COVID-19 and the metaphor of war: A cognitive analysis in digital newspapers and social networks

• Autores: Lovón Cueva, Marco Antonio, Montenegro García, María Isabel, Chegne Cortez, Aixa Daniela
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2021
• Institución: Academia Peruana de la Lengua
• Repositorio: Boletín de la Academia Peruana de la Lengua
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.revistas.apl.org.pe:article/860
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.apl.org.pe/index.php/boletinapl/article/view/860
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: COVID-19; media; social networks; war; metaphor; medios de comunicación; redes sociales; guerra; metáfora

People and the press, as well as politicians and physicians, in various countries around the world, have compared COVID-19 disease to various everyday situations by using conceptual metaphors associated with their experiences and environment. One situation with which it has been most often contrasted is warlike actions. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the metaphors which have been created in relation to war. This is a mixed study, as it suggests a qualitative analysis that interprets and classifies metaphorical uses, and formulates a quantitative analysis by quantifying the data in relation to their use and importance. The metaphorical expressions researched come from Peruvian and international media and social networks. Among the findings, we found metaphors such as ‘the virus is the enemy’ and ‘citizens are soldiers’, which are frequently used in speech. This paper concludes that the comparison responds to the pandemic situation that the world is going through, since it considers that it is facing a war, an idea that is reinforced by the media.