METAPHOR, PERSUASION, AND AUTHORITY IN MILITARY DISCOURSE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK

This study examines how metaphor contributes to persuasion andthe performance of authority in military discourse in English and Uzbek. Using asmall comparative corpus of official statements and public-facing militarycommunications, the analysis integrates (i) metaphor identification and sourcedomain coding, (ii) rhetorical-strategic analysis (threat, protection, sacrifice,inevitability), and (iii) linguistic markers of authority (modality, evidentiality,institutional voice, pronoun alignment). Results indicate cross-linguisticconvergence around WAR/COMBAT metaphors and a shared tendency to fuseobligation with collective identity, while diverging in preferred authority signals:English texts more frequently rely on impersonal institutional voice and modalprojection (will, must), whereas Uzbek texts more often foreground communalalignment and normative necessity (kerak/lozim/shart) in a moral-register frame.The findings contribute to comparative military discourse studies by showing howmetaphor and authority co-produce legitimacy claims across typologically andculturally distinct languages.