Britain as a container

Immigration metaphors in the 2005 election campaign

Bibliographic Data

ID12252829
AuthorsJonathan Charteris-Black (University of Surrey), Jonathan Charteris‐black (University of Surrey, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume17
Issue5
Pages563-581
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiscourse & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-9265 • E-ISSN: 1460-3624
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0957926506066345
OpenAlexW2108454661
LanguageEN
Citations received220
References cited17

This article explores how metaphors contribute to the formation of legitimacy in right-wing political communication on immigration policy in the 2005 British election campaign. It investigates the role played by metaphors in the formation of right-wing political legitimacy and the differences in how metaphor is used by the far and centre-right. The two main types identified are ‘natural disaster’ metaphors - predominantly relating to fluids - and ‘container’ metaphors concerning a build up of pressure within or outside a container. These two types are related through the notion of a bounded area protecting what is within from external danger. The container metaphor is persuasive in political communication because it merges a fourth dimension of time with spatially based concepts of two or three dimensions. It implies that controlling immigration through maintaining the security of borders (a spatially-based concept) will ensure control over the rate of social change in Britain (a time-based concept). It also heightens emotional fears associated with the penetration of a container

Container (type theory · Immigration · Legitimacy · Linguistics · Metaphor · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Engineering · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Law

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