Critical Metaphor Research Articles

ПРОТИДІЯ РОСІЙСЬКИМ ФЕЙКОВИМ НАРАТИВАМ У БРИТАНСЬКИХ ТА АМЕРИКАНСЬКИХ МЕДІА: КРИТИЧНИЙ ДИСКУРС-АНАЛІЗ (КДА)

Based on critical discourse analysis conducted on the media reports which cover the articles from British and US press, the research gives insights into the common Russian propaganda narratives which have been spread over the last decade on Ukrainian sovereignty and the war unleashed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. The linguistic analysis of the confl ict rhetoric covers pragmatic and semantic elements with the implied negative assessment of Russian policy. With Critical Discourse Theory and Analysis, Critical Metaphor Analysis and Positioning Theory applied, the research classifi es the positioning of the main actors as aggressors or victims and describes the discursive strategies used for countering and dispelling the fake Russian narratives. The study reveals the causes and implications of the analysed practices, identifi es the linguistic means used for the realisation of the discursive strategies and shows how emotional triggers engage readers through lexical-semantic means and stylistic fi gures. Key words: critical discourse analysis, discursive strategies, linguistics means, stylistic fi gures, Russian fake narratives, war in Ukraine.

The construction of anti-pandemic image: a semiotic study of the role metaphors play in pandemic discourse in China

Abstract The pandemic has attracted extensive media attention around the world. In reports on the pandemic, metaphors are widely used to frame pandemic events through cross-domain mappings. Based on critical metaphor analysis, this study examines the metaphors in pandemic reports published in China Daily, the largest government-owned English-language newspaper in China and explores the metaphorical construction of China’s anti-pandemic image. We find more than 13 metaphor varieties, among which, the metaphors of war, journey, and family and friend are dominant. Through these metaphors, China is largely constructed as a people-oriented, united, resilient, responsible, and friendly country as well as a victim of political stigmatization. We argue that the stance and ideology of China Daily and the international background of infodemic influence the representation of China’s anti-pandemic image.

Shedding light on the ‘invisible load’: an analysis of sight metaphors in parenthood podcasts

ABSTRACT This paper intends to establish which sight metaphors are preferably utilised in parenthood podcast discourse when the division of family responsibilities within heterosexual dual-income couples is discussed. The study examines a sample of podcast episodes about this topic aired during the COVID-19 pandemic and produced in a number of English-speaking countries. Starting from the assumption that work performed within the home is conventionally conceptualised as something heavy (DOMESTIC WORK IS A LOAD), the research relies on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Metaphor Analysis to explore the ways in which the ‘load’ source domains combines with that of ‘vision’. Results indicate the widespread presence of invisibility metaphors in relation to women's work within their households. The adoption of such rhetorical figures has noteworthy ideological repercussions: labelling mothers’ contributions to their families as ‘invisible’ produces the paradoxical effect of making them very noticeable, thus validating women's efforts and highlighting their crucial importance. The use of metaphorical patterns involving the sense of sight thus represents an instance of counter discourse that spreads awareness about the devaluation of housework and childcare and might ultimately contribute to family and societal transformation.

Metaphorical framing of political events through ENTERTAINMENT scenarios

Abstract The article sets out to examine the entertainment source domain and its scenarios as realised in the media discourse surrounding political events in Belarus in 2021. Metaphorical scenarios are investigated considering different viewpoints, such as those presented in Lithuanian, German, and Russian media. The methodological framework is a blend of Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies, embracing the viewpoint (Sweetser, 2012), Critical Metaphor Analysis (Charteris-Black, 2005), metaphorical scenarios (Musolff, 2016), and framing (Hart, 2014). The results demonstrate that the entertainment domain acquires multiple scenarios depending on the viewpoint. The evaluation attached to the scenarios is mostly negative; however, the viewpoint adopted in Lithuanian and German discourses is very different from Russian discourse. The former is based on Western values and targets the authoritarian regime, whereas the latter is Russian-centric, with the Western world posited as a major threat to the Belarusian and Russian societies.

An inclusive case study of multimodal metaphor

Abstract This article provides a detailed analysis of multimodal metaphor by means of a case study which focuses on the contemporary art project, ‘Laboratory of Dilemmas’ (Venetic Biennale 2017), by George Drivas. The analysis focuses on multimodal metaphors which instantiate the source concept of labyrinth, utilizing constructs from Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Critical Metaphor Analysis and Multimodal Metaphor Analysis within a more encompassing framework of Contemporary Art Criticism. The present study aims to define properties of multimodal metaphors, i.e. their forms, concepts and usage, reveal conceptualizations of both the creator and the spectators-analysts of a system of multimodal metaphors, and clarify key contexts, such as embodied, cultural, and ideological, which influence their production, comprehension, impact and analysis. According to the analysis proposed, the multimodal metaphors affect the spectators very deeply, engaging their mental, emotional, multisensory and bodily responses to ideological dilemmas that are prompted by the current refugee migration.

Educational Metaphor in the Polish press: a perspective on presenting the political situation in Poland at the beginning of the Russia–Ukraine war

The following paper investigates the topic of educational metaphors about the Russia–Ukraine War in Polish press articles. Educational metaphor relates to the use of concepts connected with schooling or teaching in order to describe other concepts. The research material is composed of texts published after 24 February 2022 in the following newspapers: Do Rzeczy, Gazeta Polska, Polityka, and Krytyka Polityczna. This article aims to present one of the metaphorical mappings together with its critical analysis with the use of the conceptual metaphor theory (Лакофф, Джонсон 2004) and critical metaphor analysis (Charteris-Black 2004). According to the research, the trichotomy which includes the Polish Government, the opposition parties, and the Polish society may be distinguished in the Polish press. Amidst these oppositions, the metaphorical mapping is discerned, according to which the war is understood as the teacher, the politicians and society as the students, and the help offered to Ukraine is interpreted as the examination. Assessment of the actions undertaken by the Government, the opposition parties and the society has been the subject of the ideological and political profile of a particular magazine.

Artificial Intelligence Through the Lens of Metaphor: Analyzing the EU AIA

Abstract Unveiling the cognitive patterns that underpin linguistic expressions, conceptual metaphor serves not only as an effective means for speakers to convey their values but also as a crucial tool for listeners to comprehend unfamiliar topics. This study undertakes a corpus-based analysis of conceptual metaphor expressions within the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act. Utilizing a corpus derived from the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and employing both Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Metaphor Analysis Theory, this research examines metaphors in terms of their types, orientations, and underlying rationales. The study identifies the most-use semantic domains of Journey, Human, War, and Object metaphors, indicating that the overall orientations are characterized by Tool, Dependency, Human, and Risk, reflecting both the aspirations and concerns of humanity. This study addresses a gap in metaphor research regarding the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, offering valuable insights for policymakers and AI developers in understanding and shaping public perception of AI technologies.

A Multimodal Analysis of Metaphors in Artificial Intelligence-Related Cartoons

This paper, adopting a multimodal perspective and Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) approaches, examines 50 cartoons about artificial intelligence published on American cartoon websites from 2023 to 2024. The study finds that AI cartoons mainly construct metaphors through a cross-modal mapping “text as target domain, image as source domain” structure. These cartoons are based on metonymy, presenting metaphorical scenes through the interaction of metonymy and metaphor. The abstract concept of “artificial intelligence” is often metaphorically represented as robots, thereby deepening readers’ understanding of the role of technological image in the socio-cultural context. By analyzing four major metaphorical scenes—devouring, competing, chasing, and hijacking—this paper elucidates the dual perceptions of the opportunities and challenges brought by technological advancements in AI as well as cautious attitude towards AI development.

An Integrated Framework of Critical Metaphor Analysis and Multi-level View with an Application to Metaphors for the Vietnam War

Since Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) was introduced, methods of studying conceptual metaphor have kept improving to respond to methodological criticisms. Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) proposed by Charteris-Black (2004) has been considered as a “thought-provoking contribution” to metaphor analysis (Deignan, 2005) when approaching metaphor from various perspectives: critical discourse analysis, corpus analysis, pragmatics and cognitive linguistics. CMA is originally applied to one conceptual level in metaphor – domain. However, this paper argues that CMA can be exploited at four conceptual levels in Multi-level View of conceptual metaphor (Kövecses, 2017b) - image schema, domain, frame, and mental space. The combined framework of Critical Metaphor Analysis – CMA (Charteris-Black, 2004) and Multi-level View of conceptual metaphor – MLV (Kövecses, 2017b) can gain deeper insights into ideologies motivating metaphorical concepts for the Vietnam war as well as elucidate the conceptual structure of metaphor via the four levels. Hence, this combination fills the gap of lacking a framework with optimal balance of semantic, pragmatic, cognitive and critical dimensions. It also features the intriguing relationship between ideologies and conceptual structure, i.e., ideologies are embedded in all the four conceptual levels and systematically develop with increasing specificity from image schema to domain, frame and mental space. The focus of this paper is on our argument for an integrated framework of conceptual metaphor and the newspaper articles written by American war correspondents during the Vietnam war are used for illustration of how the integrated framework can help us better understand the conceptual metaphors in the articles.

Incorporating cross-linguistic and time-based dimensions to Critical Metaphor Analysis: a specialised hands-on analytical approach

ABSTRACT Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) regards metaphor as a fundamental means of conceptualising the world, through which the ideology embedded in discourse can be unveiled. Drawing upon the methodologies of Critical Discourse Analysis and Corpus Linguistics, CMA comprises four principle stages: initially, contextual analysis for formulating research questions and selecting texts, followed by metaphor identification, interpretation, and explanation. This schematic four-stage CMA has found widespread applications in analyses of sensitive discourses, particularly political discourses. This study builds upon these schematic four stages, putting forward a more specialised, hands-on analytical approach that is well suited for a range of research objectives in translation and bi/multilingual settings where both cross-linguistic and time-based perspectives can be considered. To provide a step-by-step guide of this cross-linguistic and time-based analytical approach, this study presents two case studies of the Chinese newspaper Global Times’ Chinese-English bilingual COVID-19 reports in 2020. Specifically, metaphor translation and a time series analysis of the attitudinal intensity (strengthening, weakening, or keeping the negativity towards the pandemic unchanged) as manifested through the translation of WAR metaphors were explored. The study concludes by suggesting the application of this analytical approach to other types of metaphor correspondence and time-based analyses.

Medical metaphors in the conservation discourse: insights from critical metaphor analysis

This article explores the use of medical metaphors in conservation discourse, analysing their impact on shaping the concept of conservation through the lens of cognitive linguistics and sociology. Through analysis of 120 papers from the ICOM-CC Theory, History and Ethics Working Group, metaphors such as the conservation object is a human being and the conservator is a doctor were identified. The study reveals how these metaphors frame conservation as a beneficent act of caring for an object, akin to medical treatment. However, it also highlights limitations in explaining stakeholder involvement and community autonomy, the stages of conservation actions, and more nuanced concepts of damage. While this article does not argue against the use of medical metaphors in conservation, it aims to raise awareness of those limitations deriving from the use of complex and fluid concepts in both fields. In conclusion, this study advocates for further research to explore culture-specific features and chronological changes in the use of metaphors to promote a deeper understanding of cross-cultural and inter-generational communications in conservation.

War and liar: a semiotic account of metaphors in the reports on the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water in Chinese media

Abstract The release of nuclear wastewater by Japan has generated strong opposition from Japanese citizens, governments of neighboring countries, and global environmental advocates. China, representing the concerns of neighboring countries, has underscored the illicit and detrimental nature of this action. This study explores the metaphors employed in Chinese media regarding the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water. Based on the self-built corpus, we reveal the rhetorical motives underlying the metaphors, drawing on the framework of critical metaphor analysis. The study centers on two major metaphors – war and liar metaphors – in the discourse of two Chinese official media, China Daily and People’s Daily Online. It is found that according to Chinese media, initiating and protesting the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is a war; and that the Japanese government and TEPCO are liars. The metaphor choices reflect China’s stance of opposition and condemnation against the discharge and its intention of uncovering deceptive and misleading information.

The Power to Move the Eiffel Tower: Conceptual Metaphor and Persuasion in L2 Argumentative Writing

This article analyses conceptual metaphors produced in argumentative writing by learners of English as a second language (L2). Founded on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, it explores the linguistic metaphorical expressions which reflect an underlying conceptual metaphor. By drawing on Critical Metaphor Analysis, this research adopts a qualitative approach to analysing the concealed motivations behind a conceptual metaphor use. The data of this study comprise five argumentative essay samples collected from foundation year students at a private university in Malaysia. This study reveals how a conceptual metaphor is evoked to frame an argument in a way that is advantageous to the participants, particularly in establishing their stance on the proposition that social media is advantageous rather than disadvantageous to its users. Seven conceptual metaphors identified from the five samples of writing are related to social media, namely global mass gathering, loudspeaker, free society, accommodation, teacher, strong force and maze. While the first six metaphors serve as rhetorical tools to aid the participants in establishing arguments, the last metaphor is raised in the counterclaim section to illustrate how the opposition could equally rely on conceptual metaphors to establish its viewpoint. In instances where the metaphors are deployed as rhetorical devices, the participants’ covert intention to convince readers of their standpoint is achieved by utilising the conceptual metaphors to illuminate abstract ideas, arouse positive or negative emotions in readers, indicate positive or negative evaluations and evoke an ideology.

Novel Metaphors in Indonesian Political Discourse on Covid-19 Pandemic Handling

Metaphor is a part of human cognition that plays an important role in human knowledge and experience. This study aims at examining novel metaphors based on the metaphorical language used by Indonesia’s state leader, President Joko Widodo, in his speeches on COVID-19 and their functions for pandemic handling and post-pandemic preparednessin Indonesia. Data were speeches produced during the first and second waves of the pandemic and taken from official website of Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. The metaphors identified in the speeches were analysed using Critical Metaphor Analysis proposed by Charteris-Black (2004, 2011, 2021). The identified novel metaphors were categorized under the following seven source domains: breakfast, computer, crater, test, teacher, momentum, wheel, and fire. The identified metaphors could be classified into three types of novel metaphor: linguistic structural metaphors, metaphors with new target domains, and new mapping metaphors. Results of analysis revealed that the metaphors of examination/test, teacher, and fire were high in frequency. As for the function, those novel metaphors could be interpreted as Jokowi's way to reflect changing realities and motivate actions. Overall, the use of metaphors implied Jokowi's priority responses toward pandemic, i.e. to persuade the importance of solidarity and collectivity, strong sense of perseverance and resilience, as well as mutual cooperation. This study is expected to give insight that government leadersemploy metaphors as appropriate to situational context as the metaphors they can be effective in shaping public opinion and winning public support for health measures and policymaking in time of crises.

Situationally-triggered metaphor as political argument

Abstract This paper proposes to investigate the public responses to situationally-triggered metaphors as these have been observed in political argumentation. Situationally-triggered metaphors occur when a nonmetaphorical connection is made between the metaphor and an aspect of the relevant situational context. The question addressed in this research is: how are such metaphors perceived by the public when these form part of the political argumentation? To answer this question, the study focuses on a particular instance of political situationally-triggered metaphor i.e., Boris Johnson’s “James Bond” metaphor produced during COP26. The paper draws on Critical Metaphor Analysis and Deliberate Metaphor Theory to analyse the public comments and reactions posted on the social media platform Twitter in response to the politician’s arguments. The analysis reveals that most of the public responses exploit the “James Bond” metaphor to dispute Johnson’s self-identification to the fictional character and provide meta-arguments that revolve around the politician’s misuse of metaphors. In contrast, responses that exploit the metaphor to convey political arguments or endorsement are much more limited. It is thus argued that situationally-triggered metaphors not only represent a political rhetorical device, but they are also effective political tools to shift public attention towards discursive patterns instead of arguments presented in discourse.

Metaphors to describe sanctions against Iran in American and Iranian newspapers

Abstract Since Iran’s 1979 revolution, Sanctions Against Iran (SAI) has been one of the most crucial issues concerning Iran and the US’ relationships, and both parties employ different metaphors to depict the situation in line with their own ideologies. This study explored the conceptual metaphors (CM) concerning the sanctions against Iran in two corpora of the editorials and news extracted from an international American newspaper (New York Times) and a local Iranian English press (Iran Daily). Following Charteris-Black’s (2004) framework for Critical Metaphor Analysis, sixty editorial news texts (thirty for each), since 2013 until 2021, were scrutinized for the CMs in the two corpora. The findings revealed that although both newspapers took advantage of the metaphors in description of the sanctions against Iran, there were significant differences between them in the employment of the CMs. The American newspaper enjoyed more frequent and diverse metaphors to represent the sanctions compared to the Iranian newspaper, and “SAI is a pain/illness” (22.7%) was the most frequent conceptual metaphor in the New York Times whereas “SAI is a human” (32.4%) and “SAI is a journey” (18.9%) were the common metaphors in Iran Daily. The results suggest how language could be manipulated to serve different purposes.

Political Metaphors in English Version of “Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China”

With China’s growing influence, many countries are eager to know about China, and China also wants foreign countries to have a correct understanding of itself, so translations of political discourse are important. And because metaphor can reflect the thinking of the authors and translators, it is widely used in the translation process to transmit the ideology. Since now, many researches have been done to study the types of metaphors and the translation strategies of metaphors in the translations of the CPC literature, but few of them focus on how metaphors in the translation version convey the ideology. Therefore, this paper, aiming to study how political metaphors in the translation help transmit the ideology and governance thought of China to the world, applies Critical Metaphor Analysis as the analytical framework to investigate the political metaphors in English version of “Report to the 20th CPC National Congress”. The results show that journey metaphors, building metaphors, plant metaphors, life metaphors, and war metaphors are especially prominent. Compared with literal translation, the English version of the Report utilizes the imagery and concepts familiar to the readers to lead them to understand the Chinese theories and thinking that they are unfamiliar with. And the political metaphors explain and publicize the governance philosophy in a way that foreign readers can understand, highlight the Party’s attitude, and correctly display the image of China. This study deepens the study of the role of metaphors in the transmission of governments’ principles and policies.

Sustainable Green Future from a Multimodal Positive Discourse Analysis Perspective: Investigating Environmental Metaphors in Some Selected Cartoons

A substantial body of research pertaining to ecological issues has significantly centered its attention on laying out the deleterious, harmful and destructive consequences stemming from human actions upon the environment. This emphasis often revolves around negative metaphors that evoke fear, threats, and danger, leaving the positive aspects of green and sustainable future relatively unexplored. This paper adopts a Multimodal Positive Discourse Analysis (MPDA) approach to scrutinize visual socio-cognitive metaphors presented in 11 environmental cartoons disseminated by the Indian Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on diverse ecological issues. The study aligns with Forceivelle's (1996 & 2009) theory of multimodal metaphor and Hart's (2008) model of critical metaphor analysis in the light of Martin's (2004) Positive Discourse Analysis (PDA) theoretical framework. Therefore, emphasizing the significance of visual metaphor in the formulation of new and positive eco-friendly scenarios through the process of projection and integration across two distinct input spaces. The results of the study show that positive scenarios such as hope, success, aspiration, ambition, and optimism have been motivated in the generic space, providing an antithesis to the predominant negative scenarios characterized by stereotypes of eco threat, harm, insecurity, and instability.

“The bones are ours, the flesh is yours”: when tradition is a constraint in academic mentorship of a contemporary Uzbekistan

ABSTRACT This paper considers aspects of local academic knowledge generation in Uzbekistan by focusing on the mentor – mentee relations and the ‘ustoz’ and ‘shogird’ mindset of supervisees concerning their mentors. By doing so, it analyses how these perceptions may represent the challenge in improving the research quality among young Uzbek faculty members. Drawing on a survey of young university teachers, this study argues that the obstacles are not just policy-related but also cognitive and culture-related. This study uses a Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) to identify metaphors associated with the apprenticeship in Uzbekistan and how these relate to images and expectations of supervisors among supervisees in contemporary Uzbekistan.

Nursing students’ metaphors of first clinical experiences of encountering patients with mental disorders

BackgroundPsychiatric wards are one of the most stressful medical centers. Apprenticeship in mental health can cause feelings of stress and anxiety among nursing students. Investigating nursing students’ beliefs about mental illnesses is very important to improve nursing education. The present study aimed to identify nursing students’ metaphors for their first clinical experiences of encountering patients with mental disorders.MethodsThis descriptive qualitative study was conducted on 18 undergraduate nursing students studying in two nursing colleges at Guilan University of Medical Sciences, in the north of Iran, in 2022. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Critical Metaphor Analysis by the MAXQDA 2007 software.ResultsThe analysis of nursing students’ metaphors led to the emergence of 36 metaphors and 5 categories. These categories were “experience of dealing with a mental patient is similar to fear mixed with excitement”, " patient is similar to an errant human”, " psychiatric hospital is similar to a prison”, “nurse is similar to a prison guard”, and “clinical instructor is similar to a supporter, sympathetic and knowledgeable friend”.ConclusionsThe results showed their negative attitude towards the psychiatric hospital and health care providers. It is suggested that the findings of this study be taken into consideration in the planning of clinical education of nursing students.