Valenced Metaphors in Strategic Communication: The Case of the Greek Economic Crisis

ABSTRACT This study examined the valence of political metaphors in the context of the Greek economic crisis in ten speeches delivered by the Greek Prime Minister (PM). Five of the speeches were proclamations addressing the Greek people in the first year of the crisis, while the other five speeches were addresses to the Members of the Parliament (MPs). These two types of speeches were compared in terms of metaphor frequencies, metaphor valence, and types of metaphors. The results revealed that in the proclamations addressed to the Greek people the PM used significantly more metaphors than in the speeches addressing the MPs. In terms of valence, the analysis showed that the PM used significantly more positive metaphors than negative when addressing the Greek people; this, however, was not confirmed in the speeches addressing the MPs. In terms of metaphor type, overall the travel frame was the most frequently used one in the speeches addressing the Greek people, while this was not the case in the addresses to the MPs. In terms of strategic communication and crisis management, positive metaphoric language was the primary means to fulfil the organization’s (i.e., the government’s) mission, which was no other than to manage the crisis in relation to the Greek people.