Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World
Vol. 16:1 (2026) ► pp.126–149

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Ecology, responsibility, and moral accounting

Metaphorical footprints and traces in Polish online press

ORCiD logo with link | University of Warsaw
Published online: 25 November 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.25016.ros
Abstract
This article examines the use of the term ślad (‘footprint’, ‘trace’) in Polish online press, particularly in equivalents of footprint metaphors (e.g., carbon footprint). It aims to identify the broader frames and contexts in which these metaphors appear and the framing of responsible entities. Previous studies highlight how terms like the carbon footprint often attribute environmental impact to individual actions. This study confirms this trend in contexts like weight-based footprints and travel, but also finds that in the frame of resource use, products and processes are construed as responsible. Researchers of metaphors in science claim that environmental metaphors shape moral judgments and this study explores how metaphorical footprints and traces relate to morality and responsibility in Polish online press. Using examples from four press outlets, the study demonstrates the evaluative role of metaphorical footprints and traces, and their use in moral accounting.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Polish translations of footprint metaphors
  • 3.A brief history of footprint metaphors
  • 4.Feedback metaphors and frames in environmental discourse
  • 5.Data
  • 6.Methods
  • 7.Results and discussion
    • 7.1What is measured (scale, size, weight, resource)
    • 7.2Comparing traces (comparison)
    • 7.3Evaluation, morality, and responsibility (container, balance, finance)
    • 7.4What is left in travel (path, journey)
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Data Availability Statement
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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