Metáforas avaliativas na série de reportagens vaza jato: o contra-ataque com a arma do outro na guerra discursiva

Abstract

From the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics, summarized in Geeraerts and Cuyckens (2007), this work investigates figurative processes, especially metaphor, in the context of contemporary Brazilian Portuguese journalism. Besides the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, [1980] 2002), and the notion of fictivity (TALMY, [2000] 2019), the most relevant theoretical aspect is the comprehension of evaluated metaphors (DEIGNAN, 2010), according to which there are four mechanisms for the metaphor to carry out an evaluation: (i) created implications; (ii) metaphorical scenarios; (iii) source domains; (iv) explored connotations. Methodologically, we have studied occurrences of metaphors in the two initial texts of the series of reports Vaza Jato, published by The Intercept Brasil, for an analysis of qualitative-interpretative composition (BRYMAN, 1996; DENZIN and LINCOLN, 2006). The results direct towards a conclusion that the newspaper critically takes advantage of the evaluative metaphors, their respective image resources and their implications, resorting partly to the same figurative resources evoked by the information sources, aspect which emerge from the leak sources, causing the journalists’ evaluative perspective about these datas. Furthermore, the choice of source domains proved to be substantial for the evaluative dimension of metaphors, in the enunciative context of the analyzed reports. Another prominent aspect is the observation that the journalistic discourse appropriates from the evaluative metaphors of the information sources to use them argumentatively against these sources themselves. Finally, in the terms of textual composition, the referred reports use the same figurative and evaluative mechanisms to establish cohesion and coherence through the metaphor.