Influence of the epidemic on the resurrection of elements of dictatorship speech and the use of (war) metaphors
Influence of the epidemic on the resurrection of elements of dictatorship speech and the use of (war) metaphors

Summary/Abstract: The influence of the epidemic on linguistic choices in public speech has become clearly pronounced over the past year during which social conditions have changed significantly and during which communication, both public and private, has become media mediated to a great extent. Since the extralinguistic conditions in a large segment of society have in a way begun to resemble those during the state of war - danger lurking outside, people boarding up in their homes, socialization reduced to the bare minimum, people being afraid of other people - language could not escape unscathed and as a result some old expressions, typical of times of war and other times of crisis, have become activated in public discourse. In addition, some new expressions have come into existence as the product of the social need to describe the present circumstances. In this paper emphasis will be placed on the analysis of media mediated language of the selected public persons to whom the society has assigned the leading roles in the “fight” against the epidemic. Special attention will be paid to the metaphorical reframing, i.e., linking of various concepts in accordance with the linguistic needs, as well as to certain elements of dictatorship speech which have been reactivated under these circumstances.

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