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In:Metaphor, Nation and Discourse
Edited by Ljiljana Šarić and Mateusz-Milan Stanojević
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 82] 2019
► pp. 127–154

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Chapter 5
Metaphors for language contact and change

Croatian language and national identity

 | University of Oslo
Published online: 20 May 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.82.06cic
Abstract
This chapter analyses the discursive construction of Croatian language identity and demonstrates that figurative language plays a crucial role in the process of national and linguistic (dis)identification. The ideological nature and complexity of nations and languages make both concepts highly susceptible to figuration. Based on an analysis of ninety-seven sociolinguistic texts authored by influential social actors, published from 1995 up to the present day, I propose a schematic scenario – an unacceptable language phenomenon is a danger to the nation – that both underlies puristic language ideology and indirectly sustains the status of the Croatian language as a national emblem. Conceptualizations of language contact and change in terms of drowning, colonization, illness, and poisoning constitute the core of the metaphor-based scenario, discursively construing danger to the language and nation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Language – constructing and delineating nations
    • 2.2Croatian extra-linguistic context
    • 2.3Discourse, metaphor, blending, and scenarios
  • 3.Method and data
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Undesirable elements taint and corrupt language
    • 4.2The nation is affected by linguistic changes
    • 4.3Language requires purification
    • 4.4Language needs protection
  • 5.Construction of identity through discourse and implications of metaphorical language for language users
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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