Metaphor scenarios in public discourse

This article investigates structural aspects of source domains in metaphorical mappings with regard to their manifestation in public discourse data. Specifically, it analyses the organization of source concepts into mininarratives or “scenarios ” that dominate the discourse manifestations of source domains. The material consists of examples from a bilingual corpus of British and German public debates about the “European Union. ” The data show that while the two national samples share some basic mappings between the source and target domains, they each are characterised further by specific scenarios that provide focal points for conceptualizing the target topic. The scenarios can also be shown to carry evaluative and attitudinal biases that are related to particular political dispositions and preferences of the respective na-tional discourse communities. In conclusion, it will be argued that the analysis of sce-narios is a necessary complement to the study of source domains and of do-main-mappings in metaphorical language use. (1) Is the “Franco–German couple ” really the “heart of the European Union”, as [Chirac] said during the [election] campaign, or are Britain’s Conservatives right to imagine they have found a fellow-sceptic to flirt with? (The Guardian, 18 May 1995; italics here and in following examples by AM) (2) […] every time, over the past decade, that a new president or prime minister has taken over in France, he briefly […] flirts with the Euro-sceptical British, only to fall back in relief on the old liaison with Germany. (The Economist, 5 December 1998) (3) Seit […] ihrem EU-Treff in Stockholm, scheint die vertrackte Partnerschaft zwischen Chirac, Jospin und Schröder nun doch zu retten. […] Vorerst schwört de