Acknowledgements

For the love of language, I am especially grateful to my mentor, Réka Benczes. She was the first to introduce me to the cognitive linguistic exploration of politics, society, and culture, an intellectual journey that continues to shape my work. Over the past decade, I have admired her curiosity, precision, and generous mentorship. This book would not exist without her guidance and encouragement.

I am fortunate to work in one of the most nurturing environments a scholar could wish for — the Department of Communication and Media Science at Corvinus University of Budapest. My colleagues’ kindness has been invaluable throughout my journey.

I am also lucky to be a member of the Budapest Metaphor Circle, a vibrant community of brilliant minds and generous metaphor scholars.

I owe special thanks to my friend and colleague, Alexandra Nagy-Béni. Her enthusiasm and positive energy have been a sustaining force along the way.

I am thankful to my stellar students, Utku Bozdağ, Kundyz Mukhangali, Dóra Eszter Varga, and Balázs Horváth, for their curiosity and thoughtful work, which have continually enriched my own thinking.

I am deeply grateful to Szilárd Tátrai, Péter Csatár, Gábor Kovács, and the two anonymous reviewers of the manuscript. Their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts of this work contributed significantly to its development.

I would like to thank Andreas Musolff, Johann Wolfgang Unger, and Jo Angouri from the Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture series at John Benjamins for giving a home to this book. I am also indebted to Isja Conen for her meticulous work and immeasurable patience during the publication process.

I am thankful for the love and support of my mother, Csilla, my brother, Áron, and my entire family.

Finally, to András, the center of my heart: thank you.