Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis analyzed a corpus of speeches of world leaders held at the COP conferences to the UNFCCC in the years 2013 until 2017, using a combination of the tool presented by Steen et al. (2010)...Show moreThis thesis analyzed a corpus of speeches of world leaders held at the COP conferences to the UNFCCC in the years 2013 until 2017, using a combination of the tool presented by Steen et al. (2010) for linguistic metaphor analysis, the MIPVU, and qualitative thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke (2006). The metaphors and themes found reflect a dichotomous discourse: from their speeches emerges either a scenario of great danger and threat or a scenario of a harmonious transition, allowing for the continuation of existing norms. Neither seem to incite a good incentive for action. This impacted/non-impacted dichotomy fit in a target approach of the climate change problem, with the two-degree line being the concrete realization of this target. The danger lies on the other side of this line, where climate change becomes a threat. Removing this threat will allow the world to return to a stable and balanced norm, which will be achieved through a quiet transition to a clean energy economy and sustainable development.Show less
