Metaphors of Language: A Discursive and Experimental Analysis of the Role of Metaphor in the Construction of National Languages: The Case of Croatian and Serbian

With metaphor as the focus and the unifying element throughout three different articles and their specific questions, this dissertation combines two major intersecting fields of research – metaphor, in both its discursive and conceptual aspects, and the discursive construction of Croatian and Serbian as delineated languages emblematic of their respective nations. The discursive function of metaphor is investigated through its ideological dimension in debates and discourses about LANGUAGE, where linguistic metaphors contribute to the representation of Croatian and Serbian as national languages. On the basis of two discursive studies, I argue that metaphor plays a crucial role at the intersection between LANGUAGE and NATION, given that (national) languages are not immediate entities, but always at least partly constructs negotiated in discourse. Metaphors have proven to be not only indispensable in the discursive delineation of Croatian and Serbian, but also in the construction of their symbolic values and the promotion of certain national ideologies. For instance, on the basis of a discourse analysis of Croatian authoritative texts, I propose a metaphorical LANGUAGE-IN-DANGER scenario and demonstrate how metaphors constructing DANGER in relation to LANGUAGE (e.g., DROWNING, COLONIZATION, ILLNESS) underlie puristic ideology and sustain the idea of the Croatian language as a separate, full-fledged language and a national emblem. In the Serbian authoritative discourse about language, I look into the metaphors of VIOLENCE/PHYSICAL STRUGGLE/WAR in relation to LANGUAGE and demonstrate how they can sustain “inward-oriented” language purism, but also a language ideology that promotes hegemonistic tendencies towards neighboring nations and languages. The conceptual aspects of metaphor are focused on the role of embodiment in nationally driven language attitudes, more specifically, the influence of the domain of DIRTINESS in shaping language attitudes. Based on the findings of an experimental psycholinguistic study probing into the effects of physical dirtiness on the language attitudes of a group of native Croatian speakers, I argue for a limited role of embodiment in relation to language attitudes. The findings of the experimental study are in line with Dual Grounding Theory of language and linguistic cognition (Sinha 1999), and speak contrary to the views proposed by Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson 2003). Whereas linguistic metaphors play a crucial role in the discursive representation of languages, and in the shaping of puristic attitudes (by means of figurations such as dirty foreignisms, language cleansing, language pollution), immediate influence of metaphorical thought is most likely not possible. Finally, both experimental and discursive studies in this dissertation demonstrate the indispensability of linguistic metaphor in creating and sustaining the idea of language as a countable, delineated unity, as well as in specific nationally driven language attitudes and ideologies