The gulf of mexico oil spill a corpus based study of metaphors in british and american media discourse 3 3

The four categories of metaphor are Structural Metaphors, Ontological Metaphors, Orientational/Spatial Metaphors and Image/Analogy-based Metaphors See Section 3.3.4.. Metaphor and Token

It is vital to note that this diagrammatic classification is ultimately a mental model or an “abstract inference from linguistic evidence” (Charteris-Black, 2004, p.244) However, this hierarchical organisation enables us to identify interrelationships between metaphors and assists in accounting for coherence in the discourse under analysis This diagrammatic representation also enables us to see connections in an otherwise unrelated complex of sprawling metaphors Hence, the IICM proposes a systematic and unique amalgamation of frameworks and methods in order to improve the inductive and empirical aspect of the formulation of conceptual metaphors from linguistic metaphors The deliberate reliance on empirical suggestion by two leading integrated concordancing software platforms coupled with the systematic mapping from linguistic evidence to conceptual categories through the judicious use of corpus-based dictionaries attempt to add a modicum of empirical reliability and inductiveness in the intertwined processes of conceptual metaphor identification, formulation and interpretation

3.5.4 Phase Three – Analysis and Generalisation (Critical Metaphor

Analysis)

3.5.4.1 Image schemas and entailments

Lakoff & Johnson (1980) define ontological metaphors as metaphors that transpose abstract concepts, events and ideas onto physical entities or substances These metaphors serve a heuristic function in developing our understanding about complex interrelationships between language, thought

and social context Chilton (1996) has also identified four specific image

schemas that have been predominantly used in the discourse of media and

politics These include the CONTAINER schema (in reference to defending and shielding from negative external forces), the PATH/JOURNEY schema (in reference to the concept of a mission and its accompanying obstacles), the

FORCE schema (which encompasses notions of offence and defence) as well as the LINK schema (with direct references to relationships between state entities) Inherent within these four image schemas is the idea of

metaphorical entailment where the characteristics and motivations of the

source domain are transposed onto the more abstract target domain (Chilton,

1996, p.56) This notion of entailment will be taken in tandem with the socio-cultural contexts to form the basis for the analysis and evaluation of the associated British and American metaphors in this thesis

3.5.4.2 A holistic diagrammatic depiction: The interaction of metaphor

categories for ‘Substances and materials: Liquid (NYT_1_‘OIL’) –

Table 3.4 & Fig 3.16

This adaptation of Grady, Taub & Morgan’s diagrammatic representations potentially accounts for the phenomenon of metaphor cross-classification and showcases the interaction between the various metaphor categories The four categories of metaphor are Structural Metaphors, Ontological Metaphors, Orientational/Spatial Metaphors and Image/Analogy-based Metaphors (See Section 3.3.4) The overall distribution of the metaphor categories and the associated metaphors are captured in Table 3.4

Table 3.4

Metaphor and Token Distribution in NYT for the node word – ‘Oil’

Conceptual Key

(Scenario)

(Types)

Total (Tokens) THE OIL IS A THREAT

(DANGER)

*Structural/Ontological

(Personification) /Analogy

35 instances

THE OIL IS AN ESCAPING ANIMAL

*Personification THE OIL IS A THREAT TO BE CURTAILED (FIRE/SICKNESS)

*Analogy THE OIL IS A THREAT TO BE OVERCOME (DANGER)

*Analogy THE OIL IS A POWERFUL FORCE (ADVERSARY)

*Personification THE OIL IS THE ENEMY

*Personification CLEANING THE OIL SPILL IS A WAR

*Structural Metaphor THE OIL SPILL IS A WARNING FROM HELL

*Analogy

THE OIL IS A SICKNESS

(HEALTH AND DISEASE)

*Structural/ Analogy

9 instances

THE OIL SPILL IS A CONTAGIOUS DISEASE

*Analogy THE ENVIRONMENT IS A BODY

*Analogy THE OIL WELL IS A BODY PART (ARTERY)

*Analogy THE OIL IS A THREAT (DISEASE/POISON)

*Analogy

THE OIL IS A LIVING

ENTITY

* Ontological (Personification)

19 instances

THE OIL IS AN ESCAPING ENTITY

*Personification THE OIL IS A POWERFUL ENTITY TO BE SUBDUED

*Personification

THE OIL WELL IS A LIVING

ENTITY

(PERSONIFICATION:

HEALTH AND DISEASE)

*Ontological (Personification)

/Analogy

15 instances

THE OIL WELL IS A BLEEDING PERSON

*Personification THE OIL WELL IS A BODY PART (RUPTURED ARTERY)

*Analogy THE OIL WELL IS A PATIENT

*Personification THE OIL WELL IS A HANDICAPPED PERSON (CRIPPLED PERSON)

*Personification THE OIL WELL IS A SPEWING PATIENT

*Personification

THE ENVIRONMENT IS A

LIVING ENTITY

(PERSONIFICATION:

HEALTH AND DISEASE)

*Analogicall Metaphor

5 instances

THE OIL IS POISON

*Analogy THE OIL IS A SICKNESS

*Analogy

THE PLAN IS A LIVING

ENTITY (BODY POLITIC)

*Ontological (Personification)

/Analogy

2 instances

THE PLAN IS A LIVING ENTITY (BODY POLITIC)

*Ontological Metaphor/Analogy

BP IS A PERSON

(PERSONIFICATION:

CRIME/ INCOMPETENCE)

*Ontological (Personification)

31 instances

BP IS AN UNREPENTANT PERSON

*Personification

BP IS A CRIMINAL (LIAR)

*Personification

BP IS AN INCOMPETENT PERSON (FAILURE)

*Personification

BP IS AN UNTRUSTWORTHY PERSON

*Personification THE OIL WELL IS AN UNCONTROLLABLE ENTITY

**Personification

THE MMS IS A PERSON

(PERSONIFICATION:

INCOMPETENCE)

*Ontological (Personification)

1 instance

THE MMS IS AN INCOMPETENT LAW ENFORCER

*Personification

Orientational/Spatial Metaphors

CAPPING THE SPILL IS A

JOURNEY

(PATH-MOVEMENT)

* Structural/ Spatial/

Orientational Metaphor

5 instances

GOOD IS FORWARD

*Spatial/Orientational Metaphor 1 5

BAD IS BIG

(SCALE)

*Orientational Metaphor

17 instances

BAD IS BIG

Table 3.4 provides an empirical overview of the metaphorical categories and their overall distribution for the node word ‘oil’ It is clear that

the Conceptual Keys - often represented by Structural Metaphors

(encapsulated by the scenarios of DANGER and HEALTH AND DISEASE) and

Ontological Metaphors (mainly personified by the scenarios of CRIME and

INCOMPETENCE) - provide the reader with heuristic scaffolding required to grasp the potentially abstract concepts involved in the entire disaster

Ontological Metaphors and Analogy-based Metaphors form the majority of

the pre-identified metaphor categories Ontological Metaphors comprise 16 out of a possible 29 metaphor types whilst Analogy-based Metaphors take up

10 out of 29 metaphor types Orientational/Spatial Metaphors take up 2 of

the remaining tokens In terms of raw frequency counts embodied by the number of tokens, it is interesting to note that the predominant scenarios tend

to be those of DANGER (35 out of 127 tokens), CRIME (29 out of 127) and

HEALTH & SICKNESS (18 out of 127) respectively A deeper analysis of this preliminary statistic seems to imply that the overarching categorisation of the oil as a THREAT (WAR/ HEALTH & SICKNESS) intertwines largely with the

oil well, the environment and the US Government This seems to imply that the overriding theme inherent in the discourse is a narrative of conflict between various entities

Figure 3.16 is an ambitious attempt to demonstrate how the complete

range of Structural Metaphors and Ontological Metaphors relate to the

Orientational/Spatial and Analogy-based metaphors in one coherent

complex The Conceptual Key category divides the overarching source

domain of the oil as a THREAT systematically and coherently into the WAR, CRIME and the HEALTH & DISEASE subsets This can be seen in the way the

WAR and CRIME scenarios overlap with the JOURNEY scenario of capping the oil spill. This is captured by the powerful experiential concept of the oil being seen as a “POWERFUL ADVERSARY” or “THREAT TO BE CURTAILED (FIRE/SICKNESS)” as well as the way measures are being “pursued” in order to

overcome “setbacks” and “obstacles” (Orientational/Spatial Metaphors) As

JOURNEY metaphors highlight the idea of progress and a single-minded sense

of purpose, it is often utilised by politicians who have to be concerned with

“goal oriented social activities” for positive self-depiction (Charteris-Black,

2004, p.74) Thus, the concept of PROGRESS in this preliminary examination of the NYT corpus is embodied by the concept of “moving ahead” in the right

direction Furthermore, the Ontological Metaphors personifying the agencies

and government organisations involved serve to give a complete characterisation of the perceptions endorsed by the NYT editorial team The portrayal of BP as a CRIMINAL and as an INCOMPETENT or UNTRUSTWORTHY

person, the highlighting of the role of the government as an INCOMPETENT LAW ENFORCER as well as the portrayal of the environment as a LIVING ORGANISM “poisoned” and afflicted by the “plague” of oil, gives an insight into the roles and agencies of the relevant parties These ontological metaphors provide a heuristic function in aiding the reader to make connections and integrate complex sequences of events Furthermore, the conceptualisation of the plan to cap the oil spill as a living entity with a “heart” highlights a different aspect of the Ontological Metaphors i.e “the heart” of the industry’s plan, the “heart” of the response and the “heart” of the engineering problem A separate search for the lemma “heart” was carried out with Sketch Engine The word sketch and the screenshot of the relevant concordance can be seen in Figures 3.17 and 3.18 respectively

Fig 3.17

A word sketch of the lemma ‘Heart’ in Sketch Engine

Fig 3.18

A concordance of generated of the lemma ‘Heart’ in Sketch Engine (All 17 instances)

Figures 3.17 and 3.18 show how the BODY POLITIC metaphor is utilised in the NYT corpus It is interesting to note how the HEALTH & DISEASE domain is intertwined seamlessly with the BODY POLITIC metaphor in Fig 3.18 where 12 out of 17 instances of the lemma “heart” are made in reference to it This is clearly illustrated in the modifiers to the noun where the operation to halt the leak is described as a “heart surgery under 5000 feet of water” and where the

oil industry is described as the vital “heart” of the economy that results in

“organ failure” if it stops functioning Furthermore, the significance of the oil spill in the Gulf is further emphasised when it is described as a near-fatal blow

to an individual i.e as a “heart attack in New York City” The further conflation of the BODY POLITIC metaphor with that of a THREAT (CRIME) is clearly illustrated when BP was accused of being a serial murderer that has

“ripped the heart out of yet another hard-working local community” Thus, it

is vital to note that metaphor groupings such as WAR, CRIME, JOURNEY and

DISEASE influence and constrain the public’s political imagination by imposing these relevant concepts onto social and political realities This underscores the importance of identifying and unravelling the relevant conceptual metaphors from a critical perspective This is because those in positions of power and control are able to constrain public perceptions through the selective use of metaphor systems in the communication of these representations

3.5.4.3 A holistic diagrammatic depiction: Scenario interaction for

‘Substances and materials: Liquid (NYT_1_‘OIL’) – Fig 3.16

It is well known that in media discourse, the domain of war is employed as a metaphorical representation for all types of human struggle and conflict Politicians often utilise WAR metaphors in an effort to galvanise the electorate against a common perceived threat, in the process foregrounding the personal sacrifice that is needed in order to achieve the greater good Hence, in this case, BP and the oil spill are conceptualised as THREATS or as ENEMIES in

order to provide a common cathartic target for the masses This is clearly illustrated in the use of military references where there is a need to “deploy” a new system to “contain” the threat posed by the oil and the need to “stop” and

“capture” the CRIMINAL (OIL) in order prevent further havoc from being wreaked on the ecosystem However, it is interesting to note that for this NYT corpus, the scenario of WAR is mainly conflated with two accompanying scenarios – namely the scenario of THREAT, and that of HEALTH & DISEASE

This is clearly seen inin Fig 3.16 A quick overview shows that the scenario

of WAR and the personification of the entities involved (e.g BP, the oil, the government and the environment) seem to indicate that criminal acts of aggression have taken place amongst these parties The CRIME scenario entails the shrewd use of tactics as well as retaliatory responses by the US government in order to regain a measure of justice This is clearly seen by the resultant depiction of BP as a CRIMINAL, AGRRESSOR and as a POWERFUL ENTITY TO BE SUBDUED in order to be brought to justice so as to ensure the re-attainment of social equilibrium The conflation of the WAR and CRIME

scenariosalso entails a degree of aggression by the oil industry (specifically by BP) on the ‘ecologically fragile environment’ that has been “poisoned” by the spilt oil Such irresponsible acts have thus resulted in a “stricken” and

“crippled” victim who requires emergency aid in order to “stanch” the resultant bleeding The conflation of both the CRIME and HEALTH & DISEASE

scenarios also serve to implicate the government’s incompetence, negligence and the inability to enact change in a severe situation Hence, it is clear that the WAR scenario is used to sustain cohesion virtually throughout the NYT corpus, albeit across discrete articles and writers A good reason in accounting

for such a metaphorical confluence in the depiction of a single issue can be attributed to the shared characteristics between capping the BP oil spill and fighting a war The specific overlaps include the “us against them” mentality, the need for justice to be served, the need for sacrifice by all the parties involved in order to ensure victory and the use of resources and technology in order to achieve the relevant definitions of success

A closer examination of the conflation of these three scenarios foregrounds the embodiment of the affected parties as individual persons (victims and patients) Firstly, the WAR scenario depicts the oil as an ENEMY

and personifies it as an ENTITY ESCAPING JUSTICE or a POWERFUL AGGRESSOR This serves to galvanise the readers to respond as a unit to rise

up and bring BP the CRIMINAL to justice in order to provide recompense to the victims However, a closer reading of the expanded contexts in Texts 3.1 and 3.2 show a double-edged quality in the depiction of these metaphors

Text 3.1

A context expansion in Sketch Engine ‘Spill’ in Word Sketch - Obj of

Text 3.2

A context expansion in Sketch Engine ‘Stop’ in Word Sketch - Obj of

The pro-government response serves to depict the Obama Administration and the US legal machinery as competent and key functioning