Struggle as metaphor in European Union discourses on unemployment.

Wodak, Ruth and Straehle, C. and Weiss, G. and MuntigL, P. and Sedlak, M. (1999) Struggle as metaphor in European Union discourses on unemployment. Discourse and Society, 10 (1). pp. 67-99. ISSN 1460-3624

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Abstract

This study looks at how, over a period of several years, unemployment in two genres (speeches and Presidency Conclusions) generated in organizations of the European Union (EU) is constructed both as a `problem' and a `fight' and how these formulations can be viewed as closely connected under an overarching metaphor of `struggle'. A synthesis of discourse analytic and cognitive-semantic analyses, this article begins by demonstrating how struggle is invoked and then proceeds to decompose the notion into several categories, using statistical analysis to show their distribution. Ultimately, it is demonstrated that the differences between the two genres are connected to their respective purposes and target audiences, with Presidency Conclusions examples of internal organizational discourse and commissioners' speeches as external organizational discourse. The similarities between the two genres reflect the functions of the struggle metaphor in EU discourses of unemployment in general, the ways in which its dimensions serve various legitimizing functions in these genres' capacity as political discourse, and the connection between discourses on unemployment and the prevailing EU economic philosophy.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Discourse and Society
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3315
Subjects:
?? european union (eu) • metaphor • organizational discourse • political discourse • unemploymentcommunicationsociology and political sciencep philology. linguistics ??
ID Code:
1731
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
18 Feb 2008 16:26
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 09:35