The influence of context on the metaphoric framing of the European Union in Ukrainian mass media

Abstract

This paper aims to explore how conceptual metaphors that underlie metaphoric expressions used by Ukrainian newspapers frame the image of the European Union in Ukraine. The study is informed by conceptual metaphor theory [Lakoff & Johnson 1980, 1999], discourse metaphor theory [Musolff 2004; Cameron & Deignan 2006; Semino 2008; Musolff & Zinken 2009] and interactional narratology [Bruner 2002, 2004]. In the focus of attention are metaphoric expressions that refer to the European Union. It is argued that the metaphors under study have a powerful framing potential realized in discourse. In particular, it is maintained that in their discourse use the metaphors suggest specific metaphoric scenarios [Musolff 2006, 2016a, 2017] and in such a way articulate narratives with a certain stance. Accordingly, framing the European Union through metaphoric scenarios depends on the stance that media product creator (Ukrainian print media) takes towards the European Union, imposing it on the readership. Framing through "domesticated" metaphors provides for their better fit with the narratives circulating in the Ukrainian society in January-June 2016.