126 research outputs found
European spaces and the Roma: Denaturalizing the naturalized in online reader comments
With the entry of several Eastern European nations into the European Union (EU), a âthirdâ space has developed in the discourse for nations perceived as not fully integrated âinsideâ the EU system. This article investigates the construction of this âthird spaceâ in the resultant âmoral panicâ about undesired immigration from other EU countries and its potential drain on the social services of the United Kingdom and links it to Euroskeptic discourse in British media. The article uses construal operations from cognitive linguistics combined with critical discourse studies as a way of denaturalizing the discourse in online comments that focus on the Bulgarian/Romanian immigration issue which we then connect to anti-Roma discourse. Results reveal a view of the United Kingdom as contaminated by Roma and underscore the need for novel metaphors to be countered before they become entrenched and used as tools for political propaganda
The interaction of class and gender in illness narratives
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2008 BSA Publications Ltd.Perspectives on gender and identity that emphasize variability of performance, local context and individual agency have displaced earlier paradigms.These are now perceived to have supported gender stereotypes and language ideologies by emphasizing gender difference and homogeneity within genders. In a secondary analysis of health and illness narratives we explore the interaction of class and gender in individuals' constructions of gendered identity. High social class men perform gender in particularly varied ways and we speculate that this variable repertoire, including the use of what was once termed `women's language', is linked to a capacity to maintain social distinction and authority. Men's performance of conventional masculinity is often threatened by both the experience of illness and being interviewed about personal experience. Lower social class women in particular demonstrate an intensification of a pre-existing informal family and support group culture, marking successful members by awarding them the accolade of being `lovely'.ESR
Activating metaphors:exploring the embodied nature of metaphorical mapping in political discourse
In this unit activity, I explore how students can make use of the principles of embodied cognition and meaning, and specifically the embodied nature of metaphor to explore political discourse and communication. Work in cognitive linguistics has highlighted the fact that humans construct a view of reality that is informed by our species-specific capacities and limitations, and our interaction with the social and physical world (Tyler, 2012). In these terms, language itself can be viewed as derived from conceptualizations that are based on physical and sensory images (Holme, 2012). Together these comprise a theory of embodied cognition that can be utilised in an educational context (Giovanelli 2014)
Narrating One Nation:The Ideology and Rhetoric of the Miliband Labour Party
Speaking at the 2012 Labour Party Conference, Ed Miliband set out his vision of âOne Nationâ. This article maps the core concepts of Labour's ideology and identifies the narratives used to argue for One Nation social security reform. It locates these narratives within Labour's traditions and demonstrates that they coalesce in the leadership persona of Miliband himself. Though an attempt to respond to a populist ârhetorical cultureâ, the article contends that this strategy has created a selfâenclosed ideology that cannot conceive of an audience beyond itself. Labour therefore needs to overcome this solipsism if it is to secure victory in 2015
The role of metaphor in shaping the identity and agenda of the United Nations: the imagining of an international community and international threat
This article examines the representation of the United Nations in speeches delivered by its Secretary General. It focuses on the role of metaphor in constructing a common âimaginingâ of international diplomacy and legitimising an international organisational identity. The SG legitimises the organisation, in part, through the delegitimisation of agents/actions/events constructed as threatening to the international community and to the well-being of mankind. It is a desire to combat the forces of menace or evil which are argued to motivate and determine the organisational agenda. This is predicated upon an international ideology of humanity in which difference is silenced and âworking towards the common goodâ is emphasised. This is exploited to rouse emotions and legitimise institutional power. Polarisation and antithesis are achieved through the employment of metaphors designed to enhance positive and negative evaluations. The article further points to the constitutive, persuasive and edifying power of topic and situationally-motivated metaphors in speech-making
The study of metaphor as part of Critical Discourse Analysis
This article discusses how the study of metaphoric and more generally, figurative language use contributes to critical discourse analysis (CDA). It shows how cognitive linguistsâ recognition of metaphor as a fundamental means of concept- and argument-building can add to CDA's account of meaning constitution in the social context. It then discusses discrepancies between the early model of conceptual metaphor theory and empirical data and argues that discursive-pragmatic factors as well as sociolinguistic variation have to be taken into account in order to make cognitive analyses more empirically and socially relevant. In conclusion, we sketch a modified cognitive approach informed by Relevance Theory within CDA
From Teamchef Arminius to Hermann Junior: glocalised discourse about a national foundation myth
If for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the âBattle of the Teutoburg Forestâ, fought in 9 CE between Roman armies and Germanic tribes, was predominantly a reference point for nationalist and chauvinist discourses in Germany, the first decade of the twenty-first century has seen attempts to link public remembrance with local/regional identities on the one hand and international/intercultural contact on the other. In the run up to and during the âanniversary yearâ of 2009, German media, sports institutions and various other official institutions articulating tourist, economic and political interests attempted to create a new âglocalisedâ version of the public memory of the Teutoburg battle. Combining methods of Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper analyses the narrative and argumentative topoi employed in this re-orientation of public memory, with a special emphasis on hybrid, post-national identity-construction. Das zweitausendjĂ€hrige Gedenkjahr der âSchlacht im Teutoburger Waldâ im Jahr 2009 bot eine gĂŒnstige Gelegenheit, die bis in die zweite HĂ€lfte des 20. Jahrhunderts dominante Tradition nationalistischâchauvinistischer Deutungen des Sieges von germanischen StĂ€mmen ĂŒber drei römische Legionen zu korrigieren und zu ĂŒberwinden. Der Aufsatz analysiert mit Hilfe diskurslinguistischer Methoden die Anstrengungen regionaler Institutionen und Medien, die nationale Vereinnahmung des historischen Gedenkens kritisch zu thematisieren sowie neue, zum eine lokal situierte, zum andern international orientierte Identifikationsangebote anzubieten. Die Analyse zeigt, dass solche âde-nationalisiertenâ Identifikationsangebote zwar teilweise auch frĂŒher verwendet wurden, aber heutzutage rekontextualisiert und auf innovative Weise in den Vordergrund gestellt werden
'Riots engulfed the city':an experimental study investigating the legitimating effects of fire metaphors in discourses of disorder
In Cognitive Linguistic Critical Discourse Studies (CL-CDS), metaphor is identified as a key index of ideology and an important device in the legitimation of social action. From this perspective, metaphor is a cognitive-semiotic operation, invoked by metaphorical expressions in discourse, in which a source frame is mobilised to provide a template for sense-making inside a target frame, leading to particular framing effects. However, the extent to which metaphors in discourse genuinely activate an alternative frame and thereby achieve framing effects has recently been subject to question. Amid calls for more empirical forms of analysis in Critical Discourse Studies, the paper reports two experiments testing the legitimating framing effects of fire metaphors in discourses of disorder. Results show that images of fire and fire metaphors in the absence of competing images facilitate support for police use of water cannon in response to social unrest. The study not only justifies attention to metaphor in CL-CDS but similar effects across semiotic modalities are interpreted as evidence in support of simulation-based theories of metaphor
Non una donna in politica, ma una donna politica: Womenâs Political Language in an Italian Context
This chapter focuses on the metaphorical content of Italian women politiciansâ speech to investigate if particularly âfeminineâ language traits (see Jesperson 1922: 237â54) can be identified, or whether, as the driving hypothesis of this study posits, it is ministerial remit that conditions the use of a politicianâs language more than any other single factor. This hypothesis is tested by examining a corpus of speeches, press interviews and press releases of five women ministers in the Prodi-led administration in Italy, covering the period June 2006 to May 2007
Can Charisma Be Taught? Tests of Two Interventions
We tested whether we could teach individuals to behave more charismatically, andwhether changes in charisma affected leader outcomes. In Study 1, a mixed-design fieldexperiment, we randomly assigned 34 middle-level managers to a control or anexperimental group. Three months later, we reassessed the managers using theircoworker ratings (Time 1 raters = 343; Time 2 raters = 321). In Study 2, a within-subjectslaboratory experiment, we videotaped 41 MBA participants giving a speech. We thentaught them how to behave more charismatically, and they redelivered the speech6 weeks later. Independent assessors (n = 135) rated the speeches. Results from thestudies indicated that the training had significant effects on ratings of leader charisma(mean D = .62) and that charisma had significant effects on ratings of leaderprototypicality and emergence...............................................................................................................................
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