Discursive metaphorical frames in newspaper texts on language change

Abstract

The concept of ‘metaphorical framing’ is currently witnessing renewed interest in metaphor research, but for discourse-oriented work it remains a problematic analytical tool given the variety of senses it has been employed with. The present paper considers an approach to metaphorical frames in discourse, by proposing the notion of discursive metaphorical frames to capture the complex, systematic metaphorical representations prominent across discourse. The perspective follows the direction of recent integrated approaches to metaphor, frames and discourse (e.g., Burgers et al., 2016; Cameron et al., 2009; Semino et al., 2016) and is proposed as particularly suited to studying public discourses, as ideologically laden, multi-textual and multi-voiced. The approach is illustrated through an analysis of metaphorical representations of language in Serbian and British newspapers. The analysis reveals the deeper social ideologies underlying the newspaper discussions on language in Serbia and Great Britain, including similarities as well as notable differences, pointing to the diverse ideological processes shaping contemporary media metadiscourses. The results are also discussed in relation to the adopted approach, to frames of presentation, (sub)domain representations and the dynamics of metaphor use in public discourse.