My research employs corpus-assisted critical analysis and looks at how metaphors occur in the English and French press. I am taking a diachronic approach and will be looking at major events surrounding Britain’s accession to and exit from the EU and will be analysing the dominant metaphors for each of these time frames.
My PhD focusses on five key events: Britain’s first application to join the EEC in 1961, Britain’s second application in 1967, the third and successful application of 1973, the first UK referendum on continuing membership in 1975, and the referendum of 2016, which ultimately led to Brexit.
By adopting a diachronic approach, my work will reveal how press metaphors have changed over the last five decades, giving an insight into the public’s underlying attitudes and concerns regarding the topic, in the UK and in France.