COLOURS IN POLITICS IN SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Abstract

The paper focuses on means of the expression containing a chromatic element in their structure. These kinds of expressions are both figurative and denominative names (including occasional names) occurring in the language of politicians themselves or, in general, in the language related to politics in any political context. The aim is to find out, which colours are the most used in political discourse in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, and how they are used; what the individual colours express and in what connections they occur (collocations, comparisons, metaphorical constructions, terms, etc.). The naming units are excerpted from the web corpora Araneum and CREA so that in the research sample, only one meaning from each usage is included. The lexical units with a chromatic element are analysed throughout lexical-semantic analysis – their use in context, their meanings, and connotations are studied. The study reveals the most and the least used colours in the political context, as well as the most frequent types of naming units in which they appear.