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In:Representing the Other in European Media Discourses
Edited by Jan Chovanec and Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 74] 2017
► pp. 183–206

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Chapter 8
Representations of Eastern Europeans in the UK in reader comments of two British online newspapers

Published online: 23 November 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.74.09pap
Abstract
This chapter examines a sample of reader comments on parallel articles from two online quality dailies published in the UK at different points in 2014, telegraph.co.uk and theguardian.com, concerning the post-2004 migration from Eastern European countries to the UK. Remaining within critical discourse studies, in particular the discourse-historical approach, it sets out to analyse the representations of Eastern Europeans “below the line,” ie., in reader comments. The chapter finds that while Eastern European immigrants tend to be represented as problematic in what is a predominantly utilitarian frame of reference, these representations intersect with a problematisation of UK’s position in the EU and arguably externalise anxieties caused by the precarious economic situation in the UK.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Research context
  • 3.Corpus overview
  • 4.Methodological framework
  • 5.Quantitative overview and analytical discussion
    • 5.1Subgroups among Eastern Europeans
    • 5.2Dominant themes in the corpus
      • 5.2.1“The Polish flood”: Movement and number
      • 5.2.2“Sullen car washers”: Work and number
      • 5.2.3“Begging Bowl Corporation”: Problematic activities
      • 5.2.4“Tax-paying, lovely people”: The characteristics and identity of immigrants
  • 6.Summary of findings and concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • Primary sources
  • References
References (37)
Primary sources
Andreou, Alex (2014, January 2). The immigration invasion that never was. Guardian. Retrieved from [URL]
Barrett, David (2014a, May 14). Number of Romanian and Bulgarian workers falls since EU restrictions relaxed. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved from [URL]
(2014b, August 13). Number of Romanian and Bulgarian workers in Britain hits new high. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved from [URL]
(2014c, November 12). Romania and Bulgaria migrants reach record high. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved from [URL]
Hodges, Dan (2014, January 2). Where’s this Romanian invasion, then? The anti-immigration lobby has jumped the shark. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved from [URL]
Siddique, Haroon (2014). Number of Romanians and Bulgarians working in UK rises 8%. Guardian. Retrieved from [URL]
Travis, Alan (2014a, May 14). Number of Romanian and Bulgarian workers in UK falls. Guardian. Retrieved from [URL]
(2014b, November 12). Romanian and Bulgarian workers in UK up 50,000 after curbs lifted. Guardian. Retrieved from [URL]
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