ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the ECOSYSTEM HEALTH metaphor which has long prevailed in environmental communication. Following the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we propose a contrastive view on the use of the ECOSYSTEM HEALTH metaphor in environmental discourse: we distinguish the metaphorical expressions used before the pandemic from the ones used during the pandemic. This distinction is aimed at identifying the new arguments promoted by COVID-19 metaphors. The publications released by the international environmental organization Extinction Rebellion are of particular interest. Through a detailed analysis of texts published between January and July 2020, we show that the impact of COVID-19 has modified our understanding of the ECOSYSTEM HEALTH metaphor. While environmentalists used to depict the environment as a SICK BODY prior the pandemic, the occurrences discussed below demonstrate that COVID-19 metaphors highlight the human characteristics associated with the source domain HEALTH.

摘要

本文重点关注在环境传播中长期盛行的生态系统健康隐喻。继 COVID-19 大流行的全球影响之后，我们提出了关于在环境话语中使用生态系统健康隐喻的对比观点：我们将大流行之前使用的隐喻表达与大流行期间使用的隐喻区分开来。这种区分旨在识别 COVID-19 隐喻所提倡的新论点。国际环保组织Extinction Rebellion发布的刊物是特别感兴趣的。通过对 2020 年 1 月至 2020 年 7 月期间发布的文本的详细分析，我们表明 COVID-19 的影响改变了我们对生态系统健康隐喻的理解。虽然环保主义者过去常常在大流行之前将环境描述为生病的身体，但下面讨论的事件表明 COVID-19 隐喻突出了与源域健康相关的人类特征。