress. In metaphor (38), the pro draft supporters are asked to physically resist (block) any attempts by their opponents to enter ‘their’ region. In expressions (39-41), any obstacle on the way of the politician(s) is crashed. This is a demonstration that politicians do not allow opposition and any dissenting opinion is treated with cruelty (metaphor 38) or forcefully knocked down and swept away (metaphors 40-41). Politicians thus survive by issuing threats and causing fear to their opponents. In other words, politicians face obstacles (resistance) in their quest for power, overtly or covertly, and it is upon them to find a way to overcome them.
Counterforce
The counterforce gestalt focuses on the head-on meetings of forces. Here, two equally strong, nasty and determined force centres collide face-to-face (Johnson 1987:46). This gestalt can be represented with the following schematic image:
Figure 5: Schematic Structure of Counterforce gestalt
Source: Woẑny 2013
The schematic representation indicates that the objects on which the forces act meet and collide. Seven (7) metaphors of politics instantiated the counterforce gestalt:42) physically resist encroachment by the orange team into Nyandarua; 43) “Kama ni wanaume na wanajaribu tutawaonyesha” (If they are real men let them try; we will show them); 44) the results of the referendum were compared to the Biblical David and Goliath War… 45) I tell…to bring those councilors who look like street children to Kapenguria and he will understand why donkeys have no horns; 46) I urge you all to maintain peace. We are in the Super League and we do not want any division, violence and chaos…; 47) any attempts to frustrate aspirations of the people will be met with popular revolt against the authority of the court; 48) they should wait for the 2007 general election and fight for their parliamentary seats first.
The metaphorical expressions for counterforce cue confrontation. Metaphor (42) cautions the opponent of the confrontation they stood to encounter had they gone to Nyandarua, a region considered the opponents’ zone during the 2005 constitutional referendum campaigns. Metaphor (43) dares the opponent to carry out their ‘threat’ ‘if they are real men.’ Metaphor (45) is used to threaten the opponent of dire consequences while metaphor (44) of the Biblical David and Goliath confrontation brings out the resistance that the advocates of the draft constitution (with more resources) got from the ‘no’ camp (with less resources). This metaphor demonstrates a scenario in politics where ‘small and unknown’ politicians confront and beat those with more resources and, therefore, more powerful. Metaphor (46) is consistent with Johnson’s (1987) postulation of “two strong, nasty and determined force centres colliding face-to-face” since this is experienced in sport as opponents collide fighting for the ball. Any fallout within the ‘team’ (political camp) is always disastrous. Political opponents always have to face-off (cf. metaphor 48) but intelligently and cunningly to avoid being beaten in the political match.
In the COUNTERFORCE gestalt POLITICS IS WAR, the ‘Mapambano’ song in Kiswahili, a Kenyan national language (“Vijana msilale bado mapambano”) translated as ‘the youth do not relax; the fight is still on’ shows that the ‘war’ is far from over and therefore the battle continues. The ‘counterforce’ that is witnessed between supporters of various politicians in Kenya, has led to human deaths during elections.
Removal of Restraint
The Removal of Restraint gestalt is one that suggests an open way or path, which makes possible an exertion of force. […] in the diagram is meant to suggest that either because some actual barrier is removed by another force or because the potential barrier is not actually present, the force F1 can be exerted (that is, there is nothing blocking it) (Johnson 1987: 46). The gestalt can be represented by figure 7.
Figure 6: Schematic Structure of Removal of Restraint gestalt
Source: Woẑny 2013
According to Hurtienne and Blessing (2007), the Removal of Restraint schema involves the physical or metaphorical removal of a barrier to the action of a force, or the absence of a barrier that is potentially present. The phenomenon is exemplified by the metaphorical expressions: 49) we shall continue fighting for a better Kenya even if we are sacked….; 50) we have moved along way in fighting for democracy in this country and we cannot allow one or two bad elements to derail our dream; 51) do not expect any easy battle; real men and women capable of putting up a brave fight for the presidency come 2007 were still taking it easy; 52) I will continue fighting for the silent majority to ensure that their interests are catered for all the time; 53) the song “Vijana msilale bado mapambano” (The youth do not relax, the struggle continues); 54) there are two arch-enemies in Kenya today: (name withheld) and (name withheld). Then the crowd was led in exorcising the two: (name withheld) ‘ashindwe’ (down with (name withheld)), (name withheld) ‘ashindwe’ (down with (name withheld)); 55) we warned them that a political tsunami will come if they do not give people a good Constitution. It has now swept them; 56) I said it is going to be with tsunami; the only way to avoid it is to go higher ground; 57) She is welcome to the home of orange campaigners and she has taken a clever step of decamping before the political tsunami makes a sweep; 58) Our wave is so strong and no turn coat or reject will be left standing in the path of the leadership of this county; 59) I warned them (yes team) to move to higher grounds, but those who fail to heed my advice will be swept into the ocean by the strong waves; 60) The train of change is unstoppable and he could be left behind.
Metaphors (49-54) indicate the presence of a barrier to be removed. The removal of a restraint involves a battle, which requires force (tsunami) to get the barrier out of the way (metaphors 55-60). The tsunami was expected to sweep the restraint easily. As Johnson (1987:46) points out, “Exertion of force” means motion which can only be made possible by removing the barrier. Metaphor (60) sums it all up by indicating that the removal of the barrier (opponent) is unstoppable and anybody who does not wish to be swept away (sent to political oblivion) has to come on board the ‘Biblical Noah’s Ark.’ “Our experience of force usually involves the movement of some object (mass) through space in some direction,” (Johnson, 1987:43).
The Removal of Restraint gestalt explains the existence of political machinations by politicians to get opponents out of the competition. On the path to power, any blockage, perceived or real, and counterforce, is dealt with forcefully. This is a common and fatal experience in politics in Kenya where candidates or people perceived to be a hindrance to ascension to power have disappeared or been killed, corrupted to silence or threatened with dire consequences. Despite the political fights, Kenya has remained one solid container for all Kenyans.
The CONTAINER Image Schema
The CONTAINER image schema represents the idea of containment (Johnson, 1987). Containment is viewed as a relation between the container (boundary) and its content (interior). The image schema results from our recurrent and ubiquitous experiences with containers (Lakoff, 1987). The schema fundamentally involves the IN-OUT orientation, taken to account for various senses of IN, OUT, INTO, and OUT OF (Johnson 1987; Lakoff 1987; Lindner 1981). Peña (2000) contends that the CONTAINER schema is a basic schema that provides a blueprint for the activation of the FULL-EMPTY, the PART-WHOLE, the EXCESS and the CENTRE-PERIPHERY schemas. This paper has dealt only with the IN-OUT orientation and the EXCESS subsidiary image schema.
The EXCESS Subsidiary Image Schema
The EXCESS image schema is invoked by all those expressions which convey that something is in a larger amount than would be desirable (cf. Pena, 2000). In this paper, the EXCESS schema was instantiated by four (4) metaphors: 61) the Wako draft gives too much power to the presidency; 62) some of these MPs have suddenly become very rich and their sources of wealth are questionable; 63) we are aware that money has been poured to woo voters; 64). ….the Wako draft for giving too much power to the presidency… office holder look like the Bible’s King Pharaoh.
In metaphors (61) and (64), the schema is called up by the expression “too much” which indicates that the powers given to the presidency are in a greater quantity than needed. A prerequisite for the activation of the EXCESS image schema in these metaphors is the conception of power being in a container (the Wako draft Constitution) and that too much of it has been given to the presidency, another container. Power thus resides in the Constitution and in the presidency both of which are containers.
The EXCESS image schema is usually associated with a negative axiological value. This is understood in terms of control so that in excess, the contents of a container exceed its capacity, become uncontrollable and balance is lost. As a result of the excess quantity of power being difficult to control, the holder of the office loses balance and the office is, therefore, affected negatively hence the negative axiological value of the two metaphors. The CONTAINER image schema is, therefore, needed to understand a leader as a container of power, feelings and emotions, too much of which is dangerous to the governed. It is the excess power vested in the presidency that has led to the call for another constitutional referendum to spread the powers even further to other organs.
The quantifier ‘very’ (metaphor 62) captures the excess nature of politicians’ wealth, whose source is ‘questionable.’ The abundance of money, a scarce resource, is brought out by use of the term ‘poured’ (metaphor 63), its excess nature being negative. The expressions ‘too much,’ ‘very rich’ and ‘poured’ all point to the negative value of what is invoked by the metaphors. The politicians thus wield too much power, which they use to enrich themselves with public resources that they in turn use to woo the voters during elections. The process is, therefore, a vicious cycle.
The IN-OUT Subsidiary Image Schema
The IN-OUT orientation of the CONTAINER image schema takes into account the senses of IN, OUT, INTO and OUT OF. The orientation conceptualizes politics (governance and control of resources) as an entity with borders that one can get ‘into’ and ‘out of.’ Of the twenty-three (23) metaphors instantiating the CONTAINER image schema, nineteen (19) had the IN-OUT orientation: 66) physically resist encroachment by the orange team into Nyandarua; 67) for this nation to heal, everyone must return his or her dagger (in) to the sheath … ; 68) we have moved along way in fighting for democracy in this country and we cannot allow one or two bad elements to derail our dream; 69) this is just like the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible…” ; 70) it is like throwing grains to a hen so that it can be trapped; 71) we are aware that money has been poured (out) to woo voters; 72) you may have defeated us in parliament under streams of money but the wrestling match is in the public court.; 73) like good hunters, we should scatter ourselves in all directions to trap the animal; 74) I urge you all to maintain peace. We are in the Super League and we do not want any division, violence and chaos…; 75) although I wrestled with president (name withheld) for the top seat, he called me into his government to neutralize and quash the plan to remove him from power; 76)…but now the wrestling match is in the public court. We will win; 77) I warned them (yes team) to move to higher grounds, but those who fail to heed my advice will be swept into the ocean by the strong waves; 78) some of these MPs have become “wakoras” (rascals). They are out to enrich themselves at the expense of other people; 79) we will continue being in the party…; 80) The courts must be warned that the power they exercise on the people is donated by the people themselves; 81) Church leaders are like shepherds who have forsaken their sheep when danger is approaching; 82) you should not agree to sell your right to vote by succumbing to their threats. 83) State House has been turned into a market for human beings …. Some are being bribed with title deeds; 84) a no vote would amount to restoring their dignity which had been wrongly thought that they could buy through relief food.
Metaphor (68) cues Kenya as a container whose content is Kenyans. There are sub-containers within this larger container, Kenya: parliament (metaphor 72), teams (metaphor 74), the government (metaphor 75), ocean (metaphor 77) and political parties (metaphor 79). The major container has a dream to fulfill (metaphor 68). Metaphor (66), however, shows a section of the container, Kenya, curved into a political stronghold where ‘outsiders’ are not allowed entry. The strongholds are either ethnic regions of the party kingpins or ethnic regions of the major supporters of party leaders. This promotes negative ethnicity. Metaphor (66) explains why it has been difficult to view Kenya as one cohesive container whose resources can be used for the benefit of all Kenyans.
Other sub-containers found in political discourse are the Bible, the people, the courts and State House. Metaphors (69) and (81) portray the Bible and Church leaders as containers of the word of God. The story of the Prodigal Son mentioned in metaphor (69), for instance, teaches both about respect to parents and about a benevolent father. This scenario reflects an aspect of Kenyan politics where politicians who opt out of political parties or alliances fail to get elected and have to come back to their political parties to renew their political life. Equally, when church leaders fail to tend to their flock, the flock loses direction (metaphor 84) just like when the politicians forsake or are forsaken by their parties. In both cases, normalcy is restored when they return to or when their ‘fathers’ show concern and call them back. The IN-OUT subsidiary image schema thus views the Bible, the people, the courts, parliament, State House among others mentioned in this section as containers holding different kinds of contents in them. All these containers need to work in harmony for the benefit of the contents of the major container, Kenyans.
The people (metaphor 80, 82, 84) are containers of power, individual rights and dignity. They donate power to constitutional offices like the courts; they have a right to vote and a right to dignity, both of which should not be interfered with. These rights, however, are normally interfered with by the occupants of political offices. State House, for instance, is perceived as a container of power that infringes on citizens’ dignity and suffrage rights during elections. This is because of the ‘too much’ power that it wields. Metaphor (83), therefore, has a negative axiological value.
Basically, therefore, the IN-OUT subsidiary image schema activates the production of metaphors of inclusivity and exclusivity. Kenya is viewed as the mother container, within which are sub-containers. The mother container has Kenyans as its contents. Exclusivity means other Kenyans (read regional representatives) are not involved in the running of affairs of the nation. This has been demonstrated by the winner-takes all ideology which reached its peak in 2017 when other regions almost seceded. It is this schema that activated the utterance ‘tunakula nyama na wanameza mate’ (we eat meat, they salivate). It is the IN-OUT schema that has made competition for the presidency in Kenya fatally competitive because of the perception that when ‘our man’ is IN, things are better for ‘us’ and it is ‘our’ time to eat. So many financial scandals are attributable to the IN orientation while resistance is attributable to the OUT orientation. The March 9th handshake was meant to correct this situation that had threatened the stability of Kenya. Kenyans look forward to the proposed constitutional referendum that it is hoped will make governance more inclusive.
Conclusion
From the findings of the study, both the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the Image Schema Theory are important for the comprehension of metaphors of politics in political discourse in Kenya. They make the comprehension of politics, an abstract phenomenon, vivid and interesting.
The PATH and the CONTAINER image schemas play an important role in the conceptualization of politics in Kenya. The PATH image schema activates the production of the VERTICALITY, the PROCESS and the FORCE-MOTION subsidiary image schemas. The VERTICALITY subsidiary image schema activates the production of metaphors of the positive-self and negative-other presentation; the PROCESS image schema activates the production of metaphors that demonstrate that politics is an activity with a source and a goal and the FORCE-MOTION schema activates metaphors that portray politics as a rigorous process with a motivation (compulsion), blockage from opponents, conflict between opponents (counterforce) and strategies to achieve one’s goal (removal of restraint). The CONTAINER image schema, on the other hand, activates the EXCESS and the IN-OUT subsidiary image schemas. The EXCESS schema shows the unsatiable thirst of politicians for accumulation of wealth that leads to corruption while the IN-OUT activates metaphors of inclusivity and exclusivity respectively.
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The Role of the ‘Path’ and the ‘Container’ Image Schemas in Political Discourse in Kenya