Conceptual Metaphors for COVID-19 in Tunisian Media Discourse: A Cognitive Semantic Analysis

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Conceptual Metaphors for COVID-19 in
Tunisian Media Discourse: A Cognitive Semantic Analysis
Sondes Hamdi, Carthage University, Tunis, Tunisia
(sondeshamdi@yahoo.fr)
Abstract
With the spread of COVID-19, there has been a growing interest in the study of metaphor use
during the pandemic (Sirait et al. 2020; Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020; Isaacs/Priesz 2021;
Kozlova 2021; Semino 2021; Alousque 2021; Marron et al. 2020; Prokhorova et al. 2021; Yu et
al. 2021). However, to the best of our knowledge, no single study has provided a systematic
analysis of the conceptual metaphors utilized by the Tunisian linguistic community to talk
about the pandemic. On the basis of language data, this paper will pinpoint the conceptual
metaphors used by the Tunisian media to depict the pandemic. The data is taken from three
Tunisian online newspapers: Assabah, Aljarida, and Alchourouk. The study is conducted within
the CMT framework. The following five conceptual metaphors have been identified: COVID-
19 IS WAR, PANDEMIC VICTIMS ARE WAR VICTIMS, PREVENTION IS AN ACTION, COVID-19 IS A
NATURAL ATTACK, and COVID-19 IS A PERSON. This study has shown that several COVID-19
metaphors are shared by different linguistic communities. These similarities might be
attributed to the fact that the global pandemic has generated ‘common’ and ‘universal’ feelings
of anxiety and panic among different cultures. It has been argued that this study provides
evidence from a language other than English for the CMT claim that humans tend to use a
familiar concept to understand a new or difficult concept.
Mit der Ausbreitung von COVID-19 hat das Interesse an der Untersuchung des Metapherngebrauchs
während der Pandemie zugenommen (Sirait et al. 2020; Fernandez-Pedemonte et
al. 2020; Isaacs/Priesz 2021; Kozlova 2021; Semino 2021; Alousque 2021; Marron et al. 2020;
Prokhorova et al. 2021; Yu et al. 2021). Unseres Wissens hat jedoch keine einzige Studie eine
systematische Analyse der konzeptionellen Metaphern geliefert, die von der tunesischen
Sprachgemeinschaft verwendet werden, um über die Pandemie zu sprechen. Auf der
Grundlage von Sprachdaten werden in diesem Beitrag die begrifflichen Metaphern ermittelt,
die von den tunesischen Medien zur Darstellung der Pandemie verwendet werden. Die Daten
stammen aus drei tunesischen Online-Zeitungen: Assabah, Aljarida und Alchourouk. Die Studie
wird im Rahmen der Kognitiven Metapherntheorie durchgeführt. Die folgenden fünf
konzeptionellen Metaphern wurden identifiziert: COVID-19 IST KRIEG, DIE OPFER DER
PANDEMIE SIND KRIEGSOPFER, PRÄVENTION IST AKTION, COVID-19 IST EIN NATÜRLICHER
ANGRIFF und COVID-19 IST EINE PERSON Diese Studie hat gezeigt, dass mehrere COVID-19-
Metaphern von verschiedenen Sprachgemeinschaften verwendet werden. Diese Ähnlichkeiten
könnten auf die Tatsache zurückzuführen sein, dass die weltweite Pandemie in den
verschiedenen Kulturen ‚gemeinsame‘ und ‚universelle‘ Gefühle der Angst und Panik
hervorgerufen hat. Es wurde argumentiert, dass diese Studie Beweise aus einer anderen
Sprache als dem Englischen für die Behauptung der Kognitiven Metapherntheorie liefert, dass
Menschen dazu neigen, ein vertrautes Konzept zu verwenden, um ein neues oder schwieriges
Konzept zu verstehen.
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1. Introduction
The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has generated a feeling of panic due to the
constraints it has imposed on human lives. WHO reported that by early June
2020, 6,140,934 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed. On March 11, 2020,
COVID-19 was officially declared a “global pandemic” (Sirait et al. 2020). As a
result, schools were shut and business activities cancelled (Sirait et al. 2020).
Governments across the world tried to stop the virus through social distancing,
circulation restrictions, and lockdowns (Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020).
As the pandemic spread, it became “one of the hottest topics in the world” (Li
2021: 70). The public has been interactive on social media, and the mass media
have constantly updated news about the virus. A close look at what is covered
by the media and expressed by the public demonstrates that many metaphors
have been utilized to talk about this novel virus. This has attracted the interest
of a few scholars (Sirait et al. 2020; Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020;
Isaacs/Priesz 2021; Kozlova 2021; Semino 2021; Alousque 2021; Marron et al.
2020; Prokhorova et al. 2021; Yu et al. 2021). For instance, Elena Semino notices
that “metaphors have been widely used in communication about the COVID-
19” (2021: 50). Sirait et al. (2020) observe that the media has tried to “provide
eye-catching headlines through the use of metaphor” (2020: 278).
A few studies have been conducted on the use of metaphors during the pandemic
(Sirait et al. 2020; Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020; Isaacs/Priesz 2021;
Kozlova 2021; Semino 2021; Alousque 2021; Marron et al. 2020; Prokhorova et
al. 2021; Yu et al. 2021). However, to the best of our knowledge, no single study
has offered a systematic examination of the conceptual metaphors used by the
Tunisian linguistic community to portray the pandemic. This paper addresses
this gap. On the basis of language data, this study will identify the conceptual
metaphors used by the Tunisian media to depict the pandemic. The data has
been taken from three Tunisian online newspapers: Assabah, Aljarida, and
Alchourouk, and analyzed by using CMT tools.
This study comprises four main sections. The first will present the study’s
theoretical framework (CMT). The second will review selected studies
conducted on the use of metaphors during the pandemic. The third will flesh
out the study’s methodology for data collection and data analysis. The fourth is
devoted to the study’s findings and discussion.
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2. Theoretical framework: CMT
This study uses the CMT theoretical framework for many reasons. To start with,
CMT is a psychologically tested theory whose hypotheses have been scientifically
corroborated. Second, CMT goes beyond the linguistic perception of
metaphor; it sees it as a matter of language, thought, and action. Finally, CMT
tools, i.e. linguistic metaphor, conceptual metaphor, image schema, Source
Domain (SD), Target Domain (TD), are good analytical devices for crosslinguistic
metaphor analysis (Hamdi 2018, 2015, 2010; Bacz 2001; Chen 2010).
Key concepts inherent in this theoretical framework will be defined in this
section. These concepts involve (1) the distinction between conceptual metaphor
and linguistic metaphor, (2) the experiential basis of metaphor, and (3)
the main cognitive functions of metaphor.
2.1 Linguistic metaphor versus conceptual metaphor
CMT distinguishes between conceptual metaphor and linguistic metaphor
(Lakoff and Johnson 1980). What native speakers say is linguistic metaphor.
Conceptual metaphor refers to a mental representation that depicts how two
expressions from different domains may be linked at an underlying level. In the
same vein, CMT asserts that the essence of a conceptual metaphor consists in
understanding one concept in terms of another. It is comprehended in terms of
the systematic set of cognitive correspondences between two conceptual
domains.
For instance, in the conceptual metaphor COVID-19 IS WAR, the elements of the
source domain, WAR, map onto elements in the target domain, COVID-19. Thus,
victims of war correspond to victims of COVID-19, the socioeconomic and
psychological damages of the war correspond to the socioeconomic and
psychological damages of COVID-19, the warriors correspond to the patients
who fight against COVID-19, the restrictive measures taken during the war
correspond to the preventive measures imposed during the pandemic.
In The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor, Lakoff (1993) explains the conception of
metaphor in CMT on the basis of the conceptual metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY,
as follows:
What constitutes the LOVE-AS-JOURNEY metaphor is not any
particular word or expression. It is the ontological mapping across
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conceptual domains, from the source domain of journeys to the target
domain of love. The metaphor is not just a matter of language, but of
thought and reason. The language is secondary. The mapping is
primary, in that it sanctions the use of source domain language and
inference patterns for target domain concepts. The mapping is
conventional, that is, it is a fixed part of our conceptual system, one of
our conventional ways of conceptualizing love relationships. This
view of metaphor is thoroughly at odds with the view that metaphors
are just linguistic expressions. If metaphors were merely linguistic
expressions, we would expect different linguistic expressions to be
different metaphors. Thus, ‘We’ve hit a dead-end street’ would
constitute one metaphor. ‘We can’t turn back now’ would constitute
another, entirely different metaphor. ‘Their marriage is on the rocks’
would involve still a different metaphor. Yet we don’t seem to have
dozens of different metaphors here. We have one metaphor, in which
love is conceptualized as a journey. The mapping tells us precisely
how love is being conceptualized as a journey. And this unified way
of conceptualizing love metaphorically is realized in many different
linguistic expressions (1993: 208-209).
Lakoff’s above description of the conceptual metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY shows
that metaphor is a matter of language, thought, and action. In this metaphor,
the abstract concept of ‘love’ is construed and expressed in terms of a more
concrete concept, ‘journey’. Thus, terms peculiar to journeys are used to express
the experience of love.
2.2 The experiential basis of metaphor
According to CMT, metaphor has an experiential basis. For example, the
conceptual metaphor MORE IS UP is grounded in a human bodily experience of
the world: when we pour more fluid into a container, we see the level go up.
This correlation between verticality and quantity derives from our physical
experience with the environment (Kövecses 2002). In the same vein, the
conceptual metaphor KNOWING IS SEEING as reflected by the linguistic
metaphors “I see what you’re saying,” “His answer was clear”, and “This paragraph
is murky”, has an experiential basis. It lies in the correlation between what we
know and what we see: what we know comes through vision (Lakoff 1993).
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2.3 Functions of conceptual metaphor
In CMT literature, conceptual metaphor can be structural, ontological and
orientational (Kövecses 2002). Through structural metaphors we understand
the target domain in terms of the structure of the source domain. This
comprehension occurs on the basis of conceptual correspondences between the
source and the target domains (Kövecses 2002). For instance, in the conceptual
metaphor COVID-19 IS WAR, the elements of the source domain, WAR, map onto
elements in the target domain, COVID-19. Thus, the victims of war correspond
to the victims of COVID-19, the damages of war correspond to the damages of
COVID-19, and the warriors correspond to the people who fight against
COVID-19.
In ontological metaphors, we construe our experiences in terms of objects,
substances, and containers. Personification, for instance, is a type of ontological
metaphor (Kövecses 2002). The conceptual metaphor COVID-19 IS A PERSON is
an ontological metaphor underlying the linguistic metaphors “COVID-19 is
killing people” and “COVID-19 has destroyed our national economy.” In this
metaphor, COVID-19, a virus, is personified by being given animate attributes,
such as the ability to kill people and to destroy or harm something.
Orientational metaphors refer to basic spatial orientations, such as up-down,
center-periphery, etc. (Kövecses 2002). For instance, HAPPINESS IS UP and
SADNESS IS DOWN are orientational conceptual metaphors underpinning the
linguistic metaphors “The recent news about the virus raised spirits” and “The
alarming speed of COVID-19’s spread made me feel down today.”
3. Review of the literature
This section will summarize selected studies conducted on COVID-19
metaphors. These studies involve the works of Fernandez-Pedemonte et al.
(2020), Sirait et al. (2020), Li (2021), Semino (2021), Kozlova (2021), Marron et al.
(2020), and Alousque (2021).
Fernandez-Pedemonte et al.’s study (2020) purports to identify the ‘framing’ of
the pandemic during the compulsory quarantine in Argentina. This paper
examines the link between the discourses offered by politicians and the media
in the digital era. It is conducted within the framework of Discourse Analysis.
The data consists of 283 digital newspaper headlines from Argentina. The
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findings suggest that the headlines are composed of metaphors of war,
metaphors of care, and metaphors of time. In the metaphor of care, the
government is portrayed as “maternal”. In the metaphor of time, references to
time and time management are used.
Sirait et al.’s study (2020) aims at examining how the Indonesian media describe
the corona virus through the use of metaphor in the headlines. The study is
qualitative. The data is compiled from two popular online newspapers: The
Jakarta Post and Kompas.id. The study identifies nine conceptual metaphors in
the headlines: CORONA VIRUS IS AN ANIMAL, CORONA VIRUS IS AN ENEMY,
CORONA VIRUS IS WAR, CORONA VIRUS IS A CRIMINAL, CORONA VIRUS IS AN
UNWANTED GUEST, CORONA VIRUS IS A HARSH NATURAL ATTACK, THE NUMBER OF
PANDEMIC CASES IS A MOUNTAIN PEAK, and CORONA VIRUS IS AN AUTHORITY. The
authors assert that the most prominent metaphor is the ENEMY metaphor in
which the pandemic is depicted as a “massive destroyer”.
Z. Li’s study (2021) analyzes the COVID-19 speeches of two Presidents: US
President Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. The paper mainly
focuses on the use of war metaphors in the speeches. The findings suggest that
both Presidents use the concepts of ENEMY, SOLDIER, and VICTORY in depicting
the combat against the virus. However, they have different understandings of
these war metaphors. For instance, both presidents describe the fight against
the pandemic in terms of winning a victory over an enemy. Yet, unlike Xi,
Trump explicitly links this victory to economic recovery by seeing it as “a key
factor in the victory” (78). The author attributes these differences to a divergence
in ‘framing’.
E. Semino’s study (2021) discusses different metaphors for the pandemic and
explains why they are used. Using cognitive reasoning, the author explains why
the pandemic is talked about metaphorically. In her paper, Semino focuses on
the pervasiveness of war metaphor. She argues that the most frequent
metaphors tend to derive from “basic, embodied, sensorimotor experiences”
(2021: 51). She provides alternative metaphors, suggesting that FIRE metaphors
are “appropriate” in communication about different aspects of the virus, such
as contagion.
T. Kozlova’s paper (2021) examines cognitive metaphors of the pandemic in
business news. The study is conducted within the theoretical framework of
Cognitive Linguistics, which perceives metaphor as a cognitive instrument
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reflecting “the way we reason and imagine the world”. The data is taken from
the Financial Times. The results suggest that metaphors are pervasive in the
depiction of the pandemic.
Marron et al. (2020) state that war metaphors are frequently utilized in clinical
practice. This goes back to President Richard Nixon’s declaration of “a war on
cancer”, wherein he describes cancer as “a relentless and insidious enemy”
(2020: 624). The authors assert that metaphors are pervasive in two-thirds of
conversations between oncologists and patients. In clinical conversations,
people talk about “a fight” against the illness. Doctors depict how cancer
“invades” healthy cells. Treatment is portrayed as a “frontline” therapy. When
patients complete their treatment, they are described as “survivors” and
“heroes.” The authors highlight the positive and the negative implications of
war metaphors in the description of COVID-19. On the positive implications of
war metaphors with COVID-19, they state that the war on COVID-19 sheds light
on the “urgency” of the pandemic and serves as a “rallying cry” for medical
societies and the public. Health care workers are empowered and their efforts
acknowledged for they are risking their lives to save others. As for the negative
implications, the use of war metaphors wrongly assumes that there is adequate
medical staff, that there is a strategy, and that the right weapons and protections
are available. These war metaphors imply that all health workers choose to put
their personal lives at risk. They also downplay the work and efforts of those
who are not working in the health care sector.
In her article on COVID-19 metaphors, Isabel Negro Alousque (2021) uses the
cognitive approach to metaphor to identify the conceptual metaphors for
COVID-19 in the political speeches of French President Emmanuel Macron and
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez between March and June 2020. The
author identifies the following conceptual metaphors: THE VIRUS IS A HUMAN
BEING, THE ACTION TO CONTAIN THE VIRUS IS WAR, THE VIRUS IS A MOVING HUMAN
BEING, THE VIRUS IS A TRAVELLER, THE VIRUS IS AN ANIMAL, and THE VIRUS IS A
NATURAL DISASTER. The author argues that this metaphorical network has three
main aims: (1) to shed light on the destructive impacts of COVID-19; (2) to
spread hope and courage; and (3) to call for joint efforts to stop the pandemic.
The above studies give insights into the use of pandemic metaphors in different
settings. They shed light on the importance of metaphor by showing that during
the pandemic, we “survive by metaphors” (Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020).
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By using metaphor, the media, for instance, plays an important role in framing
public discourse, involving representations of disasters (Wallis and Nerlish
2005; Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020).
4. Methodology
The study’s methodology comprised two main phases: data collection and data
analysis.
4.1 Data collection
The study adopted CMT as a framework to examine conceptual metaphors for
COVID-19 in Tunisian Arabic. The corpus was taken from three Tunisian
popular online newspapers: Aljarida, Alchourouk and Assabah. The choice of
these three online newspapers is motivated by two main factors: (1) The three
independent newspapers offer an updated coverage of the pandemic in Tunisia;
(2) they are the most widely read newspapers by the Tunisian population. The
online sites were carefully surfed to pick up any lexical unit including ‘corona’,
‘pandemic’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘Covid’, ‘virus’.
After data collection, the selection criteria for metaphors stipulated by
Charteris-Black (2004) were used. According to these criteria, a linguistic metaphor
for COVID-19 is any lexical unit referring to the pandemic and involving
two different domains, thus causing a “semantic tension” resulting from
reification or personification. For example, the expression “Corona is killing
people” is an ontological metaphor that is based on personification. The pandemic
is depicted as an agent capable of killing or murdering people. Also, the
expression “The virus should be controlled” is a metaphor that is based on
reification. Here, the virus is construed as an object that one can control or
manipulate.
4.2 Data analysis
Analysis of the data proceeded in two stages: the interpretative stage and the
conceptual metaphor identification stage. The interpretative stage highlighted
the metaphorical sense of the expression by shedding light on the semantic
tension (Charteris-Black 2004) that classified it as metaphor. The conceptual
metaphor identification stage identified the two conceptual domains that
constituted the conceptual metaphor, by following the CMT convention, A IS B.
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This specific methodology was chosen for data analysis in order to control the
move from linguistic metaphor to conceptual metaphor in a rigorous manner.
The analytical implications of this methodology consist in conducting nonintuitive
and objective analyses of the data at hand.
Table 1 below illustrates the different stages for data analysis:
Example Identification of
metaphor
Interpretative stage Conceptual
metaphor
identification stage
Corona is killing people There is a semantic
tension between two
different domains
CORONA and A
PERSON capable of
killing.
‘Corona’, a virus, is
given animate
attributes. It is portrayed
as an agent or
a person able to
commit murder.
CORONA IS A PERSON.
Table 1: Stages for data analysis
5. Results and discussion
The conceptual metaphors that were found to underlie the Tunisian media
discourse in the three online newspapers: Aljarida, Alchourouk and Assabah are
the following: COVID-19 IS WAR, PANDEMIC VICTIMS ARE WAR VICTIMS,
PREVENTION IS AN ACTION, COVID-19 IS A NATURAL ATTACK, and COVID-19 IS A
PERSON. The following section will describe these metaphors in further detail.
5.1 COVID-19 IS WAR
The country is portrayed as a war zone where people have to face or to stop the
pandemic, as in examples (1)-(3) below:
(1) ’aun ishhed mu’arraḍ binisba kubrả lilisảba (Aljarida, 2 July
2021).
The notable exposed rate big infection.
‘The notable is very exposed to infection by the virus.’
(2) Albaḥth fỉ ṭuruq ’amaliyya lissaytara ’ala intishảr al’adwả
(Aljarida, 2 July 2021).
Looking in ways practical to-control on spreading-of contagion.
‘Looking for practical ways to stop contagion.’
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(3) Iqrảr ijraảt litaṣaddỉ lil’adwả (Aljarida, 2 July 2021).
Taking measures to-face to contagion.
‘Taking measures to face contagion.’
The pandemic conditions are depicted in terms of wartime conditions. This is
reflected in the choice of lexis to describe the pandemic in examples (4)-(8)
below:
(4) Sinảrio mur’ib fil ayyảm al-qảdima (Assabah, 29 June 2021)
Scenario scary in days coming.
‘A scary scenario will happen in the coming days.’
(5) Arqảm murtafi’a min alisảbảt (Assabah, 29 June 2021)
Number high from infected cases.
‘A big number of infected people.’
(6) Allajna al’ilmiyya tajtami’ bisifatin ’ảjila bida’wa min raỉs
addawla (Aljarida, 2 July 2021)
Committee scientific meet manner urgent invitation from headof
State.
‘The Scientific committee had an urgent meeting initiated by the
Head of State.’
(7) Lảzim ḥad mả yokhruj middảr waljaysh yuwaffar almảkla lil
manảzil (Aljarida, 2 July 2021).
Must no-one leave home and-the-army provide food to-homes.
‘No one should leave the house, and the army should provide the
food to the households.’
(8) Hal kharaja alwaḍ’ assiḥị fil qayrawản ’ala assayṭara? (Aljarida,
2 July 2021).
Did get-out situation health in Kairouan from control?
‘Did the health situation in Kairouan get out of control?’
In examples (4)-(8) above, the Tunisian media uses terms peculiar to the domain
of war to depict the rapid spread of the pandemic. These terms involve “A scary
scenario”, “A big number of victims”, “An urgent meeting”, “The army”, and “get out
of control.” During the pandemic, caregivers are depicted as “Aljaysh alabiyaḍ”
(the White Army), “Juyūsh aṣṣaf alawwal” (frontline soldiers), and “Abtâl”
(heroes). COVID-19 patients are described as “fighting” against the virus.
Patients and caregivers are portrayed as forming “a united front” against the
virus. The pervasiveness of the conceptual metaphor COVID-19 IS WAR in the
Tunisian media discourse corroborates the CMT claim that humans tend to use
an experiential concept to understand and express a new or a more abstract
concept. In this context, Tunisians use their prior knowledge related to war
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(scary scenario, number of victims, pressure, emergency, loss of control, army)
to construe and express a new experience (the spread of a novel virus).
In this context, Isaacs/Priesz argue that war metaphors are “contextdependent”
(2021: 6). They have “positive” and “negative” implications. They
elaborate on this point as follows:
A war metaphor for COVID-19 may resonate with the public, may
help people recognize the threat to public health, may help them take
their obligations such as social distancing seriously…. On the other
hand, over-simplifying complex issues reduces ethical complexity,
risking the transformation of complex moral choices into goodies-and
baddies trivialization (2021: 6).
In the same vein, on the use of war metaphors in cancer and COVID-19, Marron
et al. (2020) observe that the COVID-19 pandemic has given a “new life” to war
metaphors (2020: 624). According to their analysis, war metaphors pertaining to
the pandemic are “more passive” than those used in cancer, as they depict
patients as “victims” or “innocent bystanders” (2020: 625). In addition, patients
are often portrayed as heroes in the battle against cancer; with COVID-19,
however, heroism is attributed to the health care workers.
5.2 PANDEMIC VICTIMS ARE WAR VICTIMS
Deaths from COVID-19 are reported in a way that adds to the image of a bitter
war with huge loss of life. The number of the pandemic “victims” is portrayed
as escalating, as in examples (9)-(14) below:
(9) A’dảd murtafi’a mil aliṣâbât bifayrūs corona (Assabah, 2 July
2021).
Escalating number from infected with-virus Corona.
‘The number of corona cases is escalating.’
(10) Akbar ḥaṣĭla lilwil âyât sajjalathâ Gafsa janūbiyya bi 123
wafât (Achouruk, 2 July 2021).
Big number for-governorates registered Gafsa Southern with 123
deaths.
‘The highest number of deaths has been registered in the south of
Gafsa.’
(11) Tawảsil alnasaq almurtafa’ lilwifâyât annâjima ’an aliṣâba
bifayrūs corona fi wilâyat Sfax (Achourouk, 2 July 2021).
Continuous rate of-deaths due from infection with virus corona
in governorate Sfax.
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‘There is a continuous rate of deaths from corona in the
governorate of Sfax.’
(12) Munadhamât aṣṣaḥa al-’ âlamiyya: ‘Tūnes al ūlâ ’arabiyyan
wa ifrĭqiyyan binisbat ḍaḥâyâ corona’ (Achourouk, 2 July
2021).
Organization Health World: “Tunisia first Arab and Africa in
victims corona.”
‘WHO: “Tunisia is ranked first in the Arab world and in Africa in
terms of corona victims.”’
(13) ḥaṣĭla thaqĭla (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
death-rate heavy.
‘A heavy death rate.’
In examples (9)-(13) above, the use of the term “ḍaḥâyâ” (victims) highlights
the perception of corona victims as war victims. As in wars, there are winners
and losers. In war, the winner is whoever is stronger and has more resources.
With COVID-19, the winner is the “survivor,” the one who won the “battle”
against the virus. The loser is the victim whose immune system, for instance, is
too fragile to resist the virus.
High risk cities are construed as “red zones”, as in example (14) below:
(14) Tamma tasnĭf 9 wilâyât kamanâṭiq ḥamrâ dhât mustawâ
‘ikhtiṭâr murtafa’ (Aljarida, 2 July 2021).
Were classified 9 governorates as-zones red with rate risk high.
‘9 governorates have been classified as high risk ‘red zones.’
As shown in examples (9)-(14) above, the number of deaths from the virus is
important as if in a deadly war. In this war, the virus is construed as the winner,
causing many victims. Negative expressions are associated with the pandemic
situation, such as “heavy”, “red zones”, and “death.”
5.3 PREVENTION IS AN ACTION
With the outbreak of COVID-19, several preventive measures are taken by the
Tunisian government in order to reduce or to stop the spread of the virus. These
measures consist of social distancing, circulation restrictions, and lockdowns.
These preventive measures are portrayed by Tunisian media as mandatory
actions, as reflected in examples (15)-(16) below:
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(15) Tajĭl wa ilghâ kâfat attadhâhurât al-jamâiriyya (Assabah, 2 July
2021).
Postponing and cancellation all events public.
‘All public events are postponed and cancelled.’
(16) Attaṭbĭq aṣṣârim liman’ attanaqqul bayna almanâṭiq
almawbūa (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Implementing strict prevention circulation between regions
infected.
‘Measures preventing circulation in the infected regions are strictly
implemented.’
It can be noticed that the preventive measures are issued to the public as orders.
No possibility is left for people to discuss or reject them.
The preventive measures range from wearing face masks to the total lockdown
of highly infected areas. This is reflected in examples (17)-(18) below:
(17) ḍarūrat attaqayyud bil ijrât wal iltizâm bil protocol aṣṣaḥĭ
wakhâṣa irtidâ alkammâma (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Necessity respecting measures and committing to health
protocol mainly wearing masks
‘It is necessary to respect the preventive measures and to be
committed to the health protocol, especially when it comes to
wearing masks.’
(18) Qayrawản: attamdỉd fỉ alḥajr assiḥḥỉ aṣấmil (Aljarida, 2 July
2021).
Kairouan: extension in confinement health total
‘Kairouan: Total confinement extended.’
Examples (15)-(18) above corroborate Semino’s description of these preventive
measures as “actions demanded by law” (2021: 3).
5.4 COVID-19 IS A NATURAL ATTACK
With the rapid spread of the pandemic, and the increasing number of COVID-
19 victims, it has become difficult to control the pandemic. Tunisian media
expresses the difficulty to contain the pandemic by portraying it as a natural
attack. Thus, adjectives and nouns referring to the pandemic as “a disaster,” “a
tsunami,” and “a violent wave” that “hit the country” are used to express the
conceptual metaphor COVID-19 IS A NATURAL ATTACK, as in examples (19)-(21)
below:
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(19) Tṹnis: man almasṹl ’an taḥawwil tafaṣỉ Corona fil bilảd
kảrithiyyan (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Tunisia: who responsible in conversion spreading-of corona in
the-country disastrous.
‘Tunisia: Who is responsible for making the virus situation
‘disastrous’ in the country?’
(20) Innaḥả mawja rahỉba (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
It-is wave scary.
‘It is a scary wave.’
(21) Mawjat tsṹnamỉ corona taḍrib Tṹnis (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Wave tsunami corona hit Tunisia.
‘A tsunami wave hit Tunisia.’
What these natural attacks (“a wave,” “a tsunami,” “a disaster”) have in
common is that they are capable of destroying things and people so badly that
they no longer exist. They are ferociously invasive. They represent the power of
nature in front of which man is powerless. It can be argued that the conceptual
metaphor COVID-19 IS A NATURAL ATTACK highlights human powerlessness to
contain the pandemic. Example (19) above refers to the person responsible
(“masūl”) for the “disaster.” As with natural disaster management, there should
be a disaster manager who would be held accountable for the pandemic’s move
from a mere crisis to a ferocious “disaster”. This person has specific
responsibilities. He should prepare an action plan to face the disaster and
respond to it rapidly and efficiently. This person should also be endowed with
specific qualities, such as shrewdness, i.e., the ability to detect the coming of
disasters well in advance.
The pandemic is construed as a global disaster that requires solidarity and
collaboration among and between different countries, as in example (22) below:
(22) Munadhamât mujtama’ madanĭ tuṭliq nidâ istighâ tha
duwalĭ min Tūnis (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Organizations society civil sent a-call rescue international from
Tunisia.
‘Civil society organizations have sent a call for international help
from Tunisia.’
In the same way that people alone cannot handle the effects of war or of natural
disasters, communities would find it difficult to face a pandemic if left
unattended or isolated. International collaboration is depicted as necessary for
communities to survive the virus.
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5.5 COVID-19 IS A PERSON
The Tunisian media uses the conceptual metaphor COVID-19 IS A PERSON to
describe the pandemic. This metaphor is expressed by the linguistic metaphors
in examples (23)-(24) below:
(23) Dharūrat atta’âyush ma’a alvayrūs (Assabah, 2 July 2021).
Need co-existence with the-virus.
‘The need to co-exist with the virus.’
(24) Al-vayrūs yaqtul alatfảl ‘(Assabah, 2 July 2021).
The-virus kill the-children.
‘The virus is killing children.’
In example (23), the Tunisian media argues for the need for “ta’ấyush” (coexistence)
with the virus by depicting the virus as a person with whom people
might live. Thus, people are implicitly invited to make concessions for a
peaceful “co-existence” with the virus. In example (24), the virus is personified
by being assigned human attributes, such as the ability to perform the act of
killing. The virus is portrayed as a criminal, an agent that is able to change
things so badly that they no longer exist. The conceptual metaphor COVID-19
IS A PERSON highlights people’s powerlessness in the face of the pandemic.
Despite the strict preventive measures and the “heroic” efforts of the “White
Army”, the virus is growing so ferocious that it is “killing children” mercilessly.
Thus, people have no choice but to surrender to this virus for a peaceful “coexistence”.
The study has shown that metaphors are pervasive in Tunisian media discourse
during the pandemic. The study’s results corroborate the results of previous
research done on metaphor use during the pandemic (Alousque 2021;
Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. 2020; Sirait et al. 2020; Semino 2021). Similarly to
this study, Alousque’s study suggests that the following conceptual metaphors
underlie the political speeches of French President Emmanuel Macron and
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: THE VIRUS IS A HUMAN BEING, THE
ACTION TO CONTAIN THE VIRUS IS WAR, and THE VIRUS IS A NATURAL DISASTER.
These similarities in the conceptualizations of COVID-19 among different
linguistic communities might be attributed to the fact that the global experience
of the pandemic has generated “common” and “universal” feelings of anxiety
and panic among different cultures. Interestingly, a few metaphors identified in
previous research (Sirait et al. 2020; Alousque 2021, for instance), are not found
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in my data, such as CORONA VIRUS IS AN ANIMAL, CORONA VIRUS IS AN
UNWANTED GUEST, THE VIRUS IS A TRAVELLER, and CORONA VIRUS IA AN
AUTHORITY.
6. Conclusion
The objective of this paper was to identify the metaphors underlying Tunisian
media discourse during the pandemic in three popular online newspapers. Five
conceptual metaphors were identified in this study: COVID-19 IS WAR,
PANDEMIC VICTIMS ARE WAR VICTIMS, PREVENTION IS AN ACTION, COVID-19 IS A
NATURAL ATTACK, and COVID-19 IS A PERSON. The study shows that the country
is depicted in Tunisian media discourse as a war zone where people have to
cooperate to face or stop the pandemic. Pandemic conditions are conceived of
as wartime conditions. Deaths from COVID-19 are reported in a way that
intensifies the image of a bitter war with huge loss of life. To stop the pandemic,
governments impose preventive measures that are depicted as, in Semino’s
words, “actions demanded by law” (2021: 3). Adjectives and nouns referring to
the pandemic as “a disaster”, “a tsunami”, and “a violent wave” that “hit the
country” with no mercy are used to express the destructive effects of this pandemic
on people. Negative attributes are utilized to describe the pandemic, such
as “heavy”, “scary”, “disastrous”, “strict”, “high risk”, “dangerous”, and
“deadly.” The virus is construed as a person with whom people can co-exist. It
is assigned human attributes, such as the ability to carry out the act of killing.
Analysis of Tunisian media discourse shows that the pandemic has been a
negative experience for the Tunisian community.
The study is contributive to CMT for several reasons. To start with, it provides
evidence from a language other than English for the CMT claim that humans
tend to use a familiar concept to understand a new or difficult concept. On the
basis of language data, the study has shown, for instance, that Tunisians use
their prior knowledge of war and natural attacks to understand a new
experience related to the outbreak of a novel virus. Second, the study fills the
gap in the literature, at least partially, by identifying the conceptual metaphors
for COVID-19 in Tunisian media discourse as, to the best of our knowledge, no
research has been done on this topic so far. Third, this study touches upon the
universality of some conceptual metaphors for COVID-19. Indeed, the
metaphors identified in the Tunisian discourse are found to exist in other
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201
languages, as is reflected in the works of Fernandez-Pedemonte et al. (2020),
Sirait et al. (2020), Li (2021), Semino (2020), Alousque (2021), and Kozlova (2021).
It can be argued that the shared global pandemic has engendered “common”
and “universal” feelings of panic and anxiety among different cultures. This
might provide one of the reasons why these conceptual metaphors are shared
by unrelated languages/cultures.
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