A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SYNTACTIC METONYMY IN RUSSIAN AND CHINESE POLITICAL STATEMENTS BASED ON THE COGNITIVE THEORY OF METONYMY

Cao Lingjie

The article examines syntactic metonymy in Russian and Chinese political discourse through the framework of E. V. Paducheva’s cognitive theory of metonymy. Based on governmental reports from both countries, the study identifies the main ways in which the focus shifts from agent to patient and the structural patterns that realize this mechanism. Russian discourse predominantly employs passive, indefinite-personal and impersonal constructions, whereas Chinese discourse relies mainly on two-member sentences with a patient as the subject and on ellipsis. The findings refine the understanding of syntactic metonymy in political texts and confirm the applicability of Paducheva’s cognitive model to cross-linguistic research. The practical significance of the study lies in its applicability to the analysis of official texts, the teaching of Russian and Chinese, and translation practice. The research highlights the relevance of syntactic metonymy for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of political communication.

Keywords:syntactic metonymy, cognitive theory of metonymy, political discourse, comparison of Russian and Chinese, grammatical metonymy, syntactic structures.