Article
English
ID: <
10.4000/sds.446>
·
DOI: <
10.4000/sds.446>
Abstract
This study examines the role metaphorical thought has played in the reconstruction of confidence in financial media in the Arab and Western worlds after the 2008 global financial crisis. Two strands of linguistic research are used: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Cognitive Linguistics (CL). I show that both Arab and Western discourses on the crisis offer a panorama of metaphor, used for justification, persuasion, and manipulation, and aimed at restoring public confidence in their respective financial systems. For example, Arab metaphor systems describing the crisis divert attention from existing weaknesses in Arab economies and support a false notion of soundness. Further, metaphors can determine and restrain foreign and domestic policies and actions. Thus, a conscious discussion of metaphors as metaphors is strongly suggested. Finally, we cannot always adhere to discussions of reality in purely literal terms.