Greening the Discourse: A Critical Ecolinguistic Analysis of Metaphors in English Newspaper Editorials

Abstract

This research paper analyses how metaphor serves as a positive force in perception in climate change coverage in the newspaper of Pakistan in the English language. Through an integrated approach to analysis relying on the synthesis of Eco-Critical Discourse Analysis, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, and the ecolinguistic model proposed by Stibbe, the paper explores how the use of metaphorical expressions can and does shape ideological, ecological, and socio-political conceptions of climate change. The study is based on a purposively compiled sample of eighteen newspaper editorials, based on which the national and global environmental problem-setting is studied critically. The results reveal that metaphors are powerful mental and moral processes, which guide the interpretative courses of the readers toward ecological accountability, resilience, and urgency. This work promotes the field of ecolinguistics and discourse studies as it suggests the positive role of media discourse in environmental sense-making in how journalistic language determines how people are aware of and respond to climate change.