Exploring Marginalization: Metaphors and User-Generated Language in Migration Discourse

Abstract

This study examines usage of migration-related metaphors and scenarios in British tabloid and broadsheet comment sections. It demonstrates how the writers’ arguments are supported by modified scenarios and aspects of the original domain. With an emphasis on mixed metaphors, the study also investigates the connection between conceptual metaphors and argumentation topoi. Additionally, the corpus data demonstrate that when language users use concrete metaphorical linguistic formulations, they often employ specific lexical words that are connected with a restricted area of the source domain. It is therefore not surprising that the discussion of migration might at times seem somewhat conventionalized, especially in sociopolitical echo chambers.