The genealogy of ‘gentrification’: Semantic prosody, metonymies, and metaphors of a class-struggle discourse in English

Abstract

In this article I examine the concept of ‘gentrification’ from its inception to its current varied uses and interpretations. Using the Oxford English Dictionary's third edition illustrative quotations database as a diachronic corpus of English, I employ a corpus-assisted and cognitive linguistics-inspired critical discourse analysis to trace the genealogy of the term within the broader field of related terms. By disentangling the emergence of this ideologically-laden term, the study enhances our understanding of how class-struggle discourse has evolved from the late Middle Ages to the Enlightenment and late-modernity. It is argued that a robust definition of ‘gentrification’ – which foregrounds the displacement of low-income residents – depends on historicizing the phenomenon, i.e. tracing its roots in concepts, practices and values.