Multimodal analysis of metaphors in political-religious discourse : a cognitive-semiotic approach.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the interrelation between gestures and speech in the construction of multimodal metaphors in the “legislative session” genre. Based on Multimodal Semiotic Blending (MSB), an adaptation of Brandt and Brandt’s (2005) model (MIRANDA; MENDES, 2014; AVELAR, in press), an illustrative analysis of the multimodal metaphors found in the sessions was performed, focusing on the verbal and gestural resources used by the participants. To do so, five scenes were selected from two legislative sessions performed by two so-called “Representative-pastors” of the Brazilian House of Representatives: Marco Feliciano and Silas Malafaia. Finally, the metaphors and the gestures performed by both politicians were compared. The conclusion reached in this study demonstrated how MSB can be relevant when analyzing the iconicity of material resources (mainly gestures) used by the participants.