Conceptual metaphors involving renewable energy in corporate discourse by British Petroleum and the Royal Dutch Shell
This article involves a qualitative study of corporate discourse by British Petroleum (further in the article abbreviated to BP) and the Royal Dutch Shell Group (further referred to as Shell) pertaining to the issue of renewable energy (referred to as ‘renewables’ in the article). The aim of the study is to identify how discourse involving renewables is framed by BP and Shell in their annual reports. This study employs cognitive linguistic methodology in order to elucidate the framing. The focal point of the framing identification within the tenets of cognitive linguistics involves conceptual metaphor as a means of structuring corporate discursive spaces of BP and Shell respectively. The hypothesis in the present study is based upon the assumption that both BP and Shell employ similar conceptual metaphors in framing the issue of renewables. The corpus of the annual reports by BP and Shell is comprised of the reports published within the period from 1 January 2011 until 1 April 2016. The corpus is analysed qualitatively for the presence of conceptual metaphors associated with renewables. Results of the data analysis reveal that BP frames its discourse concerning renewables by means of conceptual metaphors Renewables as Business, Renewables as a Means of Climate Change Mitigation, Renewables as a Commercial Science Project, Renewables as a Path, and Renewables as Investment. Shell frames the discourse about renewables via conceptual metaphors Renewables as Investment, Renewables as a Path, Renewables as a Means of Climate Change Mitigation, Renewables as Business, and Renewables as a Commercial Science Project.
KEY WORDS: cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, corporate discourse, renewable energy sources
KEY WORDS: cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, corporate discourse, renewable energy sources
Publisert i Man in the space of Language, 2017
Les artikkelen her