engleski

Brexit AS A COMPLEX METONYMIC NETWORK

The dissertation focuses on the analysis of metonymies in British media discourse on the example of the lexeme Brexit. The analysis is conducted from a cognitive perspective with a covered period of ten months, i.e. from around March 2019 to the end of January of 2020. The aim of the analysis is to see what the metonymic meanings of Brexit are in the media discourse as well as the pragmatic effects their (ab)use causes. The theoretical framework, definitions regarding media discourse and basic postulates of the Cognitive Linguistics are provided in the dissertation. Moreover, the motivation behind the research presented in the dissertation is also offered. Cognitive and pragmatic look at the phenomenon of metonymy in media discourse is in the focus of the research. The data of the research is collected from three British online papers (The Guardian, BBC and Sky News) and three British tabloid papers (Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and The Sun) in the covered 10-month period. The data is analysed in the program Sketch Engine across all six papers. The method used in the analysis included qualitative analysis only by means of entering the lexeme Brexit in the program to see what metonymic (referential) meanings of Brexit are with the aim to examine whether it affects the public in terms of the election votes, as well as to see whether such network of meanings is expanded with time. The results of the analysis were demonstrative of the fact that metonymy is very operative in media discourse, and as such is a means of manipulation aimed at the public, i.e. the voters. Politicians use Brexit in a variety of contexts in their public addressing and its meaning includes the following: Brexit negotiations, Brexit process, the exit, the date of exit, 29th March 2019, 31st October 2019, the (date)extension, the delay, concession, something with fuzzy boundaries, etc. Those meanings are a result of WHOLE FOR PART, PART FOR WHOLE and PART FOR PART metonymy. Rhetorical functions of such (over)exploitation of metonymies are euphemisms as well as blurring, both of which are directed towards the voters with the aim to create confusion, uncertainty, etc. Brexit is also found with and without articles (a, the, or zero article) which demonstrates how metonymy is operative on the level of grammar, as it causes grammatical recategorization. Such recategorization has its purpose as well, and it is manipulation with the voters by means of being unclear, vague, ambiguous, etc. Manipulation is also presented by means of the analysis of two slogans which marked the covered period in which Brexit has a variety of meanings. The dissertation demonstrated that the repetition of the lexeme Brexit has its purpose and it is to manipulate and persuade the voters. It showed as well that metonymic network of meanings is expanded by time which goes to show that metonymic meanings are dependent on the situational context. It also demonstrated that meaning is dispersed by means of constant repetition, and such repetition is aimed at causing confusion, uncertainty, and ultimately generating public opinion.

metonymy, Brexit, media discourse, politics, manipulation, persuasion, euphemisms, blurring, tautology

nije evidentirano