Investigating the manner of drawing the identity-based foundations in Joe Biden’s presidential inaugural speech through conceptual metaphors

This study is about to find how conceptual metaphors help in drawing identity borders and attaining legitimacy. So, the semantic system of conceptual metaphor (Kováces, 2010) and the components of myth and social imagination (derived from Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, 2001) make the theoretical framework of the research to find how the semantic system affect reaching general legitimation. To answer the research question, Joe Biden’s speech in his inaugural ceremony in 20 Jan. 2021 is used as the case study. Based on the findings, metaphor provides a cognitive framework for expressing ideological ideas. Each metaphor in this discourse foregrounds a concept and backgrounds the alternative ones. The president conceptualizes the USA as “America is human” metaphor to accompany the nation, and avoid the party-based views. As a result, metaphor is a tool for avoiding clear border-makings, foregrounding concepts, and representing different views according to conceptual domains. Though using metaphor, discourses can turn to a discourse having the least out groups and the most in groups in a country. Therefore, conceptual metaphor provides a base for creating an ideal space for myth-making. Through such tools, Biden tried to capture a discourse trying to attract the attention of the most and avoid rejecting the potential groups.