Metaphors in Crisis (On COVID-19 in Romanian and US Articles)

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the paper is to identify similarities and differences in terms of the metaphors used to present the COVID-19 crisis in Romanian and US articles. The paper is structured in two parts – a theoretical and a practical one. The theoretical framework presents metaphors from the cognitive linguistic perspective as a way to understand and explain reality, metaphors playing a major part in human thinking. They are approached in the paper as a subjective way of presenting reality, being indicative of cultural differences. The practical part analyses thirteen Romanian and US articles taken from broadsheet newspapers, focusing on three areas – the presentation of the virus, people’s reaction to it, and the vaccine – in order to see the types of metaphors and the source domains used.