Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper

In April 2009, reports of a new strain of a deadly flu virus emerged in Mexico. The scarcity of information available on this new threat can be observed clearly in the language used in the news reports. This study investigates the use of conceptual metaphors of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi, Mohd Kasim, Zalina, Mohamad Ali, Afida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2017
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/56293/1/Combating%20H1N1%20metaphors%20of%20war%20in%20a%20Malaysian%20newspaper.pdf
_version_ 1825931387496038400
author Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Mohamad Ali, Afida
author_facet Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Mohamad Ali, Afida
author_sort Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi
collection UPM
description In April 2009, reports of a new strain of a deadly flu virus emerged in Mexico. The scarcity of information available on this new threat can be observed clearly in the language used in the news reports. This study investigates the use of conceptual metaphors of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the newspaper and how these metaphors helped to construct the notion of a pandemic in the media. Metaphors of illness and disease are a prominent tool in the discourse of disease in the news. The conceptual metaphor theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) was utilized as a framework in this study to investigate the coverage of the pandemic in the newspaper. The data was extracted from a corpus of news reports from The New Straits Times Malaysia from April 2009 to August 31, 2009 when the disease was at its peak. The results of the study yielded various metaphorical linguistic expression of war and construction of the pandemic in the news. Metaphors of war were found to be prominent, and it had a rhetorical function in helping to structure and control the situation. By highlighting certain aspects of war, the concept of disease was given a form and structure and thus, made it more tangible and controllable.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T09:25:58Z
format Article
id upm.eprints-56293
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-06T09:25:58Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
record_format dspace
spelling upm.eprints-562932017-07-31T04:45:27Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/56293/ Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi Mohd Kasim, Zalina Mohamad Ali, Afida In April 2009, reports of a new strain of a deadly flu virus emerged in Mexico. The scarcity of information available on this new threat can be observed clearly in the language used in the news reports. This study investigates the use of conceptual metaphors of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the newspaper and how these metaphors helped to construct the notion of a pandemic in the media. Metaphors of illness and disease are a prominent tool in the discourse of disease in the news. The conceptual metaphor theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) was utilized as a framework in this study to investigate the coverage of the pandemic in the newspaper. The data was extracted from a corpus of news reports from The New Straits Times Malaysia from April 2009 to August 31, 2009 when the disease was at its peak. The results of the study yielded various metaphorical linguistic expression of war and construction of the pandemic in the news. Metaphors of war were found to be prominent, and it had a rhetorical function in helping to structure and control the situation. By highlighting certain aspects of war, the concept of disease was given a form and structure and thus, made it more tangible and controllable. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2017 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/56293/1/Combating%20H1N1%20metaphors%20of%20war%20in%20a%20Malaysian%20newspaper.pdf Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi and Mohd Kasim, Zalina and Mohamad Ali, Afida (2017) Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper. Journal of Language and Communication, 4 (1). pp. 84-94. ISSN 2289-649X http://www.fbmk.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/20170425152835JLC_MARCH_2017.pdf
spellingShingle Priyadarshni, R. Lakshmi
Mohd Kasim, Zalina
Mohamad Ali, Afida
Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title_full Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title_fullStr Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title_full_unstemmed Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title_short Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper
title_sort combating h1n1 metaphors of war in a malaysian newspaper
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/56293/1/Combating%20H1N1%20metaphors%20of%20war%20in%20a%20Malaysian%20newspaper.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT priyadarshnirlakshmi combatingh1n1metaphorsofwarinamalaysiannewspaper
AT mohdkasimzalina combatingh1n1metaphorsofwarinamalaysiannewspaper
AT mohamadaliafida combatingh1n1metaphorsofwarinamalaysiannewspaper