Metaphors and meaning-making in young people’s talk about climate change

Deignan, Alice and Semino, Elena (2022) Metaphors and meaning-making in young people’s talk about climate change. In: Dynamism in Metaphor and Beyond :. Metaphor in Language, Cognition Communication . John Benjamins, pp. 191-204. ISBN 9789027211415

Abstract

Climate change is of especial relevance to young people, yet studies have found that there is no consistent approach to teaching about it in terms of either scientific facts or societal implications. In the UK, it is taught in different elements of the curriculum, but as knowledge to be tested, and rarely if ever as perhaps the most urgent issue facing our species. We explored young people’s understandings of climate change through a metaphor analysis of 41 group interviews with school students in the north of England. Our analysis supports Gibbs’ view of metaphor as dynamic, embodied and hugely powerful in thought and language, and also highlights its potential for spreading misinformation.