National and self-identity in metaphorical narratives

This research applies qualitative study and research interviews on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, drawing on the insights from Critical Metaphor Analysis and combining it with a theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. The main aim of the research is showing the possibility of metaphorically constructed discourse to form reality and evoke certain moments of national identification on the example of Montenegro. The goal is to examine the ways participants experience, understand, and respond to metaphorical domains extracted from politicians’ discourses, in the process of making sense of their social worlds. Investigated areas included perceptions of the unity image schema through the metaphorical mappings COUNTRY IS: A FAMILY, A CONTAINER, A PERSON, and ON A JOURNEY. With this micro-study, we came to understand that national identities are based on a set of relatively simple metaphorical images to which people respond based on shared experience and expectations, emphasizing that by micro-cogni-linguistical grounding, national identities can be linked to lived, personal experience, and discursive interaction, collectively constructed by individuals.