Abstract
Abstract Using corpus linguistics and qualitative, manual discourse analysis, this paper compares English and French extremist texts to determine how messages in different languages draw upon similar and distinct discursive themes and linguistic strategies. Findings show that both corpora focus on religion and rewards (i.e. for faith) and strongly rely on othering strategies. However, the English texts are concerned with world events whereas the French texts focus on issues specific to France. Also, while the English texts use Arabic code-switching as a form of legitimation, the French texts use a formal register and quotation from scripture in discussions of permissions, rights, obligations and laws. Finally, the English texts refer to and justify violence to a greater extent than the French texts. This paper contributes to the field of terrorism studies and the field of corpus linguistics by presenting a new approach to corpus-driven studies of discourse across more than one language.
Highlights
Islamist extremist discourse is a difficult subject to research
Much work remains to be done on the multilingual extremist texts and, we argue, corpus linguistics has much to offer as a methodology to this end
Common clusters containing Allah in the English texts are may Allah (301 occurrences), which usually involves requests for Allah to help the extremist cause and cause of Allah (100 occurrences) which is used euphemistically to refer to all activities approved of by the extremist writers, including violence
Summary
Islamist extremist discourse is a difficult subject to research. The focus and handling of extremist texts are clearly dangerous (not least because possession of the texts is illegal, at least in UK law), but researchers face the added difficulty that this form of communication is sophisticated and prolific (Frampton et al, 2017; Zelin, 2015). Many of the perpetrators of attacks have been identified as British and French nationals, often in possession of illegal terrorist materials; some of these individuals were radicalised as a result of communication with the groups or via the groups’ media propaganda (Droogan & Peattie, 2016; Novenario, 2016). We compare corpora of English and French Islamist extremist texts in order to determine the extent to which terrorists’ messages in different languages draw upon similar and distinct themes and linguistic strategies and appear to be written for the same purposes. Our research contributes towards wider understandings of Islamist extremism, when considering the transmission of messages across international borders and the extent to which extremist discourse is “tailored” for specific contexts. We conclude by offering a reflection on the methodological process we implemented and describing further research that could be carried out on the basis of our findings
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