Name «Annalena Baerbock» in German Political Discourse: A Corpus Analysis of Precedent Phenomenon

The scientific paper deals with the analysis of the name of a former German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock as a precedent phenomenon in German-language political discourse. The relevance of the study is due to the wide use of precedent phenomena. The study is based on the methods of corpus linguistics, using the tools of the Mannheim corpus of the German language DeReKo, in particular. The aim is to determine the peculiarities of the diplomat’s name functioning in modern media texts in German. The material is analysed with consideration of lexical and semantic characteristics and pragmatic attitudes that determine the perception and representation of a political figure in the media. The name of the German minister is used in various forms − from formal and full (“Annalena Baerbock”) to the colloquial and reduced ones (“Baerbock”, “Annalena”). In addition, there are cases when the name is combined with the names of other political figures.  In the media, the name functions not only as a referential marker, but also as a symbol associated with topics such as international conflicts, environmental policy, women’s rights and political leadership issues. Of particular interest are the name’s connotations, which range from neutral to ironic and sharply critical. The analysis of the name with epithets, metaphors, graphic signs, and other names demonstrates its high evaluative and stylistic significance. There are also stable linguistic constructions in which the name fulfills a symbolic function, such as the “Baerbok effect” and the “Baerbok paradox”. The name can also serve as a metaphorical representation of certain political phenomena or stereotypes, indicating its transition into the category of symbols with pronounced pragmatic and sociocultural functions in German political media discourse. There is also a tendency towards stylistic splitting of the image of the name-bearer, reflecting the polarisation of public opinion and the specifics of political communication in Germany.