DEPARTMENTOFLINGUISTICSANDENGLISHLANGUAGE

LANCASTERUNIVERSITY

PHDINAPPLIEDLINGUISTICSBYTHESISANDCOURSEWORK

THESIS

Rescuingacollapsingeuro.

MetaphoricityintheverbalandvisualdiscourseofTheEconomist.

LuisellaLeonzini

Supervisors

ElenaSemino

VeronikaKoller

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Undertakingthisthesishasbeenatrulylife-changingexperienceformeanditwouldnothavebeen

possibletodoitwithoutthesupportandguidancethatIreceivedfromthepeopleIamgoingtothank.

FirstandforemostIwouldliketoexpressmydeepestappreciationtomysupervisorsElenaSemino

andVeronikaKoller.Theysharedtheirexperience,knowledgeandcompetence,theyencouragedmy

research,withouttheirguidanceandconstantfeedbackIwouldhavenotachievedthisgoal.

IwouldliketoexpressmydeepestappreciationtoChristopherTaylor.Hetrustedmeandhelpedkeep

things inperspectivewith his affection and respect. Iwould have never embarked on this journey

without his encouragement. I am indebted to the invaluable advice and feedback he gave on my

researchandforproof-readingmythesis.

WordscannotexpresshowgratefulIamtomyparents.Theyhavestronglycontributedtogettingme

this far. One of their major and most treasured teachings is that self-confidence, motivation and

discipline arepivotal in setting and reaching goals.When troubles cameand Iwasunable tomove

from one draft to another, they were there with their teachings and affection. Borrowing two

metaphoricalexpressionswhichTheEconomistusedtodiscusstheinstabilityoftheeuro,whenIgot

stuckandcouldnotproceedwithmywriting,myfamilyintervenedandpromptlyrescuedmefroma

possiblecollapse.ThesearesomeofthereasonswhyIdedicatemythesistomyparents.

Inaddition, Iwould like tosayaheartful thankyou toAlice,mygrandmother.Althoughshedidnot

understandwhy Iwantedtogoonbeingastudentatmyage,shewasalwaysready to listentome

tellingherwhatIwasstudyingandwhyIwassofocusedoninvestigatingmetaphors.It ismymajor

regretthatsheisnotheretosharethisjoywithme.

Finally,thankstoSophie,mydaughterforpatientlystrugglingwithmyanxiety,stressandthemany

drafts,papers,notes,andarticlesshehasbeensurroundedby.Youhavebeenpreventedfromsomuch

timewecouldhavespenttogetherthatIcannotbutagreewithherwhenshesaysthatthetimehas

cometofinishandsubmitthisthesis.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Acknowledgments 2

TableofContents 3

ListofFigures 7

THESISABSTRACT 8

CHAPTER1-INTRODUCTION 9

Introduction 9

1.1AimsandObjectivesoftheThesis 11

1.2ResearchQuestions 12

1.3DataIntroduction 13

1.4AGuidetotheThesis 14

CHAPTER2-BACKGROUND 16

Introduction 16

2.1TheEconomist:historicaloverviewofthenewspaperandreadership 16

2.2Thenewspapertoday 18

2.3Thenewspaperandanonymity 18

2.4Thenewspaper’sstance 19

2.5TheEconomistandprofessionalism 20

2.6Thevisualsideofthenewspaper 21

2.7Thereaders 22

2.8ThebirthoftheEuropeanUnionandtheinceptionoftheeuro 23

2.9Thedebtcrisis 25

2.10Conclusions 28

CHAPTER3-LITERATUREREVIEW:MULTIMODALITYANDINTERSEMIOTICITY 30

Introduction 30

3.1Multimodality 30

3.2Barthes’stheory:textandimagerelations 35

3.3Text-imagerelationstudiesafterBarthes 37

3.4Royce’sframeworktostudyintersemioticitybetweenthevisualandtheverbalmodes39

3.5Conclusions 42

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CHAPTER4-LITERATUREREVIEW:METAPHORACROSSTHEVERBALANDTHEVISUALMODES

Introduction 44

4.1Initialstepstometaphoranalysis 44

4.2ConceptualMetaphorTheory:claimsandcriticism 45

4.3Metaphoruseinlanguage:Cameron’sdiscoursedynamicsframework 47

4.3.1Identifyingmetaphors 49

4.3.2Metaphorshifting 51

4.3.3Groupingmetaphors 52

4.3.4Identifyingtopics 54

4.3.5Trackingsystematicmetaphorsindiscourse 53

4.4Metaphorandmetonymy 54

4.4.1Identifyingmetonymy 57

4.5Forceville’sapproachandvisualmetaphoranalysis 57

4.6Forceville’smonomodalandmultimodalmetaphors 59

4.7Metaphorandeconomics 60

4.8Crisismetaphorsandjournalism 62

CHAPTER5-DATAANDMETHODOLOGY 66

Introduction 66

5.1Datacollection 67

5.2TheEconomistandthedebtcrisisacrosstheEC-2011dataset 68

5.3Metaphoranalysis 69

5.3.1Verbalmetaphors:fromvehiclesidentificationtometaphorsystematicity 69

5.3.2Visualmetaphorsidentification 71

5.3.3Groupingvisualmetaphorsandidentifyingtopics 72

5.3.4Frommultimodalmetaphorintersemioticitytowardssystematicmetaphors

acrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes 72

5.4Visualmetonymy 73

5.5Conclusions 74

CHAPTER6-VERBALMETAPHORSACROSSTHEEC-2011VERBALDATASET 76

Introduction 76

6.1AnoutlineoftheEC-2011verbaldataset 76

6.2Identifyingvehiclestermsaboutdisease 76

6.2.1TheDiseasevehiclegroup 80

6.2.2ECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASEsystematicmetaphor 81

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6.3Identifyingrescueandbail-outvehicleterms 89

6.3.1Therescuevehicleterm 89

6.3.2Thebail-outvehicleterm 92

6.3.3TheRescuevehiclegroup 94

6.3.4HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematicmetaphor 95

6.4Identifyingrestoreandrestructuringvehicleterms 100

6.4.1Therestorevehicleterm 100

6.4.2Therestructuringvehicleterm 102

6.4.3TheRestructuringvehiclegroup 104

6.4.4SOLVINGECONOMICPROBLEMSISRESTRUCTURINGsystematicmetaphor 105

6.5Identifyingbreak-upandcollapsevehicleterms 109

6.5.1Thebreak-upvehicleterm 109

6.5.2Vehicletermsaboutcollapse 111

6.5.3TheCollapsevehiclegroup 115

6.5.4SUDDENMAJORNEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor 116

6.6Conclusions 123

CHAPTER7-VISUALMETAPHORSACROSSTHEEC-2011VISUALDATASET 126

Introduction 126

7.1AnoutlineoftheEC-2011visualdataset 126

7.2Identifyingvisualvehiclesymbols 127

7.2.1Greecesinkingship,asinkingshipbeingbailed,heavydebtcontainersbeingcarried

onboard,heavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedawayout,MrsMerkelbailingwaterout,

and€flagflyingvehiclesymbols 127

7.2.2Ahugedrydrainholeandasmallbusinessmanlookingatthehugedrydrainhole

vehiclesymbols 129

7.2.3The€shipatthemercyofthewavesvehiclesymbol 131

7.2.4Ahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyontheedgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwards

andthecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsvehiclesymbols133

7.2.5MrsMerkelthrowingeurochequesandredrosesandabigGermaneurowheel

brakingvehiclesymbols 135

7.2.6Ahugecrackedeurocoinbeingwelded vehiclesymbol 137

7.2.7Acolanderboatrescuingpassengersawayfromasinkingship vehiclesymbol 139

7.2.8Aburningeurometeoritefallingdownwards vehiclesymbol 140

7.2.9TheEUstonyfortressunderattackandfourblackarmedknightsridingtheirhorses

atsunsetandapproachingthefortressvehiclesymbols 142

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7.2.10Astarrymeteoritefallingdownwardsvehiclesymbol 145

7.3Fromvisualvehiclegroupingtosystematicmetaphors 147

7.3.1TheRescuevisualvehiclegroup 148

7.3.2TheHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematicmetaphor 149

7.3.3TheCollapsevisualvehiclegroup 151

7.3.4TheSUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor 153

7.4Conclusions 155

CHAPTER8-INTERSEMIOTICITYANDSYSTEMATICITYOFMETAPHORS

ACROSSTHEEC-2011VISUALANDVERBALDATASET 158

Introduction 158

8.1VisualandverbalrepresentationoftheEurozoneanditsMemberStates 159

8.2VisualandverbalmetaphorsrepresentationoftheEurozoneleaders 170

8.3Visualandverbalrepresentationoftheeuro 176

8.4Trackingtheemergenceofmultimodalsystematicmetaphors 184

8.4.1Trackingmultimodalsystematicityacrossmodes:SOLVINGECONOMICPROBLEMSIS

ARESCUE 184

8.4.2Trackingmultimodalsystematicityacrossmodes:SUDDENFINANCIALFAILURE

ISACOLLAPSE 189

8.5Conclusions 194

CHAPTER9–CONCLUSIONS 196

9.1Summaryofthefindings 196

9.2Implicationsforametaphoricaldiscussionofthedebtcrisis,theEurozoneandtheeuro198

9.3Implicationsformetaphortheoryandanalysis 200

9.4Limitationsandcontributionsofthethesis 202

9.5Suggestionsforfurtherresearch 203

References 204

Appendices 215

Appendix1-Thearticles 215

Appendix2–Vehicletermsoccurrences 233

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LISTOFFIGURES

CHAPTER7

Figure1madebyPeterScranckintroducingthearticle“DecisionTime”,12thMay2011 127

Figure2madebyDerekBaconintroducingthearticle“TheEurocrisis”,23rdJune2011 130

Figure3madebyPeterScranckintroducingthearticle“Theeuro’srealtrouble”(Charlemagne),

14thJuly2011 132

Figure4madebyTheEconomistintroducingthearticle“Ontheedge”(Leaders),14thJuly2011133

Figure5madebyDaveSimondsintroducingthearticle“Angstovertheeuro”,3rdSeptember201135

Figure6madebyGettyandSuperstockintroducingthearticle“Howtosavetheeuro”,

17thSeptember2011 137

Figure7madebyTheEconomistintroducingthearticle“Europe’srescueplan”,

29thOctober2011 138

Figure8madebyAlamyandTheEconomistintroducingthearticle“Isthisreallytheend?”,

26thNovember2011 140

Figure9madebyPeterScranckintroducingthearticle“Thehorsemenapproach”,

3rdDecember2011 142

Figure10madebyClaudioMunozintroducingthearticle“Acomedyofeuros”,

17thDecember2011 145

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THESISABSTRACT

The present thesis investigates the verbal and visualmetaphors that are used byThe Economist to

discussthetopicoftheeconomiccrisiswhichhitthesinglecurrencyandtheEurozone.Inparticular,I

am concerned with the way in which the incongruous visual and verbal realisations interact and

contribute to shaping a multimodal scenario of systematic metaphors commenting on how the

Eurozonefacedthepeakofitscrisisin2011.

My study is broadly based on the discourse dynamics framework which investigates metaphor

occurrence and development in the flow of discourse and social interaction. Considering that

metaphorcommunicatesideasandconveysfeelings,Iplacemyanalysiswithinthecontextofstudies

that investigate metaphor as a means of interaction. I examine metaphor as a device that, while

occurringanddevelopingindiscourse,revealsandshapespeople’sviews,attitudesandperceptionof

reality.

Havingselected10articleswhichbest illustrate the troubles that thedebtcrisishasbrought to the

euro area, I develop a qualitative investigation aimed at identifying metaphors which illustrate,

explain and discuss complex economic issues, such as economic instability and the risk of an

impending economic default. Based on the analysis of my data, I argue that verbal and visual

metaphors debating the crisis emerge into two intersemiotically related systematic scenarios that

highlighttheurgencyofintervention.Afirstoptimisticscenariohintsatschedulingfeasiblemeasures

tosavetheeuroandpromptsplansofeconomicdevelopmentintermsofarescue.Asecondnegative

andpessimisticoutlookcriticises the inadequateprojects that theEurozone leadershaveagreedon

andawaitsthefailureoftheeurointermsofatragiccollapse.

Myresearchcontributestothestudyofmetaphorineconomic-mediadiscourseandaimsatachieving

adeeperunderstandingofhowverbalandvisualinterconnectednessinmultimodaldiscourseisbetter

shapedatattracting thereadingpublic.Moreover, relyingon theprinciplesofclarityandsimplicity

thatTheEconomistfavourssomuch,metaphoricityandmultimodalitycontributetodevelopingsocial

interaction,abetterunderstandingandhopefullyawidersharing.

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CHAPTER1

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

At the endofWorldWar II, feelingsof unionand integration rose as a reaction to the extreme

nationalismthathaddamagedEurope.Inaspeechdeliveredon19thSeptember1946attheUniversity

ofZürichinSwitzerland,WinstonChurchillhighlightedtheneedtoconstituteakindofUnitedStates

ofEurope.In1949thefirststeptowardsthecreationofaUnionledtotheformingoftheCouncilof

Europe,wheresovereignEuropeangovernmentsstartedtocollaborateandworktogetheronvalues

such as human rights and democracy. Economic and trade concerns became officially matters of

debatein1957,whenBelgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg,theNetherlandsandWestGermanysigned

theTreatyofRome,whichestablishedacustomsunion.Thirty-sixyears later,on7thFebruary1992

theTreatyofMaastrichtwassigned,andtheEuropeanCommunitywasformallybornon1stNovember

1993,whenthetreatycameintoforce.AsLeonardclaimed(2005:28):

This treaty represented themost important step towards theachievement ofan economicandmonetary

unionandprovidedforthedevelopmentofcommonforeignanddefencepolicies,but italsointroduceda

newconceptofECinstitutions.Aprotocolsignedby11memberstates,1fromwhichtheUKexcludeditself,

openedthewaytotheimplementationofSocialCharterlegislationinthose11countries.

Inordertotalkofmonetaryunionwehadtowaituntil1st January1999whenthenewcurrency

was officially celebrated. The euro was finally launched and it became the single currency that 11

memberstates2oftheEUadopted.Theprojectofamonetaryunionwouldrepresentoneofthemost

remarkableandsignificanteconomiceventsofmodernhistory.Sinceitsinception,theeuroprompted

opposing beliefs, such as enthusiasm and scepticism. On one hand, the Europhiles, those who

supportedthismonetaryunion,consideredtheeuroasanopportunitytoachievewelfare,encourage

competition, revolutionise finance, and lead the Eurozone, as well as the entire Union, to an

unquestionablyprofitableeconomicera.Ontheotherhand,theEuroscepticshadcalleditaleapinthe

dark,whichwouldbringtheEurozonetoeconomicandpoliticalruin.AsChabotpointedout(1999:3):

1 Belgium,Denmark,France,Germany,Greece,Ireland,Italy,Luxembourg,Netherlands,PortugalandSpain.2Austria,Belgium,Finland,France,Germany,Ireland,Italy,Luxembourg,Netherlands,Portugal,Spain.

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The euro has in fact invadednearly every sector of theworld economy, defining the terms ofmajor

elections and policy debates and rattling the international business environment, Yet, for all of the

attention,theeuroisadeeplymisunderstoodcreature.Especiallyamongnon-Europeans,whohadlittle

reasontothinkabouttheeurobeforeitsarrival, thenewcurrencystillseemslikeunrealfantasyofa

handfulofdistantcountries.

Afteraperiodofeconomicstability,theeuroareawashitbyaseveredebtcrisisthatseriously

damageditseconomicbalance.AfterthebankruptcyofLehmanBrotherson15thSeptember2009,the

collapse of subprimemortgages in the United States and the credit crunch that followed, the euro

currencyandtheeuroareaunderwentoneoftheworsteconomicandpoliticalcrisesthatEuropehad

hadtofacesinceWorldWarII.

AsaEuropeancitizenandmemberoftheEurozone,Ifeltconcernedaboutthistragiceventin

the history of the EU, I read and studied this crisis, I examined the causes and troublesome

consequences that we risked incurring and finally decided to extend my personal interest into

academicresearchandteaching.

Themotivationbehindthechoiceofthistopicliesinaquestionarisingoutofmyinvolvement

inteachingEnglishLanguageandLinguisticsinanacademiccontext3.Beinginvolvedintheacademic

disciplines of communication and economics, I relied on Henderson’s claims that “the language of

economics contains many examples of descriptive terminology based on metaphor”(1982:147). I

adopted metaphor analysis as a didactic tool to develop students’ language skills of reading and

writing, confident that, instead of hindering the flow of discourse, metaphor can clarify it, thus

prompting a better understanding of more complex concepts of economics. That metaphor aids

teachers and guides learners, is suggested also by Cameron (1999, 2003), who examined it as a

practical instrument to facilitate and enhance understanding and learning. Indeed, the study of

Cameron’sresearchlaidthefoundationsformythesis.

ThedecisiontoconcentrateonmetaphoranalysisisthusgroundedonCameron’sassumptions

regardingthediscoursedynamicsapproachtometaphor(1999,2003,2008,2010,2013).Cameron’s

investigationrevealsthatmetaphorbecomesapivotaldevicetorevealpeople’sthoughts,perceptions

andviewpointsalthoughitisanalysedasoccurringin“real-worldlanguageuse”(Cameron,2009:64),

inthecontextandthespecificityof linguisticandsocialsituation-basedinteractions.Inaddition,the

author’sresearchshowsthat incongruousexpressionsmayoccurandrecur frequently indiscourse,

whichfostersthedevelopmentofemergentpatternsofmetaphorsthatshecallssystematic.

3IpreciselyrefertotheteachingcontextofanundergraduatedegreecourseinCommunicationSciences,PoliticalScienceandEconomics.

11

Furthermore, the main criterion behind the choice of The Economist as the source for data

collectionliesinitsstatusasaqualitynewspaperstronglyfocusedonworldeconomicissueswithhigh

circulationfiguresinEuropeandworldwide.

Finally,themainreasonforselectingthedebtcrisisasthemajorconcernofboththepresent

researchandmyteachingistwofold.Thefirst,althoughthemostpredictablemotivationisthat,asan

Italiancitizenandmemberof theEurozone, I felt fully involved inkeeping informedof thereasons

behindthedebtcrisis,aswellastheconsequencesthatitmightbringtotheeconomicin/stabilityof

the euro area. The second explanation for choosing the topic of the euro depended on the special

interestthatTheEconomistallocatedtothedebtcrisisandtheriskofwitnessingthedisintegrationof

theUnionandthesinglecurrency.Althoughthenewspaperhas trackedanddiscussed thedifferent

phases that the euro area and the euro currency underwent, since the euro’s inception, through a

limitedperiodofbalancetowardsanincumbentandthreateningeconomicdefault,Ifocusmyanalysis

onthelastandmosttroublesomeperiodofcrisis.

1.1 AimsandObjectivesofthethesis

Themaingoalof this thesis is to investigatewhatmetaphorsareused torepresenttheeuro

crisis, discuss the causes that led to economic instability across theEurozone and commenton the

consequencesthatmightinstigatetheendoftheeuroarea,astheywereillustratedbyTheEconomist.I

am interested in examining and determining how multimodal discourse is organised. Taking into

account that the first requirement of The Economist is to produce articles that should be readily

understandable, bearing in mind that clear thoughts cannot but prompt a clear representation of

reality,asthenewspaper’sStyleGuideaffirms(2013),Iexaminewhetherandhowmetaphoricity, in

thevisual,theverbalandthemultimodalformcancontributetoprovidingthenewspaper’sworldwide

readerswithaclearlyunderstandableargumentationaboutthedebtcrisis.Trustingandhighlighting

Orwell’sreflectionsonwhatarethegoodrulestocareaboutwhenpeoplearewritinginordertobe

read (1946), always in the Style Guide (ibid.) The Economist suggests that journalists should use

metaphors, especially if they are newly created expressions, because not only can they assist the

readers’thoughtswhenvisualimagesareevoked,buttheycanalsoprompttheunderstandingofwhat

isbeingcommunicated.

Thatsaid,thepresentthesisaimsatexaminingthewaysinwhichtheBritishnewspaperuses

intersemiotically related verbal and visual metaphors to represent and comment on the crisis,

consideringtheeconomic,politicalandsocialimplicationsofapossibledefaultofthesinglecurrency,

as well as the necessary and feasible measures to prompt plans to save the euro and keep the

Eurozone united. The study shows how recurrent metaphors in their verbal, visual and

intersemiotically related multimodal form, develop into systematic patterns of incongruous

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realisations. Emergingpatterns ofmetaphor developingwithin the frames ofmultimodaldiscourse

tracktheunderstandingofthetopicunderinvestigationandillustratehowtalkingandillustratingthe

euro crisis in terms of incongruous entities might provide the reading/viewing public with useful

instrumentstocomprehendand,eventually,eitheragreeordisagreewithTheEconomist’sstanceon

the issue. In addition, intersemiotic metaphoricity is investigated and a cross-modal trajectory is

tracked to follow The Economist’s discussion of the plans either to help the single currency or to

prompt its fall. In order to illustrate the plans to save the euro, verbal and visual metaphoricity

representsthemintermsofarescue;incontrast,theriskfortheeuroandtheEurozonecomingtoan

end is verbally explained in terms of a collapse and abreak-up, but it is visually drawn as objects

movingdownwardsandeventuallydisintegrating.

1.2 ResearchQuestions

Thepresentresearchcoversatemporalframeoftheyear2011,oneyearwhichmarkedacrucial

pointinthehistoryoftheEurozoneandtheeurocurrency.Theimpendingdevelopmentofthedebt

crisis across theEurozonebroughtGreece to the vergeof a fiscal andeconomicdefault, but it also

seriously damaged the stability of the single currency. The euro underwent severe troubles that

menaced the entire euro area. In 2011The Economist published32 articlesdiscussing this topic, I

selected10whichbestfeaturedtheneedsofmyanalysis.

Theoverarchingresearchquestionthepresentresearchaimstoexamineis:

- How are metaphors used to represent the euro crisis in a selection of articles from The

Economistin2011?

In order to answer this general question, I will aim to answer the following more specific

questions:

- What verbal metaphoric expressions can be identified in the selection of articles fromThe

Economistabouttheeurocrisis?

- What visual metaphoric expressions can be identified in the selection of articles from The

Economistabouttheeurocrisis?

- Towhatextentandinwhatwaysarevisualandverbalmetaphorsintersemioticallyrelated?

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- Towhatextentandinwhatwaysdovisualandverbalmetaphorsbuildsystematicmetaphoric

representationsthatshapethetopicoftheeurocrisis?

1.3 Dataintroduction

ThedataIamgoingtoanalyseisacollectionof10articleswhichwerepublishedbyTheEconomist

between May and December 2011. The main topic all of the ten articles are focussed on is the

troublesomeconditionoftheEurozonewhichrisksaneconomicandfiscaldefault.Plansandactions

areurgentlyrequiredinordernottoaggravatetheconditionofinstabilitythatthesinglecurrencyhad

been facingsince2009.Unlessmajorand convincingmanoeuvres areprompted to foster economic

development,neithertheeuronortheEurozoneandtheEUtoo,willbesavedfromdecline.Asregards

therescuemeasuresthatshouldbetakentoavoidthefailureoftheEuropeanprojectofeconomicand

monetaryunion,themost importantonwhichTheEconomist spendswordsofappreciation, involve

plansofpoliticalintegration.TheEurozonememberstatesshouldagreecollectivelyonrestructuring

Greece’sdebts andproviding thisdebtor statewith generous support for years, asdiscussed in the

articlepublishedon23rdJune2011.AlthoughthecrisishasreachedalsosomeoftheEurozonegiants,

suchasSpainandItaly,thenewspaperovertlydeclaresandaffirmsthattheonlywaytofightthecrisis

is to remain united and to share debts among the members of the euro club, both debtors and

creditors.Astrategicsolutiontorescuealltheindebtedcountriesistoespouseapoliticalprocedureof

debtsharingthusbreakinganywallofresistance.Inthearticlepublishedon17thSeptember2011The

Economistsuggeststhatabarrageoffinancialmeasuresshouldbeerectedtofightthecrisisandgive

stabilitytothegovernanceoftheeuro.Insteadoffollowingthetrendofausterity,whattheeuroneeds

isaplanofeconomicprogress.Ontheonehand,moneymustbespenttogiveunlimitedsupporttothe

solvent governments andEuropeanbanksmustbe shoredup to ensure they can resista sovereign

default.On theotherhand, theEurozone’s insolventcountriesmustpayofftheirdebts.Finally,new

treatiesare tobesigned inorder toactivate fiscalunionredesigninganewsystemofcollaboration

among themembers of the euro club to put the governance of the euro on a proper footing. The

articlespublishedon26thNovember,3rdand17thDecemberdiscussthevulnerabilityofrescuingthe

euro and comment negatively on the amount of money that both the EFSF (European Financial

StabilityFacility)andtheEurope’smainrescuefundhadpreviouslyagreedontosupporttheindebted

memberstates.TheEurozone’snortherncreditorgovernmentsandtheECB(EuropeanCentralBank)

haverefused toprovide thedebtorswithmore financialsupport.Analternativeplanwould involve

otherinvestors,fromoutsidetheEUandtheEurozone,butTheEconomistdoubtswhetheritmightbe

afeasiblesolutiontothecrisis.Thenewspaperdrawsitsconclusionandhighlightstheimportanceto

preventthefalloftheeuroandgiveapositiveresponsetothiscrisis.IntheshorttermtheECBshould

begivenunlimitedpowerofintervention,inthelongterm,agreaterfiscaldisciplinemustbeimposed

14

inawaytohavedeficitsreduced,debtsrepaid,competitivenessboosted.Iftheseactionsarecarried

out,theeurowillbesaved.

1.4AGuidetotheThesis

The thesis is divided intonine chapters.The first one is thepresent chapter,which aimsat

providinganintroductionandabriefpresentationofthethesis.

ChaptertwopresentsTheEconomistwithahistoricaloverviewoftheBritishjournal.Details

regarding thecriteria thatleadtheeditors, journalistsanddesigners tocollaboratearegiven,which

contributetoprovidingashapetothehousestyleofthenewspaper.Inaddition,thetopicofthethesis

iscontextualisedandinformationisprovidedabouttheinceptionofthesinglecurrency.Thechapter

attempts to pinpoint the causes that provoked the debt crisis as well as the implications of the

economic instability that developed across the Eurozone. Finally, reflections are made on the

measuresthatweretakentoavoidtheendoftheeuroera.

Chapterthreeoutlinesareviewoftherelevantstudiesthatlaidthefoundationstomultimodal

discourse analysis. Particular attention is paid to those scholars who examined text-image

interconnection,consideringthatthisstudyinvestigatesinwhatway/sandtowhatextentthevisual

andtheverbalpartofTheEconomistarticlesaresemanticallytiedup.

Chapterfourprovidesanoverviewofthestudiesonverbal,visualandmultimodalmetaphor

analysisthatarerelevanttothisthesis.Inparticular,thechapterstartsdiscussingthecentralpointsof

Cognitive Metaphor Theory along with some critical issues regarding Lakoff and Johnson’s

methodology toprioritise thoughtover language.The chapterdevelops andCameron’sapproach to

verbalmetaphoranalysisisoutlined.Forceville’sstudiesonvisualandmono/multimodalmetaphors

areintroducedandhisapproachischosentoinvestigatevisualmetaphorsinmydata.Consideringthe

topic of the thesis, the chapter includes a final section on the study of metaphor in the context of

economics and explores themost relevant publications on how the press commented on economic

crisesthathadariseninEuropeanandnon-Europeancountriesthroughoutthelastdecades.

Chapter fiveprovides informationon thedata that I analyse in this study anddescribes the

methodology that I adopt to developmy investigation on verbal and visualmetaphors. In order to

identify verbal metaphors the Pragglejaz’s Metaphor Identification Procedure (2007) is endorsed,

whilevisualandmultimodalmetaphoridentificationandinvestigationiscarriedoutusingForceville’s

approachtovisualmetaphorstudy.IfollowCameron’sframeworktoexaminetheemergenceofverbal

patternsofmetaphorsacrosstextsoverayear.Cameron’sstudyonmetaphorsystematicityisadapted

to analyse systematic scenarios of multimodalmetaphors recurring acrossmy dataset. As regards

verbal and visual metaphor interconnectedness, I endorse Royce’s framework, which investigates

15

intersemioticcomplementarityacrossthevisualandtheverbalmode,andexaminevisualandverbal

metaphoricalinterrelation/sbetweenmodesandacrosstexts.

Chapter six, seven and eight form the heart of my thesis. Chapter six develops a verbal

metaphor analysis across my data, identifying grouping and tracking systematic patterns of

metaphors. Chapter seven focuses on visual metaphor analysis. Visual metaphors are identified,

groupedandpatternsofsystematicmetaphorsareexaminedasemergingacrossmydata.

Chapter eight, investigateswhether and how incongruous expressions that were studied in

chapters six and seven are related to and have developed multimodal intersemiotic scenarios of

systematic metaphors. Having investigated multimodal systematicity in the data, I tracked two

scenariosofinterconnectedvisualandverbalmetaphorsdiscussingthedebtcrisis,theeuroandthe

Eurozone,which I called as follows: HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLY ISARESCUE andSUDDEN

FINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphors.

Chapterninediscussestheresultsofmyanalysesanddrawssomeconclusionsonmyfindings.

Furthermore, the implications that this study may have for metaphor and analysis are discussed.

Finally,considerationsaremadeonthelimitationsandshortcomingsofthisthesisandsuggestionsfor

furtherresearcharemade.

16

CHAPTER2

BACKGROUND

Introduction

ThedatawhichconstitutesthefocusofmythesisiscomposedoftenarticlesthatIhavedrawn

fromThe Economist, one of themost valued examples of business journalism in theworld.After a

preliminary historical overview of the Britishweekly newspaper, this chapter discusses the house-

styleofthenewspaper.Inaddition,thetopicofmythesisiscontextualised.Eventhoughtheinception

of the euro was supposed to guarantee economic stability within and across the Union and the

Eurozone,acrisisbroughtbrokeoutin2009,whichseriouslydamagedtheeconomicbalanceofthe

euro area, thus risking to prompt the end of the euro era. Details on the causes that brought the

Eurozonetofaceeconomicinstabilityaregiven.Reflectionsarefinallymadeontheconsequencesof

thiscrisisandonthemeasuresthatweretakentosavetheeuroandavoidbothmonetaryandunion

disintegration.

2.1TheEconomist:historicaloverviewofthenewspaperandreadership

A detailed historical overview ofThe Economist from its origin to1993waswritten by the

historianRuthDudleyEdwardsandpublishedinthebookThePursuitofReason(1995),whichIrely

ontohighlightthepointsandissuesthatarerelevanttomythesis.

TheEconomistwasfoundedbyJamesWilson,aScottishhatmaker,inSeptember1843inorder

to take "a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid

ignorance obstructing our progress", aphrasewhich still appears on the newspaper’smasthead to

underlineitsmission(www.economist.com/about-the-economist).

TheareasofcoveragethatWilsonwantedthenewspapertoconcentrateonwerepublished

intheprospectuson5thAugust1843.Herethenewspaper’seditorinformedthatanewpaperbearing

the name The Economist, will discuss economic, political and commercial topics (Dudley Edwards,

1995:21).

Since its first issue,TheEconomistwaspublishedonceaweekandwascalledby itseditora

newspaper simply because the periodical had been published in the black and white format of a

newspaper. Colourswere first introduced in1959with the red logo;TheEconomist’s first coloured

coverappearedin1971.Althoughin2001thepublicationlosttheformatofanewspaperandturned

intoamagazinebecause full colourwas introducedonall itspages, thehabit of referring to itasa

17

newspaper remained, which The Economist is still proud of. In respect of Wilson’s wishes, I will

identifyTheEconomistasanewspaperandnotasamagazineinthisthesis.

AsDudleyEdwardsclaims(op.cit.),eventhoughWilsongavebirthtothenewspaperandservedas

editorforsixteenyears,themostremarkableeditorswereWalterBageot,WalterLaytonandGeoffrey

Crowther.Bageot’smajorcontributionsareacknowledgedtobehisinterestinpoliticalissuesandin

American affairs, which led him to widen the range of topics, add articles dealing with political

argumentationsandAmericanmatters.Furthermore,hesucceededinbeingconversational,directand

picturesqueinhisuseof‘expressivecolloquialisms’,whichhasremainedthenewspaper’sstyletoday

(op.cit.).WalterLaytonmanagedtohavethenewspaper“readwidelyinthecorridorsofpowerabroad

aswellasathome”(op.cit.).GeoffreyCrowtherdevelopedandenrichedthecoverageofforeignaffairs

andbusiness.HestartedasectionexclusivelydedicatedtoAmericanaffairs,whichhecalled‘American

Survey’. Thanks to Crowther, The Economist’s readership increased and developed importantly

abroad. During Bageot’s editorship circulation figures had reached 3,700, when Layton took the

leadership they increased and climbed to 6,000, but, at the end of Crowther’s editorship the

newspaperreadersabroadhadreached55,000.

As regards today’s circulation figures, I refer to the report issued on 14th February 2019 and

carriedoutby theABC (AuditBureauofCirculation)reportingstandards4 incollaborationwithThe

Economist.Thereportgivesevidenceofthedataregardingthecombinedprintanddigitalpublication

copiessoldbetweenFebruaryandDecember2018.Thereportconfirmsthatthecombined(printand

digital) circulation is 1,657,795 per week. As Table 2.1 below shows, more than four-fifths of the

newspapercustomersareoutsideBritain.SubscribersinNorthAmericaaccountfor56%asregards

theprintpublicationand52%forthedigital;salesintheUnitedKingdomaremuchlowerandmake

upfrom18%(print)to19%(digital)ofthetotalnumberofissuesthataresoldworldwideeachweek,

whilecontinentalEuropereaches16%bothintheprintandthedigitalpublications.

Table2.1.Worldwideprintanddigitalpublications

COMBINEDCIRCULATION(averageperissue)1,657,795

PRINTPUBLICATION

56% NORTHAMERICA

52%

DIGITALPUBLICATION

18% UNITED

KINGDOM

19%

16% EUROPE

(UKexcluded)

16%

8% ASIA 10%

4TheABCreleasesdatafortheUnitedKingdommediaindustryregardingtradingprint,digitalformatsandadvertising.

18

867,733

1% MIDDLE EAST

ANDAFRICA

1%

790,0621% LATINAMERICA 2%

2.2Thenewspapertoday

Although thenewspaper’sprimary focuswas, and still is onbusiness, economics and finance, it

added sectionsonother fields (i.e. science and technology, books and the arts).Over the years the

numbersandnamesofthesectionschangedandgrew.Today’spublicationsall includethefollowing

sections:Leaders5,Letters,Briefing,theUnitedStates,theAmericas,Asia,China,MiddleEastandAfrica,

Europe, Britain, Business, International, Technology Quarterly6, Finance and Economics, Science and

Technology, Books and Arts, Graphic detail, Obituary. Viewing these departments, the priorities

regarding the newspaper news can be identified as ranging over three main categories, namely

geographical (the United States, the Americas, Europe, Britain, China, Asia, Middle East and Africa,

International), thematic(Business,FinanceandTechnology,BooksandArts)andonemorewhere the

othersectionsmaybecollected.Thefivetopicalsubjectsoftheweek,nomatterwhichcountryorfield

they are referring to, will be published in the Leaders, which discusses the most remarkable

worldwideeventsoftheweek.Inaddition,thepictureintroducingthefirstarticleofthissectionwill

bechosenasthecoverofthatweek’sissue(www.economist.com/about-the-economist).

Furthermore,almostallsectionshaveaddedanopinioncolumn,aleaderarticlewhichopinionates

on the topic under analysis. The names of the columns mainly reflect their area of concentration

(www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/The_Economist).

TheweeklyissuesgotopressonThursdaybetween6pmand7pmGMTinLondonandinsixmore

townsworldwide (NorthAmerica, theAmericas,Asia,Africa, Europe, China), but is available at the

newsagents on Friday morning. Conversely, the digital version is available online on Thursday

evening. Both the print and the digital issues slightly differ from one country to another

(www.economist.com/about-the-economist).

2.3Thenewspaperandanonymity

Journalistsareusuallyproudofbeingrecognisedastheauthorsofthearticleswhichtheywrite.

Actuallymost newspapers andmagazines use bylines to identify their journalists. Conversely,The 5Inthisthesis,whenIrefertothenewspaper’ssectionsIusetheitalicisedformoftheword.6 Every threemonths, a technology report called Technology Quarterly, a special section focusing on recent trends anddevelopmentsinscienceandtechnology.

19

Economistarticlesremainanonymous.Thereasonbehindthisunconventionalchoicegoesbacktothe

habitthatJamesWilson,thefoundingeditor,hadadoptedanddeveloped.Sincethefirstissuesofthe

newspaper,whenthearticleswerealmostentirelywrittenbyhim,Wilsonusedthefirst-personplural,

as if he wanted to give the impression that the contributors weremany (Dudley Edwards, 1995).

DuringGeoffreyCrowther’seditorship(1938-1956),confirmationwasgivenabouttheimportanceof

keeping anonymity as a fairly agreed and shared policy. Crowther strongly believed that what is

writtenismoreimportantthanwhowritesit.BorrowingCrowther’swords,heclaimedthatkeeping

thejournalists’anonymityidentifiesthem“notasthemasterbuttheservantofsomethinggreaterthan

himself, […] it gives to the paper an astonishing momentum of thought and principle”(op.cit.).

Anonymity continues to be respected and applied nowadays because it allows journalists and the

editorstospeakwithacollectivevoice.

Inaddition,thefiveLeadersarticlesareforinstancediscussedandarguedabouteachweekbyall

themembersoftheeditorialstaff,whichmakethesepublicationsthecollaborativeworkofdifferent

voicesspeakingasiftheywereTheEconomist’smind(www.economist.com-about-the-economist).

Although anonymity prevailswithmost of the articles that are left unsigned, the names of the

contributorsisnotasecretandcanbereadonthemediadirectoryofTheEconomist’swebsite.

2.4Thenewspaper’sstance

AsthehistorianDudleyEdwardspointsout,sinceitsfirstissue,TheEconomisthassidedwith

economic liberalism.Wilson criticised the Corn Laws and supported free trade claiming that “free

trade, free intercourse,willdomore thananyothervisibleagenttoextendcivilisationandmorality

throughout theworld”.WalterBageotespousedthesame liberalapproachandposition,he thought

thattheBankofEnglandshouldsupportmajorbanksthathadfallenintofiscaldifficulties(op.cit.).

Nowadays liberalismcanbe found in thenewspaper’sbackingpolitical,economicandsocial

concerns such as globalisation, free immigration, gaymarriage, drugs legalisation, and gun control

deathpenaltyreformanddecolonisation7.

Fully focussed on the issue that ideas must be respected although evidence is expected to

support them, thenewspaper’sposition cannotbe eithermatchedon the right or on the left, but it

must be better conceived as being a blend of the two, as the newspaper presents itself in The

Economistwebsite(www.economist.com-about-the-economist).TheEconomistlikestobeconsidered

asbelongingtotheRadicals,apositionthatcanbeidentifiedwiththeextremecentre.

7“IstheEconomistleftorrightwing?”http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-itself-0.TheEconomist,2ndSeptember2013.

20

2.5TheEconomistandprofessionalism

TheEconomistwasatfirstwrittenandpublishedexclusivelyinLondonbyBritishjournalistsand

editors,while only a fewmerchants abroadwere acknowledged as valuable contributors thanks to

their vivid and reliable reports.Over the yearsmore expertswere recruited as stringers thatwere

sendingtheirstoriesbytelexandcablefromfarawaycountries.Theidentityofbeinganinternational

newspaperthatrecruitedcollaboratorsfromallovertheworldincreasedthroughoutthesecondhalf

ofthetwentiethcentury;althoughLondonstillhousesthenewspaper’sheadquarters,TheEconomist

hasspreadoffices inother towns,suchasFrankfurt,Geneva,Paris,Dubai, Johannesburg,NewYork,

WashingtonDC,HongKong,Singapore,Tokyo,andothersinChinaandIndia.

The newspaper’s journalists must be professionals that respect ethical issues, fact-checking

standards,aswellasthehouse-stylerulesthatTheEconomistimposesonthosewhowishtoworkfor

it.Adetailedlistofhowqualified journalistsshouldbe tobecomecollaboratorsis illustratedonthe

newspaperwebsite.Informationmustbecollected,distributedandinterpretedrelyingonhonest,fair

andfearlessconduct,accountabilitymustbeguaranteedtothereading,viewingandlisteningpublic,

editorial independence must be advocated, research must be carried out fairly and data must be

communicatedobjectively,valuesandopinionsmustbereportedtransparently.

Taking into serious consideration thatwhatever iswrittenmustbe the result of ahigh level of

analysis and writing, the newspaper has published a Style Guide8. This guide suggests that the

journalists that arealreadyworking forTheEconomist, aswell as thosewhoarewishing to submit

their articles to the newspaper should first of all write clearly and simply (op.cit.:vi). The first

requirementthatjournalistsareaskedtofulfilisthattheirarticlesshouldbe“readilyunderstandable”

(op.cit.:1)consideringthat“clarityofwritingusuallyfollowsclarityofthought”(ibid.).

The newspaper invites the journalists to read carefully George Orwell’s six elementary rules,

whichtheauthorpublishedinhisPoliticsandtheEnglishLanguage(1946).Orwellguideswritersto

thinkaboutwhattosaybeforeandthendoitsimply.Inordertoachievethisgoal,theyshouldavoid

usingfiguresofspeech(metaphor,simile).Shortwordsandtheactiveformshouldbeadoptedinstead

of recurring to long ones and the passive voice. In addition, foreign phrases, scientific and jargon

wordsshouldnotbeemployedwhenacorrespondingEnglishequivalentexists.Finally,Orwellinvites

tobreak“anyoftheserulessoonerthansayanythingoutrightbarbarous”.

Moreover, writers and journalists are encouraged to care a great deal about preventing their

addresseesfromgivinguptheirreading.Thenewspaper’sStyleGuideprovidestheguidelinesonhow

this goalmustbe successfully achieved. Inorder to catch the attentionof the reader factsmustbe

introducedwhile the story is unfolding and presented using a “fresh and unpretentious language”

8InthisthesisIamreferringtotheStyleGuidetentheditionwhichwaspublishedin2013.

21

(ibid.).Writingcanbeenlivenedwithafreshmetaphor,anoccasionalexuberanceoranunusualword,

canbechosen,repetitionsmustbeavoided,anythingthatissuperfluousmustbecutout,anyliterary

effect,suchasellipticalremarksorallusionsmustbeeludedinfavourofplainwords.Whenopinions

areexpressed,readersmustbepersuadedbyarguing,reasoningandgivingevidence.Journalistsare

furthermore invited not to be too didactic because readers are not expected to be instructed, they

expecttobeinformedandpersuaded.Finally,longparagraphsandsentencestendtoconfusewhois

readingthemandmustbeeschewedbecause“clearthinkingisthekeytoclearwriting”(ibid.).

2.6Thevisualsideofthenewspaper

Takingintoaccount that thenewspaper’sarticlesarealmostallmultimodaltexts,where the

visualmodecomposedofan image introducesandaccompanies theverbalmode, in the formofan

article, having talkedabove about the journalists, in this section I amgoing to introduce the visual

designers, theirpictures, andhow the visualand the verbal contributors collaborate toprovide the

readingandviewingpublicwithamultimodalconstruct.

Borrowing Royce’s coding (1999), he distinguishes three visual categories, naturalistic,

mathematical and spatial. Naturalistic visuals portray 'natural' images, or images which are

considered to be a recognisable representation of reality as the human eye can have view of.

Mathematicalvisualsdescribeillustrationsthatshownumericalrelationships,suchassetsofdataor

variables that relate other sets of data. These visuals can be roughly identified as line graphs, bar

graphs,piechartsandtables,allofwhichcontributetocommunicatingstatisticaldynamicrelations,

processes, and procedures that can be easily read and understood by the viewers. Spatial visuals

illustratemapvisualsdisplayingthelocationofcountriesorresourcesinspecificareas.Thesevisuals

aredisplayedonaflatsurface.

That said, although many articles, mainly those belonging to the Business and Finance and

Economicssectionsdisplaymathematicalvisualstosupportrelevantfigures,naturalisticvisuals,stress

theuniquevisualstyleofthenewspaper.InthisthesisIfocusonthenaturalisticvisualsbecausethe

articleswhichIanalyseinthisthesisdonotcontaintheothertypologiesofimages.

Naturalisticvisualscanbeusuallyidentifiedasphotosorsketchdrawings.While the formerare

takenbya(digital)cameraandcanafterwardsbeadaptedormodifiedbythedesignerincollaboration

withtheagencythatproducedthem,thelatterarehand-drawn.Bothaimatrepresenting“arealscene

or human subject/s as realistically or as accurately as possible” (op.cit.:196),whichThe Economist

oftenadoptstointroduceitsarticles.

In contrastwith the naturalistic sketch drawings, sketch caricatures,which in this thesis Iwill

simply call cartoons, are adopted by visual designers to illustrate people, places and scenes in an

unnaturalway,thusprovidinganunusual,exaggeratedandover-emphasisedrepresentationofreality.

22

Moreover, in highlighting the close interconnection between the visual and the verbal forms of

communication that the newspaper uses to convey its opinion on the subjects and topics under

discussion,theincongruentillustrationsthatappearasdeformedrepresentationsofreality,contribute

tounderstandingwhetherandhowtheymatchtotheverbalcommentsmadebythejournalistonthe

same subject. In this regard, Royce’s interviewwith Ms Penny Garret, the chief Editor of Graphic

Design in 1994 (op.cit.:191), was revelatory not only of the visuals function, but it also provided

relevant informationconcerningtheclosecollaboration thatthedesignerandthe journalistdevelop

whileworkingononearticle.

Asforthejournalists,thedesignersmustbeprofessionals.Thoseinchargeofdrawingcartoons

mustbequalifiedingraphicarts,whilethedesignersofmathematicalvisualsmustbecompetentand

skilled in statisticsandmathematics.Moreover, photo agencies contributeas external collaborators

andprovide thenewspaperwith themost suitable image from theirbankofphotoswhenaskedto

illustrateanarticle.

Thatsaid,consideringthatTheEconomistisanewspaperwhoseprimaryaimistoberead,itmay

beeasilyassumed,anditwasconfirmedbyMsGarret,thattheverbalparthasananchoringfunction.

UsingBarthianterminology,the texthasthe functionofelucidating, “the text is indeedthecreator’s

rightofinspectionovertheimage;anchorageisacontrol,bearingaresponsibility–inthefaceofthe

projectivepowerofpictures-fortheuseofthemessage”(Barthes,1977:40).

Althoughtherearenopolicyrulesonhowtocreateamultimodaltext,thusdevelopingaverbal-

visual collaboration, the firstmeeting is heldby the editors, journalistsanddesigners todecide the

topics, theareaof interestandtheexpertisethatcharacterises thecollaborators(Royce,1999:191-

192).Afterthatinitialcontact,othermeetingsfollow,whereeditors,designersandjournalistsreally

work on the article. Only when the article is either entirely written or roughly produced, the

journalist/s meet/s the designer to provide her/him with the necessary information to draw the

picture.Jointmeetingsfollowifnecessary,whichintensifyandconsolidatecrosscollaboration.Itmay

happenthatthewriterisimpressedbytheimagesothats/headdswords,clausesorevensentences

that closely interrelate with the picture (op.cit.). There must be close semantic interconnection

betweenwhatisvisuallyperceivedandwhatisafterwardsread.

Whenthevisual-verbalbuildingprocesscomestoanend,beforebeingreadyforpublication,the

headline and the captions that accompanythepicturemustbe chosen.This final step is oncemore

sharedbythecontributorswhocollaboratedonthecreationofthemultimodaltext.

2.7Thereaders

AlthoughtheaudiencethatTheEconomistisexpectedtobemadeofprofessionalwhite-collars,

rangingfromeconomists,managers,businessmen,bankersandCEOstopeoplewho,havingachieveda

23

higherlevelofeducation,mightfindit interestingtokeepinformedabouttheworldwideeconomics

andbusinessaffairs,noreaderprofilehaseverbeenreallystudiedbythenewspaper.Consideringthat

the journalists are asked to be clear and use a simple language, even though they arewriting and

arguingabouthardnews,anyonecouldmanagetoreadthenewspaper’sarticles.

Referringback to thenewspaper’sStyleGuide, it clearly invites the journalists to care about

theirreaders,because“readersareprimarilyinterestedinwhatyouhavetosay”(op.cit.:1).Ifwhatis

written and illustrated does not attract their attention, peoplewill neither read nor subscribe, the

newspaperwillthusloseitsprestige.Moreover,whatjournalistsanddesignersworkhardtoprovide

theirreaderswith,arearticlesthatawakentheirbreadthofknowledgeaswellassomewittycriticism.

Inaddition, thenumeroussections thenewspaper iscomposedofdealwithawiderangeof

topicsconcerningtheworld.Thatsaid,lookingatthecirculationfigureswhichItalkedaboutabovein

section 2.1, more than 50% of the newspaper’s issues are read abroad. Most current and faithful

readersarenotEnglishnativespeakers.Theyarepeoplewhosemothertonguesmightincludeallthe

languages spoken across the five continents. In addition to language fairness and simplicity, other

forms of witticism, such as visual and verbal humour, have turned into successful instruments to

increasereadership.Rangingfromthepunsusedintheheadlines,movingtoironiccartoonsaimedat

criticising either economic or social matters, readers are asked to take part in the process of

communication,theyarepromptedtoreactandeitheragreeordisagreewithwhatthejournalistsand

thedesignersaretrying tomakethembelieve in.Thesimplicityof language, theclarityof linguistic

expression, the ironic and incongruent visual representationsofpeople andtopics, give thewriters

andthedesigners thepower toattract, influence, ifnotevenpersuade, theiraudience.Readersand

viewersareinformed,theyareovertlycommunicatedwhattheauthors’positiononacertainissueis,

butmost of all they are absorbed into the process of reading.While scanning the argumentations,

reflectionisactivatedandpersuasiondevelopsuntilitiseitherreachedorrejected.

2.8ThebirthoftheEuropeanUnion,theinceptionoftheeuroandthedebtcrisis

The following sections discuss the issues concerning the birth of the European Union, the

inceptionof thesinglecurrency, thecreationof theEurozoneanddiscussthedebtcrisis that led to

economicandfiscalinstabilityacrosstheEurozonebetween2009and2012.

SoonafterWorldWarII,Europeanintegrationwasconsideredurgenttoescapefromandface

up to extreme forms of nationalism which had gravely damaged the continent. Relevant moves

towardsthecreationofaEuropeancoalitionweremadebetweenthelate1950suptothe7thFebruary

1992whentheMaastrichtTreaty,alsoknownastheTreatyonEuropeanUnion,wassigned.In1958

24

sixEuropean countries9 signedTheTreaty ofRome and created theEuropeanEconomicCommunity

(EEC).Themainconcernofthisagreementwastoreducetradebarriers,streamlineeconomicpolicies,

coordinatetransportationandagriculturalpolicies,removemeasuresrestrictingfreecompetition,and

promote themobility of labour and capital amongmembernations.With theMaastrichtTreaty the

EuropeanUnion10set thecriteria formembership,knownastheMaastrichtcriteriaorconvergence

criteria11.

A monetary union was officially born on 1 January 1999 when eleven European Union

countries12 abolished their respective national currencies and adopted the euro as book unit of

account13.Exchangeratesbetweentheeuroandthememberstateswerelocked.On1January2002

the euro was adopted by the Eurozone citizens and national currencies ceased to be accepted as

meansofpayment.Inaclimateofpoliticalsolidarity,yearslater,sevenmorecountries14signedupto

the common currency. The European leaders of 17 member states trusted the euro as a pillar of

equilibrium and were convinced it would reduce transaction costs, eliminate exchange rate risk,

increase price transparency, and create deep financial markets (Chabot, 1999:39-44). A Monetary

union triggered the development of macroeconomic stability across the euro area, interest rates

lowered,economicgrowth increased,structuralreformswere introduced,andanewglobalreserve

currencywascreated(op.cit.:49).

Even though the above-mentioned benefits shaped a scenario of promising economic

expansion, the inceptionofauniquecurrencybroughtalsosomenegativeandcostlydisadvantages.

First of all, introducing the euro had high costs of transition15; people employed in the foreign

exchange market lost their jobs; local, regional, national and international government invested

moneyandtimetoprepareandpromote thisproject.Despite theirsize, thecosts to implement the

single currencywereminor if compared to those threatening the sustainability of the euro. Under

thesecircumstances,economistsandpolitical leadersfearedthatthesinglecurrencywouldleadthe

euroareatoaneconomicshock16.AsarguedbyChabot(op.cit.:51),asymmetricshockwouldaffectthe

member states in anunequalway, byprecluding independent interest ratemovements, preventing

9France,WestGermany,Belgium,theNetherlands,LuxembourgandItaly.10TwelvememberstatessignedtheTreaty:Belgium,Italy,Luxembourg,France,theNetherlands,WestGermany,Denmark,Ireland,UnitedKingdom,Greece,Portugal,Spain.11ThesecriteriadeterminewhetherEuropeanmemberstatesareadmittedtotheEuropeanandMonetaryUnion(EMU)andcan adopt the euro currency. The limits fixed for integration concern inflation rates, government budget deficit, totalgovernment debt, exchange rates and long-term interest rates. These criteria aim tomaintain price stability within theEurozone,evenwhennewstatesareacknowledgedasnewmemberstates.12Austria,Belgium,Finland,France,Germany,Ireland,Italy,Luxembourg,theNetherlands,Portugal,Spain.13Noeurobanknotesandcoinswereactuallyusedbycitizens;theuseofthecurrencywasrestrictedtoelectronicrecords,accountingsystems,bankrecords,personalchecks.14Greecediditin2001,Sloveniain2007,CyprusandMaltain2008,Slovakiain2009,Estoniain2011.15Transitioncostsimpliedadjustinginvoices,pricelists,pricetags,officeforms,bankaccounts,etc.which,accordingtosomeresearchstudieshadacostofaround1percentoftheEurozone’stotalGDP(Chabot,1999).16Aneconomicshockisanunexpectedchangeinthemacroeconomicsofacountrythatpromptstheunbalanceofproduction,consumption,investment,government,spending,andtrade.

25

currency devaluations, as well as restricting the ability of government spending to stabilise an

economy. Another risk for the introduction of the monetary union was the lack of an integrated

Europeanfederalgovernment.Aweakpoliticalunionwouldincreaseproblemswiththefiscaltransfer.

Asaresult,stableandconservativecountriesmightsufferfromthedisproportionateborrowingofthe

othercountries.

That said, the intent to pursue an economic union without a strong political union would

undermine the stability of the euro because countries suffering from labour unrest and currency

marketinstabilitywouldleadtopeople’sdissatisfactionandpromptthoughtsofleavingtheEurozone,

withtheriskofacurrencydevaluationandofapossibledefault.

2.9Thedebtcrisis

Thevulnerabilityoftheunificationprojectprovedtobearealmenaceleadingtotheeurocrisis

in2009.InordertoqualifyformembershipandfulfiltheMaastrichtconvergentcriteria,mostofthe

euro-candidatecountrieshadtightenedtheirbelts,butsoonafterenteringtheEurozone,relaxedand

gaveupwithreformingefforts.

Ineconomictermsthisconductpromptlyledtonegativeconsequences.Althoughcapitalwas

flowingfromrichertopoorercountries,andtherewasnoinflationonaverage,divergenceswerere-

emerging, with the South getting into debt while the North was accumulating external surpluses

(Authers,2013).

Since2007GDPhaddecreasedbynearlyafourthinGreece,andtheunemploymentratehad

exceeded 25% in Spain. National governments could have reduced public spending, adapted the

regulations of bank credit, changed the tax-system which regulated mortgages. Business creation

and/ordevelopment couldhavebeenprompted in slow-growing countries, aswell as reforms that

should have been carried out to set a wage-indexation in order to prevent prices from increasing

abruptly.Budgetaryperformancesseemedgenerallymeritoriousbecausepublicaccountswereeither

inbalanceorinsurplus,andthedebtratiowaslowanddeclining(op.cit.).

Thatsaid,externaldeficitsandpricedivergencewerethreateningsignals,whichgovernments,

the European institutions, i.e. the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF),

shouldhavepointedoutinordertointerveneandavoidthecrisis.

Inthisenvironmentofrisingdisorder,Europeanbanksstoppedlendingtooneanotherandthe

interbank system halted. In order to avoid liquidity shortages and to prevent bankruptcy, the ECB

intervenedandbecamethelendinginstitution,thusprovidingfinancialinstitutionswiththenecessary

tocovertheirlosses(op.cit.).

Inspiteofthismediation,whentheLehmanBrothersbankcollapsedon15thSeptember2008,

a global crisis broke out and the European banks were tragically involved. The European banking

system was deeply damaged, Europe and the Eurozone fell into recession (Peet and La Guardia,

26

2014:41). Following the Lehman Brothers’ crash, the ECB decided to lower the interest rate

significantlyandpromptedlendingondemandtothebanks.Iftheinstitutionfoundthewaytoprevent

a financial crisis, governments could hardly decide on a common action plan. Ireland introduced a

blanketguaranteeof thedepositsmadewith Irishfinancial institutions.Sarkozy,BrownandMerkel

agreedonarescueplaninOctober2008whichguaranteed€1.9trillioninloanandcapitalinjections

tosustaintheEuropeanbanks.

In2009,althoughinvestmentshadbeenmadetopreventacrisis,withtheStabilityandGrowth

Pact(1997)meanttosetfiscaldisciplineandmutualsurveillance,thecrisiswasspreadingappallingly

andpressingincreasinglythroughouttheEurozone.Greecehadfallenintoadeeprecessionandon1st

May2010theGreekgovernmentwasforcedtoannounceaseriesofausteritymeasurestopayathree-

year €110 billion loan, known as the First Economic Adjustment programme, that the European

Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had

granted to prevent an economic default. This programme failed to solve the Greek crisis and a

negotiatingteamknownastheTroika17wassenttoAthensinOctober2011.InFebruary2012Greece

was offered a second bail-out loan of €130 billion, known as the Second Adjustment programme,

whichwouldreduceGreekexpenditureby€3.3billionin2012andanother€10billionin2013and

2014.

AfterGreece,bothIrelandandPortugalfellintorecessionandunderwentaperiodofausterity

topaytheloanthattheyhadbeengrantedtopreventeconomicdefault.TheIrishsovereigndebtarose

fromapropertybubble18thatthesixmainIrishbankshadfinanced.Theconsequenceofthisfinancial

manoeuvreresultedintheIrisheconomiccollapse.On29thNovember2010abail-outagreementof€

67,5billioncamefromtheEUandtheIMF(Brown,2012).

When the debt crisis spread across Europe, Portugal was deeply affected and fell into

recession.Asaconsequenceofitsnationaldebt,thecountrywasagreeda€78billionIMF-EUbail-out

packagetostabilisePortuguesepublicfinances(op.cit.)

In2011,bothItalyandSpainunderwentaperiodofausteritymeasuresduetotheincreaseof

their spreads above or at the level they had reached before the fiscal treaty. The reasons for their

recession were to be foundwithin the two member countries. On the one hand, the conservative

governmentheldbyMarianoRajoyfailedonthebankingfront;MarioDraghi’sharshreformshadcost

17 The Troika, betterknown as the European Troika is in charge of dealingwith common foreign and security policy inEurope.Originally,itwascomposedoftheForeignAffairsMinisterofthememberstateholdingthePresidencyoftheCouncilofMinisters,theSecretary-GeneraloftheCounciloftheEuropeanUnion,beingalsotheHighRepresentativeoftheCommonForeignandSecurityPolicy,andtheEuropeanCommissionerforexternalrelations.AftertheTreatyofLisbon(2009),theTroikaunderwentsomechanges, itnowcomprisesagroupofmembersfromtheEuropeanCommission, theCentralBankandtheInternationalMonetaryFund.18 Apropertybubbleisaneconomicbubblethatoftenoccursinlocalorglobalrealestatemarkets,andfollowsalandboom,suchasarapidincreaseinthemarketpriceofrealpropertysuchashousinguntilanunsustainabledeclinetakesplace.

27

himtheItalianpopularandpoliticalsupport.Italyunderwentstrictausteritymeasuresneitherasked

fornorwasgrantedanysupportpackage.ItalyandSpainstartedtofinditreallydifficulttoaccessthe

market,althoughtheyhadalwaysbeensolvent.Thesuddenstopofcapitalflowwasaseriousshock,

andtheEurozonesawanalarmingfinancialarrest,withpossiblefinancialfragmentation.Asaresult

theECBstartedtobuyItalianbondsonsecondarymarketsinordertocontroltheriseofinterestrates.

TheEuropeanFinancialFacility(EFSF,thepredecessortotheESM)shouldhaveintervenedandtaken

chargeofbuyingbondsbutitwasunabletodoso.

AsregardsSpain, itwasinvolvedinspendinglargeamountsofmoneyonbankbail-outsand

was granted a €100 billion support package between 2012 and 2013 to recapitalise its financial

sector.Asaconsequenceof thebankbail-outsandaneconomicdownturn,Spanishdeficitanddebt

levels increased, which led to substantial downgrading of the country’s credit rating. In order to

guaranteereliabilityandtrust in the financialmarkets,austeritymeasureswere introducedandthe

governmentpassedalawin2011toapproveanamendmenttotheSpanishConstitutiontorequirea

balancedbudgetatboththenationalandregionallevelby2020(www.wikipedia.org).

Early in autumn 2011 a significant economic slowdown worsened the general budgetary

outlook of the Eurozone. Urgent recapitalisation and banks’ recovery became a priority. Italy and

SpainwerebothhometomajorEuropeanbanksandcorporations,andincaseoftheirdefaulttheeuro

would not survive. Private lenders had to be substituted entirely, as happened in Greece, but this

operationwouldexceedtheresourcestheIMFandotherEuropeanInstitutionshad.Bankscouldnot

facepotentiallylargelossesonthevalueofgovernmentbondsandthefeedbackloopbetweenbanks

and sovereigns was the biggest worry. Holding large portfolios of debt securities issued by their

sovereignstate,bankshadtoextendassistanceincaseofnecessity.Sovereignstateswereresponsibly

in charge of rescuing banks, although itwould involve large losses,which they agreed to shore off

(Brown,2012).

In December 2011Mario Draghi, the newly appointed ECB president, agreed on delivering

cheap loans to theEurozonebanks fora three-yearperiod.Newpoliticalelectionsboth in Italyand

Spain redesigned the political scenario of these two countries,which brought a prompt rise.Mario

Monti, heading a technocratic government in Italy developed a new fiscal treaty bringing more

credibility to the nearly balanced budgets and reducing the public-debt ratios. The banks of the

southernEuropeancountriesreliedonECBliquidityandhadbecomedependentonofficialfinancing,

i.e.theofficialsectorwasforcedtosubstituteprivatecapitalflowswithoutplannedlimits.Asaresult,

northernbanks (i.e.Bundesbank)had exposed themselves to large risks in case the euro collapsed

because they had recycled domestic savings and capital inflows to finance the southern countries

(PeetandLaGuardia,2014:151-180).

Thatsaid,arenewedfiscaldisciplineaccompaniedbyliquidityfromtheECBavoidedthefallof

the euro and prompted its economic and fiscal improvement. This plan implemented a division

28

between the governments and the ECB’s tasks; the formerwould be in charge of solving the fiscal

crisis,thelatterwouldbeinchargeofbanks.(Authers,2013).

In spring 2012Mario Draghi obliged the Eurozone governments to take responsibility and

pavedtheway to abankingunion,which involved a joint commitment to fiscal rectitude and fiscal

union support. In June 2012 Draghi’s suggestions were endorsed and it was agreed that the

responsibilityforsupervising,rescuingorclosingbankswouldbeheldattheEuropeanlevelwiththe

creationofadepositguaranteescheme.Theintroductionofabankingunioncommittedtomutualising

the costs of endangered countries.Draghi thought that thisprocedurewouldbe enough to recover

from the crisis and promised that the ECB, on its side, would buy short-term bonds issued by

governments.

Although it seemed that the new schemewould prohibit central bank lending to sovereign

stateswithapossibleturnofthemonetaryinstitutionintoafiscalagent,itwasregardedaspositive.In

December 2012ministers of finance agreed on the first banking union,withmore than200 banks

being directly supervised by the ECB. This put an end to intimate relations between the large

European banks and their national supervisors, thus laying the foundations for a new wave of

integrationoftheEuropeanbankingindustry.TheEUleaders,theECBandtheIMFwereabletoface

the fragility of theUnion, extreme fiscalmeasureswere takenand the crisiswaspartly solved, the

singlecurrencywaseventuallysafe.

2.10Conclusions

This chapter has provided a historical overview ofThe Economist. Information concerning the

most remarkable figures that contributed to make it a known, read and appreciated newspaper

worldwidehasbeengiven.Idevelopedmydiscussionfocussingonthedegreeofprofessionalismthat

characterises those who contribute to shaping and creating the articles with rigour, expertise and

reliability.TheStyleGuidehasbeenpresentedasapreciousinstrumentinthehandsofthejournalists

andtheeditorstoconstructandspreadinformationandopinionrespectingthefundamentalrulesof

goodwriting. Inaddition, thischapterhasdiscussed the issuesconcerning the inceptionof theeuro

and the reasons that led the Eurozone to suffer from a severe debt crisis which undermined the

stabilityoftheEurozone.Finally,detailshavebeengivenregardingthemeasuresthatweretakento

fightthecrisisandavoidthedisintegrationoftheeuroandtheeuroarea.

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CHAPTER3

LITERATUREREVIEW:MULTIMODALITYANDTEXT-IMAGERELATION

Introduction

In this chapter, I present an overview of text-image interrelation inmultimodal discourse analysis,

whichpartofmyresearchisbasedon.

Thepresentthesisisinlinewiththeincreasinginterestthatscholarshaveshowninstudying

multimodaldiscourse. Having taken into consideration Kress and van Leeuwen’s claim (2001) that

communicationwasbornasamultimodal instrumentof interaction, I focus thepresentresearchon

examiningwhetherandhowcommunicationisbettershapedandorganisedwhentheverbalandthe

visualmodesareusedinconnectionwitheachother.Moreover,relyingonBateman’sassumptionthat

“textandimageisseenasthemoststraightforward,themostnaturalthingintheworld”(2014:5),I

aim at investigating how and to what extent this naturalness is achieved when multimodal

communicationisdevelopedthroughverbalandvisualmetaphors.

But, as the French linguist Émile Benveniste claimed “semiotic systems are not

synonymous”(1986:235);wearenotabletosaythesamethingwithspokenwordsthatwecanwith

music,astheyaresystemswithdifferentbases.Althoughmeaningcanbemadeandconveyedusing

simultaneously different forms of expression, what an image, for instance, portrays cannot be

interchangeablycommunicatedwithawrittentext.Conversely,whatanimagecommunicatescanbe

enhanced, explained or extended by integrating the visual modewith the verbal. Meaning is then

produced employing a multimodal approach to interaction, with two diverse semiotic resources

offering distinct potentialities and limitations (Jewitt et al. 2016:3). Thus, the study of text-image

relationsfallswithinthefieldofresearchknownasmultimodality.

3.1Multimodality

Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen were among the first scholars to adopt the term

multimodalityinMultimodalDiscourse(2001)withtheirseminalstudyonmulti-semiotics.Borrowing

Halliday’stheoriesofsocialsemiotics(1978)andofsystemicfunctionalgrammar(1985,1994),they

agreewiththescholar’sassumptionthatlanguageisasystemofresourcesfromwhichspeakersand

writersmakechoicestocreateparticularmeanings.Inthisview,languagemeaningisconveyedand

understoodas relyingon the ideational, the interpersonaland the textualmetafunctions. While the

ideationalmeaningandfunctionrevealswhothepeople,theplacesandthethingsintherepresented

30

worldare, the interpersonalmetafunctionunderlines thedifferent kindsof relationships that occur

betweentheparticipantsinvolvedinthecommunicativeprocess.Asregardsthetextualmetafunction,

itunderlinesthedegreeofcohesionandcohesivenesswithinthetext.

In their book Reading Images (1996), Kress and van Leeuwen explained how the three

metafunctionalmeaningsoflanguagearerealisedinimages.Halliday’ssystemicfunctionallinguistics

approachtolanguageanalysiswastakenasanexamplebyKressandvanLeeuwen,whodevelopeda

frameworkaimedatreadingimagesandatvisualisingthevarietyofmeaningswhichtheyoffer.Their

studyofvisualgrammarsoughttofindaconnectionbetweentheproducer,thesocio-culturalcontext

ofdepictionandthevisualmeaningsintheimage.

In this perspective, the ideational function contributed to examining what the represented

participants (i.e. people, places, things depicted in the image) do, which actions they perform,

narrative action/mental processes, conceptual classificational/analytical/symbolic processes under

what temporal and/or locative circumstances. When represented participants are connected by a

vector,theyarerepresentedasdoingsomethingtoorforeachother(narrativeprocesses),whenthey

arerepresented in termsof theirclass, structureormeaning/essence theirpatternedprocessesare

conceptual. In narrative structures the vector/s is/are formed by depicted elements that form an

oblique line (bodies, tools) in action. Narrative processes may be action processes, reactional

processes,speechprocesses,mentalprocesses.Asregardsactionprocessestheactoristheparticipant

fromwhich the vector emanatesorwhich formsthe vector.With reactionalprocesses the vector is

formedbyaneyeline,bythedirectionoftheglanceofoneormoreoftherepresentedparticipants,the

reacter andthephenomenon.The reacter is ahuman, ahuman-likeanimal,whose look creates the

eyeline,thephenomenonistheparticipantatwhichtheeyelineisdirected,theobjectofthereacter’s

look; with speech processes a vector is formed by a diagonal-balloon that connects the sayer (the

participantwhom the vector emanates)and theutterance (theparticipant enclosed in thedialogue

balloon). As regardsmental processes a vector is formed by a thought bubblewhich connects the

senser (the participant from whom the thought bubble emanates) and the phenomenon (the

participantenclosedinthebubble).Incontrast,conceptualprocessesrelateparticipantsintermsofa

part-wholestructure;theyinvolveacarrier(thewhole)andanynumberofpossessiveattributes(the

parts).Theseprocessesdefine,analyseorclassifypeople,placesandthings.Theseprocessesmaybe

dividedintoclassificational19,analytical20andsymbolic21processes.

19 Thesestructuresbringdifferentpeople,placesorthingstogetherinapictureanddistributethemsymmetricallyacrossthepicturetoshowthattheyhavesomething incommon,thattheybelongtothesameclass.Classificationalprocessesrelateparticipantstoeachother intermsofataxonomicalorganisation,akindofrelation,withsubordinates(beingpartof)andsuperordinate(thecategory)participants.Taxonomiesmaybeovertandcovert.Incoverttaxonomiesthesuperordinateiseitheronlyindicatedintheaccompanyingtext,orinferredfromsimilaritiesbetweenthesubordinates,whichtheviewermayperceive.Overttaxonomiesincludethesuperordinate.

31

The interpersonal function focussesonhow thevisual representation involves and interacts

withtheviewer,intermsofgaze,distance,andperspective.Referringtogaze,visualconfigurations

havetwomainfunctions.Thefirst,knownasdemandimage,istocreateavisualcontactwiththe

viewerwho isdirectly asked toactivatea visual relationwith the representedparticipant/s.The

second,knownasofferimage,addressestheviewerindirectly.Theabsenceofeyecontactoffersthe

depictiontotheviewer’sscrutiny.Interactionwiththeviewerisalsoachievedthroughdistance,by

establishingadegreeofproximityto,orfarnessfrom,theviewer.Theclosertheshotis,themore

theintimacybetweentherepresentedparticipantsandtheviewerisprompted;thelongertheshot

thelessinteractionisconveyed.Takingintoconsiderationthatimagescanbemadefromdifferent

perspectives,when they areproduced fromahorizontalangle, they represent either the relation

between the frontal plane of the image-producer or the frontal plane of the represented

participants. Inaddition, theproducer can choose betweena frontal-angledor anoblique-angled

depiction. Frontal angle images indicate a sort of involvement betweenwhat is represented and

who represented it; the viewer feels the same sort of intimacy being positioned in front of the

depiction.Oblique angle imagesdisplaydetachmentbecause theproducerdoesnot feel intimacy

withwhats/herepresented.Asaconsequence,theviewerwillfeelthesamestateofdetachment.By

scanning the image fromaverticalangle, theviewer is involved inarelationofsuperiority (high

angle), since the producer depicted the image looking down at what s/he would represent. The

viewer feels in a position of equality (medium angle), since the producer depicted the image as

feelingthesame levelofsolidarity.Theviewer feels inastateof inferiority (lowangle), since the

producershowedthepoweroftherepresentedparticipantsoverher/himself.

As regards the textual function, it enables the viewer to identify the degree of cohesion and

coherence of the represented message/s. From a horizontal reading path, elements are analysed

accordingtotheirposition,fromlefttoright,whereelementsontheleftrepresentthegiven(known

information), while those on the right the new (new information). From a vertical reading path,

elementsareanalysedaccordingtotheirposition,fromtop(thegeneralisedessenceofinformation,)

tobottom(the concrete essenceof information).Bothhorizontalandvertical readingpaths include 20 Analyticalprocessesrelateparticipantsintermsofapart-wholestructure.Aconcept,anentityisdefinedbyshowinghowit is made up out of which parts. Analytical processes have two participants, a carrier, (the whole), and any number ofpossessiveattributes(theparts).21 Symbolicprocesses:Theseprocessesdefinethemeaningoridentityofaparticipant.Eithertherearetwoparticipants,thecarrier,whosemeaningoridentityisestablishedintherelation,andtheattribute,theparticipantwho/whichrepresentsthemeaningor identity itself, orone, the carrier.When thereare twoparticipants theprocess is called symbolicattributive,whenthereisonlyoneparticipanttheprocessissymbolicsuggestive.Symbolicattributiveprocessesrepresentmeaningandidentity as being conferred to the carrier. Symbolic suggestive processes representmeaning an identity as coming fromwithin,asderivingfromqualitiesofthecarrierthemselves.

32

theanalysisofforegroundedandback-groundedelements,andcentralisedormarginalisedelements.

Bothforegroundedandcentralisedelementsusuallycorrespondtocorefactors,whileback-grounded

andmarginalisedelementsareofsecondaryimportance.

AlthoughIprovideadetailedanalysisofmyvisualdatainchapters7and8,Igivesomeexamplesof

whatvisualimagesconveytotheirviewingpublicfollowingKressandvanLeeuwen’sframework.

As regards the ideational metafunction, 8 out of 10 pictures show human beings involved in

communication.Therepresentedparticipantsareperformingactions(i.e.narrativeactionprocesses).

In the picture introducing the article published on 12thMay (Appendix 1),MrsMerkel is scooping

water out of a ship, while in the picture that introduces the article published on 3rd September

(Appendix 1) she is throwing flowers and cheques to people. In addition, other represented

participants, such as twowelders are repairing a broken euro coin (17th September, Appendix 1),

while the article published on 3rd December displays four knights riding their horses towards a

fortress(Appendix1).Someotherrepresentedparticipantsaresimplyshowingthesignsoftheirfear

on theirworried faces(narrativementalprocesses), suchassomeEurozone leadersstandingat the

topofafortresslookedworriedbecauseofthefourhorsemenapproaching.Someotherrepresented

participantsdisplayconceptualsymbolicprocessestohighlightafeelingofworryanddangerdueto

thenegativeconsequencesthatthecrisismaybringtotheeuroarea.MrsMerkel,SarkozyandTrichet,

whoaredisplayedinthepictureintroducingthearticlepublishedon14thJuly(Charlemagne,Appendix

1)arebehavinglikeConfucius’threewisemonkeys,Iwararu,MizaruandKikazaru.Theyhavedecided

respectivelyto“speaknoevil,seenoevil,hearnoevil”.Theleadersareshowingtheirlackofeffortin

facingthedebtcrisis.

Zoomingbrieflyintothecircumstanceswhicharedisplayedinthepictures,mostofthemprovidea

contextualised scene that depicts metaphorically a location which the viewer will be asked to

understandandassociatewith theeuroareaandthecrisis.For instance, the image introducing the

articlepublishedon12thMay2011,showsashipthatisberthedprow-onatthequayside.Thearticle

doesnotwriteaboutamarinescenario,detailsaregivenonthedifficultiesGreeceisaskedtofaceto

avoideconomicdefault.Inaddition,lookingattheburningandfallingmeteoriteintroducingthearticle

publishedon26thNovember(Appendix1), theviewersees themeteorite’s trajectoryasa temporal

circumstancewhichisshowingthatthemeteoriteisshortlydestinedtocollapse.

Taking into consideration the interpersonal metafunction, the designers limited the degree of

involvement. None of the represented participants is directly looking at the viewer, who is left to

understandthevisualmessageandeithertoagreeordisagreewithwhatisdiscussed.

Allofthepicturesillustratinghumanbeingsinvitetherecipienttoobservehowmanydifficultiesthe

represented participants are encountering. In addition to the absence of direct gaze, distance

underlinesthatintimacyisreduced.Mosthumanbeingsaredisplayedfromaveryclosetoacloseshot

distance,suchasMrsMerkel(12thMay),MrsMerkel,SarkozyandTrichet(14thJuly,Charlemagne),as

33

wellastheEurozoneleadersstandingatthetopofthefortress(3rdDecember).Othersarerepresented

in amedium close shot because their entire human figure occupies less than half the height of the

image,suchasabusinessman(23rdJune,Appendix1),MrsMerkel(3rdSeptember),thetwowelders

(17thSeptember).Lackofintimacywiththeaddresseeisthenconfirmedbyinvestigatingperspective.

Therepresentedparticipantsareallobliquelydisplayed.Somesortofinvolvementwiththevieweris

given in the pictures introducing the articles published on 12th May and 3rd September where the

participantsareinapositionofequalitywithwhomtheimageisaddressedto.Incontrast,theimage

introducingthearticlepublishedon23rd Juneputs theviewer inapositionofsuperiority,as if s/he

were dominating the scene and foreseeing the consequences of what is displayed. That said, in

interpersonalterms,theviewerdoesnotfeelinvolvedintherepresentation,s/heisratherexpectedto

understandwhattheimagedisplays.

Asregardsthetextualmetafunction,mostpicturesshowthecoremessage,whichismetaphorically

displayed,inacentralisedposition,suchasthoseillustratingMrsMerkelscoopingwateroutofaship

(12thMay),ahugedrydrainhole(23rdJune),MrsMerkel,SarkozyandTrichetonashipatthemercyof

the waves (14th July, Charlemagne), twowelders repairing a broken euro coin (17th September), a

colander-ship rescuing a groupofEurozone leaders (29thOctober,Appendix1), fourknights riding

theirhorses andapproachinga fortress (3rdDecember), a starrymeteorite fallingdownwards(17th

December).Thethreeremainingpicturesareillustratingthecoremessageontherightoftheimage

because the action which is represented is still going to happen. These illustrations respectively

displayMrsMerkel,SarkozyandTrichetat themercyof thewaves(14th July,Charlemagne),aeuro

coinandthecrackededgeofacliffthataregoingtofall(14thJuly,Leaders,Appendix1),andaburning

euro-meteoritefallingdownwards(26thNovember).

KressandvanLeeuwen’study(op.cit.)onvisualcommunicationlaidthefoundationstoadaptand

extendasocialsemioticapproachtoinvestigatinghowlanguageisconstructedinandacrossdifferent

modes.

InMultimodalDiscourse(2001)GunterKressandTheovanLeeuwenintroducedtheirdiscussionby

claiming that monomodality has been recognised as the favourite instrument of communication in

Westernculture,althoughanewtasteforcross-modalinteractiondevelopedinthelastdecadesofthe

XIXthcenturyandintheearlyXXthcentury,asthefollowingquotationpointsout:

Forsometimenow,therehasbeen,inWesternculture,adistinctpreferenceformonomodality.The

most highly valued genres of writing (literary novels, academic treaties, official document and

reports, etc.) cameentirelywithout illustration,andhadgraphicallyuniform,densepagesofprint.

Paintingsnearlyallusedthesamesupport(canvas)andthesamemedium(oils),whatevertheirstyle

orsubject.Inconcertperformances,allmusiciansdressedidenticallyandonlyconstructoradsoloists

wereallowedamodicumofbodilyexpression.(op.cit.:1)

34

Thiscitationhighlightshowmonomodalwrittendiscourseprovidedreaderswithlongpageswhere

informationwaseithergivenordiscussed,whichtheywererequestedtoscan,understandand/or

adopt to perform other instances ofwritten/verbal communication. If, for instance,we take into

consideration modern school textbooks, where the text is always accompanied by one or more

images,andreflectonhowfasterstudents’acquisitionisachievedwhentwo,orevenmoremodes

coexist,itmaybequiteeasilyassumedthatmultimodalconstructspromptcommunication,trigger

curiosityandmotivationtounderstandandlearnthemessagetheproducermade.Wordsarethus

promptlyassociatedwithimages,whichdevelopamoreimmediate,ifnotbettercomprehensionof

themessage,whichmultimodalmoderndiscourseisbasedon.

Thatsaid,afewlinesaftertheirpreviousclaimabove,KressandvanLeeuwenhighlighthow

monomodalityremainsalimitedphenomenonbecauseinteractionisbettershapedandmadewhen

differentformsofcommunicationarecombined.

Morerecentlythisdominanceofmonomodalityhasbeguntoreverse.Notonlythemassmedia,the

pagesofmagazineandcomicstripsforexample,butalsothedocumentsproducedbycorporations,

universities,governmentdepartments,etc.haveacquiredcolourillustrationsandsophisticatedlayout

andtypography.(ibid.)

Relying on this assumption, which I agree with, as I argued above, the scholars affirm that

integratedformsoflanguagedominatethescenarioofcontemporarycommunicationinvariedand

various fields, including the language of media, politics, economics, academics, business and the

educationalone.

Consideringthemaintaskofthepresentthesis,whichaimsatinvestigatingtextandimage

interactionthroughmetaphors,beforeexaminingmetaphoricintersemioticity,myattentionisnow

focussedon identifying the scholarswho contributed to introducing anddeveloping the studyof

imageandtextrelation.

In1977,theFrenchphilosopherRolandBarthespioneeredthestudyoftext-imagerelations

withhisseminalpublicationImageMusicText.ThefollowingsectiondiscussesBarthes’sframework

to track possible connections between the verbal expression, the traditional subject of linguistic

examination,andnon-verbalformsofcommunicationsuchasimages.

3.2Barthes’stheory:textandimagerelations

Sincethe1960stherehadbeenagrowinginterestintheanalysisofthedifferentformsinwhich

discourse can be realised. Roland Barthes understood the urgency of expanding his research on

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everydayinstancesofcommunicationsuchasadvertisements,photographsandfilms.Hecrossedthe

boundaryof theclassicalviewof linguistics thatDeSaussurehaddeveloped.Barthesdevelopedhis

studyonlinguisticsfocussingondiscourseratherthanontextanditsgrammar.

Hecreatedaframeworkofdiscourseanalysisstartingwiththeexaminationofadvertisements

and news photography. One of his earliest and most famous analyses was made on a Panzani

advertisement,anItaliancompanyproducingpastabeingsoldinFrance.Thepictureillustratedsome

packetsofspaghetti,a tin,apacketofcheese,sometomatoes,peppers,onionsandamushroom.All

these objects were contained in a foregrounded string bag against a red background. Barthes

identifiedthreeco-existingmessagesinthisillustration:alinguisticmessage,acodediconicmessage,

andanuncodediconicone.Thethreemessagesweredifferentbutco-existedinthesameillustration.

Inlinguisticterms,thefoodbrandwaspublicised;asacodediconicmessage,theimagewasdepicting

typicalItalianfreshfood,whichwasanadditionalandconnotativemeaningmeanttoechotheItalian

culturalandculinarypassionforhealthyfood;theuncodediconicmessagehighlightingthedenotative

meaningoftheimageshowedrealandexistingobjects.

Barthes’ research proved that text and image co-occurrence abounded in everyday

communication. Moreover, his investigation discovered that when discourse is produced by using

morethanoneformofexpression,theformsco-determinethemeaning/softhewhole.Byobservinga

multitudeofdiverseimages,hecametotheconclusionthatvisualsarepolysemousandtheirmeaning

isoftenvagueandill-defined.Thus,theviewerwillbecertainlyabletounderstandthe‘floatingchain’

ofmeanings,buts/hewillprobablydecidetochoosesomeandignoreothers.Althoughimagesalone

cangivespace tovarious interpretations,whentheyco-occurwitha text, it iseasier tounderstand

whatmessageandmeaningtheyaremeanttoconvey.

In this view,Barthes investigated image and text co-occurrence andprovideda frameworkof

analysisidentifyingthreepossibletypesofrelations, i.e.anchorage,relayandillustration.Anchorage

wasidentifiedasarelationshipofcontrol,wherethetextservesas“thecreator’srightofcontrolover

theimage”(Barthes1977:40).Thisconnectionoccurswhenthetexthelpstoidentifyboththedenoted

and the connotedmeaningof the visualmessage,which indicates anunequaldistributionof power

andmeaning.Theimageisthusmadeclearthankstothesupportoftheverbalcounterpart.Whentext

andimageco-existandareinter-dependentpartsofawhole,theirrelationisreferredtoasrelay.What

isdisplayedisthenalinkofcomplementaritybetweenthevisualandtheverbalmessage(1977:41).

Barthes did not give much space to this function when considering static representations, which,

conversely, ismoreoftenusedwithcomicstripsorfilms.Barthes’stheoryprioritisedtherelationof

anchorage,fromimagetotext,andrejectedthatthevisualmayanchortheverbal,thoughthecontrary

mightoccur.Accordingtothescholar, illustration,thethirdkindofrelationinvolvingaverbalanda

visualpart,wouldseetheimageillustratingandsupportingthetext,moredetailsbeingprovidedwith

depictingratherthanwritingaboutaspecificsituation.AlthoughBarthesdeniedthepossibilityofthe

36

imageelucidatingorrealisingthetext,because“itisthelatterwhichcomestosublimate,patheticize

orrationalize the image”(1977:25),nowadays this typeofverbal-visualexpressionoftenoccurs for

instance in advertisements. In addition, visual instructions explaining how to assemble a piece of

furniture,anelectronicdevice,etc.areusedalotandhelptoclarifythetext.

Taking into consideration my data, looking at the 10 images that I am going to examine in

chapters 7 and 8, although the general meaning of some pictures can be understood without the

support of the verbal mode, a detailed comprehension of the reasons why the crisis has been

contextualisedthroughthosemetaphoricalillustrations,aswellaswhatthecausesthathaveindebted

the euro area andbrought the euro to riskdefault, cannotbeunderstoodwithout reading the text.

Thatsaid,allofthepicturesaretestimonytoBarthes’sanchoringfunction.Looking,forinstance,atthe

image introducing thearticlepublishedon12thMay(seechapter7), themetaphorical illustrationis

showingasinkingshipcalledGreecethatisbeingrescuedbyMrsMerkel.Heavydebtcontainershave

causedthesinkingprocess. It seemsquiteevident thatMrsMerkel’sscoopingwateroutof theship

willnotstop itssinking,which triggerstheviewer’scuriosity toread the textandunderstandwhat

thismeans.Theanchoringfunctionofthearticlewillprovideallthenecessarydetailstocomprehend

what the image displays. Taking the image that introduces the article published on 23rd June (see

chapter7),itisquitehardtounderstandhowadrydrainholerelatestothedebtcrisis.Asregardsthis

image,theanchoringfunctionispivotaltoelucidatingwhatthemetaphoricalillustrationistryingto

communicate.

AfterintroducingBarthes’sframework,whichIadoptinthepresentstudytoexaminetextand

image relation, in the following section I present Royce’s framework, which I adopt to investigate

intersemioticinterrelationsbetweenthevisualandtheverbaldata(seechapter8)underanalysisin

thepresentstudy.

3.3Text-imagerelationstudiesafterBarthes

AfterBarthes’stheoreticalandphilosophicalconsiderations,researchonhowimagesandtext

interactincreasinglydevelopedinthelate1990sandtheearly2000s.Thetheoreticalframeworkwith

which scholars found themselvesmost in agreementwithwas based on the social semiotic theory

derived from Halliday’s systemic-functional linguistics. Most semioticians still rely on Halliday’s

frameworktoinvestigateintersemioticityacrossdifferentmodes.

Among the studies on text-image interconnectedness I briefly introduce the most relevant

frameworks developed by the following scholars: Royce (1998), O’Halloran (1999a), van Leeuwen

(2005),MartinecandSalway(2005),BaldryandThibault(2006),Unsworth(2007).

FollowingHallidayandHasan’sresearchtoinvestigatetheverbalrealisations,andrelyingon

Kress andvanLeeuwen’s framework(1996) to read images,Royce (1998) inspectedand identified

37

intersemiotic relations across texts and images, relying on the assumption that a constructive

interrelationmaylinkdifferentmodalitiesinrespectofadefiniteandstructuredsynergy.

One year later, O’Halloran (1999a) introduced a system to analyse verbal and visual

expressions inmathematics. Her framework, which she called the systemic functional approach to

multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA), was based on Halliday’s systemic functional approach to

languagestudyandO’Toole’ssemioticsofvisualrepresentations(2011).Thescholaridentifiedmacro-

transitions (i.e. movements between different semiotic resources) as occurring at the rank of

discourseandmicro-transitionsattherankofgrammar,withfunctionalelementsofaresourcebeing

contained within elements pertaining to another resource. Macro-transitions are intended to

characterisediscoursemovesthatidentifythemeaningpotentialofasemioticresource,whilemicro-

transitionsinteractandconnectlanguage,imagesandmathematicalsymbolism.

VanLeeuwendevelopedatwo-waysystemoftextandimageinterdependency(2005),where

onemodecaneitherspecify/explaintheotherorhaveasimilar/different/complementarymeaning.

NospacewasgivenbyvanLeeuwentotheBarthianconceptualisationofrelay.

In 2005, Martinec and Salway collaborated to create a classification system for text-image

relations to includeall possible realisationsof text-image co-occurrences.Thequantitative research

they developed, ranging from electronic, print and websites data, enabled them to classify their

documentsinrespectoftheadoptedframework.TheirresearchstartedfromBarthes’ssetofrelations,

butincontrastwithBarthes,whowasmoreconcernedwiththerelativestatusofthetextortheimage

beingcommunicated,theyweremorefocussedonidentifyingthedegreeofrelationshipbetweenthe

text and the image. They outlined two possible scenarios, one highlighting the status (equal vs

unequal) and the other characterising logico-semantic relations (expansion vs projection), which

Halliday had previously used to discuss the grammatical clause combination within a sentence.

Although the verbal and the visual are separate units, they contribute to shaping a common

multimodallayout.

DrawingonLemke’s(1983)semanticnotionofcohesion,BaldryandThibault(2006)designed

aframeworktoexaminehowknowledgecontentisconstructedwhileatechnicaltextdevelops.They

studiedthevisualandtheverbalmodesandinvestigatedthecorrespondencesbetweenthevisualand

theverbaltransitivityframesasRoycedid.

Unsworth (2007) refinedMartinec andSalway’s framework (2005) anddevelopeda similar

systemtoidentifyandclassifytextandimageinteractioninyounglearners’schooltextbooks.Hismain

intentwastoexaminewhethertextandimagecombinationsareincompatiblewiththecommunicative

purposesofthemultimodalconstructorwheretheychallengedcomprehensibilityforyounglearners.

Having studied and examined all of the above mentioned frameworks, I eventually partly

adopted Royce’s, which best suits the needs of my research, to investigate metaphorical

intersemioticity.ThefollowingsectionprovidesadetaileddescriptionofRoyce’sstudy.

38

3.4Royce’sframeworktostudyintersemioticitybetweenthevisualandtheverbalmodes

HallidayandHasan’sresearchonthedifferenttypesofcohesioninlanguage(1976)nourished

multimodal studies and influenced scholars who adapted and used functional linguistics tools to

develop their analyses onmultimodal constructs.Royce (1998)provided a detailed examination of

visual-verbalsynergybetweenanimageandthetextofanadvertisementpublishedbyTheEconomist.

While examining how the visual and the verbal interact at the ideational level, once the

participants, the processes, the circumstances, and the attributes (personal qualities and features)

havebeenidentified,cohesiveties,intermsofsemanticrelationsbetweenthelexicalitemsandvisual

segments,arelabelled.HallidayandHasan’sapproach(1985)totheexaminationofcohesionwasused

byRoyce toanalysecohesiverelations,whichhecalled“senserelations”betweenvisualsand texts.

Multimodal cohesive relationswere trackedbyRoyce through the analysis of repetition, synonymy,

antonymy,hyponymy,meronymy,andcollocation22.

Text-imageinterpersonalrelationsexploredthedegreeandintensityofinteractionbetweenthe

reader/viewer and the text/image. Intersemioticity was identified when the text and the image

werefoundcomplementary;theviewer/readerwasaddressedthusreinforcingthecongruenceor

dissonance of their attitudinalmeanings.Multimodal relationswere tracked by inspectingmood

andmodalityinthetext, inrespecttoaddressandinvolvementinthepicture.Intheverbalmode,

thedegreeofinvolvementandinteractionbetweenwriter/speakerandreader/listenerdependson

the speech-functional meanings. Halliday’s four primary speech functions (order, command,

statement, question)were used todetermine the linguisticpace and the degree of interaction in

accordance with the addressor’s production and the addressee’s replies. In the social act of

exchanginginformationorproposals,asHallidaynamedthepossibleformsofinteraction,theorder

inwhichsubjectandfinite23areemployed,andtheuseofmodalstoexpresspersonalattitudesand

views,affecttheintensityofthesocialexchange.Thedegreebywhichinvolvementisactivatedwith

visualsdependsonfactorsdifferentfromthespeechfunctions,moodandmodalityusedinverbal

speech.Gaze,perspective,distanceandsalienceare indicatorsofhowtheproducerrelates to the

viewer/reader via the representedparticipants represented in the image.The absenceof gaze, a

horizontalobliqueorverticalhighangle,andthesizeoftheframeaslongshotareindicatorsofthe

viewer’ssocialdistancefromtheimage.Alltheseelementsareindicatorsofexclusion;thevieweris

leftaloneincontemplationofanimagewhosemessageisofferedtobedecoded.Conversely,direct 22Repetitionindicatestherepetitionofexperientialmeaning;synonymyexpressesasimilarexperientialmeaning;antonymydesignates an opposite experientialmeaning; hyponymymarks the identification of a general class of something and itssubclasses;meronymyreferstothewholeofsomethinganditsconstituentpart;collocationimplieswordsthattendtoco-occurinvarioussubjectareas.23InHalliday’sanalysisofthegrammaticalorganisationofclauses,heidentifiestwoelements,thesubject(nominalgroup)andthefinite(partoftheverbalgroup)asbeingthebasiccomponentsoftheMOOD,whichistheessentialcomponentofthesocialexchange.

39

gaze,horizontalfrontalorverticaleye-levelangle,andthesizeoftheframeascloseormediumshot

involve theviewer inanactofcooperationwith theproducer.These elementsareallmarkersof

inclusion:theviewerisgivenvisualsupportandishelpedinunderstandingthevisualmessage.

Thedistributionofhowsegmentsofthetextandelementsoftheimagetextuallyrelate,interms

of how meanings are verbally and visually exchanged and organised as messages, was defined

throughinformationvalues,salience,framing,inter-visualsimilarityandreadingpaths.

Table3.1belowsummarisesRoyce’sframeworkofvisual-verbalintersemioticitythatthescholar

usedintheanalysisofanadvertisementfromTheEconomist(1998),ofanexcerptfromasecondary

schooltextbook(2002),andofanarticlefromTheEconomist(2007).

Table3.1.Visual-Verbalintersemioticcomplementarity

METAFUNCTIONS VERBAL VISUAL INTERSEMIOTICCOMPLEMENTARITY

IDEATIONAL

• participantsprocesses

circumstancesattributes

participantsprocesses

circumstancesattributes

RepetitionSynonymyAntonymyMeronymyHyponymycollocation

INTERPRESONAL

Mood

(Speechfunctions andrelations)

Modality

(High, medium,low)

Address

(direct,indirectaddress)

Involvement(perspective)

SocialDistance

(sizeofframe)

Modalitymarkers(contextualisation,

salience)

Mood

(addressviaoffers,commands,statements,

questions)

Modality

(realorunreal,trueorfalse,possible,impossible,)

Attitudinalcongruence/dissonance

TEXTUAL

Informationvalue

(given/new)

Salience

(typesetting,copy-fitting)

Framing

(displaytype)

•

Informationvalue(vertical:top/bottom;

horizontal:left/right;balance:centre/margin)

Salience

(foreground/background,size,colourtonesand

contrasts)

Framing(visualspaceand

structure)

Informationvaluation(horizontal,vertical,balance)

Salience

(foregrounded,backgroundedelements,

size,tonesandcontrasts)Framing

(visualandverbalspacedisplay)•

40

• Readingpath(visualandverbalorganization

oflanguage)

The selection of specific classes of cohesive ties gives unequivocal answers to what the

possibleconsequencesofconnectingsomeelementsintext-imageconstructs.Royce’sapproachto

classifyingmultimodal connection drawing on relations such as repetition, synonymy, antonymy,

meronymy and collocation, contributed to showing how meanings can be constructed when

differentmodesinteract,whichasinglemodewouldprobablyfinditdifficulttoachieve.

Although a detailed analysis of my data will be given in chapter 8, I introduce some

reflections on how I followedRoyce’s framework here below. I take as a sample text the article

entitled“DecisionTime”,publishedon12thMay.

Inideationalterms,thevisualmetaphorofashipissemanticallyinterconnectedtotheword

Greece, the ship’sname,which identify visually andverballyhowGreecewasdamagedby thedebt

crisis.ThevisualactionprocessofsinkingisintersemioticallyrelatedtoGreecebeingunabletopayits

debts,asthetexttalksabout.Moreover,thevisualrepresentationoftheshipberthedprow-onatthe

quaysideofaportintroducesthelinguisticexpressionsthatareusedbythejournalisttoassumethat

Greecewillnotleavetheeuroarea.Focussingonthecircumstancesthatthedesignerhasusedtodraw

theimage,themetaphoricalcontextofaharbourwheretheshipisanchored,isnotmentionedinthe

text,whichdoesnotbuildverbalandvisualinterconnection.

Moving to the analyisis of interpersonal intersemioticity, the viewer is invited to look at the

given informationands/he isasked todis/agreewithwhatthecartoonisthasdrawn.Likewise, the

reader isneither asked to exchange informationnor is s/he asked to interact, s/he is simply given

information to comprehend. Intersemioticity is thus achieved, the viewer/reader is visually and

verballyaddressedtointhesameway.

Movingtothetextualmetafunction,boththepictureandthetextfocusonthepivotalelements

that the addressee needs to understand the consequences of debt crisis in Greece. As regards the

picture, the entire scene is dominated by the ship. Looking at the distribution of given and new

information, there isnosemantic interconnectednessbetweenthevisualandtheverbalmodes.The

picture highlights the given information: the debt containers that have submerged part of the ship

havebeendepictedontheleft,MrsMerkelwhoisscoopingwateroutoftheshipiscentralised,while

theprowbeingberthedatthequaysideofaportisontherightsideofthepicture.Themetaphorical

illustration is focussing the viewer’s attentiononwhathas causedGreece’s economicproblems, i.e.

debts,somethingtheonlookeralreadyknows.AsregardswhoandwhatishappeningtoGreeceatthe

momentofreading/lookingatthepicture,MrsMerkelistheonewhoistryingtotakeGreeceoutofits

economicimbalance.Movingtowardstherightpartoftheimage,whichissupposedtorepresentwhat

isgoingtocome,i.e.thenewinformation,theshipisanchoredatapier,whichisgoingtopreventthe

41

ship fromsinking.Themetaphoricalscenecanbeunderstoodasif itweresuggestingthatGreece is

possiblygoingtogetoveritsdebts,thankstoMrsMerkel’ssupport, it isgoingtoavoidaneconomic

default. In contrast, the information that the text provides the readerwith, differs both in what is

writtenandhowinformation isdistributed.The temporalsequence frompast topresentandfuture

eventsisnotgivenasitisdisplayedinthepicture.Past,presentandfutureactionsregardingGreece’s

default,aswellasthedecisionsandactionstotakeinordertoavoidit,aretalkedaboutthroughout

thetext,aswellasMrsMerkel’sintentiontopreventGreece’sleavingtheEurozoneanditeconomic

default.Eventually,Greece’spossibleeconomicrehabilitationisnotdiscussedassomethingwhichis

going to happen; some decisions and actionsmust be taken before this happens. Thus, there is no

intersemioticinterrelationbetweenthevisualisedrepresentationandthetext.

Having introduced Royce’s framework, a few reflections deserve to be mentioned. After

having adopted this framework, I agree with Bateman’s point about (2014:171) it. Royce’s

characterisationisunclearaboutthefeasibilitynotonlyofidentifyingthecohesivetiesrelatingto

multimodal texts, but also to understanding their effectiveness; little guidance is given to the

analyst,aspointedoutherebelow:

The texts and the images are intended to be interpreted together, but it is left to the reader to

determinetheactualconnectionsthathold.However,this indeterminacyalsoappliestotheanalyst

unfortunately. Although the approach often makes visible just how many connections are being

suggestedinacomplextext-imagecombination,thereisratherlittleguidanceofferedtotheanalyst

concerning justwhichmaybenecessary foranunderstandingof themeaningbeingcreated,which

areintendedandwhichperhapsareaccidental,andsoon.

In order to substantiate the validityand reliability to the linkbetweenassumed cohesive

relationsandtheviewer/reader’sprocessofinterpretation,Royce’smainweaknessinpresentinga

study consists basically in limiting its experimentation to the qualitative analysis hemade on a

limited number of multimodal texts. Finally, a high degree of cohesive interconnection does not

necessarilycontributetotheunderstandingofthemultimodaltext.Cohesiveinterrelationdoesnot

confirmsemantic interconnectionacrossdifferentmodes,whichmustbevalidated tounderstand

multimodaltexts(op.cit.).

3.5Conclusions

After a concise presentation of the abovementioned frameworks, and considering that the

focusofthisstudyistoexaminemetaphoricalintersemiotiticyacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes,

noneoftheaboveframeworkscanbeentirelyadoptedtodevelopmyanalysis.Thatsaid,inorderto

42

identifythedegreeofin/dependencebetweentextandimage,whichIdevelopinchapter8,Irelyon

Barthes’definitionofanchoragebecause,asIhavealreadyexplainedinchapter2,TheEconomistuses

picturestointroduceatopicthatthearticleisgoingtodiscussindetail.AllofthearticlesIamgoingto

analyseprovideevidenceofwhatBarthesmeansbytheverbalanchoringfunction.

Inaddition,inordertoinvestigatetowhatextenttextandimagearesemioticallyinterrelated,I

follow Royce’s study as regards the analysis of text and image interrelations in ideational,

interpersonal and textual terms, which contribute to developing the study of metaphorical

intersemioticity(seechapter8).

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CHAPTER4

LITERATUREREVIEW:METAPHORACROSSTHEVERBALANDTHEVISUALMODES

Introduction

Thepresentchapterisintendedtoframethetheoreticalbackgroundwhichcharacterisesmy

approachtometaphorinvestigationinthecollectedsetofdataontheeurocrisis.

AfterstudyingandadoptingCognitiveMetaphorTheory’sapproachtometaphorinvestigation

in some ofmy publications (Leonzini 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), I decided to focusmy attention on

Cameron’s approach to metaphor analysis. Cameron rejects the Cognitive Metaphor Theory

formulationofhighlygeneralisedabstractconceptualsourceandtargetdomainsthat“pre-existactual

usesofmetaphorinlanguage”(Cameron,2008:77).Ithuspresentherframeworkwhichis“designed

toapplytometaphorinlanguageuseandsocialinteraction”(ibid.),onwhichIbasetheverbalanalysis

ofmydata.Furthermore,asectionisdedicatedtothestudiesmadeonmetonymyandhowmetaphor

andmetonymyoftenoccurascombinedcognitiveandlinguisticrealisationsbecause,whileexamining

the ten images, I identified the co-occurrence of visual metaphors and metonymies. The chapter

developswithForceville’sapproachtovisualmetaphoranalysis,whichIuseintheexaminationofmy

visual data. The concept and function of metonymy is introduced and metaphor and metonymy

connections are discussed. Finally, I also discussmetaphor study in the context of economics and

provideanoverviewofstudiesthatinvestigatedthetopicofeconomiccrisesthatspreadworldwide,

asdiscussedinthepressinthelastfewdecades.

4.1Initialstepstometaphoranalysis

AsMahon(1999:69)claimed“anyseriousstudyofmetaphorisalmostobligedtostartwiththe

worksofAristotle”,whopavedthewayforfollowinginfluentialtheoriesandapproachesonmetaphor

in language and thought.While arguing aboutmetaphor in thePoetics24 theGreek scholar classifies

metaphoras‘lyingoutsidenormallanguageuse’(op.cit.:71).InhisRhetoric25,Aristotlehighlightsthat

metaphors are ubiquitous in normal conversation and writing, and people use them in everyday

conversation. The Greek scholar incites both orators and writers to use and create ever better

metaphorsbecausepeopleareattractedbymetaphors,notonlycantheyunderstandthingsbetter,but

24ReferencestoAristotle’sPoeticsarefromthetranslationmadebyM.C.Butcher(1950).25ReferencestoAristotle’sRhetoricarefromthetranslationmadebyG.M.A.Grube(1958).

44

theyarealsohelpedtolearnthroughmetaphors(op.cit.:70).BorrowingAristotle’swords,thescholar

actuallypointsoutthat:

We learn above all frommetaphors.When Homer compares old age towheat stubble, hemakes us

realiseandunderstandthatbothwheatstubbleandoldagebelongtothegenusofthingsthathavelost

theirvigour[…]weareattractedbythosethingswhichweunderstandassoonastheyaresaidorvery

soonafterwards,eventhoughwehadnoknowledgeofthembefore,forthenthereisalearningprocess

orsomethingverylikeit,butinthecaseoftheobviousortheunintelligiblethereisnolearningatany

time.(Aristotle,Rhetoric3,10:141b;Grube,1958:89)

In addition to the pedagogical value that Aristotle attributes to metaphor, he also stresses their

cognitive value, affirming that they provide a reliable description of the world. People are thus

attractedbymetaphorsbecause they learnnew thingsand theymake connectionswith real things

thatwithoutthesupportofmetaphorstheywouldnothavebeenabletomake.Inhisview,metaphor

wasintendedtosimplifytheperceptionofthingsthroughsimilarityandresemblance.

ForcenturiesaftertheGreekscholar’sresearch,metaphorwasmainlyconsideredasapurely

rhetoricaldeviceused toembellishdiscourse inaway todrawacomparisonand findsomekindof

analogy between unrelated things, objects and circumstances (Kittay, 1987). Until around the late

1970s,metaphorwasconventionallyregardedasanornamentaltoolthatwasusedinliteratureand

rhetorictoprovidelinguisticcontextwithsymbolicexpressions(Johnson,1987).

Theearly1980smarkedaturningpointinthestudyofmetaphorasaconceptualaswellasa

linguistic phenomenon with Lakoff and Johnson’s seminal work, Metaphors We Live By (1980).

Metaphorstoppedbeingperceivedasadecorativeinstrumentandbecamevaluedasanintegralpart

ofeverydaycommunication.Thescholars’contributionlaidthefoundationsforadifferentapproach

aimedatshapingmetaphorasacognitiveconstruct,knownastheConceptualMetaphorTheory.

4.2ConceptualMetaphorTheory:claimsandcriticism

Thephenomenonofmetaphor,asexploredbyLakoffandJohnson(1980)hasbeenidentified

aspervasiveinourlife.Thescholarsdefineditas“understandingandexperiencingonekindofthingin

terms of another” (op.cit.:5), claiming thatwe speak of,write about, and depict theworld through

metaphors.Theprocessoftalkingandpotentiallythinkingaboutsomethingintermsofsomethingelse

outlines the varied and various aspects of a metaphoric use of language. By highlighting the

pervasiveness of conventionalisedmetaphoric conceptualisations and linguistic expressions, Lakoff

and Johnson investigated how people make use of these manifestations, both consciously and

unconsciously, and contributed to outlining thought and language as systematically shaped and

45

metaphoricallyconstructed.

According to the ConceptualMetaphor Theory, non-literal representations are systematised

conventionalpatternsofthoughts,whichLakoffandJohnsonhavecalledconceptualmetaphors.They

aresetsofcorrespondencesandmappingsthatlinktwoconceptualdomains,termedsourceandtarget

domains. The source domain is usually concrete and consists of entities, processes, attributes, and

relationsthatpeopleexperience.Conversely,thetargetdomain,usuallycorrespondstoabstractand

unfamiliarareasofexperience,whicharedifficulttooutline.Thetargetdomainisactuallyunderstood

withthemorefamiliarandconcreteareasofexperiencethataredefinedbythesourcedomain.The

linkconnectingthesource to the targetdomain isreferred toasmappingandisexpressedthrough

linguisticmetaphorsasdistinguishedfromconceptualmetaphors.

TheConceptualMetaphorTheoryunderlinestheconventionalisedhabitoftalkingandthinking

aboutone thing in termsof another, andMetaphorsWeLiveBy (1980) gives evidenceof howour

languageandourmindisorganised,structuredandconceptualisedmetaphorically.Inthisview,Iwill

pointoutjustoneofthenumerousexamplesthatLakoffandJohnsonstudiedandcommentedon;the

cognitiveviewofmetaphorunderlineshowloveisoftenunderstoodintermsofajourney26whichwas

framedasLOVEISAJOURNEY27.

JOURNEY28, as a source domain is lexicalised withmetaphoric expressions that are used in

understandingthecorrespondingtargetdomainLOVE.

Considering the LOVE IS A JOURNEY conceptual metaphor, the following expressions show some

examplesoflanguagemetaphors:

Lookhowfarwe’vecome.

Weareatacrossroads.

We’lljusthavetogoourseparateways.

Idon’tthinkthisrelationshipisgoinganywhere29

ThetargetdomainLOVErelatestoourknowledgeaboutloverelationships,whilethesourcedomain

referstoourawarenessandexperienceoftravellingandjourneying.Thetargetandsourcedomains

configure a scene,which compares lovers to travellers; they have common goals, and both have to

makedecisionsaboutwhichdirection/stotakeinordertoachievetheirobjectives.

Lakoff and Johnson’s publication revolutionised the study of metaphor and a number of

researcherswithinthefieldofcognitivelinguisticsandappliedlinguisticspromotedmodificationsand 26ForotherexamplesofconceptualmetaphorsseeLakoffandJohnson(1980/2003)andKövecses(2002/2010).27ThepractiseofusingSMALLCAPITALSwithconceptualdomainstodistinguishthemfromtheirverbalcounterpartswasfirstintroducedbyLakoffandJohnson(1980).28FollowingLakoffandJohnson’spracticeIuseSMALLCAPITALSwhenIrefertosourceandtargetdomains.29LakoffandJohnson(1980:44).Italicisedwordsasinoriginal,correspondtometaphoriclinguisticexpressions.

46

developments to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The major weakness which the conceptual

metaphortheoristsbasedtheirstudyonwasthattheyprioritisedthoughtoverlanguage.Theydidnot

provide any specific account for the use of linguistic metaphoric expressions, which might have

facilitatedtheprocessofidentifyingpatternsofverbalmetaphors.

FollowingLakoffand Johnson’s approach researchdevelopedand corpus-basedquantitative

dataanalyseswerecarriedoutonnaturallyoccurringdata.Corpuslinguisticsanalysis,asdeveloped

byDeignan(2005),providedreliabletotrackmetaphoroccurrencesandrecurrencesinlargedataset,

aswell as accounting for the existence of conceptual structures,which Lakoff and Johnsondid not

investigate systematically. The scholar pointed out that, in order to generalise on metaphoric

expressions,theresearcherneedstoadoptconsistentlytheprocedureofmetaphoridentificationand

useitacrossbroad-sizedlanguagedata.

Having taken into serious account the lack of an explicit set of methodological criteria to

identify metaphorical realisations in discourse, in order to distinguish between literal and

metaphoricaloccurrences,thePragglegiaz30Groupprovided“anexplicitmethodthatcanbereliably

employed”(2007:1),knownastheMIPprocedure,toprovidemetaphorscholarswithaninstrument

toidentifymetaphoroccurringindiscourse.Workingatawordlevel,theMIPprocedure,ismeantto

investigatethemeaningincontextandthebasicmeaningofallthelexicalunitsatextiscomposedof

toidentifymetaphoricallyusedexpressions.

Finally,ConceptualMetaphorTheoryhasalsoneglectedtofocusonmetaphoruseasoccurring

in specific instances of social interaction, which Lynn Cameron has investigated in her discourse

dynamicsapproach tometaphorstudy. Inherstudiesonmetaphor(2003,2006,2007,2009,2010,

2011, 2013), Cameron relies on theprincipleof interconnectednessbetween language, thought and

culture. IndisagreementwithLakoffand Johnson’sstancewhich identifiesconceptualmetaphorsas

generalisedwaysofthinking,Cameronexploresmetaphoroccurrenceindiscourse.Sheconsidersthat

metaphorrealisationdependsonthevariouscircumstancesunderwhichinteractionisachieved,thus

people’sideasmaychangeandbeadjusted,whichdemonstratesthatourthinkingisnotstructuredby

pre-determinedconceptualmetaphors.

4.3Metaphoruseinlanguage:Cameron’sdiscoursedynamicsframework

Drivenby the idea thatmetaphorbothreflectsandmayhaveasignificant influenceonpeople’s

feelingsand thoughts,Cameronhasstudiedmetaphorasaresearch tool to “understandbetterhow

peoplethink,howtheymakesenseoftheworldandeachother,andhowtheycommunicate”(2003:2).

30Thenameofthegroupcorrespondstothefirstlettersofthemembers’names:PeterCrisp,RaymondGibbs,AliceDeignan,GrahamLow,GerardSteen,LynneCameron,ElenaSemino,JoeGrady,AlanCienki,ZoltanKövecsesinvestedsevenyearsofresearchtoproduceametaphoridentificationprocedurewhichtheycalledMIP.

47

Inordertofullyunderstandtheuseandfunctionofmetaphor,itmustbestudiedasaninstrument

that people recur to when interacting and exchanging their thoughts, ideas, opinions in social

interaction.Cameronhasdevelopedthediscoursedynamicsframework,whichtakesinspirationfrom

LakoffandJohnson’sConceptualMetaphorTheorybutit“rejectsitsformulationofmetaphorinterms

of highly generalised and abstract conceptual domains that pre-exist actual uses of metaphors in

language”(2010:77).

DrawingoncontemporarycognitivepsychologyandVygotsky’ssocio-culturaltheory(1962),this

framework relies on the principle of interconnectedness between language, thought and culture.

Behindanyactofinteraction,linguistic,cultural,cognitiveandaffectiveprocessesareinterwovenand

dynamically adapt, flowandevolve intodifferentdiscourse activities. In this context, linguistic and

cognitive phenomena are perceived as processes, flows or movement, and discourse becomes a

dynamicsystemwhich,workingondifferentbutinterconnecteddimensionsandtimescales,develops,

adaptsandflowsuninterruptedly(ibid.).

In this view, what people communicate and how their discussion evolves, both determine the

discoursedevelopment.Eachparticipantdevelopsher/hisowndiscourseactivity,whosecomplexityis

characterisedand influencedbymultiple interactingsubsystems.Thediscourseactivitiesperformed

by individuals enter into connectionwithwider discourse networks relying on social, cultural and

contextualsystems.Anydiscourseeventisthusconnectedtootherlargerandsmallersystems,which

are identified and described on temporal scales (seconds, minutes, hours, months, etc.) and socio-

organisational levels (focus groups, social groups, communities, nations etc.).What people say in a

specificmoment of their discourse event, can be the consequence of somethingwhich occurred in

theirlifebefore,onadifferenttimescaleofhours,days,monthsandyears(op.cit.:83).

Moreover,referringtothesocio-organisationallevel,people’sdiscourseactivitiesareconnectedto

and influencedby familiarordistantenvironmentalgroups.These factorscontribute toshaping the

complexityofthediscoursedynamicsystemwhichchangesandmovesthroughsuccessivestates.This

progresscanbevisualisedintheformofapathacrossanabstractlandscape,asCameronclaims,

Thetrajectoryorpath,representingactualstatesthatthesystemmovesthrough,remainsasatraceofthe

systemactivityafter theevent, justas theshiny trail leftbehindbya snail isa trace itsmovementor the

whitetrailleftintheskybyaspeedingjetisatraceofitsflight.(ibid.)

As discourse develops, “people negotiate meanings, extend their ideas, or enjoy exploiting an

unexpectedpossibilityopenedupbymetaphor”(op.cit.:88).Metaphorappearswithintheflowingof

discourse, itbecomesausefulinstrumenttotrackdiscourseactivitiesandunderstandhowlanguage

andthoughtevolve.

48

Consideringthateitherwrittenororaldiscourseismadetocommunicateandactivateinteraction

between interlocutors, it develops as a process of multiple complex and interdependent dynamic

systems involving language, understanding,attitudes, values andemotions. Ina seriesof influential

studiesVygotsky(1962)andSlobin(1966)studied the interrelationbetween languageandthought.

Vygotskystressedtheinterdependencybetweenthoughtandspeechpointingoutwhatfollows:

Therelationtothoughtandwordisnotathingbutaprocess,acontinualmovementbackandforthfrom

thought to word and from word to thought. In that process the relation of thought to word undergoes

changeswhichthemselvesmayberegardedasdevelopment.Thoughtisnotmerelyexpressedinwords:it

comes into existence through them. Every thought tends to connect something with something else, to

establisharelationshipbetweenthings.(1962:125)

Slobin discussed the close relation between thinking and speaking, as an inseparable pair of

activities necessary to formulating an utterance. He identified “a special kind of thinking that is

intimately tied to language – namely, the thinking that is carried out, on-line, in the process of

speaking”(op.cit.:75).

Cameron(2003)extendsSlobin’sthinkingforspeakingprocedureandintroducesthetalking-and-

thinking-in-interactionprocesstounderstandmetaphoruseindiscourse.Asthescholarshows,what

people say reflectsandaffects their thoughts.Wordsbecome the verbalisationof ideas,while ideas

andattitudesareinfluencedbythecircumstancesinwhichdiscourseismade.

Cameronhighlights thedynamicnatureofspeech interaction inwhich the interlocutorsexpress

theirthoughtsandlistentotheothers’;inthiscontext,linguistic31metaphorsemerge.Thetalking-and-

thinking-in-interactionprocessunderlineshow

metaphorisnotprocessedseparatelyfromitlinguisticform,butthetwoarelearnttogether,storedtogether

and produced together. Metaphorical language and metaphorical thinking are therefore interdependent,

eachaffectingtheotherinthedynamicanddialogicprocessesoftalking-and-thinking.(2006:675)

The followingsub-sectionswilldiscuss the issues that theanalystneeds to identifyandanalyse

metaphorinordertotrackitsoccurrenceandrecurrencewithinandacrossdiscourse.

31Withthetermlinguistic,theauthorreferstometaphor“asitisusedbypeopleengagedinspecificsocialinteractions

involvinglanguage”(2010:3).

49

4.3.1Identifyingmetaphors

PartiallyagreeingwithBurke’sdefinitionofmetaphor“asseeingsomethingintermsofsomething

else”(1945:503),Cameronstressesthatmetaphorisaconnectingdevicewhich“bringstogethertwo

differentideasand,throughsomeinteractionoftheirmeaning,producesafurthersense”(2013:3).

Whileapproachingthestudyofmetaphor,Cameroninitiallyreliesonthemethodforidentifying

metaphorically usedwords in discourse, also known as theMetaphor Identification procedure (i.e.

MIP),which, as amember of the Pragglejaz Group, she collaborated to develop. The four steps of

metaphoridentificationwhichthePragglejazGroupsuggested(2007:3)arelistedherebelow:

1. Readtheentiretext-discoursetoestablishageneralunderstandingofthemeaning;

2. Determinethelexicalunitsinthetext-discourse;

3. (a)Foreachlexicalunitinthetext,establishitsmeaningincontext,thatis,howitapplies

toanentity,relation,orattributeinthesituationevokedbythetext(contextualmeaning).

Takeintoaccountwhatcomesbeforeandafterthelexicalunit.

(b) For each lexical unit, determine if it has amore basic contemporarymeaning, in other

contextsthantheoneinthegivencontext.Basicmeaningstendtobe:

• Moreconcrete(whattheyevokeiseasiertoimagine,see,hear,feel,smell,andtaste);

• Relatedtobodilyaction;

• Moreprecise(asopposedtovague);

• Historicallyolder;

(c) Ifthelexicalunithasamorebasiccurrent-contemporarymeaninginothercontextsthan

thegivencontext,adecisionmustbetakenwhetherthecontextualmeaningcontrastswith

thebasicmeaningbutcanbeunderstoodincomparisonwithit.

4.Ifyes,markthelexicalunitasmetaphorical.

While theMIP procedureworks atword level to identifymetaphorically usedwords, Cameron

(2003)develops theMetaphor Identification through theVehicle (MIV)and focuseson stretchesof

language,whichshecallsvehicleterms.Inclaimingthat,

Sometimes individualwordsmay be used metaphorically but often a group ofwords are used together

metaphorically.Byallowingmetaphorvehicle terms tobewordsorphrases, the identificationprocedure

andthetheoreticalframeworkfitvaliditytogether.(CameronandMalsen:105)

Cameronextendstheprocessofmetaphoridentificationtowordsandphrasesbecause,asshe

stresses, itmay needmore than amereword to have an ideametaphorically realised. In order to

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identify a metaphor, Cameron’s criterion principally sticks to the principles of incongruity and

transfer.Awordoraphraseismetaphoricallyusedgiventhefollowingcircumstances:

• the principle of incongruity: a word/phrase is pointed out as having more than one

meaning;theincongruouslyusedoneinthediscoursecontextunderanalysisisincontrast

withtheotherone;

• the principle of transfer: the contextualisedmeaning of aword/phrase is understood in

termsofitsbasicmeaning;

Inordertoavoidproblemsandtoprovidetheresearchwithtrustworthinessateachphaseofthe

metaphoridentificationprocess,words/phrasesarelabelledasvehicletermswhenthewholedataset

isinvestigatedlinebyline.

Metaphoricrealisationsmustbeexaminedconsideringwhytheywerechosenattheirparticular

pointsinthediscourse.Thecontextualisationofmetaphoroccurrenceallowstheexaminertobetter

grasp its functioninorder tomake inferencesabout theusers’ ideas, thoughts,attitudesandvalues

(op.cit.:7).

Taking into account the context in which the discourse events develop, a word/phrase can be

recognised as being used eithermetaphorically or non-metaphorically, and even both at the same

time.Moreover,metaphor identification is simplerwith nouns and verbs that have a strong lexical

context, because theirmore concrete orbasicmeaning is easily contrastedwith the contextual use.

Mostdifficultiesarisewithprepositions,phrasalandprepositionalverbs,anddelexicalisedverbslike

‘make’and‘do’,butthemostdifficultconditiontoacknowledgevalidityinmetaphoridentification,is

todecidehowfar the vehicle termsextends. Considering that codingobliges the researcher to take

multiple decisions, this process is more efficient and reliable if decisions are taken a priori, for

instancewhetherhighlyconventionalisedwordsandphrasesmustbe includedorexcluded innoun

phrases. As Cameron suggests, excluding highly conventionalised words and phrases, such as the

articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ innounphrases, set “boundarieson the categoryofmetaphor” (op.cit.:114). In

order to check vehicles basic meanings and to prevent disagreements when researchers work in

groups, the use of a large corpus of contemporary language use or a corpus-based dictionarymay

supporttheanalysis.

4.3.2Metaphorshifting

The dynamics of talking-an-thinking, which Cameron develops to track metaphor use in

discourse,highlightsthatmetaphorsoccurinvariousanddifferentwaysaccordingtothecontext,the

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organisation and the development of the discourse events. As discourse develops, metaphor may

change and adapt, a process which Cameron calls “metaphor shifting” (op.cit.:88) because “people

negotiatemeanings, extend their ideas, or enjoy exploiting anunexpectedpossibility openedupby

metaphor” (ibid.). Theways inwhichmetaphor can shift in the flow of discourse are identified as

development, re-deployment,andliteralisation.Whenthevehicle termdevelops, it canberepeated,

re-lexicalised, and an antonymic or contrasting term may be used. In the case of metaphor

development,bothvehicleandtopicaremaintained;conversely,vehiclere-deploymentoccurswhena

vehicleisusedagaininthediscoursebutappliedtoadifferenttopic.Finally,invehicleliteralisation,

themetaphoricuseofthevehicletermshiftstotheliteralformofthewords/phrasesthatre-appearin

thediscourse.Table4.1belowsummarises the typesofmetaphorshiftingasexplainedbyCameron

(op.cit.:90).

Table4.1.Typesofmetaphorshifting

METAPHORSHIFTING VEHICLE TOPIC

VEHICLE

DEVELOPMENT

Thevehicletermisrepeated,re-lexicalised,explicated,contrasted Thetopicremains

thesame

VEHICLE

RE-DEPLOYMENT

A lexical item which is equal or semantically connected to the

vehicletermisadoptedforadifferenttopic

Thetopicchanges

VEHICLE

LITERALISATION

The vehicle term is used in its literal, non-metaphoric form as

referringtothetopic

The vehicle and the topic

termsaremerged

In this view, after identifying metaphor in discourse, incongruous linguistic occurrence/s may be

trackedinordertoinvestigatetheircomplexityandvarietyinthedynamicsofdiscourse.

4.3.3Groupingmetaphors

After the identification of vehicle terms, Cameron suggests collecting/assembling related

vehicletermsintogroupingsbeforetopicsareidentified.Vehicletermsaregroupedtogether“onthe

basis of the semantic of the basic meaning of the metaphor vehicle” (op.cit.2010:120). Grouping

metaphorvehiclesisasubjectiveprocedurewhichtheresearcherdoes“workinginductivelyfromthe

data”(op.cit.:118).Oncevehicletermsarecollectedintoagroup,itmustbelabelled,aprocedurethat

“shouldremainasspecificaspossible” (op.cit.:119). Inorder to chooseanappropriate label for the

vehiclegrouping,whatmustbeavoidedistogiveabstractandgeneralisednames.Cameron’sguiding

principleistoselectalabelthatcoversallthevehiclesthathavebeencollectedinthesamegroup.

Whiletheanalysisproceeds,changescanbemadetoadjustandplacethevehicleinthemost

suitablegroup.Thisstepof investigationprovidestheresearcherwiththenecessary instrumentsto

highlighttheexistenceofpossiblerecurrentpatternsacrossthesetofdata.

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Byreferringtothesetofdatathisthesisfocuseson,Icollectedthevehicletermsthatdiscussedthe

economic instability of the Eurozone and the euro in terms of a disease into the Disease32 vehicle

group(seechapter6).Havingconsideredthebasicmeaningofthetermdisease,whichhighlightsthe

lackofphysicalstrengthaswellasaconditionofweaknessexperiencedbypeoplewhentheirbodyis

ill,Igatheredinthisgrouptermssuchascontagion33,feeble,weakness,plaguing,convulsion,pain,etc.

Therationalebehindthechoiceoflabellingthisgroup,theDiseasegroup,liesinthefactthatthisterm

couldbestdescribetheoverallbasicmeaningofthevehiclesbelongingtoit.

4.3.4Identifyingtopics

Takingintoaccountthattopicsarenotalwaysclearlyexpressedinthediscourse,theanalystis

asked to understand them, which may be quite problematic as a procedure. That said, while

investigating metaphorical realisations in discourse, after identifying vehicle terms, and collecting

them into groups, topics, such as what the incongruous expressions are referring to, must be

identified.

AsregardstheDiseasegroup,whichIreferredtointhesectionabove,Itakeasanexamplethe

clause“thecrisisthathasbeenplaguingtheEurozoneforalmosttwoyears”,whichwaswritteninthe

articlepublishedon29thOctober2011.Thebasicmeaningof thevehicle termplaguingstressesthe

presence of an infectious disease thatwill probably kill a lot of people.While reading the article, I

attributedtothetermplaguingacontextualisedmeaning,whichenabledmetoidentify“beingaffected

byeconomicproblemsthatmayleadtoadefault”34asthetopicofthismetaphor.

4.3.5Trackingsystematicmetaphorsindiscourse

Aftervehiclegroupsarecodedandmetaphortopicsareidentified,thelinguisticexpressionsthat

are used metaphorically to talk about them are collected into a systematic metaphor trajectory.

Camerondefinesasystematicmetaphoras“asetof linguisticmetaphorsinwhichconnectedvehicle

words or phrases are usedmetaphorically about a particular topic” (op.cit. 2010: 127). Systematic

metaphors provide the researcher with useful instruments to comprehend the ideas, attitudes,

thoughts, and values which the interlocutor does not necessarily wish to express explicitly while

her/hisdiscourseflows.

In contrast with Conceptual Metaphor Theory, which claims the pre-existence of metaphoric

conceptualisationsinpeople’smindsbeforebeingrealisedinlinguisticterms,thediscoursedynamics

32InthisthesisIrefertothevehiclegroupsofmetaphoricalexpressionswithaninitialcapital.33InthisthesisIusetheitalicisedformofawordasasmallcasewhenIrefertoitasavehicleterm.34InthisthesisIusethequotationmarkswhenIrefertometaphortopics.

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approachrecognisesthepossibilitythatinterlocutorshavetoorganisetheirdiscourseintometaphoric

patterns.Inthisview,whensystematicmetaphorsareidentified,thetrajectoryofthespeaker/writer’s

discoursecanbetracked,whichmayleadtheinterlocutortohaveaprompterunderstandingofwhat

isbeingtalkedabout.

InordertoprovideanexampleofhowIinvestigatedmetaphorsystematicityinmydata,Ireferto

theDiseasevehiclegroupasIdidinthesectionsabove.IidentifiedtheECONOMICDIFFICULTIESARE

A DISEASE35 as a systematic metaphor which develops across the set of data under analysis. This

pattern, which I examine in details in chapter 6 (section 6.4.2), discusses the economic crisis that

damagedtheEurozoneandtheeurointermsofadisease.Havingtrackedallthevehicletermswhose

contextualmeaningdiscussedthedifficultstateandsituationsconcerningtheEurozone’seconomyin

terms of a disease, I tracked recurrent expressions metaphorically used stressing the economic

troubles that the euro area had to face during the years of the debt crisis, which I summarise as

follows:Greeceisriskinganeconomicdefaultwhichisdiscussedaspossiblyspreadingintheformofa

market convulsion with the consequence of damaging other Eurozone countries. The market

convulsionwouldbeashockandwouldchangetheeconomicbalanceoftheUnion.Themetaphorical

patterndevelopsanddiscusseshowothercountriesareriskingsufferingfromthesamecontagionand

fall into a condition of economicweakness. The metaphor trajectory develops with the use of the

vehicletermpainwhichstressesthedisastrousconsequencesofwrongplansagreedtosavetheeuro.

Although the euro area is described as ill, themetaphorical trajectory ends with the vehicle term

recoverygivingasignofhopethateconomicstabilitymaycomeback.Incaseithappens,theeuroarea

willfeelbetter.

4.4Metonymyandmetaphor

Bothmetaphorandmetonymyaredefinedbycognitivelinguisticsasconceptualphenomena,

whichcanbestudiedandanalysedthroughtheirlinguisticexpressions.

One of the most influential theories of metonymy is suggested by the cognitive linguist,

Langacker (1993). He claims that an expression is metonymic because the meaning of a word is

attributed a different aspect when it is used in a different context. The author highlights that a

metonymic relationship is activated, for instance, between the use of the word university when it

referstothebuildings,andtheuseofthewordwhenitreferstotheinstitutionwherestudentslearn

andtaketheirdegree.Adifferentaspectofuniversityisstressedandthishappensduetothefactthat

wordsaregivenaspecificmeaningbythespeakerandbytheiruseincontext,thusthereisalwaysa

degreeofindeterminacy.Langackeractuallysaysthat“explicitlinguisticcodinggetsusintotheright

35InthisthesisIusetheitalicisedandcapitalisedformofanexpression/clausewhenIrefertoitasasystematicmetaphor.

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neighborhood[…]butfromtherewehavetofindtherightaddressbysomeothermeans”(Langacker,

2009:46).Metonymyischaracterisedbythe“othermeans”,whichbringthereaderandthehearerto

give attention and prioritise a different part of the knowledge they have of that expression. The

metonymicexpressionservesaprofile,areferentpointwhichtriggersmentalaccesstotheintended

target,namedbyLangackerasactivezone.Wordscansimplysuggestabroadareaofmeaning,butthe

differentpointsofthatmeaningarethenactivatedindifferentcontexts.Metonymyawakensaprocess

ofreflectionwherepeopleareaskedtodecidewhichreferentpointisprofiledindifferentinstancesof

languageuse.AsLittlemorearguesabout,

Langacker’sviewofmetonymypresentsaseriouschallengetometonymyscholarsasitsuggeststhat,in

some respects, just about all instances of meaning and communication are metonymic, as meaning

comprehensionnearlyalwaysinvolveshighlightingsomeaspectsofaphenomenonandputtingothers

intheshade.(2018:55)

Relying on the principle that bothmetonymy andmetaphor are pervasive in everyday life,

Kövecses and Radden (1998:39) highlight what differentiates one from the other. Metonymy is

definedasacognitiveprocessinwhichoneconceptualentity,thevehicle,providesmentalaccessto

anotherconceptualentity,thetarget,withinthesamedomain.Intheexpression“she’saprettyface”,

theword face refers to aperson, thus the sentence is understoodas saying she is a pretty person

(op.cit:18-19),whichinmetonymictermscanbeunderstoodasXSTANDSFORY.

Thescholarsproposeahierarchicaltaxonomyofmetonymytypesandtheydivideitintotwo

categories,WHOLEANDPARTandPARTANDPART(1999). In the former categorypart of something

standsforawhole(e.g.EnglandisusedtorefertoGreatBritain),orthewholeofsomethingisusedto

refertopartofit(e.g.theexpression‘lightingtheChristmastree’refersto‘lightingthecandlesonthe

Christmastree’).TheWHOLEANDPARTcategorycomprehendssixidealizedcognitivemodels36(ICMs)

whichdevelopintotwenty-onedifferenttypesofmetonymies(seeKövecsesandRadden1999).PART

ANDPARTmetonymiesinvolveconfigurationswheresomethingisusedtorefertoaconceptualentity

whichitissimplyrelatedto(e.g.whensomeonesaysthats/hemarriedmoney,moneybelongstothe

spouse, it is not part of them). Within the PART AND PART configuration, Kövecses and Radden

recognisetenidealizedcognitivemodels37(ICMs)whichgiverisetoforty-threetypesofmetonymies

36Theidealisedcognitivemodelsinvolveentities(onepartofanentitycanrepresentthewholeorviceversa),scales(ascaleasawholecanrefertoitsupperendandtheupperendofascalecanrefertothescaleasawhole),constitution(thematerialanobject ismadeof canbeused to refer to theobject itself), events (thepartof anevent can stand for awholeevent),categorymembership(thememberofacategorycanstandforthecategoryasawhole),andpropertiesofcategories(thepropertyofacategorycanstandforthecategoryasawhole).37Theidealisedcognitivemodelsincludeaction(anobjectisusedinanaction,themannerinwhichanactionisperformedisused to refer to theaction itself), perception (anentity canbeusedto refer tohowexperiencesemotionally that entity),causation(acausereferstoitseffect),production(theproducerreferstotheobject),control(thecontrollerofagroupstands

55

(see Kövecses and Radden 1999). The taxonomical hierarchy of metonymy types identified by the

scholars has been an influential contribution to the study ofmetonymy even though the types are

mostlydecontextualized“whichpreventsthemfrommakingobservationsthatgobeyondthesemantic

level(Littlemore,2018:21).

In contrastwith their definition of metonymy, Kövecses and Radden viewmetaphor as the

cognitivemechanismwherebythesourcedomainispartiallymappedontothetargetdomain.Inthe

conceptualmetaphorLOVEISAJOURNEY(thischapter,section4.2),thedomainof journeyismapped

ontothedomainoflove.Thismappingtransfersawiderangeofdifferentaspects(attributes,entities,

propositions)fromthedomainofjourneys,asubdomainofmovement,tothedomainoflove,asub-

domainofemotions(Lakoff,1993:206-209).

Cognitive linguistsexplainedthedifferencesbetweenmetonymyandmetaphorclaimingthat

whereasmappingprocessesinmetaphorsarethoughttotakeplaceacrossdomains,withmetonymies

theyoccurwithinasingledomain(Littlemore,op.cit.:14).Thetermdomain,whichwasintroducedby

Lakoffin1987,characterizestheknowledgepeoplehaveofaspecificentityandvariesfromcultureto

culture.

Thepossibilitytofindmetaphorandmetonymycombinedinlanguageusewasfirstlystudied

byGoossenswhopointedoutthat,

“Although in principlemetaphor andmetonymyare distinct cognitive processes, it appears to be the

case that the two are not mutually exclusive. They may be found in combination in actual natural

language.”(1995:159)

Goossens found frequent patterns of interconnection between the two, which he called

metaphtonymy. He actually identified four models, such as metaphor from metonymy, metonymy

within metaphor, demetonymisation within metaphor and metaphor within metonymy. The first

patternstressesthedevelopmentofametaphorfromametonymy,theexpression‘saysomethingwith

one’s tongue in one’s cheek’ is actually born as ametonymy but then developsmetaphorically. In

metonymicterms,theimpactofthespeakersayingsomethingasifthehadhistongueinhischeekis

ironic. The expression becomes metaphorical when it is understood as referring to an insincere

speakerwhodoesnotwanther/his listeners tounderstandthat s/hedidnotmean to saywhathe

actually said. (Goossens, 1995:169). Themetonymywithin ametaphor pattern is activatedwhena

metonymyfunctionsonlyinitstargetdomainanditisthenembeddedwithinametaphor.Goossens’s

takes the expression “I couldbitemy tongueoff” (op.cit.:170), to give evidenceof how ‘my tongue’

refersmetonymicallytothespeechfaculty.Inmetaphoricaltermsthespeakerissorryforhavingsaid

forthepeople),possession(anobjectreferstothepersonitbelongsto),containment(acontainerstandsforitscontentsorviceversa),andmodificationofform(themodifiedformofawordcanrefertotheworditself).

56

something rude or foolish. The third way in which metaphor and metonymy interact is called

demetonymisation within metaphor. The phrase “paying lip service” (op.cit.:171), which means

supportinginwordsbutnotinfacts,maybeunderstoodatfirstasametonymy,wherethewordlip

(part)would refer to speaking (whole). In order tomake the figurativeexpressionwork, theword

‘service’mustbeadded,sothepartisthusdissociatedfromthewholeanditisunderstoodexclusively

asametaphor.Goossensusestheexpression“getupone’shindlegs”(idid.),meaningtostandupin

ordertosayorarguesomethingespeciallyinpublic,isanexampleofmetaphorwithinmetonymy,the

lasttypeofinteractionbetweenmetaphorandmetonymy.Thisexpressionisessentiallyametonymy

even though it strictly relies on the metaphorical understanding of a human being as an animal

standing on two legs. Although it is processed “with an awareness of the metonymy, it is more

adequatetoviewthisasametaphorembeddedintoametonymy”(op.cit:172).

Even though metaphor and metonymy have been valued by cognitive linguistics as

conventionalcognitivemechanisms,asLakoffandJohnsonshadarguedaboutintheearly80th,they

areautomatic,unconscious,pervasiveandsystematicineverydaylanguage,buttheycanbeexpressed

throughmodesdifferentthanverbalexpressions,suchasnon-verbalcommunication(1980:156-158).

As the focus of this thesis is to analyse metaphoric realisations in their verbal, visual and

verbal-visualforms,Iamgoingtorestrictthestudyofmetonymytoitoccurrencesinthevisualmode

andwhetherandhowitinteractswithvisualmetaphors.

4.4.1Identifyingmetonymy

Following and combining the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) developed by the

Pragglejaz Group (2007) and Cameron’s (2003)Metaphor Identification through the Vehicle (MIV),

whichprovedtobevalidinstrumentstoidentifyinglinguisticmetaphor(seesection4.3.1),Biernacka

managedtodevelopaprocedure formetonymy identification.The scholar summarises the steps to

identifylinguisticmetonymyasfollows:

1. Readtheentiretexttogetageneralunderstandingoftheoverallmeaning;

2. Determinelexicalunits;

3. Decideonthemetonymicityofeachlexicalunit;

a. For each lexical unit establish its contextual meaning – taking into account how it

applies to an entity in the situation evoked by the text, as well as co-text (i.e. the

surroundingtext;whatissaidbeforeandaftertheexaminedexpression).Takeco-text

intoaccount;

b. Foreach lexicalunitdetermine if ithasamorebasiccontemporarymeaning inother

contextsthanthemeaninginthegivencontext;

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c. If the lexicalunithasamorebasiccontemporarymeaning inothercontextsthanthe

givencontext,andthecontextualandbasicmeaningsaredifferent,determine ifthey

are connected by contiguity, defined as a relation of adjacency and closeness

comprisingnotonlyspatialcontactbutalsotemporalproximity,casualrelationsand

partwholerelations;

4. Ifaconnectionisfoundinstep3cthatisoneofcontiguity:checkbackwardsandforwardsto

determine if any other lexical unit(s) belong(s) together semantically, thus determining the

extent of the metonymy vehicle; and mark the lexical unit (or lexical units which belong

together)asmetonymyvehicle.(Biernacka,2013.117)

Thekey step inBiernacka’a approach is in3c,where the analyst is asked todecide if the situation

whichthetextevokeshighlightsaconnectionbetweenthecontextualandthebasicmeanings.Relying

on her approach to identify verbal metonymies, I will adapt it to the identification of visual

metonymies. My methodological approach to visual metonymy identification will be presented in

chapter5(section5.4).

4.5Forceville’sapproachandvisualmetaphoranalysis

As Kress and van Leeuwen commented on in their study on multimodal discourse (2001),

nowadays communication is preferably organised and performedas combined forms of interaction

which they calledmultimodal construct. Following the scholars’ interest in examining crossmodal

interaction as the core of modern communication, Forceville has focussedmost of his research on

examiningmetaphoricmanifestationsacrossmodes.Claimingthatverbalmessages, intheiroraland

writtenrealisations,aremorethanoftencombinedwithothersignifyingsystems,hepointedoutthat,

Printedmaterials(advertisements,manuals, instructionsbooks,maps,graphics,cartoons,etc.)usually

combine,andestablishinteractionsbetweenverbalandpictorialinformation,whilemostfilmsandTV

programs inadditiondrawonmusicandnon-verbal sound. Internet sitescombine textwithpictures

and sound, and pay attention to graphic lay-out. Spoken language is often accompanied by gestures,

whilemodernproductdesigninvolvesnotonlywhatproductslook like,butalsohowtheysound(e.g.

cars’motors,theirclosingdoors)orevensmell.(2009:3)

Forcevillehasthuscontributedtomultimodaldiscourseanalysisbyexaminingmetaphorsasthey

developacrossmodes.Inhisearlyresearch,theauthorinvestigatedvisualmetaphorandpostulated

thatwhenametaphorisrenderedvisuallyanexpectedvisualelementisreplacedbyanunexpected

one,whichheaffirmsbysaying

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[…]thatpictorialelementinapictureisrepresentedinsuchawaythataviewerofthepictureisforcedto

understandorexperiencethatelementintermsofanotherelement(whetherornotvisiblypresentinthe

pictureitself)withouttherebeingapre-existentorconventionalconnectionbetweenthesetwoelements.

(1994:2)

Forceville’sassumptionisborneoutthroughtheanalysisofanadvertisementshowingtheupperbody

ofamaninasmartoutfitwearingashoeinsteadofatie,wheretheunexpectedelementreplacingthe

expectedone(thetie)isashoe.ThepictorialmetaphorwhichtheauthorverbalisesasSHOEISTIEis

thusdescribed:

Theforegroundedobjectisashoe.Weimmediatelyseethatthereissomethingoddaboutthisshoe:itis

locatedwherewewouldordinarilyhaveexpectedsomethingelse,namelyatie.Thevieweris invitedto

perceive the phenomenon shoe not in its usual, literal sense but in terms of the very different

phenomenontie.(1994:5)

In his influential study of visual metaphors, the scholar distinguishes four types of visual

metaphors, hybrid, contextual, integrated, andpictorial simile, andprovides substantial evidenceof

what characterises each type in his studies (2008). When the visual representation portrays an

impossible entity in theworld, showing twoobjectsA andB,which are usuallyunderstoodas two

differententitiesbelongingtotwodifferentdomains,butareexceptionallyvisualisedasbelongingto

thesamebecausetheymergeintoasinglegestalt,themetaphorishybrid(op.cit.:465).Whenanobject

is represented inanunexpectedvisualcontext,objectA isunderstoodasbeingobjectB,due to the

context in which it is portrayed, the metaphoric representation is contextual. While the visually

representedentity is the target, thevisuallysuggestedentity is thesource,which is inferredby the

viewer thanks to the context of expression (op.cit.:464).When the visual representation shows an

object A which looks like an object B, even without being provided with a specific context, the

metaphoric depiction is integrated (op.cit:468). While a contextual metaphoric representation

prompts identification(‘A isB’ format)betweenthe targetand thesource, the integratedmetaphor

expressessimilaritybetweenthetwodomains(‘AlikeB’format).Whentwoobjectsarerepresentedin

their entirety and are made to look similar, the metaphor is a pictorial simile (A is like B). The

juxtapositionappearsasasortofinvitationaddressedtotheviewertocomparethetwoentities,and

theverbaltext,whichfunctionsasacontextualsupport,promptsanaturalconnectionandtriggersthe

processofmappingfromAtoB(op.cit.:466).

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4.6Forceville’smonomodalandmultimodalmetaphors

ConsideringhimselfasastrongadherentoftheConceptualMetaphorTheory,Forcevilletakes

seriously into consideration Lakoff and Johnson claiming that “metaphor is primarily a matter of

thought and action and only derivatively a matter of language” (1980:153). Their influential

argumentations aimed to recognise the human conceptual system as a predominantly metaphoric

construct.Thescholars’theoryhighlightedthathumanbeingstendtoconceptualiseabstractideasin

terms of concrete experience. What Lakoff and Johnson did not develop in their research was

considering the sign system in which the mapping from a source to a target domain would be

produced(Forceville,2008:463).Althoughtheydidnotsetlimitstometaphoricrealisations,whatthe

ConceptualMetaphorTheory approach ignoredwas thatmetaphors canoccur inothermodes than

language.Althoughherecognisesthatmetaphors“canoccurnon-verballyandmultimodallyaswellas

purely verbally” (2006:381), Forceville has dedicatedmost of his studies to investigatemetaphors

pervasiveness as realisations which include various modes of expression different from and in

additiontotheverbal,suchasthemodeofimages,music,body,andsenses.

The author identifiesninemodal categories, such as thepictorial,written, spoken, gestures,

sounds,music,smell,taste,touch(2006:383)whichheusestodevelopmultimodalanalysis.

The investigation ofmodes and the various realisations ofmetaphor led him to distinguish

betweenmonomodalandmultimodalmetaphor.Relyingontheterminologyadoptedbythecognitive

metaphor theorists, who identified a metaphor as consisting of a target, and abstract conceptual

domain being understood from a source, a concrete element being the linguistic realisation of a

cognitive metaphor, Forceville develops his framework of analysis identifying monomodal and

multimodal metaphor. When “both target and source domains are exclusively or predominantly

renderedinonemode”(2009:23),ametaphorismonomodal.Conversely,ametaphorcanbeclassified

as multimodal when the source and target domains are “each represented exclusively or

predominantlyindifferentmodes”(op.cit.:24).

Having introduced the scholars who contributed to the study of metaphor by providing

frameworks to examine metaphor realisations within the verbal mode (Lakoff and Jonhson and

Cameron)andacrossmodes(Forceville),whomIwillreferagaintoinchapter5,whereIdiscussthe

methodological approachof this thesis, in the followingsection I turn toadiscussionofmetaphors

usedinthelanguageofeconomicstodebatethedebtcrisis.

4.7Metaphorandeconomics

In the late 20th century, in order to provide evidence of metaphor use, function and effect

among the interactors of economic issues, Henderson (1982, 1994, 2000), Dudley-Evans and

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Henderson (1990), and Hewings et al. (1999) investigated metaphor use in the discourse of

economics.

In studyingmetaphorical occurrences in the textbooks teaching Economics as an academic

subject,Hendersonpointedoutwhatfollows:

Metaphor is often considered either a feature of personal style (i.e. personal decoration) or as a

misleading mode of thinking and writing that has no place in science. The language of economics

containsmanyexamplesofdescriptiveterminologybasedonmetaphor.(1982:147)

Thescholarfoundthatmetaphorisalinguistictoolusedbytheexpertsinthefieldtofacilitate

andenhancetheunderstandingofcomplexeconomicissues.HavingexperiencedteachingEconomics

tostudentswhosemothertonguewasnotEnglish,hebasedmuchofhisresearchontheproblemsand

difficultiesthatstudentsfacedinstudyingandunderstandingEconomicsasasubject.Bytryingtofind

asolutiontosupportandfacilitatethestudents’learning,hefoundthat

Economists usedmetaphor on a systematic and/or ad hoc basis to help towards building predictive

models, to suggest good action or form the basis for judgment, to establish a technical and semi-

technicalvocabulary,toassistintheframingandreframingofquestionsaswellastoinstruct,ridiculeor

evenmislead.(op.cit.:152)

Henderson highlighted that, although metaphor is often used in Economics textbooks to

enhancetheunderstandingofcomplexeconomicconcerns,studentsdonotfindthislinguistictoolso

easytounderstand,unlesstheyweregivenanexplanatorysupport.Henderson’sfinalreflectionson

whether the use of metaphor facilitated students’ understanding of economic issues or not, was

neither positive nor negative. The scholar claimed that metaphor seems to make students’

understanding easier when professors find and use the adequate teaching strategies to face their

students’problems,asclaimedinthefollowingcitation:

The wide and deliberate use of metaphor in economics texts suggests that methodologists and

economics educators need to spendmore time thinking about the constructive use ofmetaphor and

workingoutimplicationsforteachingstrategies.(ibid.)

In contrast with formal Economics texts, economic journalism recurs to metaphorical

expressions“togivereadersasenseoffamiliaritywiththecontenttobecommunicated”(Henderson,

2000:170).AspointedoutbyCharteris-Black,

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Metaphorsaresupposedtofacilitateandenhanceunderstandingandtoaddanadditionalmeaninglevel

ofmeaning by choice of a linguistic expression thatmaynot be the conventional or ordinaryway of

expressinganidea.(2001:252)

The scholar’s studies on metaphor realisations and occurrences in newspaper articles discussing

economicissuesgiveemphasistometaphorasadidactictoolwhichfavoursstudents’understanding

oftechnicalconcerns.

Apartfromexaminingmetaphoricalmanifestationsinjournalismasadidactictool,agrowing

interest inmetaphor analysis contributed to the publication of studies on the role of metaphor in

economic matters across the media (e.g. Koller 2003; Sarmiento 2007; Herrera Soler 2008; Greco

2009;PortoandRomano2013).

TheeconomicandfinancialcrisesbothinAmericaandEuropehavebeenaprolificgroundof

interest for studyingmetaphors as cognitive and linguistic tools adopted to explain the nature and

gravityofongoingmonetary instability.Aplethoraofresearchstudieshasdiscussed theubiquitous

practiceofusing linguisticmetaphors tounderstandeconomiccrisesandtheeurocrisis (Charteris-

BlackandEnnis2001;Charteris-BlackandMusolff2003;OrtsandRojo2009;LopezandLlopis,2010;

SilaskiandDurovic2010;Slintakova2010;Esager2011;Dalalau2013;Wangetal.2013;Pühringer

andHirte2013;Breeze2014;Jorisetal.2014;Arrese2015;DeLandtsheer2009,2015;DeLandtsheer

and Vande Voorde 2015; Nerghes et al. 2015; O’Mara-Shimek et al. 2015; Arrese and Vara-Miguel

2016; Ho 2016). Conversely, less research has been carried out on pictorial and verbal-visual

multimodalmetaphoricalrepresentationsofeither(CortesdelosRios2010;BounegruandForceville

2011).

Thefollowingsectionprovidesanoverviewofhowcrisismetaphorresearchinjournalismhas

developedfromdifferentperspectives.

4.7Crisismetaphorsandjournalism

Financialandeconomiccrisesprovokeperiodsofinstabilityandevokestrongemotionsinthe

population/s involved. As De Landstheer shows (2009; 2015), journalists tend to use metaphors

extensivelytohighlighttheseemotionsandframe38crisesconcerns.

In2008thefinancialandeconomiccrisisthatstartedintheUnitedStatesprovokingthefallof

theAmericanbankingsystem,spreadandseriouslyaffectedEuropeinthesameyear,withtheriskof

38Thetheoryof framingwasdevelopedbyEntmanaccordingtowhom“to frameis toselectsomeaspectsofaperceivedrealityandmakethemmoresalient inacommunicativecontext(1993:52).Byselectingandprioritisingcertainaspectsofreality and omitting others, messages are usually produced and framed in a way that they can be quickly and clearlyunderstood,andcanmonitorandinfluencethosetowhomtheyareaddressed.

62

drivingsomeoftheEurozonememberstatestoaneconomicandfinancialdefault.

Takingthistopicasapointofreference,numerousstudieshaveexaminedtheuseandtheroleof

metaphors,basedonLakoffandJohnson’sConceptualMetaphorTheory,whichpointtoconceptualand

linguisticconvergenceintheuseofmetaphoricpatternsacrosslanguages,culturesandmedia.

Usingacomparativeapproachaimedatexaminingwhetherdifferentculturesandlanguagescould

promptdivergentusesofconceptualeconomicmetaphors,uniformitywasfound.

Charteris-Black and Ennis (2001) compare the use of linguistic and conceptual metaphors in a

corpusofEnglishandSpanishfinancialreportspublishedinbusinessnewspapersin1997onthestock

marketcrash.Theresearchfindingsindicatedstrongsimilaritybetweenthetwolanguagesasregards

conceptual metaphors such as THE ECONOMY IS AN ORGANISM, MARKET MOVEMENTS ARE PHYSICAL

MOVEMENTS,andDOWNWARDMARKETMOVEMENTSARENATURALDISASTERS.Incontrast,theauthors

foundsomesignificantdifferencesintermsoflinguisticmetaphoricalexpressions.Spanishreportsuse

moremetaphors based on psychologicalmood and personality,while English articles aboundwith

nauticallybasedmetaphors.

Charteris-BlackandMusolff (2003)studiedtheuseofmetaphoron theeuro topic.Thedataset

underanalysisinvolvedacorpusofarticlestakenfromtheBritishFinancialTimes(47articles)andthe

GermanFinancialTimesDeutschland(63articles)discussingthelossofvalueintheforeignexchange

markets that affected the euro currency. The authors identified and examined three conceptual

metaphors,suchasTHEVALUEOFTHEEUROISANENTITYTHATMOVESUPORDOWN,THESTATEOFTHE

EURO IS A STATE OF HEALTH/STRENGTH, and EURO TRADING IS A PHYSICAL COMBAT. Although fairly

strongsimilaritieswere foundas regards the up/downandhealth/strengthmetaphors, the combat

metaphorhighlighteddifferencesinthefrequency,variationandrangeofsemanticimplications.While

theGermandatadiscussedthesinglecurrencyintermsofaphysicalandmedicalentity,intheEnglish

corpus themost frequent representation of the euro discussed the currency in terms of “an active

entitythatcanhitoutandsufferblowsfromopponents”(op.cit.2003:26).

Silaski and Durovic (2010) found uniformity of THE ECONOMY IS A SICK PERSON conceptual

metaphorusedtoconceptualisetheglobalfinancialcrisisintheBritishandtheSerbianpress.

Esager (2011) achieved similar results examining British and Danish newspapers; the author’s

analysis founduniformity inTHEECONOMICCHANGE ISMOVEMENTUP/DOWN,MONEY IS LIQUID, THE

ECONOMYISAMACHINE,andECONOMICCRISISISILLNESS/ECONOMICACTIVITYISMEDICALTREATMENT

conceptualmetaphors,usedtostructurethefieldofeconomics,wereusedsimilarlyinDanishandin

English.Infacttherewerenoconceptualmetaphorsusedinonelanguagethatwerenotusedinthe

otherlanguage.

Wangetal.(2013)usedacorpus-basedapproachtoobservetheuseofmetaphoricaloccurrences

describingtheglobaleconomyof2008acrossEnglishandRussiannewspapersarticles.Theauthors’

researchhighlightedthattheconceptualmetaphorsECONOMICCRISISISANORGANISMandECONOMYIS

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A SICK ORGANISM were used similarly in English and Russian, although frequency and linguistic

expressionsrevealedsomedifferences.

Pühringer&Hirte (2013)oriented their studyonmetaphorical realisationsacross seven leading

German, Austrian and Swiss newspapers and magazines and identified stability in patterns of

argument and metaphors used to discuss the crisis. The scholars could track uniformity in the

occurrenceandrecurrenceofdisease,naturaldisastersandmilitarymetaphors.

Jorisetal.(2014)examinedtheframesusedbyreportingarticlesontheeurocrisisinFlemishand

Dutchnewspapers.Lookingintofivedominantframes(war,disease,naturaldisaster,constructionand

game)uniformitywasfoundinthepressofbothcountries.

OnthebasisofaquantitativecontentanalysisofarticlesinDutchandFlemishnewspapers,Nerghes

etal.(2015)analysedmetaphorsdiscussingeconomicconcernsintermsof‘toxicillnesses’asusedto

frame the 2008 global crisis before andafter its development in British and Americandailieswith

differentorientationsandaddressedtodifferenttypesofaudiences.

De Landtsheer (2015) and De Landtsheer and Van De Voorde (2015) provided meaningfully

measurableevidenceofhowfinancialandeconomicnewsarticlesshowadeliberatetendencytoadopt

metaphoric patterns during periods of crisis. In their study, the scholars discussed the power of

conceptualandlinguisticmetaphorsasstrategicframingdevicesselectedandemployedtoinfluence

thereadersonthediscussedtopic.

ArreseandVara-Miguel(2016)focussedtheirresearchontheeurocrisismetaphoricframesacross

countries severelyhit by sovereigndebtproblemsandotherswhich the crisisdidnotdamage.The

findings highlighted a predominance of disease and natural conceptual and linguistic metaphors,

whose frequency varied across countries, although a common view of the euro crisis across

ideologically different publications was shared. Conversely, the different newspapers all provided

uniformity in the use of metaphors, thus reflecting a common view of the euro crisis across

ideologicallydifferentpublications.

Otherresearchersstudiedhowandtowhatextenteitherpositiveornegativemetaphorframes

wereusedacrossdifferentpresspublicationstoillustratethesocialcontextofthecrisis,itsresultsand

theeconomicconsequencesonthecountriesaffected.

OrtsandRojo(2009)exploredmetaphoriccrisisframesinacorpusofSpanishfinancialarticles

takenfromElEconomistafrom2007andtheendof2008.Thestudymeasuredahigherfrequencyof

negativemetaphorpatternsinthearticlespublishedin2008,whichvalidatedthescholarshypothesis,

having taken into consideration that the “March 2008 presidential elections led the Spanish

governmenttodenythatSpaincouldbeaffectedbytheglobaleconomiccrisis”(2009:191).In2010

thesameauthorsexaminedmetaphoricalcrisisframesintwocorporaofEnglishandSpanishfinancial

articles taken from theBritishmagazineTheEconomistand the SpanishnewspaperELEconomista.

TheEnglisharticleswere foundtohaveahighernumberofmetaphorsusednegatively. Inaddition,

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metaphorwasidentifiedasapowerfuldevicetoframeeconomicissues.

Slintakova(2010) focussedonhowmetaphor framessimilarly turned frompositive tonegative

bothinCzechandGermanpresspublicationsafterthecrisisbrokeout.

Before concluding, somemore studies,whichdidnot prompt a comparative analysis across

differentlanguages,culturesandthepress,deservebeingmentioned.

Dalalau(2013)carriedoutaquantitativeandqualitativeanalysisofmetaphoricaloccurrences

inaselectionof30articlespublishedbyTheEconomistbetween2009and2012,outlininghowboth

thefinancialandtheeconomiccrisisanditseffectstendedtobemetaphoricallyconceptualisedbythe

Britishpressintermsofillness,fire,container,naturalphenomenon,messandplants.

Breeze (2014) focussed uniquely on Britain and inspected negative metaphorical patterns

espousedbytheBritishpresstoframesouthernEuropeasapoor,inoperative,lethargicyetdangerous

area.

Similarly,Arrese(2015)studiedeconomicmetaphors framingtheeurocrisisinaselectionof

Spanishnewspapersofdifferentideologicalstance,suchastheABC,aright-wingdaily,theElPaís,left-

wingdaily,theElMundo, ideologicallyorientedinthemiddle,andtheExpansiòn,specificallydealing

with economics and finance. The study results confirm that disease and natural metaphorical

conceptualisationsprovidehighuniformityandconvergencetothelinguisticframingoftheeurocrisis

among newspapers of different ideological stance and editorial production. Once more traditional

conceptualmetaphorsmonopolisethelinguisticscenario.

Inaddition,O’Mara-Shimeketal.(2015)examinedconvergentanddivergentmetaphorsonthe

2008Americanstockmarketcrashasportrayedby threedifferentAmericannewspapers(TheNew

YorkTimes,TheWallStreetJournalandTheWashingtonTime).Thestudyresultsproviderelevanceof

how animate-biological metaphors dominate in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal

publications.Thestockmarketisunderstoodintermsofalivingbeingwhichdeservestobenurtured.

Ho(2016)discussedwhichmetaphorswerechosenbyAmericanjournaliststoconceptualisenegative

emotions of fear and anxiety when the 2008 global financial crisis occurred. Her study is a

quantitatively oriented research investigating metaphorical linguistic realisations as published in

threeAmericannewspapers (USAToday,TheNewYorkTimes, TheWashingtonPost) in a year time

frame(15thSeptember2008-15thMarch2009).

Finally, some other studies explored the visual realisations of conceptual metaphors in the

media. Cortesde losRios (2010) explorednatural disasters,weather andapocalypticmetaphors as

usedtoportraythe2008economiccrisisinaselectionofcoverspublishedbyTheEconomistin2008.

Bounegru and Forceville (2011) contributed to multimodal discourse analysis with their

researchon a corpusof 30political cartoons to illustrate and commenton the economic instability

prompted by the 2008 global financial crisis. The authors examined the pictorial/multimodal

manifestations as being depicted in the cartoons and identified the systematic recurrence of three

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source domains scenarios, such as the CATASTROPHE/(NATURAL) DISASTER, ILLNESS/HEALTH, and

BEGGING.ThecartoonsthatwerecollectedinCATASTROPHEsourcedomain,weremeanttoillustrate

thecrisisintermsof“apotentiallylethalthreatthatwascausedbyforcesofnaturebeyondthecontrol

ofhumanbeings”(op.cit.:214).Thesecondgroupofcartoonsrepresentthecrisisunderstoodinterms

of“apotentiallylethalillness,andof(theriskof)deathbroughtaboutbycausesotherthantheforces

ofnature”(op.cit.:217).ThecartoonswhichtheauthorsidentifiedasbelongingtotheBEGGINGsource

domainstressedtheneedformoneyandfoodintermsofbeggingascausedbythecrisis(op.cit.,2011:

2018).Havinghighlighted that “no claimsof representativeness” (op.cit.:220)weremade, given the

smallsampleofcartoonsthatwereexamined,theauthorsstressedthepervasivenessofpictorialand

multimodalmetaphorsinfinancialcrisiscartoons.Reflectionsweremadeontherolethatmetaphors

hadinrepresentingtheunknownintermsofsomethingfamiliar(ElRefaie,2003:84),whichguidesthe

viewer’sunderstandingofproblematicissues.

Todate,alltheresearchstudiesonmetaphoroccurrencesacrosscorporadiscussingtheglobal

euro crisis have followed Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Although my

contribution tometaphor analysis seeks to develop a study of systematicmetaphoricity across the

visualand the verbalmodeasusedbyTheEconomist todiscuss thedebt crisis, it isdifferent from

these studies in themethodologicalapproach todata investigation. Linguisticandvisualmetaphors

are not analysed as being the realisation of conceptual constructs but are seen as they naturally

emerge and are realised in the communicative context used by the journalist and the cartoonist.

Furthermore, this study provides an alternative to previous studies on crisis metaphor because it

investigatesmultimodalpatternsofcrisismetaphor.Intersemioticrelationsbetweenvisualandverbal

metaphorsarescrutinisedtodiscussandcommentontheeurocrisisacrossmodes.Intersemiotically

constructed discourse provides the addressees with an enhanced representation of reality, which

frames the topic under discussion, thus favouring a better understanding. What is either missing,

ambiguously expressed or excessively complex, is usually elucidated, simplified and made more

comprehensibleinthevisualmode.

Ultimately,LakoffandJohnson’scognitivetheoryisrejectedinfavourofCameron’sdiscourse

dynamicsframeworktometaphorexaminationbecause,asthescholarclaims(2010:60):

metaphoricalexpressionscan themselvesbecomeresources in thenegotiationofa sharedsocial

reality, and the use or adaption of a particular metaphor can become meaningful in itself,

independentlyofthemeaningorinterpretationofthemetaphor.

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CHAPTER5

DATAANDMETHODOLOGY

Introduction

InthischapterIdescribethedatathatformthebasisofmythesisandthemethodIapplyto

analysemetaphoruseacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes.

5.1Datacollection

Havingchosentoexaminehowthetopicoftheeurocrisisisdiscussedandcommentedonby

TheEconomist,thisstudydrawsonthefieldofeconomicsandjournalism.Therationaleforchoosing

theBritishnewspaper,asstronglyfocussedonworldeconomicissues,wasdeterminedbytheneedto

guarantee reliability and trustworthiness in presenting the topic as discussed by a quality paper.

Priority in the selection process was given to content and text type, thus all articles had to be

editorials.

Havingtakenintoconsiderationthatthecrisisbrokeoutin2009andreacheditspeakin2011,

when the euro area as well as the euro seriously risked coming to an end, I decided to start my

investigationcollectingalltheeditorialarticlesthatTheEconomisthadpublishedon thecrisis topic

betweentheyears2009and2011.

Themaincriteriaforselectionweretwofold.First,Iaimedtochoosealltheeditorialarticles

from the Leaders39, Europe40 sections and the Charlemagne41 opinion column dealing with the

economic imbalance the Eurozone had been suffering from. TheEurope sectionwould give a fairly

extensiveeconomicdescriptionofthedebtcrisis,whiletheCharlemagneopinioncolumn,wouldput

forwardthenewspaper’sopiniononthesubject.Furthermore,Iexaminedtheintroductorysectionof

thenewspaper,theLeaders.Asthissectionfocusesonthetopicalissuesoftheweek,Iassumedthat

my investigation would have hopefully contributed to identifying the degree of popularity and

considerationthatTheEconomistbelievedtheeurocrisisshouldbeallocated.

39TheLeaderssectionistheintroductorysectionofTheEconomist.Itconsistsoffivearticles,whosetopicsareusuallychosenviaadynamiccollaborationbetweenjournalists,designersandtheeditor,whoevaluateandchoosethemostrelevantnewsitemsof theweek(www.economist.com).Thesearticleswhere the journalists argueabout topical issuesandwhere theyexpresstheiropinions,arisefromgroupnegotiation.40TheEuropesectioncovers,discussesandcommentsoneconomic,politicalandsocialissuesconcerningEurope,theEUandtheEurozone.41TheCharlemagneopinioncolumnisincludedattheendof theEuropesection. It takesitsnamefromthefounderoftheHolyRomanEmpireandcoverseconomic,politicalandfinancialissuesconcerningEurope.Eachweeklyarticleinthissectioncommentsonthetopicdiscussed,thusrevealingthejournalist’sposition.

67

The rationale for choosing the editorial as a subgenre of journalism designed to comment

overtly on a specific subject, was expected to have a higher frequency in the use of metaphors.

Furthermore, priority in the selection process was given to images introducing the articles; they

shouldbemetaphoricalpicturesillustratingthecrisistopic.As a regular subscriber of the British newspaper, I have access to the archives of The

Economist. Iwas thusable todownload inelectronic form42all thearticleson thedebtcrisiswhich

werepublishedintheyearsofmyinterest.Havingselectedandreadmanuallyallthearticlesonthe

topic of the euro crisis, I collectedabackground corpusof 79 articles.After reading thema second

time,Idecidedtofocusmystudyontheyear2011becauseitrepresentedtheyearwhichhadmost

gravelyaffectedtheEurozoneandwhichwasriskingprovokingtheendoftheeuroera.TheEconomist

hadpublished26articlesonthistopicin2011.Oninitial inspection,thisdatasetseemedtoprovide

solid ground for visual, verbal and multimodal metaphor analysis. I thus decided to develop a

qualitativeanalysisofmetaphorswhichbroughtmetodownsizethe26articlesto10publications,as

explained below. I collected the 10 articles and called them the EC-2011 dataset. These articles

constitutethecoredatasetofthisstudy.

The criteria for the articles selection were twofold. Firstly, out of the 26 articles, 16 were

discussing theeconomic troublesthatsinglememberstateshadbeen facingsince2009. Incontrast,

myfocuswastoinvestigatetheeconomicimpactthatthecrisishadhadontheeuroareaasawhole,as

wellaswhatmeasurestheEurozone,asaunionofstates,shouldfacetobringstabilityback.Secondly,

the10articlesbestrepresented,both inthevisualand intheverbalmode, the twomainsub-topics

underanalysis,suchasthepossibleeconomicrescueoftheeurooritsimpendingcollapse.

Table5.1belowillustrateswhatarticlestheEC-2011dataset(12695tokens)iscomposedof,

detailsaregivenregardingthedateofpublication,theheadlineandthesectiontheybelongto.

Table5.1.TheEC-2011dataset43

DATEOF

PUBLICATION

LEADERS CHARLEMAGNE EUROPE

12thMay DecisionTime

23rdJune IfGreecegoes…

14thJuly Ontheedge

14thJuly Theeuro’srealtrouble

3rdSeptember Angstovertheeuro

17thSeptember Howtosavetheeuro

29thOctober Europe’srescueplan

42 Thearticleswereallconvertedfromthe.docformatintotxtfilesinordertoexaminethemelectronically.43The10articleshavebeencollectedinAppendix1.

68

26thNovember Isthisreallytheend?

3rdDecember TheHorseman

approach

17thDecember Acomedyofeuros

5.2TheEconomistandthedebtcrisisacrosstheEC-2011dataset

Themaintopicwhichallofthetenarticlesarefocussedonisthetroublesomeconditionofthe

Eurozoneandtherisksofaneconomiccrash.Plansandactionsareurgentlyrequiredinordernotto

aggravatetheconditionofinstabilitythatthesinglecurrencyhasbeenfacingsince2009.

Unlessmajorandconvincingmanoeuvresarepromptedtofostereconomicgrowth,thearticles

give little space to believing that both the euro and the Eurozonewill be saved from an economic

failure.As regards the rescuemeasures that shouldbe taken toavoid the endof the economic and

monetary union, they involve plans of integration within the Eurozone member states. The heavy

debts that Greece seems unable to manage must be paid by the Eurozone creditor countries. As

discussedinthearticlepublishedon23rdJune,thecorepointunderdiscussionisthatanimmediate

planofinterventionmustbeadministeredcollectivelyinrespectoftheprinciplesoftheUnion.

Thearticlepublishedon14thJulyintheLeaderssectionfocusesontheissueconcerninghow

andwhere the crisis has spread. It has actually also reached someof the founding countries of the

Union, such as Spain and Italy, and risksdeveloping anddamaging other countries; the newspaper

overtlydeclaresandaffirmsthattheonlywaytofaceandfightthecrisisistokeepunitedandshare

debtsamongthemembersoftheeuroclub.

In the article published on 17th September 2011, The Economist suggests that a barrage of

financialmeasuresshouldbeerectedtofightthecrisisandgivestabilitytothegovernanceoftheeuro.

Insteadoffollowingthetrendofausterity,whattheeuroneedsisaplanofgrowth.Ontheonehand,

moneymustbe spent to giveunlimited support to the solvent governments aswell as to shore up

Europe’sbanks.On theotherhand, thedebtsof the insolventand indebtedcountriesmustbepaid.

Finally, new treaties are to be signed in order to activate fiscal union and design a new system of

collaborationwithintheeuroclub.

The articles published on 29th October, 26th November and 3rd December discuss the

vulnerabilityoftheplanstorescuetheeuro;theEurozoneisseriouslyriskinganeconomicfailure.The

Eurozone’s northern creditor governments and the ECB decided to stop providing the debtor

countrieswithmorefinancialsupport.Reflectingonanalternativeplanwhichwouldinvolveinvestors

fromoutsidetheEUandtheEurozone,andwhichtheEUistakingintoconsideration,TheEconomist

69

expresses its doubts and disagreement. The newspaper does not believe that this planmight be a

feasiblesolutiontothecrisis.

The last article, published on 17th December, draws on a slightly different scenario. It

highlightsthe importanceofgivingresponses tothiscrisis,otherwise theeurocollapsewilldamage

both European and non-European countries. The article discusses the possibility to save the euro

consideringthattheECBwillbegivenunlimitedpowerofintervention.TheECBsupportaccompanied

by a greater fiscal discipline should allow the Eurozone to repay debts, reduce deficits, boost

competitiveness,savetheeuro,andfinallyputanendtothecrisis.

5.3Metaphoranalysis

InagreementwithHeywood,Semino,andShort’sclaimingthat“theprocessofdistinguishing

betweenliteralandmetaphoricexpressionsisclearlythemostbasicandcrucialstateinanystudyof

thenatureandpatterningofmetaphorsinlanguage”(2002:35),IexplainwhatmethodIhaveadopted

fortheanalysisofmetaphoranalysisintheEC-2011dataset.ThefollowingsectionswillpresenthowI

identifiedandexaminedverbal,visualandmultimodalmetaphors,aswellasvisualmetonymies.

5.3.1Verbalmetaphors:fromvehiclesidentificationtometaphorsystematicity

The first stepwas to adopt theMIP approach and identify the expressions that had been used

metaphoricallytodiscussthedebtcrisis.

As Burke pointed out, when something is seen in terms of something else it is a metaphor

(1945:503).Thisdefinition clearlyhighlights thatametaphor ismadeof twodifferent ideaswhich

havebeenputinconnection.ThemostevidentreasonwhythissemantictransferfromAtoBismade,

liesinthewilltofosteraprompterorevenbetterunderstandingofsomeideawhichdoesnotseemso

easytobeperceived.

Inthecontextofeconomicdiscourse,andpreciselyoftheeurocrisis,TheEconomistdiscussesthe

resultofthiseventas ‘thecrisisthathasbeenplaguing theEurozone’(29thOctober2011).Theterm

plaguing,which isreferringtoan infectiousdisease that isgoingtospreadrapidlyoverawidearea

andprobablycausinghighmortality,doesnotpertaintothefieldofeconomics,butitbettersuitsthe

medical context of disease. Having used this word to discuss the spreading of the crisis over the

Eurozone,thereadercannotbutfeeltheimpendingmenaceofaplagueandislikelytoidentifyitwith

adangerousevent.Thebasicmeaningof thiscalamity ispromptlyconnectedto theeconomiccrisis

thatisgoingtocausehugedamageacross theeuroarea. Inthisperspective,ametaphorbecomesa

powerful instrument that joins the representationof an event such asaplague to the gravityof an

economiccrisis.ThewordplaguingisidentifiedasitemA,somethingthatisusedtotalkaboutitemB,

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thespreadingofthedebtcrisis.FollowingCameron’sterminology,plaguingbecomesthevehicleterm,

while the spreading of the debt crisis, corresponds to the topic of themetaphor, i.e.what is being

talkedabout.

AsregardsthedataIanalyseinthisthesis,IuseCameron’sterminology(vehicletermandtopic)to

codemetaphors,butIchosetosetthelimitofawordtorecognisethelinguisticmetaphorsandhave

adoptedthePragglejaz’sMetaphorIdentificationProcedure(MIP),whichIhavealreadypresentedin

chapter 4 (section 4.3.1), “to identifymetaphorically usedwords in discourse” (Pragglegiaz Group,

2007:1). In addition, in order to check the basic versus the meaning in context of the potential

metaphoricexpressions,Iusedadictionary44,assuggestedbythePragglejaz’sprocedure(op.cit:15).

The following step to develop a better understanding of how The Economist usesmetaphor to

discussthedebtcrisis,wastocollectthosevehicletermswitheitherthesameorcloselysimilarbasic

meaning and form vehicle groupings (chapter 4 section 4.3.3). Following Cameron’s approach to

metaphor groupings, this process engages the researcher who is asked “to work through the

metaphorsvehiclesgroupingthemtogetheronthebasisofthesemanticsofthebasicmeaningofthe

metaphorvehicle”.AftergroupingmetaphorvehiclesIassignedeachgroupalabeladoptingthemost

recurrent vehicle term in each group, as Cameron points out (ibid.). This procedure allowedme to

identify fourmajor vehicle groupings, which I named Disease, Rescue, Restructuring, and Collapse

vehiclegroups.Thesegroupsareanalysedindetailsinchapter6.

After identifying the vehicles terms, grouping and coding them according to their basic

meaning, I investigated the overall contextualmeaning of each group in order to understandwhat

topicstheywerereferringto.Atthisstageofmyanalysis,eachgroupwasallocatedatopic(chapter4,

section4.3.4).Byassigningtopicstothevehiclesgroupings,Icouldnoticethatemergingpatternsof

linguisticmetaphorsrelatedtothesametopicwereusedsystematicallyacrossmydata.Thus,Icould

tracktheemergenceofsystematicmetaphorsintheEC-2011dataset.Systematicitywasidentifiedasa

semantictrajectorythatdevelopedandconnectedmetaphorsreferringtoaspecifictopic,asCameron

pointedoutinherapproachtostudyingmetaphorsystematicity(2007,2009,2010,2013).Istudied

sets of relatedmetaphorsusedatdifferent timesacross thearticles and identified their occurrence

anddevelopmentasa trajectory.BorrowingCameron’smetaphoricrepresentationofdiscourseasa

landscape,asystemchangingandmovingthroughsuccessivestates,whichsheidentifiesasdifferent

trajectoriesthatcanbetrackedtounderstanddiscoursedevelopment(2010:83),Iadoptedtheterm

trajectorytoidentifyandtracksetsofsemanticallyrelatedmetaphorsoccurringacrosstheEC-2011

dataset.

44IusedtheShorterOxfordEnglishDictionary,(OUPOxford,2007).

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5.3.2Visualmetaphorsidentification As for verbalmetaphors, the first step to studyvisualmetaphorswas to identify the images

thathadbeenusedmetaphoricallytorepresenttheeurocrisis.Inordertorecogniseillustrationsthat

had been represented anomalously to depict the single currency and the Eurozone’s economic

fragility,IfollowedForceville’s(2008,2009),approachtometaphoridentification.Inagreementwith

Lakoff and Johnson’s claim that metaphor use is not restricted to language, Forceville started his

research investigatingmetaphoroccurrences in thepictorialmodeand thenmoved tometaphor in

multimodaldiscourse,asItalkedaboutinchapter4(sections4.5and4.6).Borrowingtheterminology

adoptedby theCognitiveMetaphorTheorists, in order to identify apictorialmetaphor, the scholar

searchedforarelationofidentity,inagivencontext,betweentwophenomenabelongingtodifferent

categories,asourcedomainandatargetdomain.

In this thesis, the source and target terms used by Forceville, were changed to Cameron’s

terminologyofvehicleterm,whichIadaptedandcalledvehiclesymbolandtopic.Referringtooneof

thevisualmetaphors that I identified in theEC-2011dataset, thearticlepublishedon12thMay(see

Appendix1)wasintroducedbyanimagerepresentingasinkingshipbeingbailedoutbyMrsMerkel.

TakingintoaccountthattheflagflyingontheshipwastheGreekflagandthat,asIcouldseeonthe

namethathadbeenpaintedonthekeel,theshiphadbeencalledGreece,Iidentifiedthesinkingshipas

themetaphorvehiclesymbol. Inorder to identify the topicof thatvisualmetaphor, thanks toother

visualandverbalelementsinthepicture,butmostofallafterreadingthearticle,Iunderstoodthatthe

topic was referring to the economic crisis that had seriously damaged Greece’s economy. Further

detailsofthisvisualmetaphorwillbegiveninchapter7whichexaminesvisualmetaphors.

After the visual metaphors were identified I classified them under the name of hybrid,

contextual, integrated, simile, applying Forceville’s framework of pictorial metaphor categorization

(2008),ofwhich Iprovideddetails inchapter4(section4.5).Referringupwardsto thesinkingship

visualmetaphor,itcanbeclassifiedasacontextualmetaphorbecausethetopicofeconomicinstability

canbeunderstoodas in the context a seaharbourwhere a sinking ship is berthedprow-onat the

quaysideandisbeingbailedoutbyMrsMerkel,theleaderoftheEurozone.

In addition, folowing Forceville’s approach to identifying monomodal and multimodal

metaphors (2008, 2009, 2011), I examined whether the visual metaphors I had identified were

monomodalormultimodalrepresentationsofthedebtcrisis.Whilemonomodalmetaphorsrepresent

thevehicleandtopicinthesamemode,withmultimodalmetaphorsvehicleandtopicarecuedintwo

differentmodes.Takingagaintheexampleofthesinkingshipintroducingthearticlepublishedon12th

May 2011 (see Appendix 1), this metaphoric illustration can be also examined as an example of

multimodal metaphor. The sinking ship vehicle symbol is realised visually, while the topic is

communicated via lexical expressions, both in the picture and in the text. The image enables us to

72

connecttheshipwithGreecebecausethisnamehasbeenpaintedonthekeeloftheshipandbecause

theGreekflagisflyingonthebowoftheship.

5.3.3Groupingvisualmetaphorsandidentifyingtopics

Afterhavingidentifiedandclassifiedvisualmetaphors, Igroupedvisualvehiclesymbolsand

studied whether patterns of systematic visual metaphors could be tracked. I adopted Cameron’s

approachtostudyingmetaphorgroupingsinverbaldata(2007,2009,2010,2013)andadapteditto

investigatevisualvehiclegroupingsandtoidentifytopics.

Two visual groupswere identified, the Rescue and the Collapse vehicle groupings. The first

groupwas composedofpictures showing that something/somebodywas going tobebrought away

fromdangerandsaved,suchastheshipbeingbailedoutbyMrsMerkel.Thesecondgroupcollected

vehiclesymbolsthatwereillustratinghowsomething/somebodywasgoingtodisintegrateandbreak

upintopieces,suchastheimageintroducingthearticlepublishedon26thNovember,showingaeuro

coinshapedlikeameteoritemovingdownwardswhichwaseithergoingtodisintegrateorcrashtothe

ground. By cross analysing the visual vehicles symbols that I had collected into groupings, I could

identifythecorrespondingtopics,eventhoughabetterunderstandingwasachievedviatheanchoring

functionofthecorrespondingarticles.Thisprocedureledtotherecognitionofsystematicpatternsof

visualmetaphors.

5.3.4 From multimodal metaphor intersemioticity towards systematic metaphors across thevisualandtheverbalmodes

Afterverbalandvisualmetaphorswereidentifiedandexamined,intersemioticrelationsacross

modeswereanalysedaimingatunderstandinghowthedebtcrisishadbeenframedacrossthevisual

andtheverbalmodes.InordertoinvestigateverbalandvisualmetaphoricalintersemioticityIrelied

on Royce’s framework of intersemiotic complementarity (2002, 2007), which I adapted. When I

examined ideational intersemiotic metaphoricity I focussed on the identification of participants,

processesandcircumstancesandchecked foranomalous interconnection inboth thevisualandthe

verbal representations. Referring to interpersonal metaphorical interconnectedness, I studied

whether the verbal mood was metaphorically interrelated to the visual address, involvement, and

social distance. In terms of textual metaphorical interrelation, I examined information value and

framinginbothmodes(seeRoyce’sframework,chapter4).Althoughchapter8ofthisthesisprovides

adetailedexaminationofwhetherandhowmetaphorical intersemioticity isachieved, I refer to the

article published on 12th May 2011 (see Appendix 1) and introduce the analysis of ideational

interconnectedness between visual and verbal participants and processes. Greece as a visual

participantisgivenshapeasashipandissemanticallyinterrelatedtotheverbalidentificationofthat

73

ship,whichiscalledGreece.Inaddition,thewordGreeceisfrequentlyrepeatedinthetext.Intermsof

processes,thepictureshowsasinkingship(actionprocess)whichisverballytalkedaboutasGreece

beingunabletopay itsdebts (materialprocess);moreover, the textcommentsontheabsenceofan

agreementwhichmightbringbackeconomicstabilitytoGreece.Visualandverbalintersemioticityis

thusachievedviathevisualprocessofsinkingandtheverbaloneofbeingunabletopaydebts,both

arereferringtoGreeceasthemainparticipantofthemultimodaltext.ThepictureillustratesGreece

metaphorically, the text does not talk about its economic difficulty in metaphorical terms,

intersemioticmetaphoricityisnotachieved.

RelyingonCameron’smethodtotracksystematicverbalmetaphors,theEC-2011datasetwas

eventually analysed in order to track multimodal patterns of metaphors. Once I had identified

separately verbal (see chapter 6) and visual (see chapter 7) metaphors, whose vehicle terms and

symbols were usedmetaphorically to discuss the same topic, I cross examined the verbal and the

visualpatternsandtrackedthemasmultimodalpatternsofmetaphors(seechapter8).Themetaphors

thatrecurred inbothmodeswere thosediscussing thedestinyof theeuroareaeither in termsofa

rescue or a collapse. By searching for emergent patterns of multimodal metaphors, I could track

intermodal interrelations between two opposing metaphorical scenarios45. The sequence and

developmentofeventsdiscussing theendof thedebtcrisisasapossiblerescueof theeuroandthe

Eurozone was identified as a multimodal systematic pattern that I called HELPING COUNTRIES

FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE. In contrastwith this representation, I trackedadifferent sequence and

development of events discussing the same topic. This verbal and visual systematic pattern of

metaphorswascalledSUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSE.

5.4VisualMetonymy

Having found metonymic realisations in the EC-2011 dataset, in order to identify visual

metonymiesIreliedonBiernacka’sapproachtoidentifyverbalmetonymy(chapter4,section4.4.1),

whichIadaptedtoidentifyvisualmetonymiesasfollows:

1. Iwilllookattheimagetogetageneralunderstandingoftheoverallmeaning;

2. Iwillidentifyanddeterminethevisualunits;

3. Iwilldecideonthemetonymicityofeachvisualunit;

45InthisthesisIusethetermscenariowhenIrefertoasequenceanddevelopmentofeventsthataresemanticallylinkedandcontributetooutliningthestoryasitistalkedaboutandrepresentedbythejournalistandthecartoonistthroughmetaphors.Thescenariocanbevisual,verbalormultimodalandismadeupofvehicletermsandsymbolswhichrefertothesametopic.Having studiedMusolff’sdefinitionof the termscenario (2004), I donot relyon the conceptual aspectwhich theauthorhighlights, I rather focus on how ametaphorical scenario gives shape the narration of events that occur and develop indiscourse.Musolff’sscenario,onthecontrary,isassumed“tobuildnarrativeframesfortheconceptualisationandassessmentofsocio-politicalissues”(2006:36).

74

a. ForeachvisualunitIwillestablishitscontextualmeaning–takingintoaccounthowit

applies toanentityinthesituationevokedby theimage,aswellas theenvironment

surroundingtheimage(i.e.whatthevisualunitsmayrefertooutsidethevisualcontext

orinthearticle);

b. Foreachvisualunit Iwilldetermine if ithasamorebasiccontemporarymeaning in

othercontextsthanthemeaninginthegivencontext;

c. If the visual unit hasamorebasic contemporarymeaning inother contexts than the

givencontext,andthecontextualandbasicmeaningsaredifferent,Iwilldetermineif

they are connected by contiguity, defined as a relation of adjacency and closeness

comprisingnotonlyspatialcontactbutalsotemporalproximity,casualrelationsand

partwholerelations;

4. If a connection is found in step 3c that is one of contiguity: I will check backwards and

forwards to determine if any other visual unit(s) belong(s) together semantically, thus

determiningtheextentofthemetonymyvehicle;andIwillmarkthevisualunitasmetonymy

vehicle.

Inaddition,visualmetonymiesclassificationwasdonefollowingKövecsesandRadden(1998)

approach(chapter4,section441),butthesourceandtargettermsusedbytheauthorswerechanged

with Cameron’s vehicle term,which I called visual vehicle symbol, and topic. Furthermore, having

recognizedthatmetaphorandmetonymywerecombinedinsomeillustrations,IreliedonGoossens’s

approachtotrackmetaphtonymy,whichIpresentedinchapter4,section4.4.

5.5Conclusions

In this chapter I have presented the set of data that I will examine in this study as well as the

methodologythatIreferredtodevelopmetaphoranalysisacrosstheverbalandthevisualmodes.

Inorder to investigate towhat extentmetaphor contributes to theprocessof reconciliation,

Cameron developed her discourse dynamics analysis on a corpus of spoken data that included

conversationsheldby JoBerryandPatrickMageeoveranearly ten-yeartemporal frame. JoBerry’s

father,SirAnthonyBerryamemberoftheBritishParliament,waskilledinthebombingoftheGrand

HotelinBrighton.PatMagee,whowasactingonbehalfoftheIrishRepublicanArmy,hadplantedthe

bombwishingtokillthemembersoftherulingConservativeParty.Patwasarrestedandafterbeing

releasedfromprisonin1999,fifteenyearsafterthebombing,agreedtomeetJo.Jodidnothaveany

desireforrevengebutwassimplywishingtounderstandwhathadledPattobehaveashedid.After

privatemeetingsandrecordedconversations,thetwointeractorshadtheopportunitytoexplaintheir

ideasandexpresstheirfeelings.Theten-yeartimescaleallowedCamerontoinvestigatethetypesof

75

metaphors used, the dynamics of metaphor use and how metaphors changed over the time

considering that the speakershaddeveloped theirunderstandingof eachother aswell as a certain

degreeofempathy.IntheflowofJoandPat’stalkmetaphorsappear,theyareadapted,changedand

evenabandoned.Cameronpointedoutthat,

MetaphorsseemedtohelpJoandPattoexplaintheirstories,theirbeliefsandfeelings,andtofindout

moreabouteachother.Itassiststalkaboutpainfultopics,andprovidesthreadsofcontinuityacrosslong

stretchesoftalkandacrossgapsbetweenmeetings(Cameron,2011:14)

In contrast with Cameron’s corpus of data, which had involved two speakers emotionally

involved and personally engaged with the same issue, the EC-2011 set of data that I collected to

examineverbalandvisualmetaphoritcityinvolveddifferentcollaborators,suchasjournalists,whose

identity isunknown,anddesigners,whosenames canbereadon the images theyhavemade.Even

thoughThe Economist has published and promptly updates a detailed list giving the names of the

journalistsaccompaniedbydetailsaboutwhattheyareresponsible for, thearticlesareanonymous,

whichforbidstobecertainaboutwhothearticleswerewrittenby.Inaddition,eventhoughthetopic

theywere asked to commentonwas the same, they arguedabout thedebt crisis andprovided the

readers with their own personal view. Having considered that the set of my data involved many

differentcontributors,IdidnotfollowCameron’sdiscoursedynamicstotrackmetaphoricity.Evenif

thehousestyleofTheEconomistimposesthejournalistsandthedesignerstocollaborateinorderto

produce articles that respect and rely on the same principles of reliability, trustworthiness and

transparency,theycannotbeconsideredasauniquedynamicsystemwhichiscontinuouslyflowing,

developingandadapting“asspeakers’contributionsbuildoneachother”(Cameron,2010:82).

Asregardsstudyingtheemergenceofpatternsofmetaphor,IfollowedCameron’sapproachto

examine systematicitybecause I could track,within andacross the articles, recurringsets of verbal

and visual patterns of metaphor in which connected vehicle terms and symbols were used

metaphoricallyaboutparticulartopics.

76

CHAPTER6

VERBALMETAPHORSACROSSTHEEC-2011VERBALDATASET

Introduction

Thischapter isgoing to investigatehowtheEC-2011verbaldatasetdiscusses the2011debt

crisisandhowitdevelopedacrosstheeuroarea,andcommentedonthroughmetaphors.

The following sections investigate the metaphoric expressions that The Economist uses to

framethedebtcrisisasadisease(section6.2). I thenanalysemetaphoricrealisationsthathintata

possiblereturntostabilityandsuggestrescuingandbailingouttheeuroandtheeuroarea(section

6.5). Moreover, setting for restructuring plans are discussed as a successful way to restore the

Eurozoneandbringeconomicstabilityback(section6.6).Bycontrast,linguisticmetaphorsproviding

acatastrophicscenariodescribetheendoftheeurointheformofatragiccollapse(sectionsfrom6.7).

6.1AnoutlineoftheEC-2011verbaldataset

Thetenarticles46whichtheEC-2011datasetiscomposedofwerepublishedbetweenMayand

December2011.

The articles discuss the euro crisis through metaphors and presents a scenario where the

disease that has affected somemember states of the Eurozone must be treated. In order to avoid

contagionand limitthepain, rescueandrestorationplansmustbediscussedandshared, so thatan

agreementisreachedandboththeEurozoneandtheeuroaresavedfromtheriskofacollapse.

Theeuroareaispresentedasahumanbeingsufferingfromaninfectiousdisease,withGreece

beingthemostinfectiousamongtheEurozonememberstatesandthreateningtospreaditsinfection.

In addition, the stability of the euro and the principle of union are under threat. Although The

EconomistfeelsconfidentandhopefulaboutfeasiblerescueplansbeingsharedandagreedbytheEU

leaders,theECBandtheIMF,thenewspaperalsodiscussesthethreatofaeurocollapse.

6.2Identifyingvehicletermsaboutdisease

Inthissection,IstudythelexicalitemswhichI identifiedasthevehicletermsofmetaphoric

realisationsdescribingtheeurocrisisintermsofadisease.Table6.1liststherelevantitems.Starting

46The10articleshavebeencollectedinAppendix1.

77

fromthevehicleterm,theirgrammaticalstructureisgiven,thebasicandthecontextualmeaningare

explained.Finally,thevehiclesoccurrencesarelinkedtothearticleswheretheyareused.

Table6.1.Vehicletermsaboutdisease:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PARTOF

SPEECH

BASIC

MEANING

MEANING

INCONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

contagion

Noun

The spreading of a

disease

Sharing economic

problems and

affecting more

countries

- fears of contagionaregrowing

-fearsofcontagion

-thecontagionrisk

- as contagion has

spread

-tospreadcontagion

-aGreekrestructuring

maycausecontagion

-How to prevent

contagion?

23rdJune

14thJuly(Charlemagne)

17thSeptember

convulsion

Noun

A sudden shaking

movement of the

bodythatcannotbe

controlled

Asuddenchange in

the euro area

business sector

after rumours of a

possible Greek

default

-itcausedyetanothermarketconvulsion

12thMay

Feeble

enfeebled

Adjective Lacking in, or

derived of physical

strength

lack of available

money, lack of

strategies to face

economic

difficulties

-the Italian economy's

feeblegrowthrate

-by driving enfeebled

economies into

recession

14thJuly(Leaders)

fragility Noun Delicate in frame,

or physical

constitution

lack of available

money

-thefragilityofbanks

17thSeptember

pain

painful

Noun

Adjective

An unpleasant

physicalreaction to

an injury or a

symptomofdisease

Negative

consequences of

incorrect plans

implemented to

save47theeuro

-they must share the

pain

-prolonged indecision

could lead to

something even more

painful

-it will be long and

painful

12thMay

17thDecember

47 Being aware that ‘save’ is a metaphoric expression, I use it throughout my thesis when I analyse the contextualisedmeaningoftherescueandrecoveryvehicleterms.

78

plaguing Verb (pres.

participle)

From plague: an

infectious disease

that kills a lot of

people

Being affected by

economic problems

that may lead to a

default

-the crisis that has

been plaguing the

eurozone

29thOctober

recovery Noun The process of

becoming well

again after an

illnessorinjury

Return to economic

stability48-a greater chance ofrecovery

- the continent's

recovery

Charlemagne14thJuly

Leaders14thJuly

shock/s Noun A serious medical

condition, usually

the result of an

injurywhichmakes

apersonveryweak

A sudden and

negative event

which is going to

affect negatively

European business,

tradeandeconomy

- Itwould hardlybea

shocktothemarkets

-YetEurope lacks thebig federal budgetsand financialinstitutions toredistribute incomeand absorb economicshocks

23rdJune

Charlemagne14thJuly

toxic Adjective Containing poison

and causing illness

ifnotdeath

Economic problems

with a considerable

riskofdefault

-the euro crisis is

becoming ever more

toxic

23rdJune

vulnerable Adjective Weak and easily

hurt physically or

emotionally

Lack of monetary

liquidity, lack of

strategy to faceand

manage economic

difficulties

-vulnerableeuro-zone

bonds

- the most vulnerable

will need government

help

- so young aninstitution is

vulnerable to a loss of

credibility

-its financial

engineering is too

clever by half and

vulnerable to

unintended

consequences.

Charlemagne14thJuly

17thSeptember

29thOctober

weakness

weaker

weakest

Noun

Adjective

Adjective

Physically lacking

ofpower,unable to

exert great

muscularforce

Lack of available

money, lack of

strategy to faceand

manage economic

difficulties

-the weakness of

governmentfinances

-weakereconomies

-theweakermembers

-the Eurozone’s

firewallis theweakest

17thSeptember

29thOctober

48Beingawarethat ‘stability’ isametaphoricexpression, Iuse it throughoutmythesiswhenIanalysethecontextualisedmeaningoftherescueandrecoveryvehicleterms.

79

weakening

Adjective

partofthedeal

-a rapidly weakening

economicoutlook

26thNovember

TOTAL 29 9

Theexaminationofthevehicletermsrecord29metaphoricrealisations,whichdevelopintheform

of 27 lexicalised realisations (15 nouns and 13 adjectives) and 1 verb occurrence. As regards the

nominal expressions, the identified vehicle terms are the following: contagion (7 occurrences),

convulsion (1 occurrence), fragility (1 occurrence), pain (1 occurrence), recovery (2 occurrences),

shock/s (2 occurrences),weakness (1 occurrence). The basic meaning of these terms highlights a

conditionofillness,whichpreventsthoseaffectedtoconductanormallifeasiftheywerehealthy.This

disease is contagious and risks being spread, thus infecting also those who were healthy. The

metaphorical meaning that the newspaper has recurred to highlights the state of economic

instability49 and fiscal illiquidity that the Eurozone was affected by after the debt crisisdeveloped.

Exceptionismadeforthetermrecovery,whichinitsbasicmeaningstressesregainingphysicalhealth

after being ill, while in its metaphoric meaning it give emphasis to the possibility of a return to

economicstabilityafterthecrisis.

As regards the expressions in the form of adjectives, the dataset counts 13 occurrences,which

were identified as follows: feeble (1 occurrence), enfeebled (1 occurrence),painful (2 occurrences),

toxic (1 occurrence), vulnerable (4 occurrences), weaker (2 occurrences),weakest (1 occurrence),

weakening(1occurrence).Ontheonehand,thebasicmeaningofthesetermsemphasisesthefeeling

ofphysicalpain,andlackofforce;ontheotherhand,theriskofacontagionisrepeated,thusgiving

emphasis to the gravity of the disease. In metaphoric terms, the adjectives focus on the lack of

monetary liquidity, the lack of strategies to face economic difficulties, the incapacity of providing

monetary liquidity, as well as on how crucial the situation is for some indebted countries and

institutionsthatcannotfindawaytobringbackstability.

The term plaguing underlines, in its basic meaning, the consequences of a plague, while in its

metaphoric meaning, it highlights the risk that economic instability spreads and affects other

countriesapartfromthosewhichhavealreadybeendamaged.

Toconclude,thevehicletermsIhaveanalysedabovecontributetoframingametaphoricscenario

outlininganimpendingeconomicdanger,intermsofadisease,thatisriskingcausingdamagetothe

stabilityoftheEurozoneandtheeuro.

49Beingawarethat‘instability’isametaphoricexpression,IuseitthroughoutmythesiswhenIdiscusstheconsequencesofthedebtcrisis.

80

6.2.1TheDiseasevehiclegroup

Afteridentifyingvehicleterms,Igroupedthosediscussingthediseasethathadaffectedtheeuro

and the euro area according to the semantic relationbetween theirbasicmeanings.The groupwas

labelledtheDiseasevehiclegroupbecausethistermcouldbestdescribetheoverallbasicmeaningof

the vehicles belonging to it. In its basic meaning, the term disease expresses the lack of physical

strengthandtheconditionofweaknesswhichhumanbeingsexperiencewhentheirbodyissick.

In metaphoric terms, the condition of economic instability that characterised some countries,

preciselyGreece, could spreadanddevelopacross theEurozone, so thecontagion vehicle termwas

usedtostresstheriskthatthedebtcrisiscoulddevelopandworsentheconditionofstabilityacross

theEurozone,asthefollowingcitationclaims:

(1) Thepoliticianswontheday.ButMrTrichet'sworrieshavealsobeenvindicated,ascontagionhasspread

andisnowengulfingItaly.(Charlemagne14thJuly)

By examining the basicmeaning of the vehicles belonging to theDisease group, I realised that

thesetermscouldbedividedintofoursub-groups.

The first sub-group comprises the following terms: feeble (adjective), enfeebled (adjective),

fragility (noun), vulnerable (adjective), weakness (noun), weaker (adjective), weakest (adjective),

weakening(adjective).Intheirbasicmeaning,allofthesetermsareaboutthelackofphysicalstrength

andhighlightthesicknessofthosebeingaffectedbyadisease.

The terms stressing the presence of a virus in a body and which, as a consequence, becomes

contagiousarethefollowing:contagion(noun),plaguing(verb),toxic(adjective).

Lookingatthethirdsub-group,I identifiedthosetermsthatdescribethephysicalreactionofthe

bodysufferingfromadisease,andIfoundasemanticrelationamongthefollowingterms:convulsion

(noun),pain(noun),painful(adjective),shock(noun).

Whenourbodysuffersfromanillness,medicaltreatmentisnecessarytorecoverandgobacktoa

condition of health. Thus, I identified the fourth sub-group, as being composed of only one term,

namelyrecovery(noun).

Consideringthebasicandthecontextualmeaningofthevehicles(seeTable6.1)talkingaboutthe

euroandtheEurozone’sinstabilityintermsofadisease,Iwasabletoidentifythetopicofthedisease

metaphor,thatIexpressedasfollows:“economicdifficulties”50.

Bothvehicle termsandthetopicareused todiscuss thedebtcrisis,themetaphoricscenario

maythusbeintendedasawaytoclarifyifnotsimplifysomedifficulteconomicmatters.

50InthepresentthesisIusetheinvertedcommaswhenIrefertotopics.

81

6.2.2ECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE51systematicmetaphor

Once the Disease vehicle groupwas coded and themetaphor topic identified, the linguistic

metaphors relating to it were collected into a systematicmetaphoric trajectory, which I identified,

labelled and tracked as theECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES ARE ADISEASEmetaphor. By observing how

discoursemovedon, I sawthatmetaphorschangedandadapted inaccordancewith the journalist’s

need to negotiate meanings and extend her/his ideas (Cameron, 2010: 88). The ways in which

metaphors shiftedacrossmydataset enabledme to track the emergenceof a systematicpatternof

metaphors.ThepatterndiscussingtheeconomiccrisisasadiseaseisillustratedinTable6.2below.

Table6.2.ECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASEtrajectory

TOPIC METAPHORTRAJECTORY VEHICLEGROUP

“Economicdifficulties”

1. convulsion

-[…] the threat that the country

(Greece)wasthreateningto leavethe

euro […] caused yet another market

convulsion(12thMay)

Disease

2. shock

-It would hardly be a shock for the

markets, which have long expected a

default(23rdJune)

3. toxic

-[…]the politics blocking a resolution

of the euro crisis is becoming ever

moretoxic(23rdJune)

4. contagion

-fears of contagion are growing (23rd

June)

-fearsofcontagion(23rdJune)

-the contagion risk would be bigger

(23rdJune)

-[…]contagionhasspreadand isnow

engulfing Italy (Charlemagne, 14th

July)

-[…] their inconsistency […] hasdone

much to spread contagion

(Charlemagne,14thJuly)

-[…]a Greek restructuring may cause

contagion(17thSeptember)

-How to prevent contagion? (17th

September)

51 In thepresent study Iuse the italicisedandcapitalised formofanexpression/clausewhen I refer to it asa systematicmetaphor.

82

5. plaguing

-In the early hours of October 27th,

after marathon talks, the leaders of

the Eurozone agreed on a

“comprehensive package” to dispel

crisis that has been plaguing the

Eurozone for almost two years. (29th

October)

6. vulnerable

-[…]investors are fleeing vulnerable

euro-zone bonds (Charlemagne, 14th

July)

-themostvulnerable[banks]willneed

governmenthelp(17thSeptember)

-(the ECB) […] is vulnerable to loss

credibility(17thSeptember)

- […] its [the Eurozone’s] financial

engineering […] is […] vulnerable to

unlimited consequences (17th

September)

7. weakness

-[…] the weakness of government

finances, the fragility of banks and

worriesabout lowgrowthall feedon

eachother.(17thSeptember)

-[…] the Eurozone firewall is the

weakest part of the deal. (29th

October)

- The chances of the Eurozone being

smashed apart haverisenalarmingly,

thanks to financial panic, a rapidly

weakening economic outlook and

pigheaded brinkmanship- (26th

November)

-Investors’ growing fears of a euro

break-uphavefedarunfromassetsof

weaker economies […] (26th

November)

-Yet Germany, still fretful about

turning a currency union into a

transfer union in which it forever

supports the weaker members, has

dismissedtheidea.(26thNovember)

8. feeble/enfeebled

-the Italian economy’s feeble growth

rate(Leaders,14thJuly)

-driving enfeebled economies into

recession[…]increasesworries

83

(Leaders,14thJuly)

9. pain/painful

-Ithas insisted immediately imposing

lossesonbondholders,yetinsiststhey

must share the pain from 2013 (12th

May)

-the adjustment […] will be long and

painful(12thMay)

-prolonged indecision could lead to

something even more painful (17th

December)

10. recovery

-If there is to be a default, then it

might be as well a big one, […] that

gives Greece relief and a greater

chanceofrecovery.(Charlemagne,14th

July)

- Even if the more likely immediate

prospect is sustained stress in the

Italian bond market, that will surely

prompt investors to flee European

assets, making the continent's

recoveryeverharder.(26thNovember)

AsCameron (2008) shows, after their first use, linguisticmetaphors can shift in the flowof

discourse and the vehicle term/s can be developed, re-deployed or literalised.Moreover, linguistic

metaphorshiftingisusedasaformofmeaningnegotiationtoextendideasorsimplyasaninstrument

thatistakentoexploitunexpectedassociationsmadethroughvehiclesterms.Whenavehicletermis

repeatedlyusedindiscourseitgivesrisetoametaphoricscenariothatinturnleadstotheemergence

ofametaphoricpattern.Vehicleshiftingisthusakeyelementinstudyingtheemergenceofsystematic

metaphorindiscourse.(2010:88-89)

Before examining the emergenceof theECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE systematic

metaphor, I provide evidence of vehicle shifting across my data. Bearing in mind that Cameron

investigatesmetaphorshiftingwithintexts,Idevelopthisformofanalysisacrosstextswhichdiscuss

thesamesubjects,wheremetaphoricrealisationsonaspecifictopicrecur.Table6.3belowprovides

someexamplesofvehicledevelopments.

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Table6.3.Vehicledevelopment

Vehicledevelopment Examples

Vehiclerepetition -fearsofcontagion(23rdJune)

-as contagion has spread; to spread contagion

(Charlemagne14thJuly)

Vehiclerelexicalisation -anothermarketconvulsion(12thMay)

-ashocktothemarkets(23rdJune)

Vehicleexplication -but prolonged indecision could lead to something even

morepainful:break-upoftheeuro(12thMay)

Vehiclecontrast -causecontagionvspreventcontagion(17thSeptember)

-drivingenfeebledeconomiesintorecession(Leaders14th

July)vsagreaterchanceofrecovery(Charlemagne14thJuly)

The analysis also allowedme to identify some examples of vehicle re-deployment, inwhich

somevehicleswereusedagainwithadifferenttopic,asshowninTable6.4.

Table6.4.Vehiclere-deployments

Vehiclere-deployment Examples

vulnerable -Investors are fleeing vulnerable euro-zone bonds

(Charlemagne14thJuly)

-Somebanksmaybeabletoraisemoney,[…]butthemost

vulnerablewillneedgovernmenthelp(17thSeptember)

weakness,weakest,weakening,weaker -theweaknessofgovernmentfinances(12thMay)

-theEurozone’sfirewallistheweakestpartofthedeal(29th

October)

-arapidlyweakeningeconomicoutlook(26thNovember)

-weakermembers(26thNovember)

ByinvestigatinghowtheECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASEmetaphordevelopsintheformofa

systematictrajectory, I studiedhowlinguisticvehicle termscontribute toconstructingametaphoric

pattern.

AsTable6.2abovedisplays, theconvulsion and shock vehicle terms introduce themetaphor

trajectory of a possible Greek default. The instability of Greece risking an economic default is

jeopardising the stability of the euro area, a situationwhich is commentedonbyTheEconomist in

termsofapossiblemarketconvulsion:

(1) But theclaim that thecountrywas threatening to leave the euro seems to have beenwrong,

thoughitcausedyetanothermarketconvulsion.(12thMay2011)

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ThevehicletermconvulsionhighlightstheriskofasuddenchangethattheEuropeanbusinesssector

wouldundergoasaconsequenceofGreece’spossibleeconomicdefault.Inaddition,therewouldbea

domino effect by which the European market would be seriously damaged, prompting similar

consequencesacrosstheEurozone.Althoughthetermconvulsionencouragesthereadertounderstand

the emergence of a scenariodisplayinghowabruptly theEuropeaneconomicbalance canvary and

changeitsconditionsofstabilityintoinstability,theriskofithappeningispresentedasminimal.

By focussing on how the convulsion vehicle develops in the dataset, we can see that it is

relexicalisedwiththetermshock.AsCameron(2010,op.cit:91)claims,

“[…]theelaborationorexplicationofaparticularvehicleoverashortperiodoftimewillappearinthe

trace of the discourse as an ‘extended metaphor’. Over longer periods of time, such as an entire

discourse event, successive episodes and instances of vehicle development around closely connected

topicsproducewhatwecall‘systematicmetaphor’.

The use of the term shock is thus functional to underline that, although the risk of a Greek

defaultwould be costly and disastrous for the country,The Economist assumes itwould not affect

negativelyEuropeanmarkets,because,unlikeLehmanBrothers’unexpectedfailurein2008,theGreek

economiccrisisdevelopedslowlyandgavetheEurozonememberstatesthetimetodiscussandagree

onfeasibleplansofeconomicgrowth,asthefollowingquotationpointsout:

(2) It would hardly be a shock to the markets, which have long expected a default. (…) Even if

Greece’sdebtswerecut inhalf, thenet losswouldstillrepresentanabsorbableproportionof

mostEuropeanbank’scapital.(23rdJune2011)

Thetermshockwhichisusuallyallocatedtothefieldofphysicalandhostileprocesses,expressinga

suddendebilitating effectproducedby a severe injury, blood loss, or allergic reaction, is hereused

metaphorically to communicate that the economic stability ofEuropeanbusinessand trading isnot

goingtobedamaged.Thatsaid,bothconvulsionandshockfocusonhowthelimitedpossibilitythatthe

EurozonemaybeseriouslyandnegativelyaffectedbytheGreekcrisis.

The metaphor trajectory develops discussing how countries such as Italy, a solvent but

seriously indebtedcountry,couldbedamagedbyGreece’s insolvency.AlthoughGreece’sdebtswere

sharedandpaidbytheeuroareabanks,theriskthatothercountriesmayturntoinsolvencybecamea

seriousandcrucialproblem.Thecontagionvehicletermdevelopsascenariooftheeuroareabeingat

risk.Consideringthatanyformofinfectionisgenerallycontagiousanditsdevelopmentisinevitable,

after Greece’s risk of default other countries such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, as well as

Europeanbanks,riskedbeingseriouslyaffected.Thatsaid,economicproblemsareprobablybeing

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sharedacrosstheeuroareaandtheEuropeancommunity.Thefollowingexamplesshowhowinvolved

theEurozonememberstatesareexpectedtobeinthedebtcrisis.Thecontagionvehicletermischosen

andusedinitscontextualformtohighlighttheprincipleofsharing,whichpreventstheUnionmember

statesfrombeingexempt,asispointedoutbelow:

(3) […]fearsofcontagionaregrowingnotreceding.(23rdJune2011)

(4) And thecontagionriskwouldbebigger than fromrestructuringalone: ifGreece left,whynot

PortugalorevenSpainandItaly?(23rdJune2011)

(5) ButMrTrichet’sworrieshavebeenvindicated,ascontagionhas spreadand isnowengulfing

Italy.(Charlemagne14thJuly2011)

(6) But Europe’s politicians cannot blame everything on their lack of tools. Their inconsistency,

even incoherence, over getting creditors to pay has done much to spread contagion.

(Charlemagne14thJuly2011)

(7) Howtopreventcontagion?AGreekdefaultwouldthreatenmanybanks,notjustinGreece[…]

Moreover, solvent countries need a breathing-space to push through reforms. That point to

agreeing to twomeasuresat thesame time:a scheme toshoreup thebanks,whichmay take

months toput into practice,anda rock-solidpromise tosupport solventgovernments,which

hastobeimmediate.(17thSeptember2011)

Thepatternevolvesandthetermcontagionisrelexicalisedwiththetermstoxicandplaguing.

Consideringthebasicmeaningofthesevehicletermstheiremergenceinthemetaphoricpatternofthe

diseasemetaphoremphasisestheseriousconsequencesthatthedebtcrisismaycauseacrosstheeuro

area.There is therefore littlespace lefttohope forandawait theendof thiscrisis,asthe following

examplesreveal:

(8) […]thepoliticsblockingaresolutionoftheeuroisbecomingevenmoretoxic.(23rdJune2011)

(9) […]thecrisisthathasbeenplaguingtheEurozoneforalmosttwoyears.(29thOctober2011)

The metaphor trajectory develops by highlighting the lack of liquidity that the crisis has

broughtacrosstheEurozonethroughtheweakness,vulnerableandfeeblevehicleterms.

Theweaknesscameastheresultofasuddenchangeintheeuroareathatnegativelyaffected

business, trade and the economy. Somemember states proved to be unable to respect the criteria

87

appliedbytheMaastricht52andtheLisbon53Treatiesandturnedintoinsolventandilliquidcountries,

ashappenedwithGreece.

Theweakvehicle term is re-deployed and attributed to six different sub-topics such as the

Eurozonebanks, governments, economicoutlook, theEurozone’s firewall, economies andmembers,

which are all meronymically related to the debt crisis they have contributed to develop. The

ECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASEmetaphordevelopssystematicallybyhighlightinghowthe

lackofmoneyisspreadacrosstheEurozone.

Inspection of near synonyms of the termweak reveals the use and recurrence of fragility,

vulnerable,feeble,andenfeebledasre-lexicalisedmetaphoricexpressionsbeingadoptedtodiscussthe

various componentswhich share responsibility for the development of the debt crisis. Considering

thatCameronacknowledges that a vehicle term is relexicalisedwhile it developswithinandacross

discourse (2007), butdoesnot consider the re-lexicalisationof a vehicle termacrossdifferent sub-

topics, I focussedon theabovementionedtermsasre-lexicalised formsofweakbeingattributed to

differenttopics,allsemanticallyrelatedandmetonymicallyresponsiblefortheeurocrisis.Banksare

representedasfragileandvulnerable,aswellas theEurozonecountriesbecause they lackavailable

money. As regards the ECB, its vulnerability is related to its lack of experience. Conversely, the

financialplantorescuetheeuroiscommentedonasvulnerablebecausetherightdecisionsarestill

waitingtobetaken.Inaddition,theEurozonebonds’instabilitydoesnotconvinceinvestors.Theuse

ofthesevehicletermsisillustratedbelow:

(10) Is it any surprise that investors are fleeing vulnerable Eurozone bonds? (Charlemagne 14th July

2011)

(11) […] the fragility of banks andworries about low growth all feed on each other (17th September

2011)

(12) TheECB’sGermanofficialshavetakentoresigninginprotestatthelimitedbond-buyingundertaken

sofar.Theyfearnotonlythatsoyounganinstitutionisvulnerabletoalossofcredibility,butalso

that theECB,which is independentbutunelected,couldbecomeembroiled inpoliticaldecisions-

especiallybydeclaringastateinsolventandcuttingitoff.(17thSeptember2011)

(13) Yet, in the lightofday, theholes in therescueplainareplan tosee.Thescheme isconfusedand

unconvincing. Confused, because its financial engineering is too clever by half and vulnerable to

unintendedconsequences.(29thOctober2011)

52TheMaastrichtTreatywassignedin1992andbecameeffectivein1993.53TheLisbonTreatywassignedin2007andbecameeffectivein2009.

88

(14) Bond markets may be suspicious of guarantees made by countries that would themselves be

vulnerableiftheirover-indebtedneighbourssufferedturmoil.(29thOctober2011)

Thevehicletermsfeebleandenfeebledhighlightlowgrowthratesandeconomiesingeneral,as

shownbelow:

(15) Add in theunderlyingconcernsabout theItalianeconomy’s feeble growthrate,and investors

are understandably worried about the Italian government’s ability to shoulder (physical

strengthasametaphor)itshugedebt.(Leaders14thJuly2011)

(16) Butthiscollectivelyhugefiscalcontractionisself-defeating.Bydrivingenfeebledeconomiesinto

recession it only increasesworries about both government debts and European banks. (17th

September2011)

Themetaphor trajectory developswith thepain vehicle term used to denote the disastrous

consequencesofwrongplansagreed tosave theeuro.Taking intoaccount thattheEuropeanUnion

was projected as a dream ofpolitical, economic and social unity, and the Eurozonewas created to

designamonetaryunion,forbetterorworse,thememberstatesofbothinstitutionsshouldshareboth

opportunitiesandproblemsthattheymayencounter.Thefollowingcitationunderlinestheprinciple

ofsharingthepainthattheEurozonehasbeensufferingfrom:

(17) Moneyforrescuesisbeingraisedwithjointguarantees,yetGermanywillnotacceptcommon

Eurobonds.Ithasresistedimmediatelyimposinglossesonbondholders,yet insiststheymust

sharethepainfrom2013andhasstartedtodiscusslengtheningdebtmaturitiesdespitefierce

resistancefromtheEuropeanCentralBank.(12thMay2011)

The final citation of the vehicle term pain/painful occurs in the article published on 17th

December2011.Althoughitisclearthatthecostofthedebtburdenwillbehigh,implyingthatagreat

sacrificemustbemade,aplantoadjusttheinsolventcountrieshasbeentakenandtheEurozonewill

hopefullynotceasetoexist.

(18) Insteadtheadjustmentisbeingimposedalmostentirelyondeficitcountries,guaranteeingthat

itwillbelongandpainful.(17thDecember2011)

TheECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE trajectoryendswith thevehicletermrecovery,

whichgiveshopetobringingbackstabilityinGreeceandacrosstheeuroarea.Thistermstressesthe

need toactivatereformplanstoshoreup theEuropeanbanks, tobuildupa firewall toprotectand

89

supportthesolventcountries,andtopaythesovereigndebt.Greece’schanceofrecoveryislikelyto

occur,and its feasibilitywillbedeterminedby thegravityof itsdefault,asclaimed in the following

example:

(19) Itistimetothinkdifferently.Ifthereistobeadefault,thenitmightaswellbeabigone,witha

largehaircutoncreditorsthatgiveGreecereliefandagreaterchanceofrecovery.(Charlemagne

14thJuly2011)

6.3Identifyingrescueandbail-outvehiclesterms

The focusof thissection istoexamine therescueandbail-out lexical itemswhichhavebeen

identifiedasvehicletermsdiscussingtheneedformoneytohelptheEurozonecountriesandbanks

withfinancialproblems.Afteridentifyingthemasvehicles,therescueandbail-outtermsarecollected

intheRescuevehiclegroup,theirdevelopmentacrossthedatasetisanalysedandtheemergenceofa

patternofmetaphorsystematicityisdiscussed.

6.3.1Therescuevehicleterm

Looking at how the word rescue is used in the EC-2011 dataset, we can see that its basic

meaningdoesnotmatchitsuseinTheEconomist.Havingattributedtothiswordacontextualmeaning

acrossmydata,Iidentifieditasavehicleterm.

Table6.5belowgivesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextoftherescuevehicleterm.

Italsoshowshowfrequentlythetermoccursinthedatasetandinwhatgrammaticalstructure.

Table6.5.rescuevehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PART

OFSPEECH

BASIC

MEANING

MEANINGINCONTEXT OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

Rescue/s Noun

To save and bring

someone away from

danger

To help the Eurozone

countries and banks

withfinancialproblems;

to give financial

assistancetotheeuro

-torescuetheeuro

-therescueofGreece

-Money for rescues is

beingraised

12thMay

Rescue

torescue

Noun

Verb(infinitive)

-a permanent system

torescuecountries

-to rescue Greece

bureaucrats

-Greece needs another

rescue

Charlemagne14thJuly

rescue

Noun

-a half-baked rescue

plan

-the currency’s club

Leaders14thJuly

90

rescuekitty

-therescuemeasures

-pro-rescuevotes

3rdSeptember

-rescuetalk

-arescue

-acrediblerescue

-asuccessfulrescue

-the money spent on

rescues

-anaffordablerescue

-rescueplan

-ourrescue

-half-rescue after half-

rescue

17thSeptember

-Europe’srescueplan

-theholesintherescue

plan

-Europe’s main rescue

fund

-the rescue fund’s

power

-therescuefund(X2)

-the rescue package of

funds

29thOctober

-the Eurozone rescue

fund

-rescueplans

26thNovember

-The Eurozone rescue

fund

-theirrescuefund

3rdDecember

-the Eurozone’s own

rescuefund

17thDecember

Total 31 9

On closer inspection of the rescue vehicle term, it can be seen that it records 31 metaphoric

realisations,whichdevelopintheformof27nominal(25nounsinthesingularform,2nounsinthe

plural form) and 3 verb repetitions (the infinitive). The verbal forms of the rescue vehicle in the

infinitive areused in twoarticles, respectively the12thMay and the14th July (Charlemagne) issues,

wherethemainfocusofthenewspaperisonGreece’spossibledefaultandtheriskthatitmayaffect

otherilliquidcountriesandthesinglecurrencytoo.ConsideringthatGreecehasbeenhelpedonceand

issoongoingtobegivenasecondmorefinancialsupport,itseemsthatthereismoneytohelpboththe

euroandothercountrieswhichmightturntoinsolvency.Thoseinchargeoftakingresponsibilityfor

thisdecisionaretheleadersofGermanyandFrance,ascitedinthetermoccurrencesofthearticles

publishedon12thMayand14thJuly(Charlemagne)andillustratedinTable7.5above.

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The nominal form of the rescue vehicle dominates with its 26 occurrences. Considering the

expressions thataccompany the rescue vehicle term, theword fundprevails,which emphasises the

existenceofmoney thatwasormightbe spent to give financial assistance to those inneed, as the

followingcitationclaims:

(1) InBrussels thisweekeuro-zone financeministersmuddledalong.Theyapproved thenext trancheof

loans forGreece toavoida suddendefault; they finalisedplans toenhance theirrescue fund through

financialengineering[…](3rdDecember)

Incontrast,otherexamplesshowhowthefundsuffersfromlackofmoney;

(2) Unfortunately, theeurozone'sfirewall is theweakestpartof thedeal.Europe'smainrescue fund, the

EuropeanFinancialStabilityFacility (EFSF),doesnothaveenoughmoney towithstanda runon Italy

andSpain.(29thOctober)

Orevenworse,

(3) Germanywill not hear of throwing cash at the problem: nomore for the euro-zone rescue fund, no

EurobondsandnoopenpressureontheECBtobuymorebonds.(3rdDecember)

Othernounsaccompanyingtherescuevehiclearethefollowing:plan,measures,package,talkand

kitty,whichalloccurwithfund.Inthecontextofthearticles,allthesewordsrefertomoneythathas

beencollectedorthatshouldbecollectedtointerveneandsolvetheproblemoffinancialinsolvency.

Moreover,theadjectivesprecedingtherescuevehicle,credible,successfulandaffordable,stressthat

theplanof a financial interventionmightbe achieved, as the following examplespublishedon17th

Septembersuggest:

(4) […]acrediblerescueshouldstartwithgrowthand,whereit isunavoidable,aseriousrestructuringof

debt.

(5) Buttheimmediatebillforabreak-upofthesinglecurrencywouldsurelybeinthetrillionsofeuros.By

contrast,asuccessfulrescuewouldseemabargain.

(6) […]theeurozonewouldberecklesstoflirtwithcollapsewhenanaffordablerescueispossible.

That said, both verbalandnominalmetaphoric formsof the rescue vehicle are indicatorsof the

urgencywithwhich the ECB, the EFSF, the IMF, aswell as the solvent and leader countries of the

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Eurozonecollaboratetogivefinancialassistancetotheinsolventmemberstates.Theprinciplelying

behindthisclaimistheprincipleofunionwhichgavebirthtotheeuroarea,theeuroandindeedthe

EuropeanUnion.

6.3.2Thebail-outvehicleterm

Thestudyofthebail-outvehicletermintheEC-2011datasetrevealsthatthebasicmeaningof

thisworddiffersfromitsuseinthecontextofmydata.AsthePregglegiazprocedure(2007)states,a

metaphorisidentifiedwhenawordusedincontexthasadifferentmeaningfromitsbasicmeaning.

Workingwith thatprocedure, I recognisedbail-out as a vehicle term. Table 6.6 below explains the

basicmeaning and themeaning in context of thebail-out term.Moreover, evidence is given of the

term’sfrequency,aswellasofitsgrammaticalfunction.

Table6.6.bail-outvehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

Bail-out

PART OF

SPEECH

BASIC

MEANING

MEANING

IN

CONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

bail-out

bail-outs

Noun

Scooping water

out of a ship to

prevent it from

sinking;

prompting an

emergency

descent by

parachute from

an aircraft that is

destinedtocrash

Releasing

insolvent and

illiquidcountries

from financial

difficulties

-towardsserialbail-outs

-the EU’s big bail-out

fund

-voters in creditor

countries resent endless

bail-outs

12thMay

-its first €110 billion

bail-out

-asecondbail-out

-a permanent Eurozone

bail-outfund

-asecondGreekbail-out

- Greece alone might

needabail-out

23rdJune

-futurebail-outs

-abigbail-outfund

-the current bail-out

funds

Charlemagne14thJuly

-bail-outs backed largely

by German taxpayers

havegonetoofar

-moreelaboratebail-outs

-a second bail-out of

Greece

-thefirstGreekbail-out

3rdSeptember

-asecondGreekbail-out 17thSeptember

93

-the costs of break-up

andthoseofabail-out

Total 17 5

Lookingatthebail-outvehicleterm,itrecords17metaphoricoccurrences,whichdevelopinthe

formofnominalrepetitionsinthesingularandthepluralform.Inlinewiththeuseoftherescueterm,

thebail-outvehiclediscussestheissueofgivingGreeceasecondchancewithanotherplanoffinancial

assistance.Althoughtheplanhasalreadybeenset,Germantaxpayersexpress,oncemore(seesection

7.5.1),theirdisagreementbecausethefundofassistancehasbeenmadepermanent,asthefollowing

citationclaims,

(1) Germanyhasmadeexpensiveloanstotroubledcountries,butdoesnotlikebigfiscaltransfers.Itissaid

theEU’sbigbail-outfundwouldbetemporary,butitisbeingmadepermanent.(12thMay)

Infact,otherplansoffinancialsupportwillincludeprivatecreditorsinordertoreducethetaxes

thatthecreditormemberstatesareaskedtopaytosupportthedebtors’ insolvency.Thispossibility

willlightentheburdenoftaxesthatGermanyhaspaid,butitworriesJean-ClaudeTrichet,presidentof

theECBfrom2009to2011,asthefollowingcitationsays:

(2) However,Jean-ClaudeTrichet,presidentoftheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB),worriedaboutsomething

else: [Mrs Merkel’s] demand that future bail-outs must include “adequate participation of private

creditors”,meaninglossesforbondholders.(Charlemagne14thJuly).

DetailsofhowexpensiveGreece’sfinancialassistancewas,aswellashowmuchitisexpectingto

receivearespecifiedinthearticles.Thebail-outtermisaccompaniedbyfiguresthatquantifyit,such

as€110billionbail-out,orbyadjectivesexpressingeitherthetemporalsequenceoffinancialsupport

(i.e.first,second),therepetitivenessofitoccurring(i.e.serial)orthehugeamountofmoneyspent(i.e.

big).

Greeceisnottheonlycountryinvolvedinthisprocedureofassistance,thetermbail-outisalso

usedtopresentafunddestinedtohelptheEurozone,asthefollowingexampleshows:

(3) […] when a permanent euro-zone bail-out fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), will take

effect.Theeurowillbesavedandtheworldwillapplaud.(12thMay)

Although the nominal form of the bail-out vehicle is used to discuss predominantly Greece’s

support, instances of this vehicle are used to highlight the need to create a fund for the entire

94

Eurozone, becauseother countriesmight turn to insolvency andneed support, as suggestedby the

followingcitation:

(4) […]Indeed,thecreationofabigbail-outfundwasmeanttomakedefaultunthinkable.(Charlemagne14th

July)

6.3.3TheRescuevehiclegroup

Once the rescue and the bail-out vehicle terms were identified, I examined if a semantic

correspondencecouldbefoundbetweenthebasicmeaningofthoseterms.

Considering that the basic meaning of rescue and bail-out highlighted the immediacy and

emergencyoftakingactionstobringsomeone/somethingawayfromdanger,Icollectedthemintoa

groupthatI labelledtheRescuevehiclegroup.Therationalebehindthisdecisionliesinthefactthat

the rescue vehicle counted more occurrences (30 occurrences) than the bail-out term (17

occurrences).Moreover,therescuetermcouldcoverthebasicmeaningofbothvehiclesthegroupwas

composedof.UponexaminationoftheRescuevehiclegroup,Istudiedthebasicmeaningofboththe

rescueand thebail-outvehiclesand I realised that, following thesequentialdistributionofactions, I

couldorganisethedevelopmentofbothtermsintothreesub-groups.

Thefirstsub-groupcomprehendedbothtermswhichwereusedtoillustratetheactionsoftaking

Greeceandotherindebtedcountriesawayfromdanger.

Consideringthatneitherhadaplanbeendraftednorspecificmeasureshadbeentakentorescue

Greeceandtheotherindebtedcountriesfromtheriskofdefault,theEurozoneleadersdecidedtoseta

rescueplanwhichmightpreventfuturedangerandrisks.Thissecondsub-groupisdominatedbythe

rescuevehicle,which isaccompaniedby the termplanandby thosewhichshouldbenefit fromthis

intervention,suchastheeuro,theEurozoneandEurope.

Thethirdsub-groupextendsthenecessityofsettingaplantothatofafund.Hugeandpermanent

sumsofmoneymustbecollected intoapermanent fundtoavoid furtherdangerandrisk.Thissub-

groupisthusdominatedbytherescueandbail-outvehiclesusedinexpressionssuchas,rescue fund

andbail-outfund,whichentailexpressionsgivingtestimonythatmeetingsmustbeset,decisionsmust

bemade,andmoneymustbefoundandcollected.

I carried outmy analysis examiningwhether themeaning in context of the vehicleswithin the

Rescuegroupmatched.ThecontextualmeaningsofthetermsbelongingtotheRescuevehiclegroup

highlighted that insolvent and illiquid countries, such as Greece, needed a prompt and costly

intervention because their debts had to be paid to avoid their default. The Eurozone leaderswere

asked to set a plan. This plan was meant to collect money into a permanent fund that would be

managedandfilledbythesolventmemberstates,theECB,theEFSFandsomeprivateinvestors.

95

Consideringthebasicandthecontextualmeaningofthevehicles(seeTables7.5and7.6)talking

abouttheneedoffinancialsupporttohelpinsolventandilliquidcountriesintermsofarescueIwas

able to identify the topic of the Rescue metaphor, that I expressed as follows: “helping countries

financially”.

After the topic was allocated, I had all the instruments to start the analysis of a systematic

metaphor.

6.3.4HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematicmetaphor

Aftergroupingtherescueandbail-outvehicles,codingthemundertheRescuevehiclegroup,

andidentifyingtheRescuemetaphortopic,thelinguisticmetaphorsrelatingtoitwerecollectedintoa

systematic metaphoric trajectory, which I called and examined as the HELPING COUNTRIES

FINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematicmetaphor.

UponexaminationofhowdiscourseproceededacrosstheEC-2011dataset,Idecidedtostudyand

trackthepatternoflinguisticexpressions,whosevehicleswereusedmetaphoricallytotalkaboutthe

topic. I identified this pattern as the HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE systematic

metaphor,whichisillustratedbyTable6.7below.

Table6.7HELPNGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEtrajectory

TOPIC METAPHORTRAJECTORY VEHICLEGROUP

“helpingcountriesfinancially”

Set of three events tracking the

trajectory:

1. Indebtedcountriesaregoing

tobereleasedfromfinancial

difficulties (rescue and bail-

outvehicleterms)

2. Aplanisbeingsettoprovide

successful and credible

financial support in the

future(rescuevehicleterm)

3. Money is going to be

collected to provide the

Eurozonewithafund(rescue

vehicleterm)

Rescue

AsIpointedoutinsection6.2.2,whereIanalysedtheECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE

systematic metaphor, metaphor shifting tracks the emergence of a systematic metaphoric pattern.

Havinginvestigatedhowmetaphorsdiscussingtheactionsthathavebeenmadeandthatwillbemade

96

to help countries with financial problems in terms of a rescue and of a bail-out, I provide some

examplesofmetaphor shifting to showhowboth vehicles canbeused to track the emergenceof a

metaphoricpattern.Table6.8belowprovidessomeexamplesofvehicledevelopments.

Table6.8.rescue/bail-outvehicledevelopment

Vehicledevelopment Examples

Vehiclerepetition -half-rescueafterhalf-rescue(29thOctober)

-Europe’srescueplan(29thOctober);Europe’smainrescue

fund(29thOctober)

-rescue plan (17th September); rescue plan (17th

September);

Vehicleexplication -Consider the stakes. Italy has the biggest sovereign-debt

marketinEuropeandthethird-biggestintheworld.Ithas

€1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) of sovereign debt outstanding,

120% of its GDP, three times as much as Greece, Ireland

and Portugal combined—and far more than the €250

billionorsoleftintheEuropeanFinancialStabilityFacility

(EFSF),thecurrencyclub'srescuekitty.(Leaders14thJuly)

-[…] when a permanent euro-zone bail-out fund, the

EuropeanStabilityMechanism (ESM),will takeeffect.The

eurowillbesavedandtheworldwillapplaud.(23rdJune)

Vehiclecontrast -Greek bail-out (3rd September) vs Greek default (17th

September)

-to rescue the euro (12th May) vs the single currency

collapse(26thNovember)

The analysis of how vehicle terms shifted across the data allowedme to identify also some

examplesof vehicle re-deployment.Table6.9 shows someexamplesof how the rescueandbail-out

vehicletermswereusedwithdifferenttopics.

Table6.9.rescue/bail-outvehiclere-deployments

Vehiclere-deployment Examples

rescue -Germanycontinues toditheroverhowbest to rescue the

euro(12thMay)

-[…]ayearaftertherescueofGreece(12thMay)

-thecurrencyclub’srescuekitty(Leaders14thJuly)

bail-out -theEu’sbigbail-outfund(12thMay)

-thefirstGreekbail-out(3rdSeptember)

-asecondGreekbail-out(17thSeptember)

97

ConsideringthattheemergenceofHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematic

metaphorcouldbetrackedbyanalysingthecontextualmeaningofthevehiclesthathadbeencollected

intotheRescuegroup,afteridentifyingasemanticconnectionbetweenthebasicmeaningofthebail-

outandrescuevehicleterms,Istudiedtheirmetaphoricalmeaning.Iidentifiedthreedifferentsetsof

events,asshowninTable6.9above,whichhadledtheEurozoneleaderstointerveneandrescuethose

countriesthathadbeenunabletopaytheirdebts.

The first set of events comments on the interventionmade by the Eurozone leaders,which

releasedtheinsolventcountriesfromfinancialdifficultiesintermsofarescueandofabail-out.The

following citations taken from the article published on 23rd June give evidence of Greece’s bail-out

afterriskingaseconddefault:

(1) NextweekGreeceislikelytopassanewausteritypackage.Itwillthengetthenext€12billion($17

billion)ofitsfirst€110billionbail-out,whichitneedsbymid-July.

(2) Assuming the Europeans agree on a face-saving “voluntary” participation by private creditors to

pleasetheGermans,asecondbail-outofsome€100billionwillfollow.

(3) Meanwhile,GermanvotersareaghastattheprospectofasecondGreekbail-out,whichtheythink

wouldmerelytipmoremoneydowntheplugholeofacountrythatisincapableeitherofrepayingits

debtsorofreformingitself.

(4) Earlyhopes thatGreecealonemightneedabail-outweredashedwhenIrelandandPortugalalso

soughthelp.

Thenewspaper’sdiscussiondevelopsandthe3rdSeptemberissueclaimswhatfollows:

(5) This month it will consider legislation to approve expanded powers for the European Financial

StabilityFacility(EFSF),atemporaryfundforhelpingtheindebtedeurocountries.Afterthatitwill

vote on a second bail-out of Greece, worth about €109 billion ($157 billion), and then on a

permanentsuccessortotheEFSF.

(6) Resistance,muchofitfromMrsMerkel'scoalition,isstiffening.Dissentershavetwomainworries.

The first is that theBundestagwillbestrippedof its right todeterminehowtaxpayers'moneyis

spent.TheyexpectencouragementonSeptember7thfroma rulingby theconstitutionalcourton

thelegalityofthefirstGreekbail-outandtheEFSF.

Greece’sfinancialsupportiscommentedonintermsofarescue,asthenextexamplesshow:

98

(7) Germanyactedtoaverttheimminentfinancialcollapseofseveralcountries,butoftenlateandnever

decisivelyenough to resolve thecrisisonceand forall. Instead,ayearafter therescue ofGreece,

thenofIrelandandnowofPortugal,anxietyseemstobegrowing.(12thMay)

(8) Now Greece needs another rescue, default is nearer and the Germans and Dutch, threatening to

standintheway,wantprivatecreditorstocontributerightaway.(Charlemagne14thJuly)

Thevehicletermrescueisre-deployedandaddressedtoothercountrieswhichhadbecomeinsolvent

andneededtoberescuedlikeGreece,asthefollowingexamplepointsout:

(9) The argumentwas over a demand by the leaders of Germany and France,made days earlier at

Deauville,foratreatychangetocreateapermanentsystemtorescuecountriesunabletopaytheir

debts.Everyonegroaned.IthadtakenyearsoftribulationtoagreeontheEuropeanUnion'sLisbon

treaty,whichhadonlyrecentlycomeintoeffect.(Charlemagne14thJuly)

Taking into consideration the urgency of rescuing and bailing-out Greece and other indebted

countries, theEurozone leadersdidnothave theopportunitytosetoutaclearplanof intervention.

Thesecondsetofeventsgivesevidenceofarescueplanthatwasset,whichmight thusprevent the

Eurozone member states from risking an economic default, as the following quotations claim

demonstrate:

(10) German taxpayersmight accept that the immediate costs of our rescue planare smaller than

break-up.(17thSeptember)

(11) TheEconomistconcedesthatourrescueplanbeginswithademocraticdeficitthatneedstobe

fixedifstepstowardscloserfiscalunionaretowork.(17thSeptember)

(12) Europe’s rescue plan. Thisweek’s summitwas supposed to put an end to the euro crisis. It

hasn’t.(29thOctober)

Althoughthetermplanisnotmentionedinthefollowingcitations,thearticlesinvolvedwere

publishedwhile theplanwasunderagreement,whichenabledmetoadd theminthesecondsetof

eventsthatIneededtoprovideevidencefortheemergenceofHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISA

RESCUEsystematicmetaphor:

99

(13) Arescuemustdofourthingsfast.First,itmustmakeclearwhichofEurope'sgovernmentsare

deemedilliquidandwhichareinsolvent,givingunlimitedbackingtothesolventgovernmentsbut

restructuringthedebtofthosethatcanneverrepayit.(17thSeptember)

(14) Insteadofausterityandpretence,a crediblerescue shouldstartwithgrowthand,where it is

unavoidable,aseriousrestructuringofdebt.(17thSeptember)

Having considered that a financial support in terms of a rescue plan should be assured to

protect the Eurozone member states and the single currency from possible economic imbalance,

problemsrelatedtoinsolvencyandilliquidity,thissupporthastobefoundandcollectedintheformof

a fund. The third set of events talks of providing amonetary support to the Eurozone in terms of

collecting a permanent rescue fund, as the following citations from the article published on 29th

October,26thNovember,and17thDecemberpointout:

(15) Europe's main rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), does not have

enoughmoneytowithstandarunonItalyandSpain.(29thOctober)

(16) InsteadtheyhavecomeupwithtwoschemestostretchtheEFSF.Oneistouseittoinsurethe

first lossesifanynewbondsarewrittendown.Intheory,thismeansthattherescuefund'spower

couldbemagnifiedseveraltimes.(29thOctober)

(17) […]becausetheEFSFbearsthefirstlosses,itscapitalisatgreaterriskofbeingwipedoutthan

undera loanprogramme.ThiscouldtaintFrance,whichfinancestherescue fundandhasrecently

seenitsAAAcreditratingcomeunderthreat.(29thOctober)

(18) Since theEFSFdependspartlyonFrancefor itsowncredit rating,aFrenchdowngradecould

underminetherescuefundjustwhenitismostneeded.(29thOctober)

(19) Past financial crises show that this downward spiral can bearrested only by bold policies to

regainmarketconfidence.ButEurope'spolicymakersseemunableorunwillingtobeboldenough.

The much-ballyhooed leveraging of the euro-zone rescue fund agreed on in October is going

nowhere.(26thNovember)

(20) Thegovernmentsdidevenless.True,theleaderspledgedextramoneyintheformof loansto

theIMFandleftopenthepossibilityofboostingtheeurozone'sownrescuefund.(17thDecember)

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Thebail-outvehicletermhighlightstheneedforinterveningandcollectingmoneyintheform

ofabail-outfundtoprotecttheEurozonefrompossibledefaultandtheeurofromfinancialinstability,

asthefollowingquotationshows:

(21) But Europe's politicians cannot blame everything on their lack of tools. Their inconsistency,

even incoherence, over getting creditors to pay has done much to spread contagion. Their first

emergencyloansimposedtoughconditionsonGreece,butnoneonthebankers.Indeed,thecreation

ofabigbail-outfundwasmeanttomakedefaultunthinkable.(Charlemagne14thJuly)

To conclude, by tracking the emergence of HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE

systematicmetaphor,I identifiedthreesetsofeventsthataccompaniedthereaderinunderstanding

theimportanceofsettingaplanofinterventionintheformofafundwhichwouldsupporttheilliquid

orinsolventmemberstatesandavoidtheireconomicdefault.Inaddition,thankstothisfundtheeuro

willbeprotectedfromfinancialinstability.Aslongasbotharesuccessfullyagreed,theUnionwillbe

savedand,ifneeded,financialmonetaryinterventionwillbemadeintheformofeitherarescueora

bail-out.

6.4Identifyingrestoreandrestructuringvehicleterms

Theaimofthepresentsectionistoinvestigatetherestoreandrestructuringvehicletermswhich

are used to explain themeasures that should be taken in order to prompt a process of economic

consolidation within the Eurozone. Once the restore and the restructuring vehicle terms were

identified,IcollectedthemintotheRestructuringgroup.Intheend,Istudiedthevehiclesdevelopment

across the EC-2011 dataset and investigated the emergence of a systematic metaphorical pattern

discussingwhatshouldbedonetobringtheeuroandtheEurozonebacktoaconditionofeconomic

stability.

6.4.1Therestorevehicleterm

By examining how the vehicle term restorewas used across my data, I excluded that the

journalistshadrecurredtothisexpressionreferringtoitsbasicmeaningandhighlightedtheneedto

bring a damaged building/piece of art back to its original state. Having attributed to this word a

contextualmeaningacrossmydata,Iidentifieditasavehicleterm.

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Thecontextualmeaningoftherestorevehicletermdesignedtodiscussthenecessitytodrawa

planof intervention inorder to fostereconomicdevelopmentandprovide fiscalstabilitywithin the

euroarea.

Table6.10belowdisplayshowthisvehicletermoccursandrecursinthedataset.Evidenceis

given of its grammatical structure, its basic meaning, the meaning in context and its occurrences

acrossthearticles.

Table6.10.restorevehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PARTOF

SPEECH

BASICMEANING MEANING

INCONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

torestore Verb(infinitive)

Tobuildagain,re-erect,

repair,bringsomething

damaged back to its

originalstate

Bringing economic

stability back,

fostering fiscal

recapitalisation

-to restore Europe’s

banks

29thOctober

restoring Verb(gerund) -theonlywayofrestoring

confidence and

protecting European

banks’balance-sheets

29thOctober

torestore

Verb(infinitive) -drafting a European

fiscal“compact”designed

to restore discipline to

theeuro

17thDecember

torepair Verb(infinitive) -to try to repairEurope’s

banks

12thMay

Total 4 4

Oncloserinspectionoftherestorevehicleterm,itcanbeseenthatitoccursthreetimes.Theterm

isusedtwiceintheinfinitiveandonceasagerund.Moreover,thetermdevelopsandtheinfinitiveof

theverbtorepairisusedasanearsynonymoftherestorevehicleterm.Bothtermsarevehiclesand

hold a similar meaning in the context of the EC-2011 dataset. The vehicle forms to restore and

restoringoccurintwoarticles,respectivelythe29thOctoberandthe17thDecemberissues,wherethe

newspaper highlights the need to provide financial support to recapitalise the European banks. If

banksaresupportedtheirfundingproblemswillbesolved,theirbalance-sheetswillbeprotectedand

theywillgetonwiththebusinessoflending.Inadditiontobanksrecapitalisation,anotherpointthat

the infinitive to restore wishes to stress is the need to agree on a fiscal compact. The contextual

meaningof thisvehicle intends toemphasisetheactionof fixingsomething thathasbeendamaged,

which the basic meaning of the vehicle term conveys by expressing the exigency of a prompt

intervention.Theeuromustbemonitoredandbanksmustberecapitalisedtofostereconomicstability

andgrowth,thusputtinganendtothedebtcrisis.

The infinitive form of the vehicle to repair occursonly once in thedataset andprecisely in the

article published on 12th May, its use is similar to the vehicle terms mentioned above. Although

102

Greece’s possible default is the core of this article, the newspaper claims that economic

competitiveness isagoodsolutiontoprevent futurecrises. Inordertoencouragegrowthandmake

“the problem more manageable”, as the article says, European banks are to be recapitalised. The

incongruous meaning of the vehicle to repair, focuses on the need for liquidity, to bring back a

conditionthatthecrisishaddamaged,thusboostingeconomicgrowth.Thevehicleconnectsthepast

conditionofaneconomicbalancewiththefuturehopeofhavingitrestored.Inordertoachievethis

condition,banksmustbefinanciallysupportedandprovidedwithmoneytolendandinvest.

Toconclude,bothvehicletermsareusedinthedatasettohighlightthewishoffixingplansthat

will change the condition of illiquidity that European banks are suffering from, as well as the

instabilityoftheeuro,inordertosolvethecrisis.

6.4.2Therestructuringvehicleterm

Considering thebasicmeaningof the termrestructuring,which indicatesthataconstruction

wasdamagedandneedsapromptinterventiontobebroughtbacktoitsoriginalstructure,Ifoundthat

thenewspaperhadascribeditacontextual,thusmetaphoricalmeaning.Thecontextualmeaningofthe

term highlights the wish to find solutions in order to bring economic stability back within the

Eurozone,whichallowedmetoidentifytherestructuringtermasavehicleterm.

Table6.11belowgivesthegrammaticalstructureoftherestructuringterm;itsbasicmeaning

andthemeaning incontextare identified;evidence isalsogivenofhowthe termoccursacross the

articlesofthedataset.

Table6.11.restructuringvehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PARTOF

SPEECH

BASIC

MEANING

MEANING

INCONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

restructuring

Verb(gerund)

Noun

Verb(gerund)

Verb(gerund)

Torearrange,rebuild

anewstructure

Finding solutions to

bring economic

stabilityback

Releasing insolvent

and illiquid countries

from financial

difficulties

-there was no talk of

restructuring Greece’s

publicdebt

-looking at the debt

restructuring

-that could mean

restructuringdebts

-it could mean

restructuring the euro

area

12thMay

103

Restructuring,

restructures

Noun

Verb(gerund)

Noun

Noun

Verb

(pres.simple)

Noun

-the longer

restructuringisputoff

-and the contagion risk

would be bigger than

from restructuring

alone

-an orderly

restructuring of

Greece’sdebts

-an orderly

restructuring would be

risky

-even if Greece

restructuresitsdebt

-an orderly debt

restructuring

23rdJune

restructuring Noun

-a recapitalisation of

the European banks

that will suffer from

thatrestructuring

-the restructuring is

pitched

-asimilarrestructuring

Leaders14thJuly

restructuring,

restructures

Verb(gerund)

Noun

Noun

Verb(gerund)

Verb

(pres.Simple)

-restructuringthedebt

-a Greek restructuring

maycausecontagion

-a serious restructuring

ofdebt

-that is why we favour

restructuringGreece

-once Greece defaults

andrestructures

17thSeptember

restructuring Verb(gerund) -restructuring Greece’s

debt

26thNovember

Total 19 5

Thestudyoftherestructuringvehicletermshowsthatitrecords19metaphoricrealisations,which

develop in the form of10 lexical and9 verbal repetitions.As regards thenominal expressions, the

restructuring term counts 8 occurrences which are used to discuss the need to provide financial

support to Greece in order to have its debts cancelled. These realisations appear in the following

articles: 12thMay, 23rd June, Leaders 14th July. Looking at the othermetaphoricmanifestations, the

vehicletermisusedtwicetoargueabouttheintenttointerveneandreleaseotherinsolventcountries

from financial difficulties; Portugal and Ireland have seen their debt reduced to avoid a financial

default(Leaders14thJuly).

104

The restructuring vehicle records 9 verbal occurrences, 7 in the gerund and 2 in the simple

present.Asfarastheverbalformsofthevehicletermareconcerned,7expressionsclaimthenecessity

toprovidefinancialhelptoGreeceinordertoavoiditsdefault.Theserealisationsaretrackedinthe

12thMay,23rdJune,17thSeptemberand26thNovemberarticles.Conversely,therestructuringvehicle

term isused twice todiscussapossible financialsupport thatshouldrelease theeuroarea fromits

economicinstability.ThenewspapertalksofEurobondsandafiscaltransferasmeasurestoadjustthe

stateofinstabilitythattheEurozonehasbeensufferingfromsincethedebtcrisisbrokeout.

6.4.3TheRestructuringvehiclegroup

Once I had identified the vehicle termsdiscussingactionsof restructuring thedebt thathad

beenaffectingtheeuroareaandmostofallGreece,Iexaminedifasemanticcorrespondencecouldbe

foundamongthebasicmeaningofthoseterms.

Both thenominal and the verbal expressions that I talkedabout in sections6.4.1 and6.4.2,

stressedeither theneed tobringsomething thathadbeendamagedbackto itsoriginalstateor the

need to build something new. The urgency of a prompt intervention in terms of having something

adjusted or brought back to its original condition allowedme to collect the terms in a group. The

groupwaslabelledtheRestructuringvehiclegroup.Thereasonbehindthischoice,liedinthefactthat,

among the vehicles, restructuring was the term of the group that occurredmost frequently in the

dataset(19occurrences).Moreover,thetermcoveredthebasicmeaningofallthetermsthegrouped

wascomposedof.Upon inspectionof thebasicmeaningof thevehicle termsthat theRestructuring

groupcounted,Idividedtheminthreesub-groups.

The first sub-group comprehended the expressions discussing the action of repairing and

restoringtheEuropeanbanks.Thissub-groupcontainedtherestore,repair,andrestructuringvehicle

terms,whichstressedthenecessitytoadjustingsomethingthathadbeendamagedinordertomakeit

workagain.

Consideringthattherestructuringvehicletermistheuniquetermthatdominatesthesecondand

the third sub-groups, the second sub-group included the restructuring of Greece and of the other

countrieswhichneededtoberearrangedifnotre-constructedastheywerebeforebeingdamaged.

Thethirdsub-groupdiscussedthenecessityofre-adjustingtheeuroareaanditsdebts,inorderto

fixthemandmakeitworkasitwasdoingbeforebeingdamaged.

Idevelopedmyanalysisandexaminedwhetherthemeaningincontextofthevehicleswithinthe

Restructuringgroupmatched.Therepair,restoreandrestructuringvehiclesintendedtohighlightthat

recapitalisationhadtobefosteredinordertobringeconomicstabilityback.

Consideringthebasicandthecontextualmeaningofthevehiclestalkingabouttheeuro,theeuro

area and its debts, the European banks, Greece and the other indebted countries in terms of a

105

restructuring,IidentifiedthetopicoftheRestructuringmetaphor,thatIexpressedasfollows:“solving

economicproblems”.

Havingassignedthetopictothegroup,Icouldbeginthestudyoftrackingasystematicmetaphor.

6.4.4SOLVINGECONOMICPROBLEMSISRESTRUCTURINGsystematicmetaphor

Once the Restructuring vehicle group was labelled and the metaphor topic identified, the

metaphoricexpressionsrelatingtoitwereincludedintoasystematicmetaphorictrajectory,which I

identified, codedand trackedas theSOLVINGECONOMICPROBLEMS ISRESTRUCTURING systematic

metaphor.

By observing how discourse developed, I saw that the vehicle terms which were used

metaphoricallytotalkaboutthe“solvingeconomicproblems”topic,couldbeidentifiedasbelongingto

thesamemetaphoricpatterndiscussingthepossibilitytorestructuretheeuroarea.Thepatternwhich

emergesfrommyanalysisisillustratesinTable6.12displaysbelow.

Table6.12.SOLVINGECONOIMCPROBLEMSISRESTRUCTURINGtrajectory

TOPIC METAPHORTRAJECTORY VEHICLEGROUP

“solvingeconomicproblems”

Set of three events track the

trajectory:

1. The European banks are

facing a process of

adjustment (restore, repair

and restructuring vehicle

terms)

2. Greece and other indebted

countriesaregoingtobere

3. structured(restructuringand

restructuresvehicleterm)

4. The euro area and the

Europeandebt/saregoingto

be restructured

restructuring,vehicleterm)

Restructuring

BeforeexaminingthemetaphoricpatternoftheSOLVINGECONOMICPROBLEMSISRESTRUCTURING

metaphor,Iwillgiveevidenceofhowtherestructuring,restoreandrepairvehicletermsshiftedacross

thesetofdatainordertosubstantiatetheemergenceofametaphoricpattern.

106

Theanalysisofmetaphoroccurrencesintheflowofdiscourserevealedthattherestructuring,

restoreandrepairvehicle termsdevelopedandwerere-deployed.Tables6.13belowprovidessome

examplesofvehicledevelopments.

Table6.13.Vehiclesdevelopment

Vehicledevelopment Examples

Vehiclerepetition -restructuringofdebt(17thSeptember)

-restructuringofdebt(17thSeptember)

Vehiclerelexicalisation -torepairEurope’sbanks(12thMay)

-torestoreEurope’sbanks(29thOctober)

Vehicleexplication - even Berlin may be realising that it is time for hard

choices. That could mean restructuring debts, imposing

lossesoncreditorsandhelpingbanksindangerofcollapse

(12thMay)

-onceGreecedefaultsandrestructures,itseconomystands

agoodchanceofmakingacrediblestartonitslongjourney

toeconomichealth(17thSeptember)

Vehiclecontrast - restructuring theeuroarea (12thMay)vsTheeuro zone

couldshatterintodifferentpieces(26thNovember)

The analysis allowedme to identify also some examples of vehicle re-deployment, inwhich

somevehicleswereusedagainwithadifferenttopic,asshowninTable6.14.

Table6.14.Vehiclesre-deployments

Vehiclere-deployment Examples

restructuring - there was no talk of restructuring Greece's public debt

(12thMay)

-itcouldmeanrestructuringtheeuroarea(23rdJune)

restore -aEuropeanfiscal“compact”designedtorestorediscipline

totheeurozone'seconomies(17thDecember)

- restoring confidence and protecting European banks'

balance-sheets(29thOctober)

Theanalysisoflinguisticmetaphorsandhowtheyaredistributedinthedatasetenabledmeto

trackthreedifferentsetsofeventswhichinvolvedalltheparticipantsthatactivelycontributedtothe

existenceoftheEurozone.Consideringthatallofthemwereseriouslyeconomicallydamagedbythe

crisis,inordertohavethemadjusted,apromptinterventionwasrequiredintermsofarestructuring.

107

While tracking the emergence of a systematic pattern on solving the euro area economic

problemsintermsofarestructuring,Iwasabletrackametaphorictrajectory,whichcomprehended

threesequencesofevents.

The firstsetofeventsstresses the financialstateof illiquiditythattheEuropeanbankshave

beensufferingfromsoonafterthedebtcrisisdeveloped.Inordertoturntoliquidityandallowthemto

lendmoney to peoplewho need to borrow it, theymust be recapitalised. Banks recapitalisation is

talkedofintermsofarestructuring,asthefollowingexamplessuggest:

(1)What is to be done?This newspaper has long argued thatmuddling-throughmust be replaced by a

comprehensive strategy based on three components: debt reduction for plainly insolvent countries; a

recapitalisationoftheEuropeanbanksthatwillsufferfromthatrestructuring;andthebuildingofafirewall

betweentheinsolventandtherest.(Charlemagne14thJuly)

The term isre-lexicalised,restoreandrepair,nearsynonymsareused todiscuss thesame issue

referringtothesametopic,asthefollowingexamplesshow:

(2) Asfortoday'sills,causedbythesinsofthepast,theanswerhasoftenbeenjusttoplayfortime:totryto

repairEurope'sbanks,insistondeficitsbeingtrimmedandhopethatgrowthmakestheproblemmore

manageable.(12thMay)

Thesecondsetofeventsfocusesontheurgencyofinterveningandprovidingfinancialsupportto

Greeceandtheotherindebtedcountries.IncaseaplanofinterventionisnotactivatedandGreeceis

nothelped, it risksa seconddefault.Greecehasbeenunable tomanage its liquidity, it hasbecome

indebtedand turned to insolvency. Inorder to saveGreece, its debtsmustbepaid, and its stateof

illiquidity must be adjusted. This intervention is discussed by the newspaper in terms of a

restructuring.ThemetaphortrajectorydevelopsandthenecessityofrearrangingGreece’seconomic

stability is commented on in terms of a reconstruction which is going to be achieved by helping

financially thecountryand itsbanks.The followingcitationshighlight that therestructuringvehicle

termdevelopsintheformofafrequentrepetition:

(3) Jean-Claude Juncker,primeministerofLuxembourgandchairof theeurogroupof financeministers,

saystherewasnotalkofrestructuringGreece'spublicdebt.(12thMay)

The article published on 23rd June talks of Greece’s risk of default and how the Eurozone might

intervenetoavoidit.MostcitationsdiscussingGreece’srestructuringappearinthisarticle,asshown

below:

108

(4) Thelongerrestructuringisputoff,themoreGreekdebtwillbeowedtoofficiallenders,whetherother

EUgovernmentsortheIMF—sothemoretaxpayerswilleventuallysuffer.

(5) Thecountrywouldstillneedexternalfinance,butwhowouldlendtoit?Andthecontagionriskwouldbe

biggerthanfromrestructuringalone:ifGreeceleft,whynotPortugalorevenSpainandItaly?Iftheeuro

zoneweretobreakupitwouldputhugepressureonthesinglemarket.

(6) Thereisanalternative,forwhichthisnewspaperhaslongargued:anorderlyrestructuringofGreece's

debts,halvingtheirvaluetoaround80%ofGDP.

(7) Anorderlyrestructuringwouldberisky.Doingitnowwouldcrystalliselossesforbanksandtaxpayers

acrossEurope.Norwouldit,byitself,rightGreece.

(8) EvenifGreecerestructuresitsdebtandembracesthereformsdemandedbytheEUandIMF,itwillneed

outsidesupportforsomeyears.Thatisboundtobringmorefiscal-policycontrolfromBrussels,turning

theeurozoneintoamorepoliticallyintegratedclub.

(9) […]adisorderlydefaultthatdestabilisesmarketsandthreatenstheEuropeanproject;oranorderlydebt

restructuring.

Othermemberstatessufferfromilliquidityandinsolvency.Thatiswhytheycannotpaytheir

debts.Greecehasbeenhelped,sotheothercountriesmustbegiventhesamekindoffinancialsupport.

Therestructuringtermisthusre-deployedbecauseitisre-usedasreferringtoadifferenttopic,which

canbereadinthenextcitation:

(10) Arescuemustdofourthingsfast.First,itmustmakeclearwhichofEurope'sgovernmentsare

deemed illiquid and which are insolvent, giving unlimited backing to the solvent governments but

restructuringthedebtofthosethatcanneverrepayit.(17thSeptember)

Thethirdsetofeventsfocusesontheeuroareaandhowtosolveitsdebts.Thetermrestructuring

is oncemore redeployed and refers to a topic different from Greece and from the other countries

mentionedabove.Theactionofinterventionthatisrequiredinvolvesasetofsolutionsthatmustbe

foundandarrangedinordertobringtheEurozonebacktoeconomicstability.Thisdiscussionismade

metaphorically in terms of a restructuring. Considering the development of the term restructuring,

evidence is given of its re-deployment in the following examples,where the term refers to a topic

different from Greece and from the other countries which werementioned in the examples above

(citationsfrom4to10).

109

(11) Even Berlinmay be realising that it is time for hard choices. That couldmean restructuring

debts,imposinglossesoncreditorsandhelpingbanksindangerofcollapse.(12thMay)

(12) Oritcouldmeanrestructuring theeuroareathroughcommonEurobondsandfiscaltransfers.

(12thMay)

Toconclude,metaphoricsystematicitywasfoundandtrackedthroughtheidentificationofthree

setsofeventsthatallowedmetounderstandtheimportanceofsettingaplanofintervention,which

wouldsupportbanksrecapitalisationandwouldsaveinsolventandilliquidcountriesfromdefault.In

addition,theeuroareawouldbegivenapermanentsupportanditsdebtswouldbepaid.Thisplanof

interventionwasmetaphorically commented on in terms of restructuring, repair and restoreas the

citationsthatImentionedaboveshowed.

6.5Identifyingbreak-upandcollapsevehiclesterms

Inthissection,Iinvestigatethelexicalitemswhichhavebeenidentifiedasthevehicletermsof

metaphoric realisations thatdescribe the possible end of the euro and the Eurozone in terms of a

collapse.After identifyingbreak-upandcollapsevehicle terms, theyweregathered intotheCollapse

vehicle group and the emergence of a systematic metaphor was tracked to see how the loss of

economicstabilitythatwasbringingtheeuroareatotheendwascommentedonmetaphorically.

6.5.1Thebreak-upvehicleterm

Having identified the basicmeaning of the termbreak-up which indicates that something is

goingtobedisintegratedintopieces,Iattributedtobreak-upacontextualmeaning,whichallowedme

to identify it as a vehicle term.The contextualmeaningof thebreak-up vehicle term highlights the

possibleendoftheeuroandtheEurozone.

Table6.15belowgivesthegrammaticalstructureofthebreak-upterm,itsbasicmeaningand

themeaningincontext.Evidenceisalsogivenoftheterm’soccurrencesacrosstheEC-2011dataset.

Table6.15.break-upvehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PART OF

SPEECH

BASIC

MEANING

MEANING

INCONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

break-up Noun

Disintegrating into

pieces

The end of the euro

andtheEurozone

-break-upoftheeuro

12thMay

break-up

Noun

-anything from a disorderly

defaulttoacurrencybreak-up

- If the euro zone were to

23rdJune

110

tobreak-up Verb(infinitive)

break-up it would put huge

pressureonthesinglemarket

break-up Noun

-eurobreak-upcouldcost[…]- the ongoing costs ofbreak-up[…]

- the immediate bill for abreak-up of the single

currency[…]

- the immediate costs of ourrescue plan are smaller than

break-up

17thDecember

break-up

Noun

Verb (modal +

basicform)

Verb(future)

-aeurobreak-upwouldcause

aglobalbust

-Investors'growingfearsofaeurobreak-up[…

-the single currency could

break-upwithinweeks

- this attitude has to change,ortheeurowillbreak-up

26thNovember

Total 11 4

Theexaminationofthebreak-upvehicletermrecords11metaphoricrealisations,whichdevelop

intheformof8lexicalisedexpressionsand3verboccurrences.Concerningthenominalexpressions,

thebreak-uptermcounts6expressionsdiscussingthepossibleendoftheeuro,whichappearoncein

the12thMayandthe23rdJunearticles,twicein17thSeptemberand26thNovemberissues.

Thebreak-upvehiclerecords3verbrealisations.Itisusedonceintheinfinitive(23rdJune),oncein

itsbasicformafterthemodalverbcould(26thNovember),andonceinitsbasicformafterthemodal

will(26thNovember).2outofthe3verbalexpressionsofthevehiclehighlightthepossibilitythatthe

singlecurrencycomestotheendofitsexistence,whileonlyoneoccurrencepointsouttheriskthatthe

Eurozonemightceasetoexist.

In its basicmeaning the term break-up highlights the possibledisintegrating of something into

pieces, while the meaning in context which is used by The Economist focuses on the possible

separationof thememberstatesof theEurozone. If theEurozonebreaksup, itsmemberstateswill

stoptheireconomic,socialandculturalinteractionandcollaboration.Asregardsthesinglecurrency,

its contextualmeaning ismeant to stress that the principle of economic integration and union has

almostcometoanend; if theeurobreaksup theEurozonememberstateswill stopusing thesame

currency and each country’s previous currency will be re-introduced. The idea of a metaphoric

disintegration breaks with the core principle that founded the Union, enhanced and developed

economicpartnershipacrossthememberstates.

111

6.5.2Vehicletermsaboutcollapse

Considering the basicmeaning of the term collapse stressing the violence of an action that

provokesthesuddenfallofastructure,Ifoundithadacontextualmeaninginthedataset.Iidentified

collapseasavehicleterm.Thecontextualmeaningofthetermunderlinesthatthenewspapertalksof

theeconomicandfinancialinstabilityoftheEurozoneandofthesinglecurrencyintermsofacollapse.

Inorder tosubstantiate thenegativityof thisscenario, the termcollapse is relexicalisedand

synonymsareusedinordertoemphasisetheimpendingmenaceofthiscollapse.

Table 6.16 below gives the grammatical structureof the collapse term and of its synonyms.

Their basicmeaning and theirmeaning in context are identified; evidence is also given of how the

termsoccuracrossthearticles.

Table6.16.collapsevehicleterms:basicmeaningandmeaningincontext

VEHICLE

TERM

PARTOF

SPEECH

BASICMEANING MEANING

INCONTEXT

OCCURRENCES ARTICLE

breakdown Noun Violent destruction of

somethingintopieces

Sudden financial and

economic loss of

stability

Progressive price

decrease

-to find a compromiseandavertabreakdown.

3rdDecember

bust Noun

Verb

(modal+infinitive+past

part.)

Suddenburst,explosion -A euro break-up would

causeaglobalbust

-Evenifcapitalcontrolswere brought in, some

Greek banks would go

bust.

26thNovember

23thJune

112

collapse Noun

Verb

(modal+infinitive)

Noun

Verb(simplepres.)

Sudden fall down of a

structure

- imposing losses oncreditors and helping

banks in danger of

collapse.

-Germanyactedtoavertthe imminent financial

collapse of several

countries

-an upheaval

comparable to the

collapse of Lehman

Brothers

- The government couldcollapse

-Europe's singlemarketcouldcollapse

-theeurozonewouldbe

reckless to flirt with

collapse

- the alternativemay bethecollapse

- the threat of financial

collapse

- the single currency’s

collapseislooming

-acollapseinbusiness

- makes an eventual

collapse of the currency

morelikely

- the collapse of a

government

-iftheeurocollapses

-iftheeurocollapses

12thMay

Charlemagne14th

July

3rdSeptember

17thSeptember

29thOctober

26thNovember

3rdDecember

17thDecember

crash Noun Asuddenviolentaccident - as the euro zone 26thNovember

113

crashed

Verb(simplepast)

causing the collision or

thefallofsomething

hurtlestowardsacrash

- Until financialmarketscrashed in 2008, Spain

and Ireland were hailed

aseconomicstars

17thDecember

destruction Noun An action causing so

much damage to

something that it no

longerexists

-theconsequencesofthe

euro'sdestructionareso

catastrophic

26thNovember

disaster

disastrous

Noun

adjective

Sudden accident or

natural catastrophe

causinggreatdamage

-The opportunity for

Europe’s leaders to

avoid disaster is

shrinkingfast

-leadershaveactedonlyin the faceof impending

disaster

-disasterlooms

- Yet again, disaster willloom

- the threatofadisaster

does not always stop it

fromhappening

- Can anything be done

toavertdisaster?

- the riskofadisastrousaccident—[…] is

growing.

23rdJune

Charlemagne 14th

July

17thSeptember

29thOctober

26thNovember

23rdJune

fall(intobits) Verb(let+basicform) Breakingintopieces -but letting theeuro fallto bits is much, much

worse

17thSeptember

ripped(apart) Verb (modal+ passive

pastpart.)

Breakingintopieces -The world's most

financially integrated

region would be ripped

apartbydefaults

26thNovember

shatter (into

different

pieces)

Verb (modal

+infinitive)

Breaking violently into

pieces

- The euro zone couldshatter into different

pieces

26thNovember

(being)

smashed

Verb (passive, past

part.)

Breaking violently into

pieces

-Thechancesoftheeurozone being smashed

apart have risen

alarmingly

26thNovember

Total 31 9

114

The study of the vehicle terms discussing the sudden and dangerous economic problems that

affected the Eurozone and the euro in terms of a collapse records 31 metaphoric realisations.

Metaphorsdevelopintheformof21lexicalisedexpressionsand10verbaloccurrences.Asregardsthe

former,20metaphoricalexpressionswerecountedasnounsand1asanadjective.ThewordsthatI

identified as vehicle terms are the following: collapse (10 occurrences),breakdown (1 occurrence),

bust (1 occurrence), crash (1 occurrence), destruction (1 occurrence), disaster (6 occurrences);

disastrous(1occurrence)istheonlyadjective.

Thearticlewhichcountsmostnominaloccurrencesofboththecollapsetermanditssynonyms(7

occurrences) is the26thNovember issue.Thebasicmeaningof these termshighlight a conditionof

danger that can promptly provoke an accident which, in its turn, will cause violent, great and

widespreaddestruction.Theconsequencesof thiscrashwillbecatastrophicandwillutterlychange

thenaturalandgeographicalsetupoftheinvolvedlands.Inmetaphoricterms,thisarticleprovidesa

detailed and hazardous vision of an imminent loss of economic credibility and stability that the

Eurozoneandtheeuromust face inorder toavoid theriskofdamagingtheeuroareaandcause its

end. If this occurs, the member states that respected and obeyed the principle of sharing, will be

separatedfromeachother.Theeconomic,fiscal,andmonetaryUnionwillceasetoexist.

As regards the 8 verbs, they were identified as follows: bust (1 occurrence), collapses (2

occurrences),collapse (2 occurrences),crashed (1occurrence), fall (intobits) (1occurrence), ripped

(apart)(1occurrence),shatter(intopieces)(1occurrence),smashed(1occurrence).Thetermcollapse

isusedtwiceintheformofthepresentsimple,andtwiceinitsbasicformaccompanyingthemodal

verb could. The use of modality is found in other two verbal expressions, synonyms of the verb

collapse, such as shatter and ripped. The basic meaning of these verbs, which are respectively

accompanied by the prepositions into and apart, highlight the possibility that a violent actionwill

breaktheeuroareaintopieces.Inmetaphoricterms,bothverbsaremeanttofocusontheriskthat

inadequateandinefficientmeasuresaretakentotacklethespreadingofeconomicinstability,whose

consequencesmightfostertheneedofaseparation.TheEurozonememberstatesmightdecidetostop

sharing ideals of union and manage their countries independently. Similarly, the verbs fall and

smashedfocusonhowriskythefutureoftheEurozoneandthesinglecurrencyis.Bothtermsarethe

metaphoricrealisationoftwoactionsthataredestinedtoputanendtothereciprocaldependencethat

theEurozonememberstatesrespectfullyrelyon.Moreover,theverbsfallandsmashed,whichintheir

basicmeaningexpressthepossibilitythatsomethingisviolentlybrokenintopieces,areusedbythe

newspapermetaphoricallytohighlighthowriskyanduncertainthefutureoftheEurozoneis.

Toconclude,theexpressionsthatwereidentifiedasvehicletermsillustratingtheapproachingrisk

thateconomicinstabilitymightthreatenthefutureoftheeuroandtheUnion,contributedtoshaping

thescenarioofcollapsewhichthefollowingsectionsaregoingtostudy.

115

6.5.3TheCollapsevehiclegroup

After identifying the vehicle terms talking about collapse I studied whether I could find a

correspondenceintheirbasicmeaningandgatherthemintoagroup.

Consideringthatthebasicmeaningoftheabovementionedexpressionshighlightedaconditionof

danger which could promptly provoke an accident and cause a violent, great and widespread

destruction,whose consequences would be catastrophic andwould utterly change the natural and

geographical setup of the involved lands, I collected them into the Collapse vehicle group. The

rationalebehindthischoice,liesinthefactthat,amongthevehicles,collapsewasthemostfrequently

used term, but also because it comprehended the basicmeaning of all the vehicles included in the

group(Cameron,2010:124).

Uponacloserexaminationofthevehicletermsandtheirthebasicmeaning,butalsorelyingonthe

sequentialdevelopmentofactions,Icollectedthetermsintofoursub-groups.

Thefirstsub-groupcontainedthedisaster(noun)anddisastrous(adjective)terms,whichstressed

theimmediacyofaneventthatwouldruinandcausegreatdamage.

The second sub-group comprehended the terms which pointed out destruction and were

strengthened by a scenario displaying a crescendo of danger and damage that seemed to threaten

thoseinvolvedinthecollisionandaconsequentfall.Thetermbust,bothasanounandasaverb,was

includedinthissub-groupbecauseitdescribedanexplosionprovokedbytheburningofafire.

Looking at the third sub-group, I identified those terms that described the action of breaking

something intopieces,and foundasemanticrelationamongthenounbreakdown,andtheverbs fall

(intopieces),ripped(apart),shatter(intodifferentpieces),smashed(apart).

In the fourth sub-group I collected the terms collapse, crash, crashed and destruction, which

emphasisedtheprocessofdisintegrationafteranexplosionhadtakenplace.Actually,boththecollapse

and crash terms stressed the violence of a sudden accident causing the collision or the fall of

something.Semanticallyconnectedwiththepreviousterms,destructionexpressedtheviolenceofan

actioncausingsomuchdamagethatsomethinghadstoppedexisting.Thetermsbelongingtothissub-

groupemphasisedtheviolenceandimmediacyofsomethingbeingdestroyed.

Myanalysisproceededand I investigatedwhetherthemeaning incontextof thevehicleswithin

theCollapsegroupmatched.ThecontextualmeaningsofthetermsbelongingtotheCollapsevehicle

groupdiscussedtheriskofanimminentlossofeconomiccredibilityandstabilityoftheEurozoneand

theeuro.

Consideringthebasicandthecontextualmeaningof thevehicles talkingabouttheeuroandthe

Eurozone instability intermsofacollapse, Iwasable to identifythe topicof thecollapsemetaphor,

thatIexpressedasfollows:“suddenmajornegativefinancialchange”.

116

After the topic was assigned, I had all the instruments to start the analysis of a systematic

metaphor.

6.5.4SUDDENMAJORNEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor

Once the Collapse vehicle group was coded and the metaphor topic identified, the linguistic

metaphors relating to it were collected into a systematicmetaphoric trajectory, which I identified,

labelledandtrackedastheSUDDENMAJORNEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSEsystematic

metaphor.

Byobservinghowdiscoursedevelopedacross theEC-2011dataset, I sawthatasetof linguistic

expressions,whosevehicleswereusedmetaphoricallytotalkaboutthesametopic,couldbeanalysed

asbelongingtothesamemetaphoricpattern,whichisillustratedbyTable6.17below.

Table6.17.SUDDENMAJORNEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSEtrajectory

TOPIC

“Suddenmajor negative financial

change”

METAPHORTRAJECTORY

Setoffoureventstrackthetrajectory:

1. The euro and the Eurozone

are facing an imminent

disaster (disaster and

disastrousvehicleterms)

1. The euro and the Eurozone

are going to explode (bust

vehicleterms)

2. The euro and the Eurozone

are going to break into

different pieces (break-up,

fall (into pieces), ripped

(apart), shatter (into pieces),

smashed (apart) vehicle

terms)

3. The euro and the Eurozone

are destined to collapse

(collapse, crash/ed,

destructionvehicleterms)

VEHICLEGROUP

Collapse

Having examinedmetaphors discussing the actions and decisions that have beenmade and

thatwillbemadetofacethedebtcrisis,Ifoundtheemergenceofametaphoricalpatternunderlining

thepossibilitythattheeuroareadisintegratesandthattheeuroeracomestoitsend.

117

The focus of this section is to provide evidence of how this pattern develops. I start my

investigation by providing some examples of metaphor shifting to show how the break- up and

collapsevehicle termsdevelopedandwerere-deployedacross thedata.Tables6.18belowprovides

someexamplesofvehicledevelopments.

Table6.18.break-up/collapsevehicledevelopment

Vehicledevelopment Examples

Vehiclerepetition -the single currency’s collapse (26th November); an

eventualcollapseofthecurrency(26thNovember)

-financial collapse (12th May); financial collapse (29th

October)

-break-up of the euro (12thMay); theeurobreak-up (17th

September);aeurobreak-up(26thNovember)

Vehiclerelexicalisation -theeurozonehurtlestowardsacrash(26thNovember)-the consequences of the euro’s destruction (26th

November)

- The euro zone could shatter into different pieces (26th

November)

-The chancesof theeuro zonebeing smashedapart have

risenalarmingly(26thNovember)

Vehicleexplication -A euro break-up would cause a global bust worse even

than the one in 2008-09. The world's most financially

integrated regionwouldberippedapart bydefaults,bank

failures and the imposition of capital controls. (26th

November)

Vehiclecontrast -a euro break-up (26th November), the single currency

collapse(26thNovember)vstorescuetheeuro(12thMay)

The analysis allowedme to identify also some examples of vehicle re-deployment, inwhich

somevehicleswereusedagainwithadifferenttopic,asshowninTable6.19.

Table6.19.break-up/collapsevehiclere-deployments

Vehiclere-deployment Examples

collapse -thegovernmentcouldcollapse(3rdSeptember)

-financialcollapseofseveralcountries(12thMay)

-thecollapseofLehmanBrothers(Charlemagne14thJuly)

-theeurocollapse(3rdDecember)

-Europe’ssinglemarketcouldcollapse(17thSeptember)

break-up -nomatches.Thevehiclebreak-upisonlyusedasreferring

totheeuro

118

Having studied how metaphors occurred in the dataset, I identified four different sets of

events54which,incasetheEurozoneleadersdonointervene,willbringtheeuroareaandtheeurotoa

collapse.ThefirstsetofeventsdiscussesthecrucialeconomicconditionsoftheEurozoneandtheeuro

intermsofadisaster.Bothvehicletermsdisasteranddisastroushighlighttheneedforintervention.

Immediate measures must be taken to prevent some negative economic consequences, as the

followingcitationssay:

(1) TheopportunityforEurope’sleaderstoavoiddisasterisshrinkingfast.(23rdJune)

(2) As theclimategetsmorepoisonousandelectionsapproach inFrance,GermanyandGreece itself, the

riskofadisastrousaccident—anything fromadisorderlydefault toa currencybreak-up—isgrowing.

(23rdJune)

(3) It requiresurgentactiononahugescale.UnlessGermanyrises to thechallenge,disaster looms. (17th

September)

(4) As theshortcomingsofeachcomponentbecomeclear, investors' fearswill surely return,bondyields

willriseandbanks'fundingproblemswillworsen.Yetagain,disasterwillloom.(29thOctober)

(5) Cananythingbedonetoavertdisaster?(26thNovember)

(6) That is because the consequences of the euro's destruction are so catastrophic that no sensible

policymakercouldstandbyandletithappen.(26thNovember)

In case action is not taken, the risk of a fiscal and economic failure within the Eurozone,

including theEuropeanbanksand thesinglecurrency, isdiscussedusing thevehicle termbust..

The metaphor trajectory develops and a second set of events discusses the loss of economic

stability in terms of a destructive explosion caused by fire, as pointed out by the following

examples:

(7) Evenifcapitalcontrolswerebroughtin,someGreekbankswouldgobust.(23rdJune)

(8) Aeurobreak-upwouldcauseaglobalbustworseeventhantheonein2008-09.(26thNovember)

54Inidentifyingthefoursetsofevents,Idonotrefertothechronologicalpublicationofthearticles,buttotheactionsandconsequencesthatdevelopedthedebtcrisisacrosstheeuroarea,whicharearguedaboutthroughoutthearticles.

119

ThethirdsetofeventscommentsontheendoftheeuroandtheEurozoneusingthevehicleterm

break-up.TheactionofGreekbanksandtheeurocurrencyfiscaldefault,discussedasburningaftera

terrible fire explosion broke out, develops in the form of a development of successive actions. The

singlecurrencyisthusdiscussedasifitwerebeingdisintegratedintodifferentpieces.Consideringthe

developmentofthetermbreak-up,evidenceisgiveninthefollowingexamples,whichshowhowthe

termisrepeatedwhilereferringtothesametopic.

Asthearticlepublishedon12thMaycommentson,althoughausteritymeasureswereimposed

acrossmostEurozonecountries,theexpectedresultsofeconomicrehabilitationdidnotcomeabout.

Greecewasriskingaseconddefaultbecauseitwasunabletorepayitsdebts.Ifnoactionismadeto

adjustGreece’sinsolvency,theendoftheeuromightbetakenintoconsideration,asshowninthenext

example:

(9) It is time for hard choices […] but prolonged indecision could lead to something evenmore painful:

break-upoftheeuro,whichtopro-European.Germanswouldbearepudiationofpost-warhistory.(12th

May)

Considering that Greece’s risk of default was high, The Economist discusses it as something

dangerousfortheEurozoneandthesinglecurrency,asthefollowingcitationsclaim:

(10) As theclimategetsmorepoisonousandelectionsapproach inFrance,GermanyandGreece itself, the

risk of a disastrousaccident—anything froma disorderly default to a currencybreak-up—is growing.

(23rdJune)

(11) IfGreeceleft,whynotPortugalorevenSpainandItaly?Iftheeurozoneweretobreakupitwouldput

hugepressureonthesinglemarket.(23rdJune)

The article published on26th November presents the euro as destined to undergo a tragic and

imminentdevaluationwhichisgoingtoforcetheEurozonetostopusingitasitscommoncurrency;

thearticlecommentsonthecurrencybreak-upasfollows:

(12) A euro break-up would cause a global bustworse even than the one in 2008-09. Theworld's most

financially integrated region would be ripped apart by defaults, bank failures and the imposition of

capitalcontrols.

(13) Investors' growing fears of a euro break-up have fed a run from the assets of weaker economies, a

stampedethatevenstrongactionsbytheirgovernmentscannotseemtostop.

120

(14) Thiscannotgoon formuch longer.Withoutadramatic changeofheartby theECBandbyEuropean

leaders,thesinglecurrencycouldbreakupwithinweeks.

(15) This attitude has to change, or the eurowillbreak up. Fears ofmoral hazardmean less now thatall

peripheral-countrygovernmentsarecommittedtoausterityandreform.

Themetaphortrajectoryarguingabouttheendoftheeurointermsofabreak-updevelops,near

synonymsareusedtocommentonthesametopic,asthefollowingexamplessay:

(16) It isbeing left toHermanVanRompuy,presidentof theEuropeanCouncil, to findacompromiseand

avertabreakdown.(26thNovember)

(17) FortheECBtostandbehindlessprudentcountriesmaybeunwelcometoGermans;butlettingtheeuro

falltobitsismuch,muchworse.Spellthatoutclearlytoyourvoters,MrsMerkel.(17thSeptember)

Themetaphoricdiscussionofabreak-updevelopsandthejournalistscommentontheEurozone

whichriskscomingtoanend,anddoesitintermsofaviolentactionthatwoulddestroytheeuroarea

intodifferentpieces.Thebreak-up term isalsorelexicalised;nearsynonymssuchasripped(apart),

shatter(intopieces)andsmashed(apart)areusedtocommentonthepossiblefutureoftheEurozone,

ascanbeseenintheexamplesfromthearticlepublishedon26thNovember:

(18) Theeurozonecouldshatterintodifferentpieces,oralargeblockinthenorthandafragmentedsouth.

(19) Thechancesof theeurozonebeingsmashedaparthaverisenalarmingly, thanks to financialpanic, a

rapidly weakening economic outlook and pigheaded brinkmanship. The odds of a safe landing are

dwindlingfast.

(20) Theworld'smostfinanciallyintegratedregionwouldberippedapartbydefaults,bankfailuresandthe

impositionofcapitalcontrols.

The SUDDEN MAJOR NEGATIVE FINANCIAL CHANGE IS A COLLAPSE systematic metaphor

trajectoryendswithasetofeventsthatmayriskbringing theeuro toacollapse.The fourthsetof

events that contribute to shaping the metaphor trajectory can be summarised as follows: after a

disasterisaverted,anexplosiontakesplaceanddifferentpiecesaredispersedacrosstheeurolands,

theendapproachesanditwillbringhugedestructionintheformofacollapse.

Thefollowingcitationsgiveevidenceofhowthenewspaperdiscussestheissueanddevelopsthe

collapsevehicletermreferringtothesametopic:

121

(21) UnlessGermanyandtheECBmovequickly,thesinglecurrency’scollapseislooming.(26thNovember)

(22) Yetthatonlyreinforcesinvestors'nervousnessaboutalleuro-zonebonds,evenGermany's,andmakes

aneventualcollapseofthecurrencymorelikely.(26thNovember)

(23) Europeneedsanall-encompassingdealtosaveitself.Thecrisisisnowaboutthesurvivaloftheeuro,so

itrequiresabigresponse;nobodywillbesparediftheeurocollapses.(3rdDecember)

(24) Iftheeurocollapses,orthetreatyisstillborn,MrCameronmayyetclaimthathewasrightallalong.It

wouldcertainlymakehisvetoseemlessmomentous.However,otherEuropeancountrieswillnotsoon

forget Britain's attempt to hold the summit to ransom at a vital moment—and to protect financial

services,whichmanyofthemblameforthecrisis.(17thDecember)

ExamplesofthevehicleredeploymentareprovidedwhenTheEconomistdiscussestheendofthe

Eurozonebanksasametaphoricalcollapse,aspointedoutbelow:

(25) Austerityintroubledcountriesisdeepeningrecession.MarketsdoubtthatGreeceandotherscanrepay

their debts evenwithmuchmore time and fresh loans. And the crisis is tearing at Europe's political

fabric.Votersincreditorcountriesresentendlessbail-outs;indebtorcountriestheyresentendlessbelt-

tightening.EvenBerlinmayberealisingthat it istimeforhardchoices.Thatcouldmeanrestructuring

debts,imposinglossesoncreditorsandhelpingbanksindangerofcollapse.(12thMay)

The Eurozone and its member states are risking collapse too, as commented on in the following

example:

(26) Ministersaretornbetweenpromises“todowhateverittakes”todefendtheeuroandthehostilityof

theirvoterstowardsserialbail-outs.Theresulthasbeenasuccessionoferraticincrementalsteps,forced

byeventsandlargelydrivenbytactics.Germanyactedtoaverttheimminentfinancialcollapseofseveral

countries,butoftenlateandneverdecisivelyenoughtoresolvethecrisisonceandforall.(12thMay)

(27) If the ECB's intervention is bold andcredible itmightnot evenhave to buy thatmuchdebt,because

investors would step in. In short, the euro zone would be reckless to flirt with collapse when an

affordablerescueispossible.(17thSeptember)

TheEurozonemarketisunderthreatofcollapsing,asthefollowingcitationssay:

122

(28) Amid the debris of broken treaties, wild currency swings and bitter recriminations, Europe's single

market could collapse and theEU itself—the rock of the continent's post-war stability—could start to

crumble.(17thSeptember)

(29) If the ECB's intervention is bold andcredible itmightnot evenhave to buy thatmuchdebt,because

investors would step in. In short, the euro zone would be reckless to flirt with collapse when an

affordablerescueispossible.(17thSeptember)

Inaddition,thenextcitationinvolvesdifferenttopicsintheformofanascendingclimax,theyare

sharingthesamedestinyofapossiblecollapse:

(30) The outs, in particular, may still be nervous about all this. So frankly is this newspaper. But the

alternative may be the collapse of not just the single currency but the single market and the whole

European project. The euro has reached the point where nobody is going to get what they want—

somethingthatneedstobespelledouttotheGermansmorethananybody.(17thSeptember)

Themetaphoric trajectoryofthesystematicmetaphor talkingabouttheendoftheeuroandthe

Eurozone in terms of a collapse proceeds and the set of events discussing it is expressed by near

synonyms such ascrash, crashed, anddestruction, thecollapse term is thus relexicalised.The topics

involved ina suddenanddevastating ruinare the samethatwere risking acollapse. The euro, the

Eurozone and the euromarkets are under threat of being financiallydestroyed,while the financial

marketshadalreadybeendamagedin2008,asthefollowingquotationsdeclare:

(31) Even as theeuro zone hurtles towards a crash,most peopleareassuming that, in theend, European

leaderswilldowhateverittakestosavethesinglecurrency.(26thNovember)

(32) Until financialmarketscrashed in2008,Spainand Irelandwerehailedaseconomicstars,with lower

public-debtburdensandhealthierbudgetsthanGermany.(17thDecember)

(33) That is because the consequences of the euro's destruction are so catastrophic that no sensible

policymakercouldstandbyandletithappen.

Metaphoricsystematicitywasfoundandtrackedthroughtheidentificationoffoursetsofevents

thataccompaniedthereaderintounderstandinghowriskythesurvivaloftheeuroandtheEurozone

areunlessstrategicmanoeuvres,efficientmeasuresandfeasibleplansaretakentosavethemandthe

principle of Union. If no actions are made the dream of the European project will have to face a

123

menacingandruinousdisaster,aburningconflagration,aneconomicbreak-upuntiltheirendwillbe

consummatedintheformofafinalandtragicfinancialcollapse.

6.6Conclusions

In thischapter Ihaveanalysedhowverbalmetaphorsareused in theEC-2011dataset.Thevehicle

termsthatI identifieddiscusstheconsequencesofthedebtcrisistheEurozoneandtheeurohadto

face.

The economic instability of the euro area is discussed in terms of adisease.The Economist

actuallyunderlinesthatimportantdecisionsmustbetakeninordertobringstabilityback.Inaddition,

this process of adjustment, which is commented on in terms of a rescue, implies plans to support

insolventcountries,aswellas illiquidbanks.Having taken intoconsideration thatso far therescue

plans have been unsuccessful, the Eurozone and the euro are destined to end,which themagazine

discussesintermsofanimminentcollapse.

After identifying vehicle terms I collected and labelled them into four groups, such as the

Disease,Rescue,Restructuring,andtheCollapsevehiclegroupings.Thisprocedureaimedtoexamine

andfocusfairlyonthemetaphoricaldiscussionandthesemanticfeaturesofthevehiclegrouping.As

Cameronclaims

“workingjustwiththevehiclesallowsustofocustemporarilyonthemetaphorical‘world’ratherthan

thediscourse‘world’,whichprovidesandatmosphereofgreaterobjectivityinestablishingthesemantic

characteristicsofvehiclegroupings;inotherwords,weavoidtryingtosecondguesswhatthespeakers

meantandconcentrateonthewordstheyactuallysaid”(op.cit.,2010:118)

The collection andanalysis of vehicle groupingsavoidedmakingassumptions about the journalists’

views and goals about the expressions they had used to discuss and comment on the debt crisis.

Identifyingandlabellingvehiclegroupingsallowedmetounderstandthemetaphoricalexpressionsas

theyweretalkedabout.

Once metaphor topics were identified and assigned to the four vehicle groupings I could

investigate whether and how economic concerns about the debt crisis had been metaphorically

framed.Theprocessofcrossanalysisbetweenmetaphoricalandeconomicdiscourseallowedmeto

answertheResearchQuestionenquiringaboutTheEconomist‘suseofverbalmetaphoricexpressions

totalkabouttheeurocrisis.Havinghighlightedthatseminalresearch(seechapter5)hasbeencarried

out and has examined both quantitatively and qualitatively how metaphors are used to frame

economicdiscourseinthepress,mystudydiffersfromthesestudiesinthemethodologicalapproach

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todataanalysis.Metaphorsareexaminedastheynaturallyoccurintheflowofdiscourse(Cameron,

2010)andarenotconceivedastherealisationofconceptualconstructs.

Having established that the euro area “economic difficulties” had been talked about

metaphorically across the 10 articles, I could track patterns of metaphors that outlined two

contrastingandpossiblesolutionstotheeurocrisis.Ontheonehand,theeurocouldberestructured

andrescued“solvingeconomicproblems”and“helpingcountriesfinancially”,ontheotherhand,itwas

destinedtocollapseduetothe“suddenmajornegativefinancialchange”thattheEUleadershadbeen

unabletoface.

BycrossanalysingthevehiclegroupsofmetaphorsandtheirtopicsIidentifiedandexamined

fourtrajectoriesofsystematicmetaphors.FocussingontheECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE

pattern,Icouldhighlightaconditionwhicharguedabouttheeuroareaasweak.Theexaminationof

the patternHELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS ARESCUE, which stressed the need of a prompt

interventiontosupporttheEurozone,ledmetounderstandthegravityoftheeconomicsituationthat

thememberstateswerefacingin2011.Havingsetplanstofostereconomicgrowth,inordertosolve

the economic problems that had been affecting the Eurozone, I could follow and identify SOLVING

ECONOMICPROBLEMSISRESTRUCTURING,whichemphasisedtheprioritytotakeactionsandrelease

theindebtedstatesfrominsolvencyandtorecapitalisebanks. Thescenarioofapossiblesolutionto

the problems that damaged the euro area is opposed to the trajectory SUDDENMAJOR NEGATIVE

FINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSE.ThedestinyoftheUnionseemstobetragicandnothing,orvery

little,canbedonetochangeit.

Reflectingonwhether andhowmetaphorsprovide the readerwithan instrument tohave a

betterunderstandingofeconomicmatters,suchasthedebtcrisisandtheeuroinstability,thisisnot

themainfocusofthisthesis.AsHendersonpointedoutinhisstudiesonthedidacticuseofmetaphors

inthediscourseofeconomics(1982,1990),metaphorscanhelpstudents’understandingofeconomic

matters but metaphorical expressions cannot replace the economic concepts, technical vocabulary

(expressionsanddefinitions).

In agreement with Henderson’s claim, I believe that a solid background knowledge on the

specificeconomicissuesregardingthedebtcrisisarenecessarytofollowtheeconomicdiscourseas

developedbyTheEconomistacrossthedataIcollected.Inthisview,themetaphoricalscenariosthatI

identified and analysed can be seen as an instrument to provide an immediate but simpler

understandingofwhatisbeingarguedabout.ReadingthroughthevehicletermsthatIcollectedinto

theDiseasevehiclegroup,thedebtcrisisisseenasmenacingtheeuroareabecauseitisacontagious

illness.Byassociatingastateofillnesstoastatewherethepatientcannotconducther/hislifeass/he

usuallydoesbecauses/hedidnottakecareofher/hishealth,thereadermayunderstandthatthatthe

euroandtheEurozonehavebehavedinawaytoprovoketheirillness,thusthecrisis,butitmustalso

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be supported by amore economically-orienteddiscussion. Themetaphorical representation of this

illness is actually substantiated by specific and technical elements regarding the euro economic

instability. If illnesses are not mortal, people can recover but this cannot happen without being

treated. The Rescue and Restructuring vehicle groups comment on the possible euro recovery in

metaphoricalterms,buteconomicdetailsarealsogivenontheeconomicmeasuresthatmustbetaken

andthefiscalplansthatmustbemadetosavetheeuroarea.Incasenoneofthenecessarymeasures

aretaken,thenewspaperhighlightsalsotheriskthattheeuroeraends.Inmetaphoricaltermstheend

oftheeuroiscommentedonintermsofacollapse,butadetailedtechnicalargumentationofwhatthis

metaphoricalcollapsewillbringtotheEurozoneandtheeuroisexplainedineconomicterms.

Theresearchintohowverbalmetaphorsareusedinaselectionofarticlesontheeurocrisis

publishedin2011byTheEconomisthighlightsthatthenewspaperhaschosenuniformandtraditional

patterns of metaphors to comment on the topic under analysis. The research carried out on how

metaphors have framed the debt crisis underline the common use of health/disease and natural

disastermetaphors.Thatsaid, thepatternsofmetaphors Ihave identifiedcoexistwithdetailedand

economically-orienteddiscussionsonthesameevents.

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CHAPTER7

VISUALMETAPHORSACROSSTHEEC-2011VISUALCORPUS

Introduction

This chapter sets out to answer the Research Question aiming to examine the visual

metaphoricexpressionsillustratingtheeurocrisisintheselectionofimagesIcollectedintheEC-2011

setofdata.

About fifty years after the advent of a union of nation states, the European dream risked

coming to an end, which the he EC-2011 visual dataset illustrates through visual metaphors that

highlight adownwardmovement andapossibledisintegration.As regards themeasures thatwere

taken inorder toavoid theendofboththeEUandthesinglecurrency,somevisualrepresentations

portraytheeffortthatweremadetosavetheUnionandtheeurointermsofarescue.

7.1AnoutlineoftheEC-2011visualdataset

The10 imageswhich theEC-2011dataset55 is composedare allmetaphoric representations

showingcommonobjects,naturalenvironmentsandphenomena,commonpeopleandleadersinreal

but alsounreal contexts that refer to thedebt crisis.Althoughmost illustrations lead the viewer to

believe thatsomethingdangerous isgoing tooccur, fewof themhintatapossiblesolution,at least

becausesomeoneisworkingeagerlytoadjustthings.

Iftheeffectsofthedebtcrisisareshownbyrepresentingashipissinking(section7.2.1),the

actions toavoidaneconomicdefaultareshownasattempting tobailwaterout fromasinkingship

(section7.2.1).Thestateofilliquidityisportrayedlikeadrydrainhole(section7.2.2),whileashipat

themercyofthewaves(section7.2.3)showstheinabilitytotakemeasuresandprovideasolutionto

thecrisis.AhugeeurocointhatiscrackingtheedgeofacliffshapedlikeItalyillustratesthatthedebt

crisis has damaged Italywhich risks an economic default (section 7.2.4). The picture showingMrs

Merkel that is throwing euro cheques and red roses (section 7.2.5) highlights how the EUGerman

leaderisstill confidentofgivinghelpandmoney,althoughtheaudienceshe is talking toseems less

convinced.The imageofabrokeneurocoinwhich isbeingadjustedby twowelders(7.2.6)stresses

theeconomicdifficultiesthattheeuroandtheEurozonearefacingtoavoidacollapse.Acolanderboat

thatisrescuingpassengersawayfromasinkingship(section7.2.7)highlightstheriskofanimminent

55ThearticlesandthepictureshavebeencollectedandplacedinAppendix1.

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default. Aburningeuroshapedlikeameteoritethatisfallingdownwards(section7.2.8)showsthat

thedisintegrationoftheeuroisapproaching,anditseemsthatnothingcanbedonetopreventthis.

TheimageshowingfourhorseridersthatareapproachingastonyfortresswiththeEUflagflyingonit

(section7.2.9)illustratesthattheeuroareisunderattack.TheEurozoneleadersstandingonit look

worriedandseemunabletoprotectthefortress.Toconclude,theinabilitytoprovidestabilitywithin

the Eurozone has been visually framed as a starry meteorite that is moving downwards (section

7.2.10).

7.2Identifyingvisualvehiclesymbols

Thefollowingsectionsaregoingtoidentifyandanalysethevisualmetaphorsthathavebeen

usedtorepresenthowseriouslythedebtcrisishasaffectedtheEurozoneandtheeuro.

7.2.1Greecesinkingship,asinkingshipbeingbailedout,heavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedon

board,heavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedaway,MrsMerkelbailingwaterout,andthe€ flag

flyingvehiclesymbols.

The article published on 12thMay and bearing the title “Decision time” (see Appendix1) is

introducedbyapicture(Figure1)thatwasproducedbyPeterSchrank,apoliticalcartoonistworking

asaregularfreelancecontributortoTheEconomist.

Figure1

Theforegroundofthisimageillustratesashipthatisberthedprow-onatthequayside.While

theprowisrisingup,thesternoftheship,whichisbeingloadedwithheavycontainers,issinking.The

onlypassengeronboard is awoman.Thewomanworking as a shipboy is theGerman chancellor,

AngelaMerkel.MrsMerkelisholdingabucketwithbothhandsandisbailingwateroutoftheshipto

preventitfromsinking.ThesinkingshipiscalledGreeceandtheGreekflagisflyingattherisingprow.

Anotherflag,the€flagisflyingonthemastoftheship.

Thescenarioofaseaportintroducinganarticleabouttheeurocrisislooksanomalousanditis

allocatedacontextualmetaphoricmeaningbecauseof thecontextualnauticalenvironmentwhich is

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illustratedalthoughitisreferringtothefieldofeconomics.Thus,theeconomictroublesofanindebted

GreecewhichtheEurozoneleaders,asthearticletalksabout,agreedtobailoutandavoiddefault,are

metaphorically illustrated. Inaddition, taking intoconsideration thatashipwhich ismooredcannot

sink,aswellasawomanalonecannotbail-outasinkingship,thevisualrepresentationcanbecodedas

a contextual metaphor, which is presumably given emphasis by the cartoonist to highlight Mrs

Merkel’sefforttosaveGreeceatanycostinthemetaphoricalnauticalcontext.Althoughtheship,the

containers and a flag have been respectively word-marked as ‘debt’, ‘Greece’ and ‘€’, in order to

understandtheeconomicconcernsofGreece’spossibledefault,theanchoringfunctionofthearticleis

ofcrucialimportance.

Havingexaminedthebasicmeaningoftheelementsthattheimagedisplays,Iunderstoodthat

thecartoonisthaddecidedtoillustratetheconsequencesofthedebtcrisisintermsofanover-loaded

moored ship thatwas sinking and thatMrsMerkelwas going tobail out. I identified the following

vehiclesymbols:Greecesinkingship,asinkingshipbeingbailedout,MrsMerkelbailingwaterout,heavy

debtcontainersbeingcarriedonboardandheavydebtcontainersbeingaway,andthe€flagflying.

Consideringthebasicmeaningof thesinkingaction thathasalreadysubmergedthesternof

the ship, I attributed to this downwards movement a contextual meaning and I identified Greece

sinkingshipasavehiclesymbol.Althoughitisrepresentedasaliteralship,itbearsthenameGreece,

which identifies it as a visual metaphor. The verbal contribution of the word Greece justifies the

contextual meaning of the sinking ship as a vehicle. The basic meaning of the sinking action is

commented on in metaphoric terms and visualises Greece as a ship which has lost its economic

stabilityandisdestinedtoundergoeconomicandfinancialdefault. Inaddition,theflagflyingonthe

mast of this ship is bearing the € sign which symbolises the single currency. The € flag flying

metaphtonymy contributes to identifyingGreece sinking ship as a € ship. As a PART ANDWHOLE

metonymy(metaphorfrommetonymy),the€signstandsfortheEurozoneandidentifiestheshipas

belongingtotheeuroland.The€symbolisusedtoshowthatGreece,thesinkingship,belongstothe

Eurozone.Inmetaphoricaltermsthe€flagcontributestoidentifyingGreeceasoneofthe17member

stateswhichadheredtosharethesamecurrency. Theheavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedonboard,

whichIidentifiedasavehiclesymbol,visualisethereasonwhytheshipissinking.Althoughtheyare

depicted as literal containers, one of them is bearing the word debt, which makes us infer their

meaning in context. The basicmeaning of an overloaded ship that is sinking here has a contextual

meaningwhich stresses the economic and financial difficulties thathavebroughtGreece to lose its

stability.Incontrast,theheavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedawayvehiclesymbolstandfortheefforts

madetopreventtheshipfromsinking.Theprocessofcarryingacontainerawayfromtheoverloaded

sinkingshiptestimoniestheactionsmadebytheEUleaderstopreventGreece’sdefault.

Furthermore,consideringthebasicmeaningofbailing-out,whichindicatestheactionthatMrs

Merkelisdoing,suchasscoopingwateroutashiptoavoiditssinking,Iidentifiedasinkingshipbeing

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bailedoutasavehiclesymbol.Eventhoughtheactionisphysicallyshowingawomanbailingwaterout

ofaship,thatwomanisneitherashipboynorthecaptainoftheship,sheisde-factotheleaderofthe

Eurozone,whichmakesitpossibletounderstandMrsMerkelbailingwateroutasavehiclesymbol.The

contextualmeaningofthebailing-outprocesshighlightstheeffortsthatMrsMerkelisdoingtorelease

Greecefromitsdebts.

Afteridentifyingthevehiclesymbols,I identifiedalsothetopicofthismetaphorinthevisual

mode,whichallowedmetoclassifythismetaphorasamultimodalmetaphor.Inordertounderstand

clearlywhat is really happening to Greece and the Eurozone, aswell aswhyMrsMerkel has been

chargedwithbailingGreeceout,theverbalsupportisofpivotalrelevance(seechapter8).

Tosumup,table7.1belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofthe

identifiedvehiclesymbols,aswellasthetopic.

Table7.1.Greecesinkingship,asinkingshipbeingbailedout,heavydebtcontainersbeingcarriedonboard/beingcarriedaway,and

the€flagflyingvehiclesymbolandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

Greecesinkingship ashipmoving downwardsbelow

thesurfaceofthesea

Greece is losing economic

stability

“helpingGreecepayits

debts”

asinkingshipbeingbailedout The ship is being scooped water

outtoavoiditssinking

releasing Greece from it

economicproblems

heavy debt containers being

carried on board/being carried

away

Heavy containers are being

loadedon/carriedouttheship

Greece is indebted, some of its

debtsarebeingpaid

MrsMerkelbailingwaterout

MrsMerkelisscoopingwaterout

ofashiptoavoiditssinking

releasing Greece from it

economicproblems

The€flagflying Aflagflyingonthemastofaship

movingdownwards

Greece is amemberstateof the

Eurozone with economic

problems

7.2.2Ahugedrydrainholeandasmallbusinessmanlookingatthehugedrydrainholevehiclesymbols

Thearticlepublishedon23rd Juneandbearing the title “Theeurocrisis” (seeAppendix1) is

introducedbyapicture(Figure2)thatwasmadebyDerekBacon.Heisacartoonistthatworksasa

regularfreelancecontributortovariousnewspapers,includingTheEconomist.

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Figure2

Theforegroundofthisimageshowsahugedrydrainholewhichhascaughttheattentionofa

tinybusinessmanwearingablacksuit.Hehaslefthisblackbriefcaseonthegroundandisattentively

lookingdownthehugeholeasifhewereexpectingeithertoseeortofindsomething.Lookingatthe

drain-hole,nowaterisflushing,itlooksdryandempty,wecanseejustadropofwaterandabanknote

onit.

The metaphoric representation can be identified as contextual, whose meaning is inferred

becauseofthecontextinwhichtheelementsareplaced.Theexaggeratedsizeofthedrainholeandthe

smallsizeofthebusinessmanlookingatitareunderstoodasthecontextualelementsofthepicture.

Intherealworld,humanbeingsaredefinitelybiggerthanplugholes,whicharemuchsmaller

objects. Having reversed their size contributes to prompting the understanding of the

metaphtonymical(metaphorfrommetonymy)meaning(Goossens,1995)ofboththeplugholeandthe

businessmanvehiclesymbols.Havingtakenintoconsiderationthebasicmeaningofthehugedrydrain

holevehicle,thisobjectiscommonlyfoundatthebottomofasinkandabathtub,whichcarrieswater

downitsholeafterhavingitflushed.Afterwaterflushesdownthedrain-hole,thesinkisleftempty.

Although it is representedas aphysical drain-hole, I identified it as ametonymical vehicle symbol

becauseof itsmeaning in context,whichdevelopsmetaphorically. Lookingat the elements thatare

illustratednexttoit,apartfromadropofwater,thebanknoteandthebusinessmanareindicatorsthat

thecartoonistwantedtoconveyadifferentmeaning.AsaPARTANDPARTmetonymy,wheretheobject

isrepresentedasreferringtoitsfunction,thedrydrainholehighlightsthelackofwater,ithasflushed

and a few drops can be perceived. The lack of water andmoney stress that if money lacks, debts

increase,thusdevelopingthedebtcrisis.Themetaphoricalfunctionofthebanknoteonthedrain-hole

is contextually understood as the lack of money. Metaphorically speaking the huge dry drain hole

referstotheconsequencesofthedebtcrisiswhichhasbroughtdebtsandlackofliquidity.Asregards

themetaphoricrepresentationofthebusinessmanandhisbriefcase,theformerrepresentsaperson

that,asacreditor,cangivehismoney.Inmetonymicterms,thebusinessman’sandhisbriefcaseboth

representthecategoryoftheEurozonecreditorswhoarepronetosupporttheindebtedcountries.In

addition,thetinymanlookingatthehugedrain-holehesitatesaboutkeepingthesuitcaselockedorto

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unlockit.Thatsaid,neitherthehugedrydrainholenorthesmallbusinessmanlookingatthehugedry

drain hole allow the viewer to understand what the vehicle symbols aim to stress. In order to

understandwhat the imagemeans,we need to read the headline and thewhole article,whichwill

reveal the identity of the businessman, i.e. German voters,who are afraid of giving theirmoney to

supportGreece; thenewspaperuses the linguistic expression “tipmoremoneydown theplughole”

underlining that itwouldbeauselesseffort tohelpandsupportacountrysuchasGreecewhich is

unabletopayitsdebts.

After identifying the visual vehicle symbols, I was unable to identify the topic in the same

mode,Ithusclassifieditasamultimodalmetaphor.AfterreadingthearticleIassigned“hesitationin

helping Greece pay its debts” topic to the metaphor. This picture shows how visual metaphors

accompanyinga text,maydependon it,whichhighlightsBarthes’sanchoring functionof theverbal

mode,withoutwhich themessage that the image is conveying, is incomplete. Chapter 8 is going to

examinehowandtowhatextentmultimodalmetaphoricdiscoursemaydevelopintersemioticallyand

providethereader/viewerwiththenecessarytoolstounderstandit.

Table7.2belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofthedrydrainhole

andthelittlebusinessmanlookingatthehugedrydrainholevehiclesymbols,aswellastheirtopic.

Table7.2.Ahugedrydrainholeandasmallbusinessmanlookingatthedrydrainholevehiclesymbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

ahugedrydrainhole a hole that is found at the

bottom of a sink to let water

flush down and let the sink

empty

lack of money, a state of

illiquidity

“hesitationinhelpingGreece

payitsdebts”

a small businessman looking at

thehugedrydrainhole

Amanobserving thedrynessof

thedrainhole

Possible intervention to help

Greece

7.2.3The€shipatthemercyofthewavesvehiclesymbol

Thearticlepublishedon14thJulyintheCharlemagnesectionandbearingthetitle“Theeuro’s

real trouble” (see Appendix 1) is introduced by a picture (Figure 3) that was produced by Peter

Schrank,thepoliticalcartoonistthatcreatedthepictureintroducingthe12thMayarticleillustratinga

sinkingship(section7.2.1).Theauthormayhaveexpandedherethemetaphoricrepresentationofthe

shiptodepicttheEurozone’seconomictroubles.

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Figure3

Theleftsideoftheimageshowsashipthatisrollingbecausetheseaisrough.Therearethree

passengersonboardandeachofthembehavesinadifferentway;thewomanhasputherhandson

hermouth,asasignthatshehasdecidednottotalk.Themaninthemiddlehasputhishandsonhis

eyes,hehasdecidednottosee;themanontherighthasputhishandsonhisears,hehasdecidednot

tohear.ThethreepassengerscanbeeasilyidentifiedasMrsAngelaMerkel,theGermanchancelloron

the left, in themiddleweseeMrSarkozy, the thenFrenchPresident,whileon theright there isMr

Trichet, the formerpresidentof theECB.Noneof them ismanoeuvring the ship,which is called€,

symbolisingtheeurocurrency,sotheyareactuallyatthemercyoftheroughsealiketheship.

Thenauticalscenarioofaship,whichisinthemiddleoftheroughseaandwhosecaptainsare

not steering, providesThe Economist’s readerswith ametaphoric illustration of how the Eurozone

leadershavebeenunabletomanagetheeurocrisis.OncemorePeterSchrankhasdrawnacontextual

visualmetaphorthatjoinstwodifferentsettings,suchasthemarineenvironmenttothecontextofan

economiccrisis.Inaddition,consideringthe€signasametaphoricallabelthatidentifiestheshipasa

euro ship, the single currencyhasbeenattributed the featuresof thedisplayed ship. Inmetaphoric

terms,theshipisfacingsomenauticaldifficultiesbecausetheseaisroughandthereisnocaptainthat

is steering it; likewise the euro currency is facingsomeeconomicdifficultiesbecause theEurozone

leadershaveprovedtobeunabletotackleandsolvethecrisis.AsaPARTANDWHOLEmetonymy,the

€signstandsfortheentireEurozone,thusidentifyingtheshipasavesselbelongingtotheeuroland.

Having identified the€shipat themercyof thewavesasavisualsymbol,and“difficulties in

providing financial support to the euro” as themetaphor topic, I classified this representation as a

multimodalmetaphor.Althoughtheviewercaneasilyassociatethewavesthattheshipisnotfacingto

thetroublesthattheeurocouldnotsolve,theverbalanchorageisnecessarytounderstandwhether

the visual analysis provided a full comprehension of the newspaper’s message. Taking into

considerationthat,unlesstheweatherchanges,theroughseawillpreventtheshipfromsailingandit

willalsobeunabletofacetheapproachingdangerofapossiblesinking,thecontextualmeaningofthis

image highlights the financial difficulties that the single currency has been facing. Inmetaphorical

terms,thesinglecurrencyhasseriousfinancialproblemsthatitdoesnotseemtobeabletoovercome.

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Moreover,lookingatthepictureitseemsthatthethreeEurozoneleaders,whoareillustrated

as the inactive captains of the euro ship, are responsible forwhat is happening in themetaphoric

representation. Like Confucius’ three wise monkeys, Iwararu, Mizaru and Kikazaru, who decide

respectively to “speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil”, the three leaders’ lack of responsibility is

metaphoricallyillustratedwiththenospeak,nosee,nohearvehiclesymbols.LikeIwazaru,MrsMerkel

iscoveringhermouth,likeMizaru,Sarkozyiscoveringhiseyes,likeKikazaru,Trichetiscoveringhis

ears.Thecontextualmeaningoftheiractionshighlightsthelackofeffortsthattheleadershavemade

andaremakingintakingmeasurestointervene,faceandsolvetheproblemsthatafflicttheEurozone

and the euro.That said, theEurozone leaders’ responsibilities regarding the euro currency and the

euro crisis cannot be perceived; their visual lack of control cannot be given a clear response in

economic terms, that is why the text seems to be pivotal in comprehending the specificity of the

economic concerns.Oncemore I assigned the topic to thismetaphor after reading the articleand I

identifieditas“difficultiesinprovidingfinancialsupporttotheeuro”.

Table7.3belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextoftheeuroshipat

themercyofthewavesandthenospeak,noseeandnohearvehiclesymbols,aswellastheirtopic.

Table7.3.The€shipatthemercyofthewavesandthenospeak,nosee,nohearvehiclesymbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

the € ship at the mercy of the

waves

theshipisheldbytheroughsea inability to take back control of

theeuro

“difficulties in providing

financial support to the

euro”

nospeak,nosee,nohear lack of communication,

observationandattention

Lack of discussion, difficulties of

understanding and sharing ideas

tofacethecrisis

7.2.4Ahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyontheedgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsandthecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsvehiclesymbols

Thearticlepublishedon14thJulyintheLeaderssectionandbearingthetitle“Ontheedge”(see

Appendix1)isintroducedbyapicture(Figure4)thatwasproducedbyTheEconomistitself.

Figure4

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Theforegroundofthisimageillustratesaheavyandhugeeurocointhathasreachedtheedge

of a black cliff. The coin looks heavy and the edge of the cliff is cracking. A saturated red colour

dominatesthebackground,whichsuggestsanapproachingdanger.

Considering that, although The Economist has taken inspiration from the naturalistic

representationofacliff,theimageisdisplayedmetaphorically.Thecontrastbetweenthesizeofthe

eurocoinandtheedgeofthecliffstressesthefocusofthedesigner.Inaddition,theedgeofthecliffis

shaped like Italy,which provides the viewerwith an additionalmetaphoric element in this hybrid

metaphoricdepiction,wheretheedgeofthecliffandItalyaremergedintoasinglegestalt(Forceville,

2008:465).Astheeurocoinismuchbiggerthantheedgeofthecliff,itisweighingheavilyonit.The

euro coin is metaphtonymically (metaphor within metonymy) representing the effects of the debt

crisisonboththesinglecurrencyandtheEurozone.AsaPARTANDWHOLEmetonymy,theeurocoin

standsforthesinglecurrency,whileitshugesizesymbolisesthesinglecurrencyheavinesswhichhas

cracked and damaged the edge of the cliff.Metaphorically speaking, the euro coin weight that has

cracked the edgeof the cliff shaped like Italy is understoodas referring to the consequencesof the

debtcrisiswhichhavebrokenItaly.Inaddition,theexaggeratedsizeoftheeurocoingivesemphasis

on how heavily the tiny Italy has been damaged. Having taken into consideration the size and the

heavinessof the euro coin, aswell as the small sizeof Italy-cliff edge, I identifiedahuge euro coin

weighingheavilyontheedgeofacliffasavehiclesymbol.Itssizeisdisproportionatetothecliff,which

shouldbemuchbigger.Notonlyisacoinmuchsmallerthanacliff,butitisalsomuchlighterandwill

neverbeabletobreakacliff.Thecontextualmeaningofahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyontheedge

of a cliff vehicle highlights the costly economic problems that Italywas unable to face. In addition,

lookingatthecrackededgeofthecliff,boththeeurocoinandtheedgearegoingtofalldownwards.I

addedthatisgoingtofalldownwardsastheconcludingpartofahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyonthe

edge of a cliff vehicle symbol. The accompanying text will discuss Italy’s sovereign debt which is

oppressingthecountryandthreateningthecommoncurrency.

Moreover,havingexaminedthebasicmeaningof theactionprocessofbeingcracked,which

indicatesthebrokencliffedge,Iidentifiedthecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsas

anothervehiclesymbol.Thefracturethathasbeencausedbytheweightoftheeurocoinhasdamaged

thecliff.Italyisshownastheedgeofthecliffwhichisbroken.ThebasicmeaningofcrackedItaly-cliff

edgeisusedmetaphoricallyandindicatesthetopicofthisvisualmetaphor,suchastheconsequences

ofthedebtcrisisintheItalianeconomy.Thereasonsbehindthiscrackingarenotgiveninthepicture,

theyarediscussedinthetextwhichanchorstheimage.

Sincethetextdiscussestheeconomicconcernsregardingthevisualcracking,thetopicisnot

visualised,whichenabledmetoidentifythisrepresentationasamultimodalmetaphor.Thetopicthat

I assignedto thismetaphor after reading the article is “thepossible endof the euro and the Italian

default”.

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Table7.4belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofahugeeurocoin

weighingheavilyontheedgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsandthecrackededgeofacliffthat

isgoingtofalldownwardsvehiclesymbols,aswellastheirtopic.

Table7.4.ahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyontheedgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsandthecrackededgeofacliffthatis

goingtofalldownwardsvehiclesymbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

ahugeeurocoinweighingheavily

ontheedgeofa cliffthatisgoing

tofalldownwards

a big euro coin that is pressing

downthetinyedgeofacliff

the euro currency is oppressing

andafflictingItaly

“thepossibleendoftheeuro

andtheItaliandefault”the cracked edge of a cliff that is

goingtofalldownwards

the broken edge of a cliff that is

goingtofalldownwards

Italy has been damaged by the

euro and risks to face and even

worsefuture

7.2.5MrsMerkel throwing euro cheques and red roses and a big German eurowheel braking

vehiclesymbols

The article published on 3rd September and bearing the title “Angst over the euro” (see

Appendix 1) is introduced by a picture (Figure 5) thatwas produced byDave Simonds, a political

cartoonistworkingasaregularfreelancecontributortoTheEconomist.

Figure5

Inthebackgroundontheleftsideofthisimage,abigeurocoinisbrakingandhasjuststopped

approachingajoyfulwomanwhoisholdingapublicspeechandwhoisalsothrowingredrosesand

eurocheques.Infrontofthewoman,agroupofpuzzledpeopleseemsquiteworriedaboutherspeech,

aswellasbyhergenerouspresents.Thewoman,whoseactionshaveprovokedfeelingsofdiscontent

amongtheaudienceisAngelaMerkel,theGermanchancellor.SheiswearingaredsuitandaT-shirt

withasmileyonit.

The institutional scenario of a CDU public speech displays a contextual metaphoric

representationofMrsMerkel representingboth the leaderof thepartyandof theEurozone. She is

unusually throwing red roses and euro cheques.Wewill hardly ever see a political leader offering

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flowers to her/his audience; conversely, leaders/politicians are supposed to exploit their speaking

skills to convince those who they are trying to influence in order to be voted and supported.

Consideringthebasicmeaningofaredrose,itisactuallytheflowerthatbestsymboliseslove,which

lovers usually offer as a present in order to express their affection. In addition, I conveyed to the

smiley on Mrs Merkel’s T-shirt the same feeling of affection and care the red roses had. Having

attributedtotheredrosesandtheT-shirtacontextualmeaning,Iwasunabletounderstandwhatsort

ofaffectiontheywerereferringto,whichIcouldidentifyonlyafterIreadthetext.MrsMerkelisthede

factoEurozoneleader,shestronglybelievesintheeuroandtheeuroarea.Whenthedebtcrisisbroke

out,MrsMerkelplayeda crucial role inmanaging it at theEuropeanandevenat the international

level.Inordertoavoidthedefaultoftheindebtedmemberstates,suchasGreece,sheincreasedtaxes

inGermany.Theverbalanchoragepermittedmetounderstandthecontextualmeaningofthevisual

representation.

MrsMerkel’svisualactionprocessofthrowingisusedmetaphoricallyanditisdoneinorderto

convincetheGermancitizensthatpayingmoretaxesisthesolutiontohelpandsavetheEurozone.I

identifiedMrsMerkelthrowingredrosesandchequesasthevehiclesymbolofamultimodalmetaphor

where the vehicle symbol is visualised,while the topic referring to the reasonbehindMrsMerkel’s

throwing was found in the verbal mode, which I identified as the “contrasting feelings in proving

financialsupport”.Inaddition,thefeelingofcarethattheredrosesandthesmileyshouldawakenin

theGermanpeople, isdirectlyconnectedtotheeurochequesthatMrsMerkelisthrowing.Thebasic

meaningofMrsMerkelthrowingcheques,aspartofthevehiclesymbol,the€symbol,andthefigures

ontheflyingpapers,invitetheviewertofocusonMrsMerkel’sgenerositywithhervisualprocessof

giving money, which highlights multimodal metaphoricity in this article. The vehicle symbol of

throwingmoneyisvisualised,whilethetopic“contrastingfeelingsinprovingfinancialsupport”,which

iscuedintheverbalmode,discusseswhyMrsMerkelisgivingmoney,towhomsheisgivingit,and

mostofallwhetherthisishermoneyornot.ThemoneybeingvisuallythrownawayisnottheGerman

chancellor’s but the German people’s money, which the text talks about in terms of taxes that the

Germanpeoplepaidandwillhavetopay.Lookingatthepeopleinthepicture,theylookreallyangry.

Oncemore,thereasonfortheGermanpeople’sangercannotbeperceivedvisually,whiletheverbal

anchorageprovidesevidenceofit.Havingagreedonasecondbail-outforGreece,MrsMerkelimposed

other taxeson theGermanpeople in support of the indebtedEurozonemember states.Thepicture

showsthedissatisfactionofGermanpeoplewhodisagreedwithsupportingacountryunabletopayits

debts.

Considering the basic meaning of the visual action of braking, which is illustrating a huge

Germaneurocoinshapedlikeahugewheelbrakinginordertostop,I identifiedabigGermaneuro-

wheel braking as the vehicle symbol of a visual metaphtonymic (metonymy with a metaphor)

representation.ThePARTANDPARTmetonymy showingthe eagle carvedon the euro identifies the

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nationalityofthecoin.Theeurorepresentationdevelopsmetaphoricallyasitstandsforaeurowheel

visualvehicle.Inreallife,eurocoinsaresmallstaticobjectsandtheGermaneurocoinsareofthesame

smalldimension.Moreover,wheelsdonotlooklikeeurocoinsand,althoughtheyarebiggerthaneuro

coins, theyarenotbiggerthanhumanbeings,asthepictureshows.TheGermaneurowheeland its

abilitytomoveandstopwereattributedametaphoricalcontextualmeaningbecause inreallife the

eurowheelasanobjectdoesnotexist.Lookingatthepicture,Iwasunabletoperceivethecontextual

meaningofthismetaphoricalillustration,whichIunderstoodthankstotheanchoringfunctionofthe

text.WhenMrsMerkeldecidedtoincreasetaxesinGermanytogivetheGermancontributiontothe

indebtedmemberstatesoftheeuroareathatwereriskingadefault,thepopulationreactednegatively

andrefusedtospendmoreoftheirmoney.TheverbalanchorageenabledmetoidentifytheGerman

coinasreferringtothetaxespaidbytheGermancitizenstosupporttheindebtedEurozonecountries.

Inmetonymicterms,thesizeoftheGermaneurowheelhighlightstheamountofmoneyspentbythe

German people to help the indebted Eurozone countries. As regards the action of braking, which

wheelsusuallydowhencarsstop,ithasbeenattributedametaphoricmeaningbecauseitstressesthe

decision takenby theGermantaxpayers to stoppayingmore taxes.Having identifiedabigGerman

eurowheelcoinbrakingasavisualvehiclesymboland“Germancitizens’perplexitytopaymoretaxes

in support of the indebted Eurozone leaders” as the topic, I classified this representation as a

multimodalmetaphor.

Table7.5below summarises thebasicmeaningand themeaning in context ofabigGerman

eurowheelbrakingandMrsMerkelthrowingeurochequesandredrosesvehiclesymbols,aswellasthe

topic.

Table7.5.AbigGermaneurowheelcoinbrakingandMrsMerkelthrowingeurochequesandredrosesvehiclesymbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

abigGermaneurowheelbraking slowing/stoppingaGermanvehicle stoppayingmore taxesandgive

Germanmoney

“contrastingfeelingsin

provingfinancialsupport”

Mrs Merkel throwing euro

chequesandredroses

givingchequesandredroses providingfinancialsupport “trying to convince German

citizens to pay more taxes

and provide financial

support”

7.2.6Ahugecrackedeurocoinbeingweldedvehiclesymbol

The article published on 17th September and bearing the title “How to save the euro” (see

Appendix1)isintroducedbyapicture(Figure6)thatwasproducedbythestockphotoagencyGetty

incollaborationwithSuperstockphotoagency,freelancecontributorstoTheEconomist.

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Figure6

The foregroundof this image illustrates ahuge and crackedeuro coin that twowelders are

repairing.Thebackground showsblackand reddish colourswhich stress the smokyatmosphereof

metalsbeingmeltedandweldedthatcanbeusuallyfoundintheengineeringindustries.

Havingtakenintoconsiderationthatthecracksontheeurohighlighthowdamagedthecoinis,

theimagecanbeunderstoodasametaphtonymic(metaphorwithinmetonymy)representationofthe

debtcrisisandhow ithasdamagedthesinglecurrency.AsaPARTANDWHOLEmetonymy, theeuro

coin is assumed to indicate the currency sharedacross the euro area. Inaddition, the euro ismuch

biggerthanthenormaldimensionofacoin,itlooksalsomuchbiggerthanthehumanbeingsthatare

working torepairit,which isunrealisticasadepiction,so I identifiedahugecrackedeurocoinasa

vehiclesymbol.Inmetaphoricalterms,theexaggeratedsizeoftheeuroisalludingtothegravityofthe

debt crisis which has seriously damaged the stability of the single currency and of the Eurozone

economy.Thehumanbeingsdisplayedinthepicturearemuchsmallerthanthecoin,whichstresses

thedifficulties theyare facing inmanaging torepair thecracks.Moreover, the factoryenvironment,

which isdisplayed in thepicture,contextualises themetaphoricalsetting,aswellas themetonymic

representationof theEurozone leadersengaged inacting tosolve thecrisisandsave theeuro.This

anomalousrepresentationoftwowelderstryingtorepairahugecoinallowedmetoidentifywhatthe

menaredoingasavehicleterm,whichIlabelledasahugecrackedeurocoinbeingwelded.Thewhole

picture is a contextual metaphor because the vehicles are understood in the visual context.

Consideringthatnoeurocoincanbewelded,inordertoidentifythetopicreferringtothemetaphoric

visualsymbol,IreliedontheverbalanchorageandIverbaliseditas“actionsandmeasurestosavethe

euro”.Thecontextualmeaningoftheeurosizeandtheactionprocessofcrackingstresstheeconomic

andfinancialproblemsthatthecrisishasbroughttothesinglecurrency,whichthearticlecomments

onindetails.

Havingidentifiedahugecrackedeurocoinbeingweldedasthevehiclesymbol,whilethetopic

“actionsandmeasurestosavetheeuro”hasbeencuedintheverbalmode,themetaphoricscenario

thatisrepresentedcannotbutbemultimodal.

Table7.6belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofahugecracked

eurocoinbeingweldedvehiclesymbolaswellasthetopic.

139

Table7.6.Ahugecrackedeurocoinbeingweldedvehiclesymbolandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

a huge cracked euro coin being

welded

brokenpartsoftheeurocointhat

arebeingwelded

troubles that damaged the euro

whichisbeingadjusted

“actionsandmeasurestosave

theeuro”

7.2.7Acolanderboatrescuingpassengersawayfromasinkingshipvehiclesymbol

The article published on 29th October and bearing the title “Europe’s rescue plan” (see

Appendix1)isintroducedbyapicture(Figure7)thatwasproducedbyTheEconomistitself.

Figure7

Thebackgroundofthisimageshowsthehugekeelofashipthatisprobablysinking,whilethe

foregroundoftheimageillustratesacolanderwithsomepeopleinthatisbeingloweredinorderto

rescuethepassengersandsavetheirlife.Theactionofrescuingpassengersenablesustounderstand

that the ship is probably going to sink, or at least it is not safe to go on sailing on board. The

passengersinacolanderthatisshapedlikearescueboataresomeoftheEurozoneleaders.

Considering the basic meaning of the visual action process of sinking that has already

submerged part of the ship, I attributed to this downwardsmovement a contextualmeaning and I

identifiedasinkingshipasavehiclesymbol.Aswecanseeonlypartofthishugeship,andthereisno

verbal sign that identifies it, I had to relyon the verbal anchorage tounderstand that itwasbeing

referredtoastheEurozone.Thesupportofthearticleenabledmetojustifythecontextualmeaningof

thesinkingshipasavehiclesymbol.Whiletheprocessofsinkingismetaphoricallyrepresentedinthe

picture, in the accompanying article it is talked about as theEurozonewhichhas lost its economic

stabilityandisseriouslyriskinganeconomicandfinancialdefault.

Havingexaminedthebasicmeaningofthecolanderthatisshapedlikearescueboatandwhich

is bringing passengers away from the sinking ship in order to save their lives, I attributed to this

colander boat a contextual meaning. The basic meaning of a colander does not match with the

140

contextualmeaningofitbeingusedinthepicture.Acolanderdoesnotcarrypassengersawayfroma

ship,itisactuallyaperforatedbowlthatisusedtostrainoffliquidfromfoodafterwashingorcooking

it. Having merged a cooking device with a nautical object I identified the colander boat rescuing

passengers as a vehicle symbol. Themetaphor drawn by the cartoonist is a hybrid representation

wherethecolanderandtherescueboatoccupythesamespaceinthepicture(Forceville,2008:465).

Looking at the passengers that are being rescued,we can hardly ever expect the Eurozone leaders

beingcarriedawayfromasinkingshipinacolanderrescueboat.Inaddition,theywillneverbesaved

becausethecolanderboatwillsinkevensoonerthantheship.Thatsaid,althoughthepicturefocuses

our attention on the visual action process of rescuing the Eurozone leaders, it stresses also how

dangerously unachievable this action is. This hybrid visual metaphor is actually representing the

scenarioofashipthatisgoingtosinkanditspassengersthatarenotgoingtobesaved.Thepicture

gives us enough elements to identify the topic of this metaphor visually, which I labelled as

“unsuccessfulplansandactions tosave theEurozone”.Theanchoring functionof theaccompanying

articlewilltelluspreciselyhowthemeasuresthattheEurozoneleadershadtakentofostertherescue

oftheeurofailed,thuspromptingthepossibleendoftheeuroera.

Having identified the vehicle symbols and the topic in the visual mode, the metaphoric

representationcanbeclassifiedasmonomodal.

Table7.7belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofacolanderboat

rescuingpassengersandasinkingshipvehiclesymbols,aswellastheirtopic.

Table7.7.Acolanderboatrescuingpassengersawayfromasinkingshipandasinkingshipvehiclesymbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

a colander boat rescuing

passengers away from a sinking

ship

carrying people away from a

sinkingshipandsavingtheirlife

giving the Eurozone leaders the

possibilitytosavethemselves

“unsuccessfulplansand

actionstosavetheEurozone”

asinkingship ashipmovingdownwardsbelow

thesurfaceofthesea

theEurozoneisriskingadefault

7.2.8Aburningeurometeoritefallingdownwardsvehiclesymbol

The article published on 26th November and bearing the title “Is this really the end” (see

Appendix1) is introducedbyapicture(Figure8) thatwasproducedby thephotoagencyAlamy in

collaborationwithTheEconomist.

141

Figure8

Theforegroundofthisimageillustratesaeurocoinanda20euroburningbanknoteattached

tothecoinwhicharefallingdownwardsagainstablackbackground.

The meteorite and the euro coin, which we normally perceive as two different entities

belongingtotwodifferentdomains,arehere“physicallymergedintoasinglegestalt”(Forceville2008:

465). All the features characterising ameteorite are here attributed to the single currency. Like a

fireball,theeurotrajectoryisvisualisedanditobliquelyfallsfromthetoplefttothebottomrightof

the image; either a fall or a collision seem inevitable, although no actual impact is portrayed. The

metaphtonymic (metaphor from metonymy) visualisation of the meteorite trail illustrates how

metaphor and metonymy interact. As a PART AND WHOLE metonymy, the euro coin moving

downwardsandtheburningbanknotearerepresentedasreferringtotheimminenteconomicdecline

ofthesinglecurrencyandofthewholeEurozone.Themetaphoricrepresentationofacelestialbody

fallingdownstandsforthecauseswhichbroughtthesinglecurrencytoaconditionofinstabilityand

consequentcrisis(i.e.themeteorite),whichthenceforthisdestinedtoatragic(i.e.burning)downfall

(i.e.economicandfinancialcrash).

Initsbasicmeaningameteoriteisdescribedlikeasolidpieceofdebristhatoriginatesinouter

spaceandwhicheventuallycollidesandcrashesonthesurfaceoftheearth.Whenameteoriteenters

theatmosphere,friction,pressureandchemicalinteractionswithatmosphericgasescauseittoheat

upandradiateenergy,thusformingafireball,alsoknownasafallingstar.Onstrikingtheground,the

meteorite has a strong impact and makes a crater, whose size depends on the dimensions,

composition, degreeof fragmentation and incoming angleof the fireball. Thedestructionwhich the

forceofsuchacollisionmayhaveispotentiallyverygreat.Allthefeaturescharacterisingameteorite

arehereattributed to thesinglecurrency,whichprovideahybridmetaphoricrepresentationof the

debtcrisis.Havingdisplayedthenaturalisticenvironmentinconnectionwiththefieldofeconomics,

the contextual meaning of the eurometeorite can be quite easily perceived. Considering the basic

meaningofbothvisualactionprocessesofburningandfallingdownwards,iftheymatchwithwhata

meteoriteactuallydoes,theyprovideametaphoricdescriptionofwhatisgoingtohappentotheeuro.

Noeurocoincaneverburn,but, ifsomeonethrowsaeurocoinitwillfalldowntotheground.That

said, the euro falling here has been attributed ametaphoric and not a literalmeaning. In order to

understand what the two actions are really referring to, the accompanying text becomes pivotal.

142

Althoughby lookingatthemeteoriteandtheeurovehiclesymbolsthe topiccanbeunderstoodand

labelled as “the impending end of the euro”, thus drawing amonomodalmetaphoric scenario, the

anchoringfunctionofthetextwillprovideimportantdetailstocomprehendthecontextualmeaningof

theeuroburningandfallingdownwards.

Table7.8belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextoftheburningeuro

coinfallingdownwardsvehiclesymbolandtopic.

Table7.8.Aburningeurometeoritefallingdownvehiclesymbolandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

a burning euro meteorite falling

downwards

ameteorite, a eurocoinand note

that are burning and moving

downwards. They are on a

collisioncoursewiththeground.

wrong decisions that brought

economicproblemsandseriously

damagedtheeuro

“theimpendingendofthe

euro”

7.2.9 The EU stony fortress under attack and four black armed knights riding their horses at

sunsetandapproachingthefortressvehiclesymbols

The article published on 3rd December and bearing the title “The horsemen approach” (see

Appendix1) is introducedbyapicture(Figure9)thatwasproducedbyPeterSchrank, thepolitical

cartoonistImentionedabove.

Figure9

Thepictureillustratesamountainscapescenariointhelightofthesunset.Thescenedevelops

from the centre towards the right.The light of the sun setting illuminates fourbackgroundedblack

armedknightswhoareridingtheirhorses;theyaremovingtowardsaforegroundedstonyfortresson

theextremerightofthepicture.AtthetopofthefortresstheEUflagisflyingandagroupofpeopleare

standing. Two of them can be easily recognised as AngelaMerkel and Nicholas Sarkozy,while the

othersneedtheverbalanchoragetobeidentified.TheEUflag,MrsMerkelandSarkozymakeusinfer

thatthegroupoffrightenedpeopleareEUleaders.Themodulatedreddishandgreyishcolourofthe

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sky,thegunswhichthehorsemenareholdingintheirhandsandtheworriedleadersstandingatthe

topofthefortress,highlightafeelingofdistress.

Taking into consideration that a fortress is a fortifiedmilitary building aimed at protecting

from enemies, the EU leaders have found refuge there because they feel menaced. Although it is

represented as a literal and non-caricaturised fortress, the European flag which is waving on it

enabledmetorecogniseitasametaphoricillustration.IidentifiedtheEUstonyfortressunderattack

as a visual vehicle symbolising theEuropeanUnion.As aunionofnations, theEU is basedon the

principleofassociation,commoninterestandpurpose,mutualsupportanddefence.Consideringthat

17outofthe27statesthatadheredtotheEurozone,arefacingatimeofeconomicdifficulty,incaseof

need, theEU issupposed to takechargeof theEurozone’s troubles,offersupport, takemeasures to

solvethecrisis.TheEurozoneleadershavechosentheEUfortressasashelter,theplacewherethey

havedecidedtotakerefuge.Havingrepresentedthemasworriedbutinactive,theverbalanchorage

explainsthattheleadershaveprovedtobeincapableoffindingtherightmeasurestoputanendtothe

crisis, which will have to be taken in accordance with the EU support and in respect of the EU

principles of union. Furthermore, the stone it is made of emphasises the fortress as a symbol of

security and invincibility, which is going to protect, help and defend the leaders. In order to

understandwhytheleadersneedprotection,thevisualscenarioshowsthatfourblackhorseridersare

approachingthefortress.

Who/what the leaders need to be protected from is shown in the centre of the image. The

leaders’ enemies are four knights. Considering that the knightwas an armedwarriorwho lived in

Ancient Times, the living timegap between the knights and the leaders allowedme to identify the

knightsasavisualvehiclesymbol.Theylooklikewarriors,theyareridingtheirhorsesandthreeof

themarealsocarryingaweapon(i.e.asword,abow,anaxe).Althoughtheyareillustratedasblack

figures,neithertheirfaces,northeirarmourcanberecognised,theycanbequiteeasilyidentifiedas

thefourhorsemenoftheapocalypse,thusIlabelledthefourblackarmedknightsridingtheirhorsesas

ametaphoricvehiclesymbol.

AsitiswritteninthelastbookoftheNewTestamentoftheBible,aprophecytellsofaperiod

oftimewhenaquarterofthepopulationoftheearthwouldbekilledbyacombinationofwars,famine

anddisease.Havingengaged inconstantwars,whoseconsequencesbroughtdeath, lackof foodand

the spread of all sorts of infections and mortal plague, people on the earth were punished and

threatenedby thearrivalof the fourknightswhowoulddestroyhumanityusingthesameweapons

peoplehadused.Thefourhorsemenoftheapocalypsehavealwaysbeenconceivedofassymbolising

thefourthingsthatcausepeoplethegreatestsuffering,suchaswar,famine,pestilenceanddeath.As

regards the metaphoric illustration showing the four riders approaching the fortress, the first

horsemancanbeidentifiedassymbolisingwar,becauseheisholdingaswordinhisrighthand.The

secondridercanrepresent famine,althoughhe isnotholdinganything inhishands.Relyingonthe

144

religious and the popular illustrations, he should carry a scale to highlight how food is distributed

differently among the population that has been struck by famine. The absence of a weapon in his

hands can be understood as symbolising the lack of food; the third horseman is carrying a spear,

althoughheshouldholdabow,atleastastheimagesreferringtohimhavealwaysdepictedthisfigure.

Thedesignerhasmadesomechangesinthechoiceoftheweaponsthatthehorsemenareholdingin

theirhands.Moving to the thirdhorseman,he is seen as the conquerorbringingpestilence.Hehas

foughtandtheresultofhisfightinghasbroughtpestilence.Thelastriderlookslikedeathbutinstead

ofcarryingasickleinhisrighthandhehasanaxe,bothinstrumentsareusedtocut,whichenableus

tounderstandthatthedesignerwantedtocommentonpestilenceasafatalepidemicdiseasewhich

hadandwill drastically cutdowntheworldpopulation.The fourhorsemenare thusdriving to the

stonybuildingbecausetheywanttobringhugesufferance to thepeople thathave foundprotection

within the wall of the fortress. It seems that the stony fortress is soon going to be attacked and

besieged.Havingattributedtothefourhorsemenoftheapocalypsethemeaningofthosewhowould

fight and destroy the world, in order to identify their meaning and function in the context of an

economiccrisis, I couldnotdo itwithoutanchoring to the text.Actually, the textdiscusseshowthe

debtcrisisisseriouslymenacingtheeconomicstabilityoftheentireEurozone.

Consideringthatareligiousandpropheticalscenariodisplayinganapocalypticaltragedyhas

beenillustratedintermsofanapproachingeconomicdefault,Iaddedtothefourblackarmedknights

riding theirhorsesvehiclesymbol thevisualactionprocessapproaching the fortress. In therealand

modernworldneitheraEUfortressnorthefourhorsemenoftheapocalypseapproachingitwillever

befound,theseelementshavethusbeenusedmetaphoricallybecauseofthevisualcontextinwhich

they have been displayed (Forceville, 2008:464), which contribute to identifying this image as a

contextualmetaphor.

Inordertoidentifythecontextualmeaningofthemenacingknights,Ianchoredtotheverbal

mode.TheEurozoneleaderstriedtofindmeasurestoputanendtothecrisisbutfailed.NowtheEU

hasbeenaskedtointervene,themetaphoricfightbetweenthehorsemenandtheleadersisgoingto

seewhethereithertheEUortheleadersaregoingtosolvethelackofliquidity(famine), iftheyare

determinedtoresolvetheeconomicandfiscaldifficulties(pestilence)inordertoavoidtheendofthe

euroarea(death).

Intheend,consideringthatthehorsemenapproachingisdonewhentheeveningapproaches,I

attributedtothesunsettingametaphoricmeaning,thusIaddedatsunsettothevisualvehiclesymbol

four black armed knights riding their horses and approaching the fortress. Having taken into

consideration that, when the sun sets the night comes and it gets dark, I attributed to the basic

meaningof thevisualsunsetameaningincontext, sayingthatthecartoonistmighthavedecidedto

giveemphasistothearrivalofthefourhorsemenwhenitgetsdark,tomeanthatthedeclineofthe

euroisapproachingandtheendoftheeuroareacannotbestopped.

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AfterexaminingthemetaphoricvisualscenarioshowingtheEUstonyfortressunderattackand

four blackarmedknights riding their horses at sunset andapproaching the fortress as visual vehicle

symbols,Ianalysedthevehiclemeaningincontextandcouldidentifythetopic“actionstoprotectthe

Eurozoneandhelpwithtroubles”inthesamemode,thusshapingamonomodalmetaphoricscenario

oftheapproachingendoftheeuroarea.

Table7.9below summarises thebasicmeaning and themeaning in context ofTheEU stony

fortress underattackand four blackarmedknights riding their horses at sunset andapproaching the

fortressvehiclesymbols,aswellastheirtopic.

Table 7.9.A stony fortress and four black armed knights riding their horses at the sunset and approaching the fortress vehicle

symbolsandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

The EU stony fortress under

attack

a building that has been

constructed toprotect is being

attacked

theEUisgoingtoprotectthestates

thatneedeconomicsupport

“actionstoprotectthe

Eurozoneandhelpwith

troubles”four black knights riding their

horses at the sunset and

approachingthefortress

four riders bringing war,

famine, pestilence and death

aregoingtodestroytheworld

economic problems that are

threatening the EU and the

Eurozone

7.2.10Astarrymeteoritefallingdownwardsvehiclesymbol

The article published on 17th December and bearing the title “A comedy of euros” (see

Appendix1)isintroducedbyapicture(Figure10)thatwasproducedbyClaudioMunoz,acartoonist

workingasaregularfreelancecontributortoTheEconomist.

Figure10

Theforegroundofthisimageillustratesastarrylightblueballshapedlikeameteoritethatis

falling downwards. Havingmerged the two different objects into a single gestalt (Forceville, 2008:

465), the image portrays ametaphtonymic (metaphor frommetonymy) representation of how the

debtcrisishasaffectedtheEurozoneandtheeuro.Allthefeaturescharacterisingameteoritearehere

attributed to thestarry lightblueball.AsaPARTAHDWHOLEmetonymy, the lightblueballmoving

downwardsstandsfortheentireEurozonewhichisfacinganimminentdecline.Theimagedevelops

146

metaphorically with the starry light blue meteorite that is approaching a crash to the ground.

Metaphoricallyspeaking,thepictureillustratestheinstabilityandeconomicdeclineoftheEurozone

like a falling meteorite. The economic consequences of the debt crisis have brought economic

instabilitywithin theeuro land,whoseeconomicdeclineand impendingcrash isvisualised through

themeteoritemovingdownwards.

Having considered the basic meaning of the portrayed objects, I have identified the starry

meteorite falling downwards as a vehicle symbol illustrating a hybrid visual metaphor. Although

nothing like this illustration exists in the realworld, both objects exist separately. Considering the

basicmeaningoftheballandthemeteorite,botharespherical;theballisusedforplaying,whilethe

meteoriteisacelestialbodymadeofrock.Theunusualelementisthattheball-meteoriteisofalight

bluecolourandithassomeyellowstarsonit.BothelementsareincloseconnectionwiththeEUlogo,

whichrepresentsaspheremadeofyellowstarsunderalightbluebackground.Inaddition,whenaball

iskicked,thrownorhititisdestinedtomovedownwards,whichisthesamedestinythatameteorite

isgoingtofaceonceitenterstheearth’satmosphere.Bothobjectshavelosttheirsphericallookand

areslightlydeformed,as theshadowyvectors testimony.Thecentralisedpositionof theanomalous

starrycelestialbodyshowstheactionprocessofplummetingthatisactuallyincourseofhappening.

Their deformity stress the high speed that is bringing the anomalous object down. Themodulated

orange-reddishbackgroundsurrounding theball-meteorite looksquiteunrealtoo,but itmost likely

referstotheheatingupofthemeteoritethatenteringintotheearth’satmosphereburnsandwillthen

destroy,disintegrateandcrashontheEarth.

The contextualmeaningof this yellow-bluishdeformeddevice canbeunderstood, although

the verbal anchorageprovides adetailed description ofwhat is really happening andwhat are the

risksoftheEurozonedownfall.Thecontextualmeaningofthevisualvehiclesymbolandthetopic“the

approachingendoftheEurozone”canbehintedat,whichcontributetoclassifyingthismetaphorasa

monomodalvisualrepresentation,even thoughonlyreadingthe text theywillbereallyunderstood.

The starry meteorite falling downwards vehicle symbol illustrates the troubled Eurozone and its

imminentend.ThetopichighlightshowtheEurozoneisunabletotaketherightactionstosolvethe

debtcrisis,whichwilldamagetheEUtooandcausetheendoftheunionofnationstates.Inaddition,

astheaccompanyingtextsays,theeurocurrencywillalsostopbeingthesinglecurrencyusedacross

theeuroarea.

Thus,thevisualvehiclesymbolprovidestheaddresseewithaquitevaguevisualscenariothat

is made clear and reasonably understandable by the accompanying verbal mode. The headline “A

comedyof euros”,which ispunningonShakespeare’s “Comedyof errors”makes the viewer/reader

reflectonthereasonwhythewordeurohasbeenreplacedbytheworderrors,thusputtingthetwoin

connection.Thearticlerevealsthisandstressesthenegativeconsequencesoftwosummits,oneheld

in Britain and another by the Eurozone leaders. On both occasions errors were made, which

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compromisedthefutureoftheentireUnion,aswellasBritain’sfutureasamemberstateoftheEU.On

theonehand,BritainhadtakenintoconsiderationthepossibilitytoleavetheEU;ontheotherhand,

theEurozone,theeuroandtheEUwouldhaveceasedtoexist.

Table7.10belowsummarisesthebasicmeaningandthemeaningincontextofstarrymeteorite

fallingdownwardsvehiclesymbolthetopic.

Table7.10.Astarrymeteoritefallingvehiclesymbolandtopic

VEHICLESYMBOL BASICMEANING MEANINGINCONTEXT TOPIC

a starry meteorite falling

downwards

a starry ball-meteorite falling

downwards

the menace of a possible end of

the Eurozone, the euro and the

EU

“theapproachingendofthe

Eurozone”

7.3Fromvisualvehiclegroupingstosystematicmetaphors

In this section I examine two contrastingpatternsofmetaphorswhich I labelled theRescue

and the Collapse vehicle groupings. The first group highlights the possible rescue of the single

currencywithactionsprocessessuchasbailingoutasinkingshipandbriningpassengersawayfroma

sinkingshiponacolander-rescueboat.Thesecondportraystheimminentendoftheeurowithimages

thatshownaturalelements,suchastheedgeofacliffandameteorite,whicharemovingdownwards

andareprobablygoingtodisintegrateandbreakupintopieces.

Furthermore,Istudytheemergenceoftwopatternsofmetaphoricalsystematicity.Theformer,

whichIcalled,HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUE, trackstheactionsandplanstosave

the Eurozone and the euro. The second, which I identified as SUDDEN FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A

COLLAPSE,comprehendsimagesthatshownaturalelementssuchastheedgeofacliffandameteorite,

botharemovingdownwardsandareprobablygoingtodisintegrateandbreakupintopieces.

Theeurocoinismetaphoricallycuedinbothnaturalscenariosandiseithershownasbeingof

anexaggeratedsize,biggerthantheedgeofthecliff,orasmergedintothemeteorite.Theemergence

ofapatterntrackingactionsthatshowtheimminentendoftheeurocurrencyasadisastercausedby

natureandbeyondthecontrolofhumanbeings,isanalysed,discussedandcommentedonwithinthe

SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor.

Beingawarethattheanalysisofthetwosystematicpatternsdoesnotdojusticetoallthevisual

metaphorsinmydata,IdoconfirmthatthereasonwhyIfocussedexclusivelyonthetwotrajectories

liesintheneedtorelyonintermodalsystematicity.AsmyResearchQuestionsask,thepresentstudyis

finally aimed at tracking systematicity across the visual and the verbal modes. Having examined

systematicityintheverbalmode,Icouldtrackfourpatternsofverbalsystematicity.Asfortheanalysis

of visual systematicity I could find that only two visual patterns matched with the verbal ones.

Intermodalsystematicity,whichIamgoingtoexamineinchapter8,wasfoundandwillbeanalysed

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onlythroughHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEandSUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISA

COLLAPSEverbalandvisualsystematicmetaphors.

7.3.1TheRescuevisualvehiclegroup

OnceIhadidentifiedashipbeingbailedoutandacolanderboatrescuingpassengersawayfrom

a sinking ship as the vehicle symbols showing the urgency and need to take actions and bring

someone/somethingaway fromdanger inorder tosave them, Icollected themintoagroupwhich I

labelledtheRescuevisualvehiclegrouping.

Therationalebehind thisdecision lies in the fact that the termrescuecouldcover thebasic

meaningofthetwovehiclesymbolsthegroupwascomposedof.Rescueasatermcontainedthevisual

actionprocessofscoopingwateroutfromasinkingshipaswellastheprocessofcarryingpassengers

awayfromasinkingship.

Asregardstheimageintroducingthearticlepublishedon12thMay2011,Merkelisscoopingwater

outoftheGreeceshipinordertosaveitandavoiditssinking.Thesamemeaningcanbeattributedto

theimageaccompanyingthereadingofthearticlepublishedon29thOctober2011,whereacolander

shapedlikearescueboatissavingagroupofEurozoneleaders,carryingthemawayfromashipwhich

ispresumablysinking.Bothimagesfocusontheideathatanactionismadeinordertoavoidbringing

damage and harm. In addition, both pictures illustrate the need for intervention to carry

something/someoneawayfromadangerousanddifficultsituationinordertoguaranteesafety.

My analysis intended to examine whether the metaphoric meaning of those visual vehicles

matched.Actually,bothvisualsymbolsillustratedactionsthataimedatsavingashipandpassengers

thatbelonged to the euro area.Being engaged inassigning the topics to the visualisedprocessesof

bailing out and rescuing, Iwas supported by the verbal anchorage. The verbal markings ‘Greece’,

‘debt’and‘€’identifyingrespectivelythesinkingship,thecontainersweighingonitandtheflagflying

on themast, accompanying the sinking ship vehicle symbol in thepicture (Figure1) enabledme to

identify “helping Greece paying debts” as the metaphor topic. In contrast, as regards the picture

introducing the articlepublishedon29thOctober (Figure7), the topic ‘actions tohelpand save the

Eurozone’couldbeidentifiedafterreadingtheheadline,sub-headlineandtheaccompanyingarticle.

ThevisualscenariorepresentedbythevehiclesymbolsbelongingtotheRescuegroupfocussedonthe

same topic,which I identified as “helping countries financially”. The visual scenario illustrating the

actionprocessesofrescueaimstohighlightthatGreeceisbeinghelped,itisgoingtostopsinkingand

thattheEurozoneleadersmustberescued.Theseillustrationsshiftfromonememberstatetoallthe

memberstatesthatrisksinkingandmustbesavedinordertoavoidtheeuroareasinking.

Afteracommontopicwasallocated,Ihadalltheinstrumentstostartthesearchforasystematic

metaphor.

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7.3.2TheHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEsystematicmetaphor

Thepresentsectionexaminesthesimilaritiesbetweenthecontextualmeaningthatthevehicle

symbols belonging to this group are characterised by. The visual metaphors that contributed to

tracking theHELPINGCOUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE systematicmetaphor are tracked and

analysed.

Byobservingthecontextualmeaningofthevisualvehiclesymbolsashipbeingbailed-out(Figure

1)anda colander boat rescuingpassengers away froma sinking ship (Figure7), I founda semantic

relation between them; these symbols were all used metaphorically to discuss the topic of taking

action andproviding financial support to theEurozone countries thathadbeenendangeredby the

debtcrisis.Thisanalysisenabledmetotracktheemergenceofasystematicpatternthatisshownin

Table7.11herebelow.

Table7.11.FINANCIALSUPPORTISARESCUEtrajectory

TOPIC METAPHORTRAJECTORY VEHICLEGROUP

“helpingcountriesfinancially”

1. Shipbeingbailed-out:actions

to release Greece from its

financialproblems

2. Colander-boat rescuing

passengers:tryingtohelpthe

Eurozone leaders and save

theeuroareaandtheeuro

Rescue

Thetabledisplaysatrackwhichdevelopsacrosstwovisualsymbolsusedmetaphorically,each

of themshowsandsymbolises thecrucialmomentsandeventswhichhad threatenedtheEurozone

andwhichhadcontributedtobelievingstronglyintheimpendingeconomicdefaultofboththeeuro

area and the single currency. The first refers to the decisions that the Eurozone leaders took to

supportGreece’sinsolvencyandprovideasecondbail-out,whilethesecondreferstoanunsuccessful

meetingthatwasheldinOctober2011,wheretheEurozoneleadersprovedtobeunabletodecideon

arescueplanaimedathelpingtheeuroandtheentireeuroareaandavoiditsdefault.

TheshipbeingbailedoutsymbolillustratesGreeceasashipanditsdebtsintheformofheavy

and huge containers. The action process of bailing the ship out, metaphorically speaking refers to

Greekinsolvency,whichhasreachedenormouslyhighlevelsandhasobligedtheEurozoneleadersto

reflectonwhetherthebestoptionforthecountrywouldbeeitherGreece’sdefaultoritsrescue.Mrs

Merkel,who is visualisedas the shipboy in chargeof bailing-out the ship,was themost convinced

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amongtheEurozoneleaderstosaveGreece.Thevisualmetaphordisplayinghowmuchdifficultythe

Eurozoneleaders,ofwhomonlyMrsMerkelisshown,hadtofacetoreleaseGreecefromitsilliquidity

andinsolvencyprovidesareliablescenarioofwhathadreallyhappenedbetweenJune2011andthe

endofthesameyear.Althoughanimagewillhardlyeverbemoredetailedthantheaccompanyingtext

whichitintroduces,thispictureprovidesafairlyclearmetaphoricaldescriptionoftheeffortsmadeto

helpGreece.Thecontextualmeaningattributedtothenavalscenarioofsinkingandbeingbailedout

tracks the emergency of the systematic metaphor. The metaphor highlights the urgency of an

intervention to take action and help the Eurozone countries in need, such as Greece, in order to

preventeconomicdefaultandavoiddamagingtheentireEurozone.

Although a huge cracked euro coin being welded (figure 6) andMrs Merkel throwing euro

cheques and red roses (Figure 5) cannot be identified as action processes that elicit a rescue, but

actions that underline the need to adjust something damaged, I assume that these metaphoric

illustrationscontributetofocussingtheviewer’sattentionontheeuroandtheEurozonethatmustbe

quicklyhelped.

The need to bring the euro and the euro area back towhere theywere before the crisis, is

illustrated across the 10 images, although it is not done in the form of a rescue. The viewer can

perceive that across the images there is a commongoalwhich a rescueplan can achieve.The euro

weldersandMrsMerkelgivingpresentscontributetostressingthatEurozoneleadersmustworkand

collaborate in order to bring back economic stability across the euro area. Nevertheless, the visual

scenario lacksdetailswhich are given in the accompanying texts.What the viewer can understand

about the topic under analysis from the images is incomplete, the anchoring function of the

accompanyingarticleseemstobeofpivotalrelevance.Evidenceofhowtextandimageinterrelation

contributestoshapingasystematicscenariodiscussingthedebtcrisisisgoingtobediscussedinthe

following chapter. What the images show quite clearly is that actions to adjust the economic and

financialconditionsoftheEurozonehavealreadybeentakenbuttheyhavebeenprovedunsuccessful.

The colander boat rescuing passengersaway from a sinking ship, which I included in the trajectory

representingtherescueoftheeuroarea,isactuallyatrait-d’unionimageillustratingafailingrescue.

ThenavalscenarioemergesasasystematicmetaphoricrepresentationofhowtheEurozonehas

engagedintryingtofacetheeconomicdifficultiesthatemergedafterthedebtcrisisbrokeout.Peter

Schrankusestheimageofasinkingshiptwice.Theimageofasinkingshipbeingbailedoutisusedto

highlighttheeffortsmadebyMrsMerkeltoconvincetheotherleaderstoagreeonasecondbailoutof

Greece,while the€shipbeingatthemercyof thewaves(Figure3)stresses theunwillingnessof the

leaders to steer the ship, thus to face the economic problems and to takemeasures to rescue the

Eurozoneandtheeuro.WhilePeterSchrank’sfirstshipwillhardlyeversinkbecauseitisanchoredin

the harbour and because it is being bailed out, the ship introducing the article published on 29th

OctoberandproducedbyTheEconomist,isrepresentedasbeinginrealdanger.Nooneisbalingitout,

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no action is taken to stop the ship from sinking. Moreover, the Eurozone leaders/passengers are

leaving the sinking ship, none of them are looking backwards at it, they seem more focussed on

looking downwards at the rough sea with worry. This feeling of fear that can be perceived in the

leaders’facesmaybeattributedtothecolanderboatwhichiscarryingthemawayfromtheshipwhich

isdestinedtosink.Thefinalscenariogivesnohopeofasuccessfulrescue.

Having tracked the emergenceof ametaphoricpattern illustrating theproblemsanddifficulties

thattheEurozonehadtofacethroughnavalmetaphors,Ihighlightedtwocontrastingplansofrescue.

Thefirstplanillustratesashipbeingbailedoutvisualsymbolwhichstressestheeffortsmadebythe

EurozoneleaderstopreventthesinkingofGreeceasaship.Conversely,thesecondplanshowsaship

whichissinkingandacolanderboatrescuingpassengersawayfromasinkingshipvehiclesymbol.The

secondrescueplanleavestheviewerinthemoodofexpectinganimminentdisaster.

Consideringthatbothpicturesareaccompaniedbyanarticlewhichdiscussesindetailtheplansto

rescueGreece,theEurozoneandtheeuro,systematicpatternsofverbo-visualmetaphorscommenting

onthe(im)possibilityofarescuewillbeexaminedinchapter8,thuscontributingtoexamininghow

systematicityemergesanddevelopsinamultimodalscenario.

Toconclude,Ifoundandtrackedmetaphoricsystematicitythroughtheidentificationofbailingout

and rescuing as two actions metaphorically displayed and aimed at stressing the importance of

establishingurgentlyaplanofinterventiontosaveGreece,theeuroandtheEurozone.

7.3.3TheCollapsevisualvehiclegroup

Havingconsideredthatthevisualactionprocessesofsinking,cracking,fallingdownwards,and

burningthattheimagesintroducingthearticlespublishedon14thJuly,29thOctober,26thNovember,

and17thDecemberrepresent,Ihighlightedaconditionofdangerwhichisgoingtoafflictanddamage

seriouslythecountriesandinstitutionsacrosstheeuroarea.Thescenariowhichtheviewerisinvited

to focus on is predicting an imminentdisintegration. Although none of the pictures actually shows

actionprocessesofeffectivedestruction,weexpectthehugeeurocoin,theedgeofthecliff,aswellas

theeurometeoriteandthestarrymeteoritetofalldownwards,breakintopieces,anddisintegrate.I

collected the cracked edge of a cliff that is going to fall downwards (Figure 4) , a huge euro coin

weighing heavily on the edge of a cliff that is going to fall downwards (Figure 4), a burning euro

meteoritefallingdownwards(Figure8),andastarrymeteoritefallingdownwards(Figure10)vehicle

symbolsandcreatedagroupwhichIlabelledtheCollapsevisualvehiclegrouping.

The rationale behind this decision lies in the fact that the term collapse expressed the

predictableconsequencesof thevisualactionprocesses that the fourvehiclesymbols illustrated. In

addition, Collapseasa termhadalreadybeenadopted in chapter6 to group the vehicle termsthat

discussedthefeasibilityofanimminentendoftheeurocurrencyandtheEurozone.Sincetheaimof

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thisstudyistotrackintersemioticrelationsacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes,havingreadabout

thecollapseoftheeuroandoftheeuroareaacrossthearticlesintroducingtheimagesIamexamining

inthissection,Ithoughtitwouldbetheappropriatetermtolabelthevisualscenarioofanimminent

danger.

Considering the basic meaning that involves the cracked edge of a cliff that is going to fall

downwardspresumably into the sea, a huge eurocoinweighingheavily on the edgeof a cliff that is

going to fall downwards, a burning eurometeorite falling downwards,and a starrymeteorite falling

downwards, I highlighted a condition of danger. The cliff, the euro and the meteorite falling

downwards are expected to cause a great and violent destruction. The consequences of their fall

wouldbeacrashwhichwouldchangethenaturalandgeographicalscenariooftheinvolvedlandsand

the surrounding areas. This crashingwould be catastrophic. As a result, the actions of sinking and

fallingdownwardsthatthecliff,theeuroandthemeteoritevehicleswereinvolvedinachieving,would

bringthemtodisintegrate.

Asregardstheimageintroducingthearticlepublishedon14thJuly2011(Figure4),Iidentifiedthe

actionoffallingdownwardsasaconsequenceofthecrackededgeofthecliff.Initsactionofmoving

downwards,boththeedgeofthecliffandtheeurocoin,whichisheavilyweighingonit,aregoingto

breakintopieces,thuscollapsing.

A stronger andmore destructivemeaning can be attributed to the image used to visualise the

articlepublishedon26thNovember(Figure8),wheretheeurocoinshapedlikeameteoriteisalready

fallingdownwards.Oncethemeteoriteenterstheearthlyatmosphereitisexpectedtoburn,crashand

breakintopieces.Althoughtheimagedoesnotillustratetheeurometeoritedisintegration,theviewer

canpredictitasaconsequenceofthefireballmovingdown.

The image introducing the article published on 17th December (Figure 10) shows a meteorite

shapedlikeastarryball.Theobjectismovingdownwards,butoncemoreitisnotbreakingintopieces.

Takingintoconsiderationtheorange-reddishbackgroundthatsurroundsthestarrymeteorite,aswell

asthedeformitythathighlightshowspeedilytheobjectismovingdownwards,bothelementspredict

animminentdisintegrationandcollapse.

All the visual symbols illustrate actions that stress a crescendo of damage. In order to assign a

topictothevisualprocessesthatthevehiclesymbolsabovementionedrepresented,Ioftenrecurred

totheverbalanchorageofthearticlesbeforelabellingitas“suddenfinancialfailureofItalyandofthe

euro”.Incontrast,asregardsaburningeurometeoritefallingdownwards,andastarrymeteoritefalling

downwardsvehiclesymbols,Iwasnotobligedtorelyontheanchoringfunctionoftheaccompanying

articles to understand what topic/s they were referring to. The action processes illustrating both

vehiclesreferredto“suddenendoftheeuroandtheEurozone”.Havingtakenthewrongmeasuresto

activate plans of rescue, the future of the single currency and of the Eurozone looked like an

approachingcollapse.

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Having identified a crescendo of difficulties inmanaging the economic difficulties that both the

euroandtheEurozonehadbeenfacing,Iidentified“suddenfinancialfailure”asthetopicrepresenting

the entireCollapse group,which comprised andexplained the sequencesof events that the vehicle

symbolsportrayed.

Afterhavingallocatedacommontopic,Icouldfocusmyattentionandanalysisonsearchingfora

systematicpatterndepictingtheeuroandtheeuroarea’spossiblecollapse.

7.3.4TheSUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor

Thepresentsectionisgoingtoinvestigatethesimilaritiesbetweenthecontextualmeaningof

the vehicle symbols belonging to the Collapse group, thus favouring the identification of the visual

metaphorsthattrackedsystematicityinthemetaphorictrajectorywhichIcalledSUDDENFINANCIAL

FAILUREISACOLLAPSE.

ByexaminingthecontextualmeaningofthevehiclessymbolstheCollapsevehiclegroupwas

composedofIfoundthattheywereallrelatedsemantically.Inaddition,thesesymbolswereallused

metaphorically to tackle the same topic. The visual scenario displayed actions of potential

disintegrationandcollapseintermsof“suddenlossofeconomicstabilityandpossibleendoftheeuro

and theEurozone”,which contributed to recording the emergence of a systematicmetaphor.Table

7.12herebelowpresentsthemetaphortrajectory.

Table7.12.SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEtrajectory

TOPIC METAPHORTRAJECTORY VEHICLEGROUP

“suddenfinancialfailure”

1. thecrackededgeofacliffthat

is going to fall downwards:

thepossibledefaultofItaly

2. coinweighing heavily on the

edgeofacliffthatisgoingto

fall downwards: the possible

end of the euro and Italian

default

3. The burning euro meteorite

falling downwards: the

impendingendoftheeuro

4. A starry meteorite falling

downwards:wrongmeasures

aredrivingtheEurozone,the

euroandtheEUtotheend

Collapse

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The table shows a trajectory developing across four visual symbols used to illustrate and

testifytotheconsequencesofthedebtcrisis.Unlesssomethingisdone,boththeendoftheEurozone

andthesinglecurrencyseemtobeinevitable.

Thecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwardsvehiclesymbol(Figure4),focusesthe

viewer’sattentiononItaly.Theactionprocessofcrackingthatreferstotheedgeofthecliff,whichis

shapedlike Italy,highlightstheactionswhichbrought thecountry toaconditionof instability, thus

predicting the inevitable movement downwards that Italy/edge is destined to face. The damage

causedby theactionofcrackingshowshow,althoughsome intervention isurgentlymade, it seems

thatthereisnowaytoavoidthisfalling.Thegravityofthisscenarioisstrengthenedbyahugeeuro

coinweighingheavilyon theedgeofacliff that isgoing to falldownwards(Figure4)vehiclesymbol.

Themetaphoricrepresentationoftheeurocurrencyasaverybigandheavycoinwhichenablesusto

understandthatitisdoomedtofaceatragicend.Thesizeandheavinessoftheeuroareresponsible

forboththecrackingthattheedgeoftheclifffaced,aswellasitsexpectedmovingdownwards.Asa

result, the euro is destined to fall downwards. Both action processes of falling foresee the

disintegrationofthecliffedgeandoftheeuro.Themetaphoricmeaningattributedtothenaturalistic

scenarioandtheeconomiconemerged intothevisualrepresentationandtrackedthe firststepofa

systematicmetaphortrajectory.Italyandthesinglecurrencyaremovingdownwardsandarefinally

goingtobreakintopieces.

Thesystematicpatternshowingthatnoplancanbeachievedtopreventthedisintegrationof

thesinglecurrencyisdisplayedinthepicturesillustratingtheeurocoinshapedlikeameteoritefalling

downwards. The naturalistic scenario emerges as a systematic metaphoric representation of how

unsuccessfultheEurozoneanditsleadershadprovedtobeinfacingtheeconomicdifficultiesthathit

thememberstatesandthesinglecurrencyduringthedebtcrisis.Bothaburningeurometeoritefalling

downwards and a starry meteorite falling downwards vehicle symbols stress how negative the

consequences of the crisis have been, which are thus driving the single currency to the end.This

metaphoricrepresentationoftheeuroshapedlikeameteoritefocusestheviewer’sattentiononwhat

theeuroandthecelestialbodyhaveincommon.Whenameteoriteenterstheearthlyatmosphereitis

eitherdestinedtoburn,explodeanddisintegrateintheair,oritisgoingtomovedownwardsuntilit

reaches the ground and breaks into pieces. Having merged the euro coin into the meteorite, the

designer intended to convey the destiny of the meteorite to the euro. Thus the euro is going to

disintegrate and nothing will prevent this catastrophic event from happening. The metaphoric

meaning attributed to the naturalistic scenario of ameteoritemoving downwards,merged into an

unreal representation of the single currency burning and falling downwards which tracked the

emergenceofthesystematicmetaphortrajectoryhighlightingthetragicendoftheeuroarea.

Thetrajectorycomestoitsendwiththeimageofastarrymeteoritefallingdownwards(Figure10).

Thispicture is illustrating a lightblue starryball shaped like ameteorite, inwhich the twoobjects

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have beenmerged into onewhich is falling downwards. This image can be understood as a visual

climaxhighlighting that the entire euro area is going toburnand, ashappenswithmeteorites.The

finaldestinyistheeuroandthemeteorite’sdisintegration.Althoughtheimagedoesnotrepresentany

actionprocessofbreakingintopieces, itwill inevitablyoccurandthereisnowaytoavoidthisfatal

end.

Having tracked the emergenceof ametaphoricpattern illustrating theproblemsanddifficulties

that the Eurozone faced unsuccessfully through naturalistic metaphors merged into economically

oriented representations, I highlighted the approaching end of the euro era. All of the illustrations

showthattheprocessofmovingdownwardsaredestinedtoprovokeadisintegrationandacollapse.

Noaction isportrayedascontrasting thepredictableendoftheeuroandtheEurozone,so theeuro

cannotbuttragicallybreakintopiecesandcollapse,whichallowedmetotracktheemergenceofthe

SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmetaphoracrosstheEC-2011visualdataset.

7.4Conclusions

InthischapterIhaveshownhowvisualmetaphorsareconsistentlyusedintheEC-2011visual

dataset. The vehicle symbols I identifiedwere all intended to convey visual representations of the

negativeimpactandconsequencesthatthedebtcrisishadontheEurozoneandtheeuro.

Theidentificationandanalysisofthevehiclesymbolsprovedthattheeconomicandfinancial

troublestheeuroandtheEurozonehadbeenfacingandtryingtosolve,sincethedebtcrisisbrokeout,

hadbeenvisualisedintermsofmorefamiliarandconcreteobjects(i.e.adrainhole,aship,afortress)

andnaturalphenomena(i.e.roughsea,afallingmeteorite).Intheseterms,theviewercannotbutbe

attractedandcuriously lookatelementssuchasacolandershaped likearescueboat,ahugedrain

holebeinglookedatbyatinyhumanbeing.Furthermore, thesightofasinkingship,acrackedcliff,

fallingmeteoritesintroducingarticlesdiscussingeconomictroubles,willpresumablyactivateprompt

reflectionsonwhattheseelementsarereferringto.Thepresenceofbothvisualandverbalelements

strictly connected to the topic of the euro crisis (i.e. a euro coin/banknote, the EU flag, some EU

leaders),althoughemphaticallyillustrated(i.e.exaggeratedsize,unimaginablecontexts)contributeto

encouragingtheprocessofmetaphorunderstanding.

Asregards thehowandwhythecrisishasbeen illustratedvia theabovementionedobjects

andphenomena, insteadofbeingpivotalto theregularreaderofTheEconomist,who ispresumably

better interested in focussing on the economic factors that are beingwritten about the crisis, they

pertaintotheanalystandher/hisresearchonmetaphoranddiscourse.Itwillbeher/histasktostudy

who/what/how/towhatextent/whyhumanbeings/objectshavebeenchosentoillustrateeconomic

issuesinordertoprovidegeneralisationsontheuseandrecurrenceofspecificmetaphorstoillustrate,

explainandcommentonparticulareconomicsubjects,suchasthedebtcrisis.

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Given the small sample of images that I have investigated, I can make no claims for

representativeness.Theanalysis Ihavemadeallowsmetopresent findingsin the formof tentative

conclusionsregardingvisualmetaphoricityandtheeurocrisisasrepresentedbyTheEconomistacross

aselectionof10pictures.

Incontrast,whatIcangiveevidenceofisthattheprocedureIhavereliedontoanalysevisual

metaphorsoneconomicmattersallowedmetoanswertheResearchQuestionenquiringwhetherand

howTheEconomistillustratedtheeurocrisisthroughmetaphors.

Aftervehiclesymbolsidentification,Icollectedthoserepresentingthetroublesoftheeuroand

the Eurozone in the Rescue and the Collapse vehicle groupings. Having proved that the use of

monomodalandmultimodalmetaphorpervadedacross the10 images, I couldrecognisepatternsof

metaphors representing the troubles that euro and the Eurozonewere/were not trying to resolve,

whichcouldgivegroundtometaphoricscenarios.

ByexaminingthebasicandthecontextualmeaningofthevehiclesymbolsthatIcollectedinto

theRescuevehicle group (i.e.a shipbeingbailedout anda colanderboat rescuingpassengers away

from a sinking ship) I could track the emergence of the HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A

RESCUE systematicmetaphor.This visual trajectory illustrated that the financialsupportneededby

someoftheEurozonememberstateshadbeenmetaphoricallyvisualisedasarescue.

Moreover, the investigationof thebasicandcontextualmeaningof thevehiclesbelonging to

theCollapsevehiclegroup(i.e.thecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingtofalldownwards,ahugeeuro

coinweighingheavily on the edgeof a cliff that isgoing to fall downwards, a burning eurometeorite

fallingdownwards,andastarrymeteoritefallingdownwards)gavemetheopportunitytoidentifyand

track another pattern of metaphors, which I labelled as the SUDDEN FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A

COLLAPSEsystematicmetaphor.

The analysis ofmetaphor systematicity in the visual representationsof theEC-2011dataset

trackedtwopossiblebutcontrastingscenarios,asgivenbythefindingsofsystematicmetaphoricityin

the verbalmode (see chapter6).The euro and the euro area could eitherbe rescuedor theywere

destinedtobreakintopiecesandcollapse.

StillinagreementwithHenderson’sclaims(1982,1990)onhowmetaphorscanhelpstudents

of economics improve their understanding of economic issues (see chapters 4 and 6), in order to

substantiate the visionof the troubles thatafflicted the euro and theEurozone, the viewer (regular

readerofthenewspaper,theanalyst)cannotlookatthosepictureswithoutsomeknowledgeaboutthe

reasonswhythedebtcrisisbrokeout,whateconomic, fiscal,andevenpoliticalconsequences ithad

acrosstheUnionandtheEurozone,aswellaswhatmeasuresshouldbe/havebeentakentofacethis

state of economic instability. Being unaware of the economic and political scenario as it was

establishedwhentheEuropeanUnionwascreated,howitdevelopedwhentheeurobecameofficially

thesinglecurrencyof thosecountrieswhichadhered to thisprojectofunion,aswellashow itwas

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damagedwhenthecrisisbrokeout,theonlookerwouldbeunabletohaveacompleteunderstanding

ofwhatthecartoonistswantedtoconveywiththeirmetaphoricalrepresentations.

Thus,domesticobjects(drainhole,colander),anauticalscenario(sinkingshipandroughsea),

military symbols (stony fortress, horsemen/soldiers), aswell aspossiblenatural disasters (cracked

cliff,meteorite fallingdownwards anddisintegrating), either accompaniedby verbal/non-verbalEU

references(€flag,Greeceflag,debtcontainers,Greeceship,€ship,Eurozoneleaders)ormergedinto

economicsymbols(eurocoin,eurobanknote,Italyshapedliketheedgeofacliff),havebeenchosenby

the cartoonists to depict the troubles concerning the euro crisis as theywere in2011. In addition,

feelings of fear, threat, lack of protection have been visualised metaphorically, which stress how

stronglythedebtcrisishasaffectedtheunionandtheeuroarea.

ThestudyofvisualmetaphoricityintheEC-2011datasethashighlightedthatvisualmetaphors

canbeunderstoodasusefulinstrumentstopromptreflectionsontheeuroandtheeuroarea’sdestiny.

Themetaphoricalscenario,asitwasdepictedbythevehiclesymbolsIhaveidentifiedandanalysedin

this chapter, have thus proved to be a useful instrument to stress facts, feelings and expectations,

whosemainfunctionwastosupporttheverbaldiscussion.Theanchoringfunctionoftheverbalmode

asBarthesarguedabout(1977)wasthusconfirmed.

Considering that this thesis investigatesmetaphors across the visual and the verbalmodes,

afteridentifyingseparatelytheverbal(chapter6)andvisualvehicles(chapter7),collectingtheminto

groups and tracking systematic patterns of metaphors, the following chapter is going to examine

metaphor intersemioticity across the visual and the verbal modes. I am thus going study to what

extenttheverbalandthevisualmetaphorsdiscussingthecrisisthathittheEurozoneandtheeuroare

semioticallyinterrelated.

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CHAPTER8

INTERSEMIOTICITYANDSYSTEMATICITYOFMETAPHORSACROSSTHEEC-2011VISUALAND

VERBALDATASET

Introduction

Thischapteraimstoanswertworesearchquestions.Iwillstartmyanalysisandinvestigateto

whatextentandinwhatwaysthevisualandtheverbalmetaphorsthatIidentifiedinchapters6and7

are intersemiotically interrelated. I will finally focus my attention on tracking and examining

intermodalpatternsofmetaphorsystematicityontheeurotopicintheEC-2011dataset.

Relying on Kress and van Leeuwen’s claims that any instance of communication is, and has

always been,multimodal (1996), I investigatewhether and towhat extentmultimodality develops

acrosstheEC-2011visualandverbaldataset.

InagreementwithBateman’sassertionthat,amongthedifferentmodesthatcanbecombined

tomakemeaning, text and imagesare, andhavealwaysbeen themost straightforward (2014:5), I

refertotheFrenchphilosopherRolandBarthes(1977)whoidentifiesthethreepossiblekindsoftext-

imagerelations(seechapter3).Myinvestigation is thusintendedtounderstandwhether the text is

supportingtheimage(anchorage),theimageissupportingthetext(illustration)ortheimageandthe

textareindependentofeachother(relay).

Taking into consideration the quotation from the French linguist Émile Benveniste, who

highlightsconcreteandevidentdifferencesacrosssemioticsystemsbywhich,“wearenotabletosay

thesamethingwithspokenwordsthatwecanwithmusic,astheyaresystemswithdifferentbases”

(1986:235), I study thesimilaritiesandthedifferencesconcerningwhatandhowthevisualandthe

verbalmodemanagetocommunicate.Indoingso,IfollowKressandvanLeeuwenwhobelievethat

communication is based on a continuous translation and transcoding between and across semiotic

modeswherethevisualandtheverbalmeanings“intermeshandinteractatalltimes”(1996:40).

Having said that, my investigation draws on highlighting how text and image integration

provides the reader and the viewer with semantically interconnected representations of the euro

crisis.Inordertoassessthedegreeofmultimodalintegration,IrelyonRoyce’smodelofintermodal

complementarity (2002, 2007) to study the degree ofmultimodal interconnection across texts and

images(seechapter4).

Inaddition,asthefocusofthepresentstudyistoinvestigatewhetherandhowmetaphorical

expressionsrelateacrossmodes,thischapteriscross-examininghowtheverbalandvisualmetaphors

that I identified andexamined separately in chapters 6 and7 combine.Having followedCameron’s

framework to study verbal metaphors and Forceville’s approach to investigating monomodal and

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multimodal metaphors, in this chapter I cross-refer to both scholars to investigate multimodal

metaphoric interrelation. Themodelwhich is providedaimsat investigating towhat extent and in

what ways verbal and visual metaphors contribute to shaping systematic patterns of multimodal

metaphoricitydiscussingtheeurotopicintermsofarescueandofacollapse.

8.1VisualandverbalrepresentationoftheEurozoneanditsMemberStates

ZoomingintotheEC-2011pictures,theEurozone,itsmemberstatesandleadersaredepicted

innineoutofthetencartoons.AllofthenineillustrationshighlightgravedifficultiesthattheEurozone

andtheleadersarefacing,buttheyevensuggestdisastrousconsequences,whichthecartoonistshave

decidedtoillustratethroughobjects(i.e.aship,afortress),naturalelementsandnaturalphenomena

(acliff,theedgeofacliff,ameteorite).

In order to stress the economic instability of Greece, Peter Schrank introduces the article

publishedon12thMayintheLeaderssectiondepictingTheEurozonememberstateasasinkingship,

asfigure1belowillustrates.

Figure1

As Idiscussed inchapter8, themetaphoricalpictureshowsGreecesinkingship, asavehiclesymbol

which is accompanied by its corresponding topics in the verbal mode. The cartoonist has added

‘Greece’and‘€’asaverbalsupportwhichenablestheviewertoidentifytheshipasGreece,amember

state of the Eurozone. As regards the ship boy, there is no verbal addition that may support the

viewer’sunderstandingofthesymbol’stopic,butthesimilarityoftherepresentedparticipantwiththe

German chancellor allows the viewer to identify the figure as Angela Merkel, the most important

leaderoftheeurolandwhosupportedGreeceinordertopreventitsdefault.

Althoughashipisastrongandsteadyobjectmeanttosailacrosstheseasandoceans,aswell

astoploughsoftandroughwaves,ashistoryshows,accidentsmayoccurandshipscantragicallysink.

TheSwiss-borncartoonistinsistsonusingashipasthemetaphoricalrepresentationofastate,whose

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instability is represented in the picture introducing the article published on 14th July in the

Charlemagnesection,asshownbyfigure2below.

Figure2

The vessel is called €, i.e. bears the currency sign for the euro. Thismultimodalmetaphor

showingthe€shipatthemercyofthewavesvehiclesymbolisaccompaniedbytheverbalterm€that

enablesustoidentifytheinstabilityoftheeuroareaasthetopic.Asregardsthethreecaptains,their

similarity with the three Eurozone leaders, Merkel, Sarkozy and Berlusconi, allows the viewer to

identifythem.Onthecontrary,asfortheiractionsofkeepingsilent,avoidlisteningandspeaking,the

anchoringfunctionofthetextwillallowthereadertounderstandwhatthevehiclesymbolsreferto.

Thebackgroundofthepictureprecedingthearticlepublishedon29thOctober2011,drawnby

TheEconomistitself,showsthehugekeelofashipthatisprobablygoingtosink,consideringthatthe

foregroundoftheimageillustratesacolandershapedlikealifeboatcarryingsomepeopleawayfrom

theship,asdepictedinfigure3below.

Figure3

ThisvesseldrawsmetaphoricallytheEurozone,whichtheviewermayinferbecausefiveoutof

sevenpassengerslooklikesomeofthemostrepresentativeEurozoneleaders.Fromlefttorightthe

Eurozoneleaderscanbeidentifiedasthefollowing:theFrenchpresidentNicholasSarkozy,theGreek

PrimeMinisterGeorgeAndreasPapandreu, theGermanchancellorAngelaMerkel, theBritishPrime

Minister David Cameron and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Their identification is

facilitatedby theanchoring functionof thearticle,althoughsomeof themarenotmentioned in the

article.Thecontextualvisualmetaphorincombinationwiththetextsupportingitshapesamultimodal

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artefact. Although the visual illustration is entirely metaphorical, the text discussing the topics of

instabilityandapossibleeconomicdefaultarepartiallycommentedonthroughmetaphors.

Stability, strength, protection, power and unassailability are all features that usually

characterise a fortress, an image that Peter Schrank uses to introduce the article published in the

Charlemagnesectionon3rdDecember2011,whichfigure4belowillustrates.

Figure4

The constructionmadeof stoneprovides the viewerwithanothermetaphoricalsymbolwhich s/he

caneasilyattributetotheEurozone,notonlybecausetheEuropeanflagisflyingonitbutalsobecause

someEurozone leaders are standingon it.Althougha coupleof themarequite easily recognisable,

suchasAngelaMerkelandNicholasSarkozy,theothersneedthetexttobeidentified.Thatsaid,once

moretheanchoringfunctionofthetextprevailsbecauseboththetroublesanddangerregardingthe

fortressvehiclesymbolaswellasthepeoplestandingonitareunderstoodandidentifiedbyreading

the article. Finally, even though the vehicle symbol showing four black armed knights riding their

horsesmaybe identifiedby the vieweras the fourhorsemenof the apocalypse, their recognition is

betterachievedifthetextisread.Thevisualisedhorsemenareactuallyverballyquotedintheheadline

with‘thehorsemenapproach’.Inaddition,thesub-headline,wheretheword‘apocalypse’enablesthe

viewer and the reader to link semiotically the image to the text. The metaphorical illustration is

intersemiotically linked to the verbal expressions above mentioned, thus shaping a multimodal

metaphoricalartefact.

MovingtowardstherepresentationoftheEurozoneintermsofnaturalelementsandnatural

phenomena,theanalysisfocusesonthearticlespublishedon14thJulyand17thDecember,bothinthe

Leaderssection.

Intheimageintroducingthearticlepublishedon14thJuly,TheEconomistillustratesItalyina

foregroundedandcentralisedposition,asthebrokenandcrackingedgeofablackcliffwhichstretches

acrosstheleft,fromthecentretothebottomofthepicture,asfigure6belowshows.

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Figure5

Thegeneralfocusoftheimageistohighlighttheedgeofacliffthatiscrackingbecauseahuge

eurocoinisweighingonit.Thebrokenedgeofthecliffiseasilyrecognisablebecauseitisshapedlike

Italy, one of themember states of the Eurozone. The link between the cracked edge of a cliff as a

vehicle symbol and the metonymic representation of the huge euro coin weighing on it can be

promptly inferred. As amember state of the Eurozone, Italy has been damaged by the euro crisis.

Detailsaboutthismetaphtonymicinterrelationaregiveninthetext,whoseanchoringfunctionenables

thereadertocomprehendthelinkbetweenthehugeeurocoinasanon-naturalisticvehiclesymboland

thenaturalphenomenonofcrackingthatinvolvesandillustratesthecrackededgeofacliffasanatural

element.

Thenaturalphenomenonthat is represented inthepicture introducingthearticlepublished

on17thDecember,see figure6herebelow,showsaburningmeteoritemovingdownwardswhich is

destinedtobreak-upintopieces,crashtotheground,anddisintegrate.

Figure6

Thestarrymeteorite fallingdownwardsvehiclesymbolcannotbeunderstoodwithout theanchoring

function of the text. The meteorite is shaped like a starry sphere symbolising the European

Union/Eurozone.Allthefeaturescharacterisingameteorite,suchasburningandmovingdownwards,

arehereattributedtothestarrysphere,sototheEurozone.Intersemioticinterrelationsarethusgoing

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to be examined to highlight to what extent the cartoonist has relied on the journalist’s intent of

communicatingsuchanimminentdisaster.

Table8.1below showsverbalandvisual interconnectedness.The first column identifies the

articleswherevisualmetaphorsillustratethedifficultiesthattheEurozoneandsomeofitsmember

states are facing, as given in the second column.The third columnprovides the verbal realisations

anchoringthevisualmetaphors.

Thefollowingparagraphsexaminetowhatextentthedesignershavecontributedtoportraying

whatthearticlesdiscussinordertoprovidethereadertoachieveabetterunderstandingofthevisual

andverbalmultimodalscenario.Moreover,Iinvestigatewhetherandhowthismultimodalscenariois

metaphoricallyshaped.

Table8.1.VisualandverbalrepresentationoftheEurozoneanditsmemberstates

ARTICLES VISUALMODE

THEEUROZONE

ITSMEMBER

STATES

VERBALMODE

THEEUROZONE

ITSMEMBERSTATES

12THMAY

Charlemagne

A ship called Greece is

sinking

-Greece(thenameoftheship)

-JeanClaudeJunker,primeministerofLuxembourgandchairoftheeurogroupof

financeministers, says therewas no talk of restructuring Greece’s public debt.

(lines24-25)

-Greece could not pay its debts, […] itwould need “a further adjustment plan”

(lines27-28)

-Theclaimthatthecountrywasleavingtheeuroseemstohavebeenwrong.(lines

22-23)

14THJULY

Leaders

theblackedgeofacliff

shaped like Italy has

crackedandis going to

falldownwards

-Ontheedge(headline)

-Financialmarkets turned on Italy, theEurozone’s third biggest economy,with

alarmingspeed.(lines5-6)

-Yields on ten-year Italian bonds jumped by almost a percentage point in two

trading days: on July 12th they breached 6%, their highest since the euro was

created.TheMilanstockmarketslumpedtoitslowestintwoyears.(lines6-8)

-Italyhasthebiggestsovereign-debtmarketinEuropeandthethirdintheworld.

Ithas€1.9trillionofsovereigndebtoutstanding(lines13-14)

-howmuchisatstakeinItaly(line22)

26THNOVEMBER

Leaders

A burning euro coin

shapedlikeameteorite

ismovingdownwards

-theEurozonehurtlestowardsacrash(line1)

-The world’s most integrated region would be ripped apart by defaults, bank

failuresandtheimpositionofcapitalcontrols.(lines4-6)

-TheEurozonecouldshatterintodifferentpieces(line6)

-Yetthethreatofadisasterdoesnotalwaysstopitfromhappening.Thechances

oftheEurozonebeingsmashedaparthaverisenalarmingly.(lines11-13)

3RDDECEMBER A stony fortress being -theEurozonehastendaystosaveitself.(lines1-2)

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Charlemagne menaced by the arrival

of4horsemen

17THDECEMBER

Leaders

A starry and burning

ball shaped like a

meteorite is moving

downwards

-Britainhadabadsummit,buttheEurozonehadaworseone(sub-headline)

-TheEUhassufferedplentyofdisappointingsummitswithouttheskyfalling in

[…](line9)

-ThissummitalsothreatenstochangethenatureoftheEU-andnotinagoodway.

(line13)

-AnEUwithouttheeuromightnotexistatall.(line17)

-TheEurozone facesa similar choice. […]Thequestion isnotwhether they can

save the currency, butwhetherenough of themare prepared to pay the price.

(lines98-100)

Havinglookedatthe imagesdepicting theEurozoneand itsmemberstates,andhavingread

how they are talkedabout in the corresponding articles, I claim that the anchoring function of the

verbal mode enables the reader to confirm the identity of the visual symbols that illustrate the

Eurozone, Greece and Italy.The Economist dedicates three pictures to the Eurozone, such as those

introducingthearticlespublishedon26thNovember,3rdand17thDecember.AsregardsGreece, it is

depicted inthepicture introducing thearticlepublishedon12thMay,while Italy isportrayed in the

pictureintroducingthearticlepublishedon14thJuly(Leaderssection).

FollowingRoyce’sapproach(2002,2007)tostudymultimodalintersemioticity(seechapter3),

Iinvestigateverbalandvisualsemanticinterrelationtakingintoconsiderationthatvisualandverbal

meanings can be analysed through three metafunctional perspectives (ideational, interpersonal,

textual)whicharedifferentbutoperatesimultaneously(HallidayandMatthiessen,1985).Considering

thespacerestrictions,intersemioticityacrossthethreemetafunctionscannotbeinvestigatedindetail.

I will thus examine the most relevant elements, as I talked about in chapter 5, which may track

intersemioticmetaphoricityacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes.

Inordertostudy‘whatisgoingon’intherepresentedworld(Royce,1998:29),myattentionis

focussed on what action/s is/are performed (processes) by who/what is represented and talked

about,betterknownastheparticipants;andthecontext(circumstances)underwhichtheparticipants

aredoingtheiractionswillalsobeconsidered(ibid.).

In ideational terms, the metaphorical visual symbol of a ship that is illustrating Greece is

semanticallyinterconnectedtotheverbalidentificationofthatshipwhosenameisGreece,aswellas

by the repetitions that occur in the article published on 12th May. The action of sinking which is

visuallyshown(figure1),isverballytalkedaboutasGreecebeingunabletopayitsdebts;inaddition,

the text comments on the absence of an agreement which might bring back economic stability to

Greece.Themetaphoricalvisualprocessofsinkingisthusintersemioticallyrelatedtotheverbalbut

notmetaphoricalactionsofnotpayingitsdebts,aswellastotheabsenceofanagreementtoadjust

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Greece’s debts. The visual metaphors show the consequences of the actions that have been talked

about in the article. Moreover, the metaphorical illustration of the ship berthed prow-on at the

quaysideofaportcommentsonthelinguisticexpressionthatexcludesGreece’sleavingtheeuroarea.

Intersemioticity isachievedacross thevisualandtheverbalmodesbecause theybothdealwiththe

sametopic,thatisGreece’sdefaultthatmightobligethecountrytostopbeingamemberstateofthe

Eurozone.

As regards the circumstances that the picture represents, the metaphorical context of a

harbourwheretheshipisanchoreddoesnotfindanyverbalreferenceinthetext,thusavoidingany

possible intersemiotic relation. The debt containers are relevant in themetaphorical illustration of

Greecebuttheyrefertoitsdebtsandtotheeurocrisis,whichIamgoingtotalkaboutinsection8.1.4.

Thatsaid,havinganalysedhowGreeceisvisuallyandverballytalkedabout,Idoconfirmthat

intersemiotic complementarity is achieved, because both modes deal with the same topic, but,

considering that only the image comments on Greece’s economic difficulties metaphorically,

intersemioticmetaphoricityisnotachieved.

In interpersonal terms, considering the absenceof gaze, the viewer is obliged to look at the

giveninformation.Thevieweristhustreatedasanequalwhoisaskedtoeitherapproveorrejectthe

offer of information made by the cartoonist. The metaphorical picture is an attempt to represent

familiar objects such as a ship, that can be easily recognised by the viewer. The same lack of

involvementcanbefoundinthetext,wherethereaderisneitheraskedtoexchangeinformationnoris

s/heaskedtointeract.Thevisualandtheverbalmodesaddresstheviewer/readerinthesameway,

theybothofferinformationthatcanbeeitheragreedordisagreedwith.

In textual terms, the readingpath is not interrupted, the visualand the verbal elementsare

arrangedanddistributedinawaytogiveemphasistothepivotalelementsthatthearticlefocuseson.

Asregardsthepicture,theshipdominatesthescenefromlefttoright,thusgivingtheviewerevidence

thatitisthecoreofthemessage.Whilethebow,thesubmergedpartoftheshipisvisualisedontheleft

part, theprowbeingberthedat thequaysideof aport is shown in the rightpartof the image.The

given/neworganisationoftheimage(KressandvanLeeuwen,1996:179)stressesthatGreecesinking

shipcanbesaved,althoughtheheavycontainersitcarriesseemtopreventit.Theverbalexpressions

donotgiveGreece the same relevanceacross the article, because the euro crisis and thenecessary

measurestosavetheeuroareofpivotalimportanceforthejournalist.Intextualterms,theverbaland

the visualmodearenot intersemiotically interrelated, likewisemetaphorical intersemioticity is not

achieved,becausethevisualrepresentationandtheverbalexpressionaredistributedacrossthetext

inadifferentway.ThemetaphoricalillustrationofGreeceindifficultycanbeidentifiedasthestarting

pointtounderstandwhatthejournalistintendstocommunicate.

MovingtoItalyandhowTheEconomisthasdecidedtocommentonitseconomicdifficultiesin

the article published on 14th July (figure 5), ideational intersemiotic complementarity between the

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representationofthevisualvehiclesymbolportrayingitlikethecrackededgeofacliffthatisgoingto

falldownwardsisrealisedviatherepetitionoftheword‘Italy’.

ThevisualrepresentationofItalyasametaphoricalvehiclesymbolisintersemioticallyrelated

totheverbalvehicleterm‘ontheedge’thatisusedintheheadlineofthetext,referringtoItaly.Both

visualandverbalvehicleshighlightthepositionofItalyinthepicture,suchasontheborderofthecliff.

No other verbal expressions address Italy metaphorically. In order to understand why Italy is

portrayedbyTheEconomistliketheedgeofacliffabouttobreakoff,weneedtoreadthearticle,which

makesthevisualmetaphoricalscenarioamultimodalone.

Havingidentifiedthemainparticipantofthepicture,ideationalintersemioticcomplementarity

isalsoachievedviatheexaminationofthevisualandtheverbalprocessesrelatedtoItaly.Thevisual

actionofcrackingisinterconnectedwiththeverbalprocessesof‘jumping’and‘slumping’thatinvolve

theinstabilityoftheItalianeconomicsituation.Thevisualcrackingactuallyhintsatwhatthepresent

situationinItalyis,whiletheverbalprocessescommentonwhatisgoingtohappenafterthecliffhas

cracked and has started its process ofmoving downwards.While the visual cracking highlights an

imminentdanger,becausewecanseethattheedgeofthecliffhasalreadybrokenandpartlydetached

from the cliff, the verbal counterpart discusses what damaged the Italian economy with the

expressions‘jumped’and‘slumped’.Intersemioticityisthusachievedbecausethetwomodesdiscuss

thesametopic,althoughtheydoitfocussingonadifferentaspectofthesametopic.Thevisualmode

uses the cracked edge of a cliff,while the verbal mode recurs to ‘bonds jumping’ and ‘the Milan

stockmarket slumping’. In addition, the noun ‘default’ and the prepositional phrase ‘at stake’

interrelatewiththevisualrepresentationofthecrackededgeofacliffbecausetheybothfocusonthe

problematicsituationthatItalyisfacing.TheverbalandvisualexpressionsunderlingtheItalianriskof

aneconomicfailurearethussemanticallyinterconnected.

Looking at the circumstances that are visually given, the black cliff might be identified as

metaphorical representation of the Eurozone, while the red colour in the background might be

attributed the semanticmeaningof danger.Neitherof these colours is talkedabout in the text, but

theycontributetoenablingtheviewertodirecther/hisattentiononItalythatisstillamemberstateof

the Eurozone, although the image and the text highlight the peril of an imminent and unexpected

change.

AmongthethreepicturesillustratingtheEurozone,onerepresentsitasastonyfortress,while

theothertwoshowtheeuroareaasaburningmeteoritemovingdownwards.

TheEUstonyfortressunderattackvehiclesymbolusedtorepresenttheEurozoneintroduces

thearticlepublishedon3rdDecember.Asacircumstantialvisualelementitisplacedontherightpart

of thepicture, thus inviting theviewer to focuson its future.Similarly, theverbalcounterpart talks

aboutarangeoftendaysthatarelefttotheEurozonetofindawayoutofthedebtcrisis.

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Consideringthedirectionsthatthepotentialreaderofamultimodaltextissupposedtotaketo

understandthemessageandtotrackintersemioticrelationsbetweenthevisualandtheverbalmode,

the position of the fortress is displayed on the left and highlights the given/new reading path. As

suggestedbyKress and vanLeeuwen (1996:179), the readingof an imagemoves from left to right

directs the viewer to move from given information, which s/he already knows, towards new

information,whichstressespossible futureoutcomes.Thegiven/newvisualreadingdoesnotdiffer

much from the reading of a text. The reader is thus gradually guided from some already known

informationtowardsfuturenewelementsinthetext.

FollowingKressandvanLeeuwen’sapproachtoreadingimages,consideringthatthetimethat

theEurozoneislefttoadjustitseconomicinstabilityisgivenatthebeginningofthearticle,andthat

four black armed knights riding their horses are approaching the fortress on the left, the imminent

danger is interrelated both verbally and visually. Conversely, there is no hint at discussing the

Eurozone as a fortress in the text, so there isnometaphorical interconnectionacrossmodes. Peter

Schrank’s metaphorical representation does not seem to respect the journalist’s narrative

organisation. After reading the text and trying to identify elements of visual and verbal

interconnection,Icouldnotbutidentifytheworriedleadersasbeingvisuallyillustratedandverbally

talkedabout,whichIamgoingtoexamineinthefollowingsectionsofthischapter.

Looking at the picture introducing the article published on 26th November, the viewer will

promptly identify theburningandfallingmeteoriteasthemetaphoricalrepresentationofthesingle

currencysimplybecausethefireballsignisportrayedlikeaeurocoinandthefallingstarsignlikea20

eurobanknote,bothofwhichareburningandmovingdownwards,asfigure7belowillustrates.

Figure7

Section 8.3 will examine this picture as the metaphorical representation of the euro, but,

considering that the article talksalsoof theEurozone inmetaphorical termsas if itwere facing an

imminent crash, I analyse thispicture also in thissection to examinemetaphorical intersemioticity

acrossthevisualandtheverbalmodestoargueabouttheEurozone.

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The phenomenon by which the same source domain (which I call vehicle) is applied to

different topics was studied and identified by Goatly (1997) as ‘multivariance’ and by Kovecsecs

(2002)asasourcedomainhavinga‘widescope’.Allthefeaturesthatcharacteriseameteorite,which

areattributedtothesinglecurrencyinsection8.3arehereattributedtotheEurozone.

Theillustrationofthemeteoritetrailcanbeunderstoodasametaphtonymic(metaphorfrom

metonymy)representationofapromptendoftheEurozone.AsaPARTANDWHOLEmetonymy,the

movingdownwardsofthecoinandtheburningbanknotearereferringtotheeconomicdeclineofthe

Eurozonewhichisdestinedtoundergoanimminentcrash.Inmetaphoricterms,themeteoriteandthe

fireball illustratewhathas causedeconomic instability across the euro landandhow it is promptly

destinedtoendintheformofadisintegration.

HavingexaminedwhetherandhowthetextdiscussestheeconomictroublesthattheEurozone

is facing, I foundsemantic interconnectionbetweenthemetonymic illustrationofthemeteoriteand

the metaphoric expressions, such as ‘the Eurozone hurtles towards a crash’, ‘the world’s most

integratedregionwouldberippedapart’,‘thechancesoftheEurozonebeingsmashedaparthaverisen

alarmingly’,whichallhighlightanimminentdisintegrationoftheEurozone.

The interpersonal analysis of this multimodal construct offers the viewer a scene where

informationisportrayedinawaytogiveher/himlittlespaceofintervention;theycaneitheragreeor

disagree with the given information. The lack of involvement caused by the absence of gaze and

frontalityleavestheviewerintheroleofanobserverhavingtointerpretthescene.Consideringhow

thearticledevelops,thereaderisgivenmorehintsatinteraction,forinstances/heissoonaskedto

reflect on the possible answer to the question that introduces the text itself ‘Is it really the end?’

Secondly, the verbal use of low modality projects to the reader the possibility that the Eurozone

disintegration would/could occur, as the text says: ‘The world’s most integrated region would be

rippedapart by defaults, bank failures and the imposition of capital controls’, ‘The Eurozone could

shatterintodifferentpieces’.Neitherininterpersonaltermsnorintextualtermstextandimageshow

adegreeofsemanticinterconnection.

Thevisualvectorshowingtheburningmeteoritemovingfromtoplefttobottomrightofthe

imagehighlightsitsimminentcrashwhiletheendoftheEurozoneistalkedaboutinthefirstpartof

thetext,fromline1toline13.Thearticlethendiscussesthedifficultiesthattheeuroareaisaskedto

facebutitleavesspaceforitssalvationtoo.

Thevisualvehicleshowingastarrymeteoritefallingdownwards(seefigure6inthischapter),

whichintroducesthearticlepublishedon17thDecember,needstheanchoringsupportofthetextto

providetheviewerandthereaderwithaclearerexplanationofwhatisdisplayedmetaphorically.Text

andimagearethuscloselyrelatedinaconditionwhichseestheimagedependingonthearticle.

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Themonomodalvisualmetaphtonymyintroducesanarticlediscussingofhowtheendofthe

Eurozoneisapproaching,thusdevelopingamultimodalartefactcommentingindetailontheeconomic

instabilityoftheeuroarea.

The ideational meaning of the starrymeteorite falling downwards may prompt the viewer’s

curiosity to track its identity in the text. The light blue starsmademematch themeteorite to the

Eurozone.Thevectorthattracksthemeteoritetrajectorydownwardsissemioticallyinterrelatedwith

thetextcommentingonabadsummitthatwasheldinOctober2011,whichprovedtheEurozonetobe

unable to solve the euro crisis, and which threatens the existence of the Eurozone too. The text

discusses the inability of the Eurozone tomanage summits where decisionsmust be taken, and it

stresses that other summits showed the Eurozone’s incapacity although nothing bad occurred. The

expression ‘without the sky falling in’ highlights metaphorical interconnection across the modes

because,althoughthemeteoriteisfallingdownfromthesky,ithasnotfallenyet,somaybeitcanbe

saved.Incontrast,theprocessofmovingdownwardsthatthepicturefocuseson,byshowinghowthis

fall is changing themeteorite’s shape, is intersemiotically related to the text that argues about the

summitthatislikelytochangeanddamagethenatureoftheUnion.Readingtheclausesayingthat‘an

EUwithout the euromight not exist at all’, the reader and the viewermay be confused about the

identityofthemeteorite,wonderingwhetheritdenotesthecurrencyortheEurozone.Asamatterof

fact,thetexttalksabouttheeconomicinstabilityoftheEurozonethatisdestinedtochangeitnature,

butitalsocommentsonthepossibilityofaeurocollapse.Bothclaimscanbeintersemioticallyrelated

tothedownwardmovementofthemeteorite,althoughthetextdoesnottalkabouttheEurozonein

metaphorical terms. Moreover, the text claims that ‘Britain had a bad summit’ (sud-headline) and

discusses British thoughts of leaving the EU ‘Britain, long ambivalent about its membership, has

movedclosertowardsadroppingout’whichmaybringtheviewerandthereadertolinktheprocess

ofBritaindroppingouttothemovingdownwardsofthemeteorite.Consideringthatthetexthighlights

BritishEuroscepticism,theprocessofBritainfallingoutoftheEU,whichthetextarguesabout(line

86), canbeunderstoodas interconnected to theprocessofmovingdownwardsmadeby the starry

meteorite. Although Britain isnot amember of the Eurozone, it is amember of the EU,which the

journalisttalksaboutasif itweretakingintoconsiderationthepossibilityofleavingtheUnion.This

processseemstobeinterconnectedtotheprocessofmovingdownwardsofthemeteorite.

Intextualterms,thecentralisedandfrontalpositionofthemeteoriteinvolvestheviewerand

invitesher/himtoobserveandinterpretthescene.Likewise,althoughitisdepictedasanunrealistic

representation, the starrymeteoriteaccompanies the viewer,whowill bepresumably familiarwith

whatameteorite is,aswellashow it isdestinedtoendonce itenterstheearth’satmosphere.This

representationpromptstheviewertounderstandthedisastertheEurozoneisgoingtofacesoon.

170

Having analysed intersemioticity across the visual and the verbal modes discussing the

EurozoneanditsMemberStates,Iamnowgoingtomoveandstudywhetherandhowintersemioticity

developswhenthecartoonistsandthejournalistsillustrateandtalkabouttheEurozoneleaders.

8.2VisualandverbalrepresentationoftheEurozoneleaders

Table 8.2 here below summarises the visual representation and the verbal expressions

commentingontheEurozoneleaders,whichIamgoingtoanalyseinthefollowingparagraphs.

Table8.2.VisualandverbalrepresentationoftheEurozoneleaders

ARTICLES VISUAL

MODE

THE

EUROZONE

LEADERS

VERBALMODE

THEEUROZONELEADERS

12THMAY

Charlemagne

-Mrs Merkel is

bailing water out

ofasinkingship

-Germanycontinuestoditheroverhowbesttorescuetheeuro(headline)

-Germanyactedtoaverttheimminentfinancialcollapseofseveralcountries,butoften

lateandneverdecisivelyenoughtoresolvethecrisisonceandforall.(lines12-13)

-The EU, with power spread across institutions and countries, is ill-designed to act

swiftlyinacrisis.Germanyhastoprovideleadership,ifonlybecauseithasthedeepest

pockets.(lines16-17)

-Germanhesitationhashinderedthesearchforasolution.(line47)

14THJULY

Charlemagne

-three motionless

captains are

standingonaship

- Mrs Merkel is

covering her

mouth

-NicholasSarkozy

is covering his

eyes

-whyEuropehasproved incapableofputtinganend to theeuro’s crisismight find

answersinabad-tempereddinnersummitonOctober28th2010.(lines1-2)

-But Europe’s politicians cannot blame everything on their lack of tools. Their

inconsistency,evenincoherence,overgettingcreditorstopayhasdonemuchtospread

contagion.(lines24-25)

-Butthenear-insurmountableobstacleispolitical[…]Inagroupofdemocracies,where

bigdecisionsare takenbyunanimity, consensus ishard to comebyand takes time.

Hence, leadershaveactedonly inthefaceofimpendingdisaster,andthenwithhalf-

measures.(lines59-62)

norelationwiththetext,onthecontrary,inthearticleshespeaks

-“Perhapsyouspeaktobankers”.Weareanswerabletoourcitizens.(lines12-13)

-contagionhasspreadandisnowingulfingItaly(lines15-16)

171

- Silvio Berlusconi

is covering his

ears

3RDSEPTEMEBR

Europe

-Mrs Merkel is

throwing cheques

andredflowers

-Onthecampaigntrail,AngelaMerkeltellsvoterstothinkpositively.(line1)

-Germany “has come through the economic crisis better than some countries”, the

chancellor says to a crowd in themarket square of Schwerin[…] “Many have angst

abouttheeuro”,sheobserves.“Youdon’thaveto.(lines1-4)

-MrsMerkelhas tried tohelp indebtedeuromemberswhile refusing towriteblank

cheques.(lines24-25)

-ThesecondfearisthatGermanywillenduppouringevenmoremoneyintocountries

thatareunwillingorunabletosolvetheirproblems.(lines37-38)

-Herrhetoricnowsometimesthrobswithun-Merkel likefervour.Europeis themost

importantthingwehave,shesays”.(lines51-53)

-MrsMerkelwillhavetwoyearstopersuadevoters,toseethebrightersideofthings.

(lines59-60)

17TH

SEPTEMBER

Leaders

-two men are

welding a cracked

eurocoin

-Europeleadersseemunwillingevertodoenough.(line2)

-Yet,unlesspoliticiansactfasttopersuadetheworldthattheirdesiretopreservethe

euroisgreaterthanthemarket’sabilitytobetagainstit(lines3-4)

-so much depends on the leadership of squabbling European politicians who still

consistentlyunderestimatewhatconfrontsthem.(lines7-8)

29THOCTOBER

Leaders

some Eurozone

leaders (Sarkozy,

Papandreu,

Merkel, Cameron,

Berlusconi) are

being carried

away from a

sinking ship on a

colanderlifeboat

-theleadersoftheEurozoneagreedona“comprehensivepackage”todispelthecrisis

thathasbeenplaguingtheEurozoneforalmosttwoyears.(lines2-3)

-theyhaveonceagainfailed.(lines65-66)

3RDDECEMBER

Leaders

-some Eurozone

leaders are

standing on a

stony fortress and

lookworried

-HavingoncespurnedtheIMF,Eurozoneleadersbegforitshelp[…](lines4-5)

-couldthesixAAA-ratedmembersoftheEurozonebindthemselvestogether?(lines6-

7)

-mostthinkthatthesinningismorewidespreadthanthat.(line9)

-It isbeing left toHermanVanRompuy,presidentof theEuropeanCouncil, to finda

compromiseandavertbreakdown.(lines32-33)

Astable8.2aboveshows,theEurozoneleadersareincludedinthesceneeitherascaricatures

orascharacters,buttheprocessestheyareinvolvedinareallmetaphorical.Exceptfromtheimages

illustratingMrsMerkelandthetwowelders,theotherpicturesportraymotionlessleaderssuffering

fromtheconsequencesthatthedebtcrisishasbrought.Theleadersarepassivelystandingonashipat

themercyofthewavesinthemiddleofaroughsea(Figure2),theyarestandingonacolanderlifeboat

and are carried away from a presumably sinking ship (Figure 3), they lookworried and petrified

172

whilestandingatthetopofafortressthatisgoingtobeattackedbyfourarmedknights(Figure4).On

thecontrary,MrsMerkelalone,asashipboy(Figure1)andasthesmilingandencouragingCDUguide

andspeaker(Figure8), isacting inorder toachievesuccessful results,whicharecommentedon in

detailintheaccompanyingarticles.

Figure8

Likewise, two unidentifiedwelders are trying to adjust and repair a huge broken euro coin

(Figure9).

Figure9

MrsMerkelistherepresentedparticipanttowhomthecartoonistshavegivenmorerelevance;

sheisactuallyportrayedinfivepictures.Inideationalterms,MrsMerkelisdisplayedasperforming

actionprocesses. In interpersonal terms, thedegreeof involvement is quite limited, not only is the

viewerobligedtolookatthechancellorbuts/heisalsoaskedtolookataleaderofherimportance

being obliquely represented froma close to amedium long shot. In contrast, in textual terms,Mrs

Merkel is displayed from the right to a centralised position,which stresses her present and future

involvement,asaconvincedEurophile,intakingactiontosolvethedebtcrisis.

TheGermanchancellorisaloneastheuniquehumanparticipantinthepictureillustratingthe

articlepublishedon12thMay.MrsMerkelisshownmetaphoricallyasashipboywhoisresponsiblefor

savingashipwhichistakingwater.Consideringthatshecannotsucceedinsavingtheshipscooping

wateroutofitalone,shewouldneedthecrew’shelp,butthereisnootherparticipantontheship.In

contrast, the participants being talked about in the article aremore but themain focus is onMrs

MerkelandGermany,thosewhoshouldacttosupportGreeceandavoiditsdefault.Themetaphorical

173

actionprocessthatMrsMerkelisperformingisnotrelatedtothelinguisticexpressionsthattalkabout

GermanyastheleadingcountryinchargeofdecidingwhetherandhowtoactandsupportGreeceand

savethesinglecurrency:

(11) Germanycontinuestoditheroverhowbesttorescuetheeuro(headline)

(12) Germany acted to avert the imminent financial collapse of several countries, but often late and

neverdecisivelyenoughtoresolvethecrisisonceandforall.(lines12-13)

(13) Germanhesitationhashinderedthesearchforasolution.(line47)

While thepicture represents theGerman chancellor fully engaged in acting toprevent the ship

fromsinking, the verbal counterparthighlightsGermanhesitation to supportGreece, and it does it

withtheexpressions ‘todither’, ‘averted[…]butneverdecisivelyenough’, ‘hesitation’.Thedegreeof

semanticinterconnectionbetweenMrsMerkel’svisualactionsandGermanyverbalmentalprocesses

is low.As regardsGerman responsibility and supremacyover the other Eurozone leaders, text and

imageareintersemioticityrelated,althoughthetextdoesnotspeakofthechancellorinmetaphorical

terms,butsays:

(14) TheEU,with power spread across institutions and countries, is ill-designed to act swiftly in a crisis.

Germanyhastoprovideleadership,ifonlybecauseithasthedeepestpockets.(lines16-17)

Mrs Merkel’s leadership is then shown in the picture introducing the article published on 3rd

Septemberwhere,whilesheisspeakingtoacrowdofperplexedpeople,sheisthrowingflowersand

cheques. The throwing action process metaphorically illustrates the chancellor as the Eurozone

helper,whichisdiscussedinthearticleasfollows:

(15) Onthecampaigntrail,AngelaMerkeltellsvoterstothinkpositively.(line1)

(16) Germany “hascome through theeconomiccrisisbetterthansomecountries”, thechancellor says toa

crowdinthemarketsquareofSchwerin[…]“Manyhaveangstabouttheeuro”,sheobserves.“Youdon’t

haveto.(lines1-4)

(17) MrsMerkelwillhavetwoyearstopersuadevoters,toseethebrightersideofthings.(lines59-60)

174

MrsMerkel’sovertaffection forEuropeandtheEurozone isvisually identifiedviatheredroses

(seechapter7).Theanchoringfunctionofthetextspecificallydiscussesthechancellor’sattachmentto

theUnionwiththefollowingexpression:

(18) Europeisthemostimportantthingwehave,shesays.(lines51-53)

Inadditionto flowersMrsMerkel isthrowingalso€cheques,which thearticlearguesaboutas

follows:

(19) MrsMerkelhastriedtohelpindebtedeuromemberswhilerefusingtowriteblankcheques.(lines24-

25)

Both thevisualmodeandtheverbalmodestressacrucialpointconcerninghowtosupport the

Eurozone.Thevisualchequeswerenotblank,whichhighlightsMrsMerkel’sexpertiseindealingwith

business. She knows how important it is to set a price before filling a cheque in. That said, the

journalisttalksaboutGermanvotersasstill reticentingivingmoneyto theEurozone.Theyactually

disagreewithMrsMerkel’sideaofsupport:

(20) Germanywillenduppouringevenmoremoneyintocountriesthatareunwillingorunabletosolvetheir

problems.(lines37-38)

MrsMerkelisdisplayedasarepresentedparticipantinfourotherpictures.Sheisincompany

withotherEurozoneleaders.Themultimodalscenariodisplayedinthearticlespublishedon14thJuly

(Figure2),29thOctober(Figure3)and3rdDecember(Figure4)commentsnegativelyonleadership,

butonlythepicturesdoitmetaphorically.

The leaders appear motionless in all the pictures. In figure 2 Mrs Merkel, Sarkozy and

Berlusconi are standing on the € ship and are depicted as the captains of a ship they are not

manoeuvring. Moreover, they act as Confucius’s three little monkeys: Mrs Merkel does not speak,

Sarkozydoesnotlook,Berlusconidoesnotlisten.Conversely, theaccompanyingtext (Charlemagne,

14th July) discusses their participation to the Eurozone’s issues in a different way. As regards the

GermanChancellor,thejournalistsays:

(21) Herdemandthatfuturebail-outsmustincludeadequateparticipationofprivatecreditors.(lines9-10)

(22) MrsMerkelchimedintaxpayerscouldnotbeaskedtofootthewholebill,notoftenwhentheyhadjust

paidtosavethebanks.(lines13-15)

175

Sarkozy,whoisshownasablindcaptaininthepicture,facesTrichet’sreticenceasregardsfuturebail-

outandovertlycontradictshim:

(23) “Perhapsyouspeaktobankers”.Weareanswerabletoourcitizens.(lines12-13)

AsconcernsBerlusconi,PeterSchrankportrayshimasthedeafcaptain,thetextdoesnotdiscussthis

point, but evidence is given that the Greek crisis seems to spread and ‘[it] is now engulfing Italy’.

Semantic interconnection acrossmodes in not achieved as regards the three leaders’metaphorical

visual and verbal description. The leaders’ weakness and lack of responsibility, which are

metaphoricallyshownasincapableorevenuncaringcaptains,istalkedaboutinthetextasfollows:

(24) WhyEuropehasproved incapableofputtinganend to theeuro’s crisismight findanswers inabad-

tempereddinnersummitonOctober28th2010.(lines1-2)

(25) But Europe’s politicians cannot blame everything on their lack of tools. Their inconsistency, even

incoherence,overgettingcreditorstopayhasdonemuchtospreadcontagion.(lines24-25)

Infigure3theEurozoneleadersareillustratedaspassengersleavingashiponacolanderlifeboat.

In figure 4 the leaders are the worried and passive guardians of a fortress under attack and are

similarlycommentedon in theaccompanyingarticles (29thOctober,3rdDecember).The leadersare

talkedaboutashavingfailedinachievingtheirtasks.Bothtextsdiscussacomprehensivepackagethat

wasagreedontotakemeasuresandputanendtothedebtcrisis,sothattheEurozoneandtheeuro

wouldbesaved,but ‘theyhaveoncemorefailed’(29thOctober).Theleaders’politicalincapabilityto

findasolutionwithoutrecurring to theeconomic supportof the IMF iscommentedon in the texts.

Text and image interconnection is achieved because both the pictures and the texts comment

negatively on the Eurozone leadership. Considering that only the pictures argue about it through

metaphors,metaphoricinterconnectednessisnotdevelopedacrossthevisualandtheverbalmode.

GettyandSuperstockphotoagenciesrepresenttheEurozoneleadersastwoworkersthatare

welding a huge broken euro coin (Figure 9). The picture focuses the viewer’s attention on the

representation of a huge broken euro coin, two unidentified workers, of much smaller size, are

ancillaryparticipantsinthepicture.Therearenovisualhintsthatenabletheviewertoidentifythem;

theviewerisobligedtolookattheirblackmediumlongshotandobliquerepresentation.Whatseems

tobepivotal isonly theiractionprocessofwelding. Incontrast, thearticlegivesmorespace to the

Eurozone leaders who are criticised because they are not working hard, they are still working to

establishaplanaimedatsavingtheeuroandpreventingitsdefault.Bothinideational,interpersonal

176

andintextualtermsthereislackofinterrelationbetweentheimageandtheaccompanyingtext.The

metaphoricaldepictionoftheweldingleadersisnotdiscussedmetaphoricallyinthearticlepublished

on17thSeptember.There isneithersemanticnormetaphorical interconnectionbetweenthepicture

andthetext.Thearticlecommentsontheirleaders’lackofinvolvementinconvincingtheworldthat

theyarereally interested insolving thecrisisandsaving theeurocurrency.The followingcitations

highlightthe leaders’ lackofeffort,which isconverselystressed in thepictureshowingthewelders

workinghardtoadjusttheeurocoin.

(26) Europeleadersseemunwillingevertodoenough.(line2)

(27) Yet,unlesspoliticiansactfasttopersuadetheworldthattheirdesiretopreservetheeuroisgreaterthan

themarket’sabilitytobetagainstit,thesinglecurrencyfacesruin.(lines3-4)

After analysing intersemioticity across the visual and the verbal modes discussing the Eurozone

leaders, the following section is aimed at examining whether and how the visual and the verbal

representationoftheeuromatch.

8.3Visualandverbalrepresentationoftheeuro

Siximagesillustratethesinglecurrencyasa€flagflying(Figure1),a€shipatthemercywith

the waves (Figure 2), a huge euro coin weighing heavily on the edge of a cliff that is going to fall

downwards (Figure6),a bigGerman eurowheel braking (Figure9), ahuge cracked euro coinbeing

welded(Figure10),andaburningeurometeoritefallingdownwards(Figure8).

Table8.3belowillustratesinterconnectionbetweenthepicturesandthearticlescommenting

on the euro s/instability. The following paragraphs examine to what extent the designers and the

journalistshavecommentedonhowtheeurohasbeendamagedbythedebtcrisisandhowtheyhave

discussedthepossibleendoftheeuroasatragicdisaster.Toconclude,Iamgoingtoexaminewhether

andhowthismultimodalscenariohasbeenshapedmetaphorically.

Table8.3.Visualandverbalrepresentationoftheeuro

ARTICLES VISUAL

MODE

THEEURO

VERBALMODE

THEEURO

12THMAY

Charlemagne

- the € flag flying

onasinkingship

-Germanycontinuestoditheroverhowbesttorescuetheeuro(sub-headline)

-Ministers are torn between promises to do whatever it takes to defend the euro

(line10)

-theeuro’swoesareasmuchaboutpoliticsasaboutfinances(line18)

177

-prolongedindecisioncouldleadtosomethingevenmorepainful:break-upoftheeuro

(lines65-66)

14THJULY

Charlemagne

-the € ship at the

mercyofthewave

-Theeuro’srealtrouble(headline)

-Theeurocrisishasenteredaperilousnewphase-withthesinglecurrencyitselfnow

atrisk(sub-headline)

14THJULY

Leaders

-a huge euro coin

weighing heavily

on the edge of a

cliffthatisgoingto

falldownwards

-ontheedge(headline)

-theeurocrisishasenteredaperilousnewphase-withthesinglecurrencyitselfnowat

risk(sub-headline)

-Financial markets turned on Italy, the eurozone’s third biggest economy, with an

alarmingspeed(lines5-6)

-it(thecrisis)reachedoneoftheEurozone’sgiants.(line11)

-Investors are understandably worried about the Italian government’s stability to

shoulderitshugedebt(lines26-27)

-ifthepriceItalymustpaytoborrowriseshighenoughforlongenough,itsdebtwill

eventuallyspiraloutofcontrol.(lines34-35)

3RDSEPTEMEBR

Europe

-abigGermaneuro

wheelbraking

-Bail-outsbackedlargelybyGermantaxpayershavegonetoofar(lines6-7)

-Germany’sincreasinglyscepticalBundestagisabouttoweighin.(lines26-27)

-Resistance,muchfromMerkel’scoalition,isstiffening(line31)

17TH

SEPTEMBER

Leaders

-a huge cracked

euro coin being

welded

-Howtosavetheeuro(headline)

-Itrequiresurgentactiononahugescale(sub-headline)

-thesinglecurrencyfacesruin(4)

-itisnotjusttheeuroisatrisk(line5)

-a rescue must do four things fast. First, it must make clear which of Europe’s

governmentsaredeemedilliquidandwhichare insolvent[…]Second, ithastoshore

upEurope’sbankstoensuretheycanwithstandasovereigndefault.Third,itneedsto

shifttheEurozone’smacroeconomicpolicy[…]towardsanagendaforgrowth.[…]The

fourthpartwill[…]involvenewtreatiesandapprovalbyparliamentsandvoters.(lines

17-24)

-Europesinglemarketcouldcollapse(line103)

-TheEUitselfcouldstarttocrumble(lines103-104)

-theeurobreak-up(line105)

-theimmediatebillforabreak-upofthesinglecurrencywouldsurelybeinthetrillions

ofeuros(lines108-109)

- The alternativemay be the collapse of not just the single currency but the single

marketandthewholeEuropeanproject(lines142-143)

26THNOVEMBER

Leaders

-A burning euro

meteorite moving

downwards

-isthisreallytheend?(headline)

-thesinglecurrency’scollapseislooming(sub-headline)

-the consequences of the euro destruction are so catastrophic that no sensible

policymakercouldstandbyandletithappen(lines2-3)

-Aeurobreak-upwouldcauseaglobalbust.(line4)

-Investors’growingfearsofaeurobreak-up(line15)

-acollapseinbusiness(line28)

178

-A credit crunch is harder tomanipulate […]The ECB rejects the idea of acting as a

lenderoflastresorttoembattled,butsolvent,government.Thefearofcreatingmoral

hazard, under which the offer of help eases the pressure, […] makes an eventual

collapseofthecurrencymorelikely.(lines40-46)

-WithoutadramaticchangeofheartbytheECBandbyEuropeanleaders, thesingle

currencycouldbreak-upwithinweeks.(lines47-48)

-Cananythingbedonetoavertdisaster?(line54)

-Thisattitudehastochangeortheeurowillbreak-up.(line76)

The€symbolisusedtwiceintheEC-2011visualdatasetanditisusedasasigntoidentifyand

refer to the ships illustrated in figures 1 and 2 as vessels belonging to the euro land. The picture

introducing the articlepublishedon12thMay shows the€ flag flying on themast of a sinking ship

calledGreece.

Referring to the textual organisation of the image, the € symbol is placed at the top of the

imageinanidealisedandcentralisedposition,thevieweristhusattractedtofocusonthissymbolasa

core elementofwhat the image ismeant to communicate.The connectionbetweenGreece and the

Eurozoneiscommentedonthroughoutthetext,eventhoughmorespaceisgiventodiscusshowthe

eurocrisishasdamagedGreeceandwhatmeasuresmustbepromptlytakentosaveGreecefroman

incumbentdefault.Thatsaid,nointerconnectionbetweenthevisualandtheverbalmodeisachieved

inthetextualdistributionofthe€flagtopic.

Inideationalterms,the€flagflyingvisualsymbolidentifyingGreecesinkingshipasamember

stateof the euro land isnotsemantically interconnected to the verbalprocesses that the journalist

usestolinkGreecetotheEurozone.Similarly,theeurocurrencyisgivenatopicalpositioninthesub-

headline,buttheexpression‘rescueoftheeuro’highlightshowGermanyisstillhesitatingonhowto

intervenetosavetheeurofromanimminentdefault.The€flagflyingandGermanyhesitationscannot

thus be seen as interconnected actions. The linguistic expressions ‘ministers are torn between the

promises to do whatever it takes to defend the euro’ and ‘prolonged indecision could lead to

somethingevenmorepainful:break-upoftheeuro’,whichappearinthemiddleandattheendofthe

article,confirmtheabsenceofinterconnectionbetweenthe€flagandtheverbaloccurrencesofthe

euro in the text. The euro citations cannot be understood as semantically related to the € flag. In

additionnometaphoricalintersemioticityistrackedinthemultimodalconstruct.Asregardsthevisual

circumstancesshowingametaphoricalnauticalcontext,noverbalreferencecanbefoundinthetext

whichmayhintatidentifyingsomesemanticinterconnectionbetweenthetextandtheimage.

In interpersonal terms, the absenceofgazeobliges the viewer to look at the image as given

information.Theviewerispresumablyawareofthe€signmeaningandwillpromptlyassociateitto

thevessel.Themetaphoricalillustrationrecurstothefamiliarscenarioofaflagflyingonthemastofa

shipwhich favours the viewer’sunderstanding, even though the textdoesnotmention thenautical

179

elementsdisplayed in the image, thusdenyingany intersemioticandmetaphorical relationbetween

thevisualandtheverbalmodes.

The€sign isalsousedto identify the€shipat themercyof thewavesvisualvehiclesymbol

(Figure2).

Focussingonthetextualorganisationofthetext,theshipandthe€signhavebeendepictedon

theleftpartofthepicture,assymbolisingthegiveninformation,whichtheheadlinehighlightsas‘the

euro’srealtrouble’.Boththereaderandthevieweraresupposedtobeawareofthedifficultiesthat

theeuroandtheEurozonearefacing.Thetextdevelopsandthesub-headlinerevealsthat‘thecrisisof

thesinglecurrencyispoliticalasmuchasfinancial’.Theviewingandreadingpathdevelopswiththree

participants standing on the € ship. They are displayed on the centre-right part of the image, thus

highlightingthatnewinformationisbeinggiven.Takingintoconsiderationthattheseparticipantscan

beeasilyidentifiedasMrsMerkel,SarkozyandBerlusconiasleadersandpoliticians,eventhoughthe

pictureshowsthemasmetaphoricalcaptainsthatarenotmanoeuvringtheship,thetextarguesabout

themandcriticisestheirlackofinterventiontomanagethecrisis(seetable8.2above).Thecaptains

areresponsibleforthetroublesthatthe€shipisexperiencing,thelackofactionmadebythecaptains

isactuallythereasonwhythe€shipisatthemercywiththewaves.Asthejournalistsays‘theeuro’s

woes are as much about politics as about finance’. It may be claimed that visual and verbal

interconnectioninthetextualdistributionofthemultimodalconstructisachieved.Afterhintingatthe

factthattheeuroisfacingtroubles,thetextdevelopsthistopicandfocusesthereader’sattentionon

the political and financial issues concerning the trouble of the euro. The picture is actually simply

introducing what the text is going to discuss in details. Text and image are thus interconnected

becausethecartoonisthasplacedthe€signinapositionofrelevancewhichthejournalistreliesonto

developher/hisdiscussionthroughoutthetext.Theanchoringfunctionofthetextisthusconfirmed

whileintersemioticityacrossmodesislimited.

In interpersonal terms,as the€ship isnotahumanbeing, theabsenceofgazepromptsthe

viewer to read the image as given information.As I have alreadypointedout (see the€ flag flying

analysisabove)theviewerknowsthemeaningofthe€signwhichs/hecaneasilyassociatethe€sign

to the vessel. The nautical scenario is used oncemore to favour the viewer’s understanding of the

metaphoricalvisualconstruct,whichisnotusedinthetext.Interpersonalintersemioticityacrossthe

visualandtheverbalmodesisthusdenied.

Inideationalterms,thevisualsymbolofthe€shipanditsconditionofbeingatthemercywith

thewavesiscommentedonbythejournalistwiththeexpression‘theeuro’srealtrouble’.Eventhough

beingatthemercywiththewavesimpliesamovementwhiletheverbalisedexpressiondoesnothint

atanyactionprocess,thecartoonisthasdisplayedthatsomethingdangerousmightoccur,whichthe

textactuallydiscussesindetailstalkingofurgentrescueplansthatmustbemadetosavetheeuro.The

anchoringfunctionofthetextenablestheviewertounderstandthemetaphoricmeaningandfunction

180

of the € ship as being at the mercy of the waves. The text anchors the image providing a detailed

argumentationoftheeuroandtheeurolandtroublesthatthedebtcrisishascaused,sotextandimage

interconnection and metaphorical intersemioticity are not performed throughout the whole

multimodalconstruct.

Thevisualvehicleahugeeurocoinweighingheavilyontheedgeofacliff thatisgoingtofall

downwards(Figure6)highlightsasituationofimminentdangerthatinvolvesItalyasamemberstate

oftheEurozone.

Theideationalvisualisationoftheeurocoinasametaphoricalparticipantisshownontheedge

ofacliff.Theheadlineintroducingfigure6andthearticlepublishedon14thJuly2011,usesthelexical

expression‘ontheedge’,thushighlightingsemanticinterconnectionbetweentheimageandthetext.

The sub-headline identifies the participants that are involved in this context of danger. The single

currencyis‘atrisk’,whichasanexpressionisinterconnectedwiththevisualisedpositionoftheeuro

coinontheedgeofthecliff.Theverbal‘ontheedge’,‘atrisk’,and‘perilous’expressionsintroduceand

stress how dangerous and threatening the visualised action process of weighing is. The visualised

processofpressingmadebytheeuroontheedgeofacliffmetaphoricallyshapedlikeItalyisargued

aboutthroughoutthetextasfollows:

- FinancialmarketsturnedonItaly,theeurozone’sthirdbiggesteconomy,withalarmingspeed(lines5-6)

- Thedebtcrisis(…)hasreachedoneoftheeurozone’sgiants(line9-11)

- (…) investorsareunderstandablyworriedabout the Italiangovernment’sability toshoulder

itshugedebt(lines26-27)- IfthepriceItalymustpaytoborrowriseshighenoughforlongenough,itsdebtwilleventuallyspiralout

ofcontrol(lines34-35)

Theeurocoinasavehiclesymbol is thus interrelated to ‘hugedebt’and ‘debt’asnon-metaphorical

expressionsreferringtotheconditionofeconomicinstabilitywhichItalyissufferingfrom.Visualand

verbal intersemioticity can be tracked in the multimodal construct. The picture is a metaphorical

representation of the debt that is oppressing Italy. The text introduces the topic through the

metaphoricalexpressions‘ontheedge’and‘perilous’.Incontrast,theriskthatItalywillbeunableto

payitsdebtdevelopsnonmetaphorically.

The textual organisationof the image illustrates the euro coin at the topof the image inan

idealised and centre-right position. Not only is the viewer asked to identify the currency as a core

elementofwhatthecartoonistwishestocommunicate,butitisalsohighlightingthatnewinformation

isbeinggiven.Inaddition,theexaggeratedsizeofthecoinconfirmsthatitsweighwillprobablybreak

theedgeofthecliffthusprovokingitsfall.Thetextreadingpathdevelopsrelyingonthegiven/new

pattern, discussing and commenting on what the image displays. The risk that Italy might not be

181

capableof paying its hugedebt (new information) is debated as the consequenceof thedebt crisis

whichhas seriously affected andworsenedthe economic stability of theother countrieswithin the

euro land, such as Greece, Spain, and Portugal (given information). Text and image appear

interconnected in developing information, with the text anchoring function that prevails and

dominatesthemultimodalscenario.

Ininterpersonalterms,theeurocoin,asanobjectandnotahumanbeing,promptstheviewer

toreadthe imageasgiven information.Theviewer isexpectedtorecogniseboth theeurocurrency

and Italyportrayedas a cliff, thus attributing to the image andeconomicmeaning.Thenaturalistic

scenarioofacliffthathasbeencrackedbyaeurocoinisusedtoelicittheviewer’sunderstandingof

the metaphorical visual construct, which the text does not refer to. Interpersonal intersemioticity

acrossthevisualandtheverbalmodesisthusdenied.

The focusonabigGermaneurowheelbraking(Figure9)visualsymbol ismeant toaddress the

troublesandworriesthatdevelopedinGermany.Germantaxpayersseemreluctanttopaymoretaxes,

theyaredeterminedtostopbailing-outtheindebtedEurozonememberstates.Theideationalmeaning

ofthismultimodalscenariogivesevidencethatthemetaphtonymicillustrationoftheeurowheelasa

visualisedparticipantanditsactionprocessofbrakingaretosomeextentinterrelatedwith‘bail-outs

backed largely by German taxpayers have gone too far’, ‘Now Germany’s increasingly sceptical

Bundestagisabouttoweighin’,‘resistanceisstiffening’linguisticexpressions.Thusthevisualaction

processofbrakingisintersemioticallyinterrelatedtotheprocess‘hasgonetoofar’thathighlightsthe

needtostoppayingmoretaxes.Inaddition,thementalstatusofhesitationthat ‘sceptical’stressesa

promptmaterialprocess‘weighin’,aswellasthementalstatusof‘resistance’increasesMrsMerkel’s

problemstoincreasetaxes.

Thetextualorganisationoftheimagedisplaysahugeeurocoinontheleftpartoftheillustration.

Thegiveninformationwhichtheviewerisportrayedhighlightstheexaggeratedsizeofthecoinasa

metaphorical representation of how much money German taxpayers have spent to support the

Eurozone.Thesizeofthecoinanditspositionareinterrelatedtotheverbalexpressionstressingthata

lotofmoneyhasbeengivenbyGermany,asmentionedabove.Theverbalreadingpathdevelopsinline

withthevisualreadingpath,eventhoughtheimagedoesitmetaphoricallywhilethetextarguesabout

thistopicinliteralterms.Bothfocusontheeurocurrency,GermantaxpayersanddevelopwithMrs

Merkel’sinterventionthatIhavealreadyexaminedinsection8.2.

Ininterpersonalterms,theeuroasanobjecthighlightsabsenceoffacialexpression,thevieweris

offeredinformationintheformofascenethatcanbelookedat.Inaddition,theeuroisrepresentedas

a familiar object; looking like awheel, it ismeant to prompt the viewer’s interpretation of reality.

Wheelsenableavehicleeitherto moveor tobrake.Asametaphorical representationofrealitythe

eurowheelismeanttoattracttheviewer’sattentionandexpectforher/hisdis/agreement.Nowheel

182

ismentionedinthetext,thusthereaderisneitherinvolvednoraddressedtorecogniseincongruent

expressionsreferringtoGermantaxpayersandtheirresistancetopaymoretaxes.

Themetaphtonymic representationofahuge cracked euro coinbeingwelded vehicle symbol

introducingthearticlepublishedon17thSeptemberhighlightshowthedebtcrisismightbringtheend

ofthesinglecurrency.Theideationalmeaningthattheimagedepicts,showstwomenthat,inorderto

repair a cracked euro coin, are performing an action process of welding. The metaphorical

representationof thecrackedeuro illustrates thegravityof theeurocrisis,which thearticleargues

about claiming that ‘the single currency faces ruin’, ‘the euro is at risk’.Text-image interconnection

developsandlookingatthetwomenweldingthebrokencoin,theviewerunderstandsthatsomething

mustbedone inorder toprevent thedestructionof the coin.The text anchors the visual actionof

weldingclaimingthatunlesssome‘urgentaction’ismade‘disasterlooms’.Theverbalexpression‘how

tosavetheeuro’introducesthevisualweldingprocess,thusraisingtheviewer’sattentionandfocus

on whatmust be done to adjust the cracked coin. The text develops arguing about a ‘rescue plan’

which shouldprevent the euro ‘fall tobits’. Text and image recur to an interconnectedmultimodal

metaphoricalscenariowhichdiscussestheeconomicdifficultiesthatthesinglecurrencyisfacing.The

visualised welding is thus interconnected to ‘rescue’, ‘rescue plan’, ‘restructuring’, ‘save the euro’

expressions.

The textual organisation of the multimodal message focuses the viewer’s attention on the

exaggerated size of the euro coin and on the small size of the twowelders. The size disproportion

stressesthedifficultiesthatthewelderswillfindinrepairingthecracksonthecoin,whichthearticle

discusses in details. In addition, the centralised position of the cracked coin introduces the core

messageofarescueplan tosave theeurowhich the textarguesabout.The journalistcommentson

thecurrency’sinstabilityaswellasonaplantorescueitthroughoutthearticle.Textandimageare

combined, even though the verbal mode predominates over the visual. Both modes recur to

metaphoricityinordertocommentontheurgentneedtobringeconomicstabilitybackandsavethe

euro.While thepicturehighlights the exaggerated sizeof the euro, the text stresses thepriority to

activaterescueplanstosavetheeurocurrency.Text-image interrelation isachievedbyhighlighting

thegravityof theeurostate throughthevisualcracks,whichare thencommentedon in the textby

providingfeasibleplansofintervention.

The interpersonal meaning of the picture illustrates an unreal image where two tiny men are

weldingahugeeurocoin.Themetaphoricalillustrationoftheweldersthataresmallerthantheeuro

coingivesemphasisonthedifficultiesthattheweldersfindinadjustingtheeuro.Thevieweristhus

offered anunreal representationof reality inorder tomakeher/himunderstandhowseriously the

euro hasbeenaffectedby the crisis, andhowmuchmustbedone to save the single currency.The

image shows the industrial and the economic environment asmerging into the same context, even

though both represent familiar concerns that the viewer should promptly recognise, the anchoring

183

functionofthetextispivotalinunderstandingtherepresentationofrealityasseenthroughtheeyesof

the cartoonist. Text and image provide two different scenarios which prevent interpersonal

interconnectionfromdevelopingacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes.

The illustrationof the euro coin shaped likeaburning and fallingmeteorite introducing the

articlepublishedon26thNovemberisametaphoricalrepresentationofthepossibleendofthesingle

currency.Theideationalmeaningofthepicturehighlightsametaphoricalrepresentationoftheeuro

coinasameteoriteandthe20eurobanknoteasafallingstar.Whiletheeurometeoriteisperforming

theactionprocessoffallingdownwards,the20eurobanknoteisburning.Bothactionprocessesare

intersemiotically related to the text commenting on the impending end of the euro in terms of an

imminent ‘disaster’, a ‘conflagration’, which is going to bring the ‘end’, collapse’, ‘break-up’ of the

singlecurrency.Boththeimageandthetextdiscussthepossible‘collapse’oftheeurometaphorically,

whichstressesthattextandimagearecombinedandthatbothdiscussthepossibleendoftheeuroin

metaphoricalterms.

In textualterms, the topicalpositionthat theburningeurometeorite fallingdownwardshold,

introduces the core message of the causes and consequences of this possible downfall, which the

articles discusses in details. Text and image are combined even though the verbal mode supports,

clarifiesandpredominatesoverthevisualbothintermsofhowdiscourseisspatiallydistributed(two

thirdsofthemultimodaldiscourseisexpressedverbally)andhowmetaphoricalrealisationsdevelop

in the flow of discourse (the verbal vehicle terms outnumber the visual ones). The burning euro

meteorite fallingdownwardsvehicle symbol introduces themultimodal construct andhighlights the

dangerous condition of the euro currency, as well as the consequences of the crisis. The vector

trackingthemovementofthefiretrailishighlightedintheformofaforegroundedobliquetrajectory

whichmoves from the top left downwardson the right.The action is thusplotted in the formof a

chronologicallysequencedmovementfromtop-lefttowardsbottom-right.Theeurometeoritegradual

fallalignswith theviewer’sreadingpathandaccompanies thereader into followingthe journalist’s

discussionofaninevitableendoftheeurothatdevelopsacrossthearticle.

In interpersonal terms, the text starts with a question ‘is this really the end?’, which before

drawingontheconcludingremark‘thisattitudehastochangeortheeurowillbreak-up’,providesthe

readerwithanexplanationofhowgravethepresentsituationis.Claimingthat‘growingfearsofaeuro

break-up’ drives the reader into understanding that ‘the euro break-upwould cause a global bust’.

Involvementisfurtheractivatedbecausethethreateningeuro/meteoriteisillustratedinitsentirety,

distanceisreducedtoaminimum,andanimmediatecrashseemsunavoidable,althoughitdoesnot

actually occur. Although the text talks of a troublesome future for the euro saying that ‘the single

currencycollapseislooming’,theimageportraysaninevitabledisasterintheformofa‘disintegration’

anda ‘collapse’,which iswhat is going tohappento themeteoritewhen, once it enters theEarth’s

atmosphere,itisgoingtocrashanddisintegrateintopieces.Theimagedoesnotleaveanychancefor

184

thefutureofthesinglecurrency.Theeconomicandfiscalcrisiswhichaffectedtheeuroisprogressing

in an unrestrained and expeditious way, leaving neither the time nor the space for salvation.

Conversely,thetextgivesanopportunitytothesinglecurrencyandhintsatapossiblesalvation.

Havingexaminedtowhatextent theverbalandthevisualmodes illustrateandargueabout the

instability of the euro in terms of apossible collapse, intersemioticity is partly achieved.While the

destructionof thesinglecurrency iscertain inthevisualmode, in theverbalone it isnomore than

probable or even just possible. That said, together the picture and the text develop a multimodal

intersemioticscenariowhichdiscussestheeurotopicthroughmetaphoricalvisualsymbolsandverbal

terms.

8.4 Trackingtheemergenceofmultimodalsystematicmetaphors

Afterexaminingmetaphoricalsystematicityintheverbal(seechapter6)andinthevisualmodes

(see chapter 7) separately, I investigated whether the multimodal scenario on the euro topic

representedbytheEC-2011datasetprovedtohighlighttext-imageintersemioticrelations.Theresults

ofmyinvestigationhaveconfirmedagoodlevelofinterconnectionbetweentheillustrationsandthe

verbalexpressionscommentingonthetroublesthattheeuroandtheEurozonehadtofaceinorderto

putanendtothedebtcrisis(chapter8).

Relying on the systematic patterns of verbal and visual metaphors that I have identified in

chapters6and7,thissectionseekstoexploreinterconnectedpatternsofverbalandvisualmetaphors

tracking theemergenceofmultimodalsystematicmetaphorsrepresenting the topicof theeuroand

thedebtcrisis.

The analyses made on the previous chapters allowed me to identify and track HELPING

COUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEandSUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematic

metaphorsintheverbalandthevisualmodeseparately.InthethischapterIamgoingtoinvestigate

whetherandhowthesepatternsdevelopassystematicmultimodalmetaphors.

8.4.1Trackingmultimodalsystematicityacrossmodes:HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISA

RESCUE

HavingexaminedthesetofmetaphoricallinguisticexpressionsthatwereusedintheEC-2011

datasettodiscusstheeurodebtcrisisintermsof“helpingcountriesfinancially”topic, I identifieda

multimodalsystematicpatternofinterconnectedvisualandverbalmetaphorswhichIcalledHELPING

COUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUE.Table8.4herebelowsummarisestheverbaltrajectoryofthis

multimodalpattern.

185

Table8.4.HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEverbaltrajectory

VERBALTOPIC VERBAL

VEHICLE

GROUPING

TRACKS METAPHORTRAJECTORYINTHEEC-2011

VERBALDATASET

“helping

countries

financially”

Rescue

Track1

• Taking Greece away from danger and

releasingitawayfromfinancialdifficulties

Track2

• Money collected to set a

(temporary/permanent) plan to provide

financialsupporttoindebtedcountries

Track3

• Collectingmoneytoprovideaplantohelp

theEurozoneandtheeuro

The systematic pattern emerges with the journalists’ focus on Greece which needs to be

helped.Thecountryrisksaneconomicdefaultbecauseitisunabletopayitsdebts,asclaimedinthe

articlepublishedon12thMay.TheEconomistdevelopsitsdiscussionarguingaboutthetroublesthat

Greecehastomanage,itsinsolvencyandilliquidityintermsoftherescueandbail-outvehicleterms.

ThisargumentationstretchesacrosstheEC-2011datasetinthearticlespublishedbetween12thMay

and17thSeptember,asshowninTable8.5herebelow.

Table8.5.Greece’srescueandbail-outoccurrences

ARTICLES RESCUEVEHICLETERM BAIL-OUTVEHICLETERM

12THMay TherescueofGreece

23rdJune Itwillget€12billionofitsfirst€110billionbail-out;a

secondGreekbail-out;a secondbail-out of some€100

billion bymid-July; Greecealongmight needa second

bail-out;

14thJuly

Charlemagne

Greece needs another rescue; they (the

Germans) are asked to rescue Greek

bureaucrats

14thJuly

Leaders

3rdSeptember Asecondbail-outofGreece;thefirstGreekbail-out;

17thSeptember InadequateplanforasecondGreekbail-out;

Total 3 7

Thetrajectorydevelopsbydiscussingthedecisiontosetaplanofrescuewhichisgoingtobail-outthe

indebtedcountriesacrosstheEurozone,whichisdiscussedinthearticlespublishedon12thMay,14th

JulyasshowninTable8.6herebelow.

186

Table8.6.Eurozonememberstates’srescueandbail-outoccurrences

ARTICLES RESCUEVEHICLETERM BAIL-OUTVEHICLETERM

12THMay TheEU’sbigbail-outfund;endlessbail-outs;

23rdJune

14thJuly

Charlemagne

To createapermanent system to rescue

countriesunabletopaytheirdebts;

Thecurrentbail-outfunds;

14thJuly

Leaders

Half-baked rescue plan; the currency

club’srescuekitty;

3rdSeptember Therescuemeasures; Bail-outsbackedlargelybyGermans;

17thSeptember Themoneyalreadyspentonrescues;

Total 5 4

Themoneyspenttosupportthecountriesthatcouldnotaffordpayingtheirdebts,thusrisking

aneconomicdefault,turnedtobeinsufficient.TheEurozoneleaders,inaccordancewiththeECBand

theEFSF, agreed to set futureplans to guarantee theEurozone and the euro economic stability, as

Table8.7belowshows.

Table8.7.Planstorescue/bail-outtheEurozoneandtheeuro

ARTICLES RESCUEVEHICLE BAIL-OUTVEHICLE

12THMay Howbesttorescuetheeuro;

23rdJune Eurozonebail-outfund;

14thJuly

Charlemagne

Futurebail-outs;thecreationofabigbail-outfund;

3rdSeptember Moreelaboratebail-outs;

17thSeptember Rescuetalk;arescuemustdofourthings;

successful rescue; the Eurozone

affordable rescue is possible; our rescue

plan(x2);

29thOctober Europe’s rescue plan; holes in the rescue

plan;rescuefund(x3);

26thNovember The Eurozone rescue fund; to stop all

rescueplans;

3rdDecember Germanywillnothearofthrowingcashat

the problem: no more for the Eurozone

rescuefund:

17thDecember The IMF left open the possibility of

boostingtheEurozone’sownrescuefund;

Total 14 4

187

Althoughitseemsclearlyevidentthatsomeuncertaintiesstillpersist,twomainfactorsmust

behighlighted.Ontheonehand, theeconomicdifficultiesareduetothe lackofmoneythat istobe

collectedfortheplan/fundthatshouldguaranteeeconomicstabilityacrosstheeuroarea;ontheother

hand,theEurozoneleadershavenotfoundtheappropriatemeasurestohelptheunionandtheeuro

too.

Takingintoconsiderationthatthecartoonistsaregivenaquitesubjectivemarginoflibertyon

howtorepresentwhat the journalistsdiscussed, I followedandtrackedhowthe topicofapossible

rescue of the euro wasmetaphorically shaped across the 10 images and I identified theHELPING

COUNTRIESFINANCIALLY ISARESCUEvisual systematicmetaphor,which I summarise inTable8.8

herebelow.

Table8.8.HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEvisualtrajectory

VISUALTOPIC VISUAL

VEHICLE

GROUPING

TRACKS METAPHORTRAJECTORYINTHEEC-2011

VISUALDATASET

“helping countries

financially”

Rescue

Track1

• Bailingasinkingshipout(12thMay)

• Carrying a container away from a sinking

ship(12thMay)

Track2

• Keepingalockedsuitcase(23rdJune)

• Throwingchequesandflowers(3rdSept.)

Track3

• Welding a huge broken euro coin (17th

Sept.)

• Thecolanderisarescueboat(29thOctober)

While Iwas examining the emergence of a systematic pattern I relied on the chronological

sequenceofeventsthatthepicturesillustratedinordertoportraytherescueoftheindebtedmember

states,theEurozoneandtheeuro.

Theverbaldiscussionregarding themeasures thatwere takentohelpGreecewith twobail-

outsisrepresentedvisuallythroughashipandaheavydebtcontainer.Bothobjectsaremetaphorical

illustrations that offer the viewer a simplified representation of all the political and economic

manoeuvres that involved the Eurozone leaders in actions to avoid Greece’s default. Both visual

vehicle symbols portray the difficulties that the Union encountered to reach an agreement. The

scenariodevelopsusingobjectssuchascheques(Figure8)andthelockedsuitcase(Figure2,chapter

6) to focus the viewer’s and the reader’s attentionon theneed for an economic support,while the

flowers (Figure 8) communicate the affection and determination thatMrsMerkel demonstrates in

188

convincingtheGermantaxpayers‘tothinkpositively’because‘Europeisthemostimportantthingwe

have’, as herwords are cited in the article published on 3rd September. Themetaphorical scenario

developsmultimodallyreflectingonthecloseverbalandvisualinterconnectednessdiscussingonhow

rescuingGreeceisfundamentaltokeeptheentireeuroareaunitedandsolvent.

Finally,whileahugebrokeneurocoinbeingweldedhasbeenchosentoillustratetheactionsof

trying to take the adequatemeasures and bring the euro currency back to economic stability, the

colanderisshowntohighlighthowinadequatetheplansofrescuingtheunionhavebeensofar.Both

imagesshowhowunsuccessfulthemeasuresandplansthatthejournaliststalkabouthavebeen.

The multimodal trajectory of the HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE systematic

metaphor,talkingandshowingthemeasuresthattheEurozoneleadershavetakentobringeconomic

stabilitybacktotheeuroarea,issummarisedinTable8.9herebelow.

Table8.9.HELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLYISARESCUEmultimodaltrajectory

MULTIMODAL

TOPIC

TRACKS MULTIMODALSYSTEMATIC

METAPHORTRAJECTORY

“helping

countries

financially”

Track1

• Taking Greece sinking ship away

from danger and release it from

financialdifficulties

Track2

• Collecting money to help indebted

countries in a suitcase and keep it

safe;payingdebtswiththecollected

money;

Track3

• Setting plans to collect money to

helptheEurozoneandtheeuro;

In studying the emergence of amultimodal systematicpattern I relied on the chronological

sequenceofeventsbeingtalkedaboutandillustratedinordertohighlighttherescueoftheindebted

memberstates,theEurozoneandtheeuro.

Althoughtheverbalmetaphorsdiscussingtheconsequencesofplanstohelptheeuroandthe

euro area give the reader some hope of a possible salvation, the intersemiotically related visual

metaphorsprovideaslightlydifferentscenario.Thatsaid,boththeverbalandthevisualmetaphorical

trajectorieshighlightedthatplanstosupportandhelptheindebtedcountriesandtheEurozonewere

adjustedinordertofindawayoutofthedebtcrisis.

189

8.4.2 Tracking multimodal systematicity across modes: SUDDEN FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A

COLLAPSE

Havingstudiedthemetaphoricalverbalexpressionsthatthejournalistschosetocommenton

theeurodebtcrisisintermsof“suddenmajornegativefinancialchange”topic,Iamgoingtotracka

multimodal systematic pattern of verbal and visual interrelatedmetaphorswhich I calledSUDDEN

FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A COLLAPSE. Table 8.10 here below illustrates the verbal trajectory of the

systematicpattern.

Table8.10.SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEverbaltrajectory

VERBALTOPIC VERBAL

VEHICLE

GROUPING

TRACKS METAPHORTRAJECTORYINTHEEC-

2011VERBALDATASET

“Sudden major

negative financial

change”

Collapse

Track1

• TheEurozoneandtheeuroarefacing

animminentdisaster

TrackII

• TheEurozoneand theEuroaregoing

tobreakintodifferentpieces

TrackIII• TheEurozoneand theeuroaregoing

tocollapse

While I was studying the emergence of a systematic pattern I relied on the chronological

sequenceofeventswhichbroughttheEurozoneandtheeurotoriskaneconomiccollapse.

Thesystematicpatterndevelopswithafocusonasituationofdanger,boththeeuroandthe

Eurozone have been seriously affected by the debt crisis and facing a crucial phase of financial

instability. Unless smart decisions are taken quickly, the euro area risks an economic default.The

Economistdiscussesthisimpendingdisasterthroughthedisasteranddisastrousvehicletermsacross

theEC-2011datasetinthearticlespublishedacross23rdJuneand26thNovember,asTable8.11here

belowillustrates.

Table8.11.TheEurozone,theeuroanddisaster

ARTICLES DISASTERVEHICLETERM

23rdJune TheopportunityforEurope’s leaderstoavoiddisaster is

shrinkingfast;theriskofadisastrousaccidentisgrowing;

14thJulyCharlemagne Leadershaveactedonlyinthefacetoimpendingdisaster;

17thSeptember UnlessGermanyrisestothechallenge,disasterlooms;

29thOctober Yetagaindisasterwillloom;

190

26thNovember The threat of a disaster does not always stop it from

happening;

Cananythingbedonetoavertdisaster?;

Total 7

The trajectory develops bydiscussing how this alreadyworrying scenario can evenworsen

andprovokethebreak-upoftheEurozoneandtheeuro.Thebreak-upvehicleterm,whichIidentified

and examined in chapter 6 (see section 6.5.1), puts emphasis on the incumbent menace that the

Eurozonecanbesplitintogeographicallydifferentstates.Moreover,theprojectofacurrencyunionis

underseriousthreat,whichmightbringtheeurotoanunexpectedaswellasinevitableend.Thetragic

epilogueofageo-economicandgeo-politicalunionisdiscussedinthearticlespublishedbetween12th

Mayand17thDecember,asshowninTable8.12herebelow.

Table8.12.TheendoftheUnionasapossiblebreak-up

ARTICLES BREAK-UPVEHICLEGROUP

12THMay Break-upoftheeuro;

23rdJune Acurrencybreak-up;iftheeuroweretobreak-up;

17thSeptember Lettingtheeurofallintobits;

26thNovember Aeurobreak-up(x2);thesinglecurrencycouldbreak-up;theeuro

will break-up; the world’s most financially integrated region

wouldberippedapart; theEurozonecould shatter intodifferent

pieces; The chances of the euro zone being smashed apart have

risenalarmingly;

3rdDecember Avertbreakdown;

17thDecember Aeurobreak-up;theongoingcostsofbreak-up;theimmediatebill

forabreak-up;theimmediatecosts[…]break-up;

Total 16

Themetaphoricalpatterndevelops andevidence is givenonhowtragically approaching the

loomingendoftheunitedandintegratedeuroareais.Thisdiscussionreachesitspeakwiththeuseof

the vehicle term collapse, crash/ed, destruction (see chapter 6, section 6.5.2) to underline how

dangerous the situation is. Unless prompt and important measures are taken, the euro and the

Eurozonewillsoonfaceacatastrophe,asarguedinthearticlespublished12thMayand17thDecember.

Table8.13reportstheoccurrencesofthevehicletermsgivingtrackoftheunionerawhichiscoming

toitsend.

Table8.13.Thepossiblecollapseofaunionofstatesunderthesamecurrency

ARTICLES COLLAPSEVEHICLEGROUP

12THMay Dangerofcollapse;imminentfinancialcollapse;

191

3rdSeptember Thegovernmentcouldcollapse;

17thSeptember Europe’s singlemarket couldcollapse; theEurozonewouldbe

reckless to flirt with collapse; the alternative would be the

collapse;

29thOctober Thethreatofafinancialcollapse;

26thNovember Thesinglecurrency’scollapseislooming;aneventualcollapseof

the single currency; the collapse of a government; as the

Eurozone hurtles towards a crash; the consequences of the

euro’sdestructionaresocatastrophic;

3rdDecember Iftheeurocollapses;

17thDecember Iftheeurocollapses;

Total 14

Althoughitseemsclearthatsomeuncertaintiesstillpersist,twomainfactorsmustbestressed.

Ontheonehand,theproblemisduetothelackofmoneythatistobecollectedfortheplanandfund

that should guarantee economic stability across the euro area; on the other hand, the Eurozone

leadershavenotfoundtheappropriatemeasurestohelptheUnionandtheeuro.

Using natural phenomena and/or calamities such as the breaking of a cliff, or a meteorite

falling down to comment on the little time which is left to intervene and avoid a financial and

economicdefault, confirm that the cartoonistshave contributed to shapingametaphorical scenario

discussingtheconsequencesofthedebtcrisis,asshownbyTable8.14herebelow.

Table8.14.SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEvisualtrajectory

VISUALTOPIC VISUAL

VEHICLE

GROUPING

TRACKS METAPHORTRAJECTORYINTHEEC-

2011VISUALDATASET

“sudden financial

failure”

Collapse

Track1

• Ashipissinking(12thMay)

• Heavy containers are weighing and

moving the ship downwards (12th

May)

TrackII

• Theedgeofacliff iscrackedandit is

probablygoingtofalldownwardsand

breakintopieces(14thJuly,Leaders)

TrackIII

• A burning meteorite is moving

downwardsanditisprobablygoingto

disintegrate, break into pieces and

collapse(26thNovember)

• A starry meteorite is moving

192

downwardsanditisprobablygoingto

disintegrate, break into pieces and

collapse(17thDecember)

TheverbalargumentationdiscussinghowheavythedebtsthatGreeceandtheEurozonehave

topaytoavoidtheendoftheUnionisillustratedviathevisualsymbolsofGreecesinkingshipandof

someheavycontainersbeingcarriedonboardweighingonit(Figure1).Bothmetaphorsprovidethe

viewerwith the illustration that somethingwasprocessed incorrectly or evenwronglybecause the

shipisstillsinkingandthecontainersarestillweighingdown.Theverbalcounterpartwillprovideus

withdetailsclaimingthatGreeceisstillinsolventandneedstheEurozone’sinterventionwithasecond

bail-out.Thevisualactionprocessofmovingdownwardsiscloselyconnectedtotheverbalclaimthate

Greeceisdestinedtodefault,unlesstheEurozonepromptlyintervenes.

Themultimodalmetaphorical trajectorydevelopsanddepictsa stateof danger showing the

crackededgeofacliff that isgoing to falldownwards(Figure6)asGreecesinkingship isdoing.The

visualmetaphorscommentingonthecrucialsituationthatItaly(thebrokenedge)andtheEurozone

(the cliff) are facing, develop in the verbal form talking of the Eurozone as possibly breaking into

pieces.

Theverbal andvisualmetaphorical trajectorydevelopsacross thearticlespublishedon14th

July(Leaders),on26thNovemberandon17thDecember,whichhighlightasystematicinterconnection

ofvisualandverbalmetaphorscommentingonthefutureoftheUnionintermsofabreakup.Verbal

andvisualmetaphorsdrawtheemergenceofascenariothatpromptsboththereaderandtheviewer

to expect the tragic end of the euro era. The multimodal scenario evolves as a systematic

representationofmovingdownwards.Theviewerisshowntwometeorites(Figures5,6and7)that

are both falling downwards, which stresses the systematicmetaphorical depiction of an imminent

disasterintermsofavisualtop-downmovement.

All thepictures introducing the articles abovementioned illustrate eitherobjects ornatural

elements that are either falling or are going to fall, an action which is destined to cause their

destruction, which the corresponding articles talk about through metaphors commenting on the

Eurozoneasbeingdestinedtobreakintopiecesandcausethedisintegrationoftheeurocurrency.

Themultimodalscenarioevolvesrepresentingthegravityofthedebtcrisisandthepaucityof

possibilitiestobringeconomicbalanceback.Visualandverbalmetaphorsshowandcommentonthe

euro and the Eurozone in terms of a collapse. The images stress a visual falling down that all the

objects and natural events portrayed are destined to face, which the linguistic expressions ‘the

consequencesof theeuro’sdestructionarecatastrophic’and ‘theEurozonehurtles towardsacrash’

commentonmetaphorically.

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Intersemiotically related visual and verbalmetaphors nurture the viewer’s and the reader’s

comprehension of economic issues such as fiscal default, currency failure, geo-economic and geo-

political separation. Tracking the emergence of a multimodal metaphorical scenario of talking and

illustrating the disintegration of the euro and of the Eurozone activates cognitive processes of

metaphoricalthinkingwhichpromptstheunderstandingofaneconomicdefaultintermsofaverbal

collapseandasavisualmovingdownwards.

The multimodal trajectory of the SUDDEN FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A COLLAPSE systematic

metaphor, portraying andwritingabout theunsuccessfulmeasures that theEurozone leadershave

taken toprevent the euro and theUnion frombeinggravelydamaged, is summarised inTable8.15

herebelow.

Table8.15.SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEmultimodaltrajectory

MULTIMODAL

TOPIC

TRACKS MULTIMODALSYSTEMATICMETAPHOR

TRAJECTORY

“Sudden

financial

failure”

Track1 • The sinking ship waving the euro flag is

facinganimminentdisaster

Track2 • The Eurozone and the euro are going to

breakintopieces

Track3 • The moving downwards of the euro

meteorite is going to collapse and

disintegratetheEurozone

Although the verbal metaphors discuss the incumbent possibility that the monetary and

geographical union fails, they leave some hope to the reader that before the end of the year the

Eurozone leaders, the ECB and the EFSFwill find an agreement to guarantee a future of economic

balance to the euro area. In contrast, the visual metaphors that accompany the articles seem to

highlight that the Eurozone and the euro are soon going to disintegrate, even though no crash is

visualised.Lookingattheprocessesthattheimagesillustratemetaphorically,theviewerunderstands

thatthedisplayedobjectsaregoingtobedestroyedandthephenomenaaredestinedtocausegreat

damage.

Themetaphoricaltrajectorythatemergesacrossthevisualandtheverbalmetaphorsconcernsthe

conclusion of an eramarked by integration, social and economic sharing. An incumbent danger is

approachingwhichmightdestroytheUnion,provoketheseparationofthememberstatesandprompt

theendofthesinglecurrencyasthesymbolofamonetaryunion.

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8.5 Conclusions

Thischapteraimedto investigate thedegreeofsemantic interconnectionbetweenthevisual

and the verbal metaphors on the euro topic, which enabled me to answer the Research Question

focussedonunderstandingwhetherandhowverbalandvisualmetaphorsdiscussingthedebtcrisis

weremetaphorically interrelated. I analysed the visual representations and the verbal expressions

commentingontheEurozone,theeuroareamemberstatesandleaders,aswellastheeuroandthe

debtcrisis,thattheEC-2011datsetprovideditsviewingandreadingpublicwith.

The examination of intersemiotic relations between the visual and the verbal metaphors

confirmed that some of the multimodal constructs the EC-2011 dataset is composed of are

intersemioticallyinterrelated.Mystudycouldconfirmahighdegreeofintersemioticityacrossmodes

but,asregardsmetaphoricalintersemioticitythesameresultcouldnotbevalidated.

Afterstudyingandidentifyingsystematicpatternsofvisualandverbalmetaphorsseparatelyin

chapters6and7,thisstudywasultimatelyfocussedonanalysingmetaphoricalsystematicityacross

modes. Iwaseventuallyable toanswer the lastResearchQuestionwhichaimedtoenquire towhat

extentandinwhatwayssystematicpatternofverbalandvisualmetaphorsemergedfromtheanalysis

oftheEC-2011dataset.Themetaphorsthatrecurredinbothmodeswherethoseregardingthedestiny

oftheeuroareaeitherintermsofarescueoracollapse.

The analysis of a multimodal scenario commenting on the euro and the Eurozone destiny

developed through the systematic emergence of two patterns of multimodal metaphors, which I

respectively labelled HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE and SUDDEN FINANCIAL

FAILUREISACOLLAPSE.

The study of SOLVING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IS A RESCUE systematic pattern of visual and

verbalmetaphoricityhighlightedthatacrosscollaborationbetweenthejournalistsandthecartoonists

developedintheformofprovidingtheviewerandthereaderwithamultimodalmetaphoricconstruct

whichcommentedontheactions,decisionsandmeasurestakenbytheEurozoneleadersinorderto

rescuetheeuroareaandbringeconomicstabilityback.

Finally,Icouldobservetheemergenceofasecondsystematicpatternofinterconnectedverbal

andvisualmetaphorsdiscussingtheEurozoneleaders’incapacitytosucceedintakingtheappropriate

measures that could and should have prevented economic problems from worsening. The failing

results of unsuccessful plans that have brought the euro and the euro area to face an impending

economic instability risking tobring the endof the euro erahasbeen identifiedandexaminedas a

SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSEsystematicmultimodalmetaphor.

GiventhesmallsampleoftextsthatIhavestudiedandanalysed,Iamunabletomakeclaims

for representativeness. That said, the examination of metaphorical interconnectedness and

systematicity acrossmodeswhich Idevelopedbycross analysing the textsand images that theEC-

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2011dataset is composed of allowed me to present findings in the form of tentative conclusions

regardingintersemioticandsystematicmetaphoricityinaselectionofmultimodalconstructsthatThe

Economistprovideditsreaderswitharguingabouttheeurocrisis.

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CHAPTER9

CONCLUSIONS

Inthischapter,IprovideasummaryofthefindingsIhavereportedinthepreviouschapters

andlinkthemtomyresearchquestions,whichIformulatedinChapter1andansweredinchapters6,

7and8.Idiscussthelimitationsaswellasthecontributionsofthisthesis,andconcludewithmaking

somesuggestionsforfurtherresearch.

9.1Summaryofthefindings

In this thesis I examined10 articleswhichThe Economist published in 2011, and I studied

whetherandhowthe journalistsand thecartoonistsdiscussedandrepresentedtheeconomiccrisis

thataffectedtheEurozoneandtheeuro.

Bearinginmindthatapriorityofthenewspaperistopresentandcommentontopicalissues

relying faithfully on the principle of clarity, as pointed out in the newspaper’s Style Guide (2013),

journalistsareinvitedtofollowandrespectthiswritingpillar,

“the first requirementofTheEconomist is that it shouldbe readilyunderstandable.Clarityofwriting

usually follows clarity of thought. So thinkwhat youwant to say, then say it as simply as possible”.

(2013:1)

Inaddition,eventhoughjournalistsareaskedtokeepinmindGeorgeOrwell’ssixelementary

rulesofwriting(chapter2),amongwhichtheoneinvitingthewriternottouseametaphor,simile,or

other figure of speech, The Economist, in agreement with Orwell’s claim suggest that they should

“breakanyoftheserulessoonerthansayanythingoutrightbarbarious”(ibid.).Coarseandunrefined

writingmustbeavoided,notonlybecauseitwouldhighlightlackofprofessionalism,butalsobecause,

asTheEconomistmaintains,it“nicelysuitsthejournalist’spurpose”(2013:2).

Having said all that, I investigated how metaphoricity in the visual, the verbal and the

multimodalformcontributed tooutliningtheeconomicconcerns thathadbrought instabilityacross

theeuroareasothatitseriouslyriskedafiscalandeconomicdefault.Ibasedmyinvestigationonthe

qualitativeanalysisofthedataIhadselected.

My research started with the analysis of the linguistic expressions that had been used

metaphoricallytodiscussthedebtcrisis.Thisexaminationshowedthatthecrisisisexplainedinfull

details in economic terms, but it is also argued about metaphorically. Part of the Eurozone feels

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unhealthy and suffers from an infectious diseasewhich risks to spread contagion across the entire

euroarea.Inordertoavoidinfectionandlimitthepain,rescueandrestorationplansaregoingtobe

discussedandshared.Unless theEurozone leaderscometoanagreementandsetsuccessfulrescue

plans,theeuroareaandthesinglecurrencyrisktocollapseandputanendtothedreamofaunionof

states. The analysis of vehicle terms highlighted that some metaphorical expressions were often

repeatedwithinandacrosstexts.

Theexaminationofverbaldatadevelopedandthevehicletermswithasimilarbasicmeaning

werecollectedintothesamevehiclegroup.Iidentifiedthefollowingfourvehiclegroupings:Disease,

Rescue,Restoration,andCollapse.Havingstudiedtheoverallcontextualmeaningofthefourgroups,I

assignedeachofthematopic,whichenabledmetonoticethatpatternsofmetaphorsreferringtothe

sametopicwereusedsystematicallyacrossthetexts.Inparticular,Iwasabletotrackfourpatternsof

metaphors,thatIcalledasfollows:ECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADIESEASE,HELPINGCOUNTRIES

FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE, SOLVING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IS RESTRUCTURING, SUDDEN MAJOR

NEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGE ISACOLLAPSE. I answeredmy second researchquestion, enquiring

whatverbalmetaphoricexpressionscanbeidentifiedintheselectionofarticlesfromTheEconomist

abouttheeurocrisis.

The studydevelopedwith the examinationof the visual representations thathadbeenused

metaphoricallytocommentonthedebtcrisisacrossthe10images.Themetaphoricillustrationsshow

common objects, natural environments andphenomena, commonpeople and famousEU leaders in

realbutalsounrealcontextsthatarereferringtothedebtcrisis.

The visual world highlights a pervading sense of danger. The viewer is led to expect that

something even worse is promptly going to occur. The cracked edge of a cliff, the huge euro coin

weighingheavilyonthecrackededgeofthecliff,theburningeurometeorite,thestarrymeteorite,the

sinkingshipsareallgoingtomovedownwardsanddisintegrate.Inaddition,theEUleadersthathave

taken refuge in a stony fortress are quickly going to be attacked by the four horsemen of the

apocalypse.Littlespaceislefttobelievethatthingsaregoingtobeadjusted.Wecanhardlythinkthat

thecrackedeurocoinwillnotfalldownwardsandbreakintopieces,aswellastheleadersleavinga

sinkingshiponacolanderlifeboatwillbesaved.

After identifyingthevehiclesymbols that thecartoonistshadused toportray thedebtcrisis

and itsconsequences, I sawthatsomemetaphorsrecurredoftenacross the images.Thus, Igrouped

thevehiclesymbolswhosebasicmeaningwaseitherequalorsimilar,andcodedtheRescueandthe

Collapse vehicle groupings.By allocating a topic to the groups I couldobserve that twopatternsof

metaphors were emerging systematically across the images, which I identified as the following

systematic visual metaphors: HELPING COUNTRIES FINANCIIALLY IS A RESCUE and SUDDEN

FINANCIAL FAILURE IS A COLLAPSE. At this stage of my research I answered my third research

198

questionaimedatenquiringwhatvisualmetaphoricexpressionscanbeidentifiedintheselectionof

articlesfromTheEconomistabouttheeurocrisis.

Afterexaminingthevisualandtheverbalmetaphoricoccurrencesseparately,thefocusofmy

analysis moved to investigating whether and how the visual and the verbal metaphors were

intersemioticallyrelated.Bycrossanalysingvisualillustrationsandverbalexpressionstalkingabout

andcommentingontheEurozone,theEurozonememberstatesandleaders,aswellastheeuroand

thedebtcrisis,Icouldfindthatsomevehiclesymbolswereintersemioticallyinterrelatedtotheverbal

terms.IwasthusabletoanswermyfourthResearchQuestionmeanttoinvestigatetowhatextentand

inwhatwaysvisualandverbalmetaphorsareintersemioticallyrelated.Thispartofmystudyrevealed

that the multimodal constructs which I examined gave evidence of a high degree of intersemiotic

interconnectionbetweenthevisualandtheverbalmode,eventhoughmetaphoricinterconnectedness

recurredlessthanmultimodalintersemioticity.

Finally, I focussedmyanalysisonmetaphoricsystematicityacrossthevisualand theverbal

modes. After studying and identifyingmetaphoric systematicity separately in the verbal and in the

visualform,Icouldobserverecurrentmetaphoricalrepresentationsofthedebtcrisisacrossmodes.I

couldtrackasystematicpatternofmultimodalmetaphorsarguingaboutthedestinyoftheeuroarea,

eitherintermsofarescueorofacollapse.Whileobservingtheemergenceofsystematicmetaphoricity

across the visualand the verbalmodes commentingon the euro and theEurozonedestiny, I could

tracktwocontrastingpatternsofmultimodalmetaphors,suchasHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLY

ISARESCUEand SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSE. I finallyansweredmy fifthquestion,

which aimed at exploring to what extent and in what ways visual and verbal metaphors build

systematicmetaphoricrepresentationsthatshapethetopicoftheeurocrisis.

Tosumup,thisthesishascontributedtothestudyofmetaphorsinthediscourseofeconomics.

In particular, I aimed at examining how the debt crisis has been presented and discussed by The

Economistthroughverbalandvisualmetaphors.

9.2Implicationsforavisualandverbaldiscussionofthedebtcrisis,theEurozoneandtheeuro

throughmetaphors

This section provides the answer tomy overarching question,which aimedat investigating

howmetaphorswereusedtorepresenttheeurocrisisinaselectionofarticlesfromTheEconomistin

2011.

Having studiedhowverbalmetaphors contributed todiscussing the euro topic, I found that

TheEconomistarguedaboutitintermsofadisease,theeuroandtheeuroareaaremetaphoricallyill

andmustberecovered,rescueplansmustbemade,adequatebail-outfundsmustbesetuptoallow

theindebtedmemberstatestorestructuretheirdebts,andEuropeanbanksmustberestored.Ifthe

199

processesofrecovery,bail-out,restructuringandrestorationdonotbringsuccessfulresults,theeuro

andtheEurozonewillcollapse.

EventhoughthemetaphoricexpressionsthatIstudiedmaybeconceivedasusefulinstruments

to prompt an immediate understanding of economic issues, the articles provided a detailed

economically-orienteddiscussiononthetroublesthattheeuroareawasforcedtofaceafterthedebt

crisis broke out. What verbal metaphors commented on can be translated in economic terms as

follows: considering the statusof insolvencyand illiquidity that somemember states suffer from, if

economicstabilityisnotbroughtback,theeurowillriskafiscaldefaultandtheprojectofaunionof

stateswillprobablyend.

Having developed the examination of the vehicle terms that talked about the topic in

metaphorical terms, I could collect them into the Disease, Rescue, Restructuring and the Collapse

groups. The procedure of grouping vehicles on the basis of the semantics of their basic meaning,

enabledmetotrackemergingpatternsofsystematicmetaphors.

By examining metaphoricity across texts, I could identify and follow four trajectories of

metaphors that occurred systematically in the EC-2011 dataset. Reflecting on the labels which I

assignedtothefourpatterns,suchasECONOMICDIFFICULTIESAREADISEASE,HELPINGCOUNTRIES

FINANCIALLY IS A RESCUE, SOLVING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IS RESTRUCTURING, SUDDEN MAJOR

NEGATIVEFINANCIALCHANGEISACOLLAPSE, Irecognisedthemas framing toolsofsupportwhich

the journalistshadused to accompanydetailedprofessionaldiscussions about the economic issues

concerningtheconsequencesthatthedebtcrisishadontheeuroandtheEurozone.

The study of metaphoricity across the EC-2011 dataset of images highlighted that the

cartoonistshadusedcommonobjectsandscenarioswhichdidnothaveanysemanticrelationwiththe

topic under analysis. Having added specific topic-oriented elements (i.e. huge euro coins, euro

banknotes,the€signonaflagandonaship,Greeceflag,theEUflag,eurocheques,starsonafalling

meteorite)aswellasfamousandeasilyrecognisableEUleaders(i.e.MrsMerkel,Sarkozy,Berlusconi),

thedesignersprovidedtheviewerwiththenecessaryelementstounderstandwhatthemetaphorical

messageintendedtoconvey.

Amongthe10pictures Icouldobservesomerecurrentobjectsandscenarios.PeterSchrank

andTheEconomisthaddrawnnauticalandmilitaryscenarios(Figures1,3and6chapter7)wherea

sinkingship,ashipatthemercywiththewaves,acolanderlifeboatiscarryingpassengersawayfrom

a sinking ship, a stony fortressunderattackwere going to face some tragicdestiny.TheEconomist

(Figure 4 chapter7),The Economist in collaborationwith Alamy (Figure 8 chapter7), and Claudio

Munoz (Figure 9 chapter 7) have respectively chosen to illustrate some natural elements and

phenomena(i.e.acrackedcliffthatisgoingtofalldown,twometeoritesthataremovingdownwards)

inordertostressthatsomedisasterisgoingtooccur,wheretheobjectsinvolvedaregoingtobreak

intopieces anddisintegrate. In contrastDerekBacon (Figure2 chapter7),Dave Simonds (Figure5

200

chapter7),andGettyandSuperstockagencies(Figure6chapter7),whohaverespectivelydepicted

somecommonobjects(i.e.adrydrainhole,ahugewheel)andtwocommonworkers(twowelders),

have decided to focus on actions and items that do not contribute to constructing a pattern of

metaphors shaping the euro topic. Even though these pictures show that both the objects and the

people involvedare facingsomeunsuccessfulactionsandconditionsof lack, theycannotbeused to

frame themetaphoricpatterns of rescue and collapsewhich I identifiedwhile examining the other

pictures. In contrast, by inspecting theother illustrations, Iwasable to track the emergenceof two

systematicpatternsofmetaphors that I calledHELPINGCOUNTRIESFINANCIALLY ISARESCUE and

SUDDENFINANCIALFAILUREISACOLLAPSE.

Finally, even though some pictures do not need the anchoring function of the text to be

understood(i.e.Figure8chapter7),eachofthemistheintroductorypartofamultimodalconstruct,

sotheyhaveaspecificfunctionandmeaninginthecontextofthearticletheybelongto.Thatsaid,asI

did with the verbal patterns of metaphors that I identified and examined, I recognised visual

systematicmetaphoricityasaframingdeviceofsupportwhichthecartoonistshadusedtointroduce

thejournalists’technicalargumentationsaboutthedebtcrisis,theeuroandtheeuroareaeconomic

concerns.

9.3Implicationsformetaphortheoryandanalysis

InthecourseoftheanalysisofmydataIhadtofaceseveralconcernspertainingtometaphor

theory and analysis. For instance, having decided to rely on Cameron’s framework to analyse the

occurrenceandrecurrenceoflanguagemetaphors,Ihadtoadaptittodecideonhowtodevelopthe

analysisofverbalandvisualmetaphors.

Myfirstfocuswastoidentifymetaphoricalverbalexpressions.Havingdecidedtosetthelimit

ofaword,IdecidedtoadopttheMIPprocedure,butIusedCameron’sterminology(vehicletermand

topic) to label verbal metaphors. After metaphors were identified I collected vehicle terms into

groupings, which I did following Cameron’s framework even though I was examining metaphors

acrossandnotexclusivelywithintexts.

Asregardsvisualmetaphoridentification,IreliedonForceville’sframework.Havingbasedmy

study on Cameron’s framework, I adapted Forceville’s approach identifying monomodal and

multimodal metaphors but changed the terminology he used and labelled vehicle symbol what he

calledasource,andtopicwhathecalledtarget.Inaddition,Ididnotrelyonhighlygeneralisedand

abstract conceptual domains that, as the cognitivists claimed, pre-existed “actual uses ofmetaphor

language” (Cameron and Malsen, 2010: 77). My approach to metaphor investigation was mainly

focussedonmetaphoricaloccurrencesastheywereusedandemergedintheflowofdiscourse.

201

I faced the first difficultieswhen I examinedthe emergenceof systematicpatternsof verbal

andvisualmetaphorsacrosstexts.Notonlyhaditneverbeenusedasaframeworktoinvestigatedata

differentfromtheverbal,butithadalsobeenusedexclusivelytotracktheemergenceofsystematicity

withintexts.

Firstly,whileanalysing verbalmetaphors, I had todealwithaset ofdata longer that a text,

which I managed having tracked the chronological development of information that the articles

provided.Startingfromthearticlepublishedon12thMay,Icouldfindacrescendoofdangeracrossthe

texts,whiletheriskthatboththeeuroandtheeuroareacouldcollapsewasincreasing,thehopetoset

successful plans of rescue diminished. That said, the articles published in October, November and

DecembergavelessspacetobelievinginafeasiblerescueoftheeuroandtheEurozone.

EventhoughIhadtofacethedifficultyofbreakingwiththeideathatIhadtendifferentarticles

toreadthrough,consideringthatthenumberoftextswasaffordablylimited,andthatthetopicthey

were arguing aboutwas roughly the same, I didnot find any disadvantage in following Cameron’s

procedure.Iinvestigatedsystematicmetaphoricityacrossthetenarticlesandfoundthatfourpatterns

emergedfrommyinvestigation,whichIcouldtrackandlabelquiteeasily.

ProblemsarosewhenIfacedtheanalysisofvisualsystematicity.Visualmetaphoricitywasnot

trackedfollowingthechronologicalsequenceofimages,asIdidwhenIexaminedverbalsystematicity.

After collecting images in accordancewith the semantic connectionsofwho/whatwasdisplayed in

what temporal and special location/s, I focussedmy attention on examining whether and to what

extent the displayed items recurred across the images. I could actually identify two patterns of

metaphorswhichemergedacross theEC-2011visualdataset, the firststressedon thepossibilityto

rescuetheeuroandtheeuroarea,theseconddidnotanddiscussedthedestinyofthesinglecurrency

andtheEurozoneintermsofacollapse.

Reflectingforinstanceontheimagesshowingapossiblecollapseoftheeuro,Iidentifiedthat

some pictures were showing the euro actuallymoving downwards (i.e. the burning eurometeorite

fallingdownwardsandthestarrymeteoritefallingdownwards),whileotherswereillustratingahuge

euro coin thatwasprobablygoing tomovedownwardsandbreak intopieces (i.e.ahuge euro coin

weighingheavilyontheedgeofcliffthatisgoingtofalldownwards).Havingconsidereddistinguishing

theactionprocessofmovingdownwards fromthatof theeuro that isgoing tomovedownwards, I

couldhighlightasequentialorderinthemetaphoricalrepresentationofthecoinwhichisdestinedto

disintegrate fromthosewhichmayavoidacollapse.Bydistinguishingthedownwardsmovement in

process-actionsfromapossiblefuturedownwardsmovement,Icouldtrackametaphoricaltrajectory

oftheeurocollapse.

Havingalsofocussedthepresentstudyontheanalysisofintersemioticrelationsbetweenthe

verbal and the visual modes, and precisely on metaphorical intersemioticity across the verbal

expressionsandthevisualrepresentationsofthedebtcrisis,andthepossiblerescue/collapseofthe

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euroandtheeuroarea,IfollowedRoyce’sframework.Thisframeworkwascreatedbytheauthorto

developaqualitativeanalysisofvisualandverbalinterconnectionswithinanarticletakenfromThe

Economist.

The first difficulty I had to face was to understandwhether Royce’s frameworkwas to be

adopted in all its parts or if I could delete some of them. Considering that I aimed at examining

metaphoric intersemioticity acrossmodes, I had to adapt it because some sections of the author’s

frameworkwerenotrelevanttomyanalysis.Startingfromexaminingtheideationalidentificationof

participants, processes and circumstances, I studied whether and how the metaphorical visual

participants, processes and circumstances had a metaphorical verbal matching. In order to track

intersemiotic relations of visual and verbal metaphors, I examined whether the verbal mood was

metaphorically interrelated to the visual address, involvement, and social distance. In order to

investigate textual metaphorical interrelations, I enquired information value and framing in both

modes.IactuallyfounditquitedifficulttorelyfairlyonRoyce’sframework,whichmustbereviewed

andadjustedinordertoprovideamoreappropriateandvalidinstrumenttoinvestigatemetaphoric

interconnectionacrossthevisualandtheverbalmodes.

9.4Limitationsandcontributionsofthethesis

In this thesis I have tried to give an overall account of the role that metaphor plays in

discussingtheeurocrisisandtheconsequencesithadontheeuroandtheeuroareabothverballyand

visually.

I have developed a qualitative analysis of the metaphoric verbal expressions and visual

representations on the topic of the debt crisis that I extracted from the EC-2011 dataset. Having

focussed my attention on metaphorical intersemioticity across modes, and wishing to investigate

patternsofmetaphorsinthevisualandverbalmodes,I limitedmystudytotheanalysisofthemost

recurrentmetaphorsarguingabout the troublesof theeuroarea intermsofarescueandacollapse

metaphors.

In addition, considering that the present research covers the temporal frame of one year,

althoughtheyear2011markedacrucialpointinthehistoryoftheEurozoneandtheeurocurrency,it

preventedmefrommakinggeneralisationsabouttheuseofmetaphorsthattheEconomistmighthave

donetodiscussthedebtcrisis.

IfIhaddevelopedaquantitativeanalysis,Iwouldhavebeengivenmoreopportunitiestostudy

metaphorical realisations on the euro crisis. For instance, I could have decided to choose a wider

temporal frameaswellasabigger dataset of data.Bothoptionswouldhaveundoubtedlyprovided

moreinstrumentstoidentifyandstudyawiderrangeofmetaphors.Moreover,quantitativeanalysis

contributes to making generalisations, thus working on a bigger dataset. I could have examined

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metaphor recurrence, intersemiotic metaphoricity andmetaphorical systematicity acrossmodes in

ordertoprovideevidenceandclaimsontheuseofcrisismetaphorsmadebyTheEconomist..

Finally, although I believe that the combination ofmanual and corpus analysis is crucial to

investigaterecurrenceandpatternsacrossdata,Iwasunabletodevelopit.Themainreasonconcerns

time restrictions, as a quantitative analysis onmultimodal data cannot be corpus-based,most of it

must be handledmanually and itwould have takenmuchmore time but it did not turn out to be

possibleformetodoit.

I believe, however, that the qualitative analysis that I performed has provided a picture,

althoughrestricted,ofmultimodalintersemioticityandmetaphoricityrelevanttothisthesis.

9.5Suggestionsforfurtherresearch

Thethesishasofferedrelevantinsightsonthedebtcrisisaswellasontheconsequencesfor

the entire Eurozone and the euro, and has discussed significant matters related to the study of

metaphorsacrossmodes.Thisresearchcanbetakenfurthertocarryoutaquantitativeanalysisona

datasetofarticlesthatTheEconomistpublishedonthecrisissinceitbrokeoutin2009uptotheyear

whichofficiallymarkeditsendin2012.Thisstudywouldallowustomakegeneralisationsontheuse

ofmetaphorsandpatternsofintersemioticallyrelatedvisualandverbalmetaphorsonthedebtcrisis.

In addition, itwould be interesting to develop the analysis of systematic metaphors across

modesintwoormoresetsofdataonthesametopicfromBritishandforeignqualitynewspapers.This

analysis would reveal whether and how different newspapers use equal, similar or even different

patternsofmetaphorsontheeurocrisis.

Finally, a comparative analysis of the use of verbal and visual metaphors, as well as the

examination of patterns of multimodal metaphorical constructs could be carried out to investigate

othercrises,differentfromtheeurodebtcrisisthatbrokeoutacrosstheworld.Thisresearchwould

givetheopportunitytohighlighteithersimilarordifferentpatternsofmetaphors,thusoutliningthat

patternsarebuiltdifferentlyaccordingtoideological,culturalandnationalconcerns.

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Appendices

Appendix1-Thearticles

ARTICLE 1

Charlemagne

Decisiontime

Germanycontinuestoditheroverhowbesttorescuetheeuro

May12th2011

WORKINGinthebombasticNazi-eraedificeinBerlinthatoncehousedHermannGöring'sairministry,thentheheadquarters

oftheRedArmyandlatermuchofEastGermany'scommunistgovernment,WolfgangSchäubleknowsmorethanmosthow

Germany'sdemocraticresurrectionandreunificationareboundupwithEuropeanintegration.ButastheGermanfinance

ministerwheelshimselfintotalktotheforeignmedia(hehasbeenparalysedfromthewaistdownsinceanassassination

attemptin1990),hecutsalonelyfigure.AveteranofGermanunification,heistheleadingpro-Europeaninthecabinet.His

instinctive response to the euro-zone crisis is more European integration. Germany is, after all, the euro's principal

beneficiary.ButhiscountryisevermorescepticaloftheEuropeanUnionandthesinglecurrency.GermanEurophiles feel

beleaguered.

Ministersaretornbetweenpromises“todowhateverittakes”todefendtheeuroandthehostilityoftheirvoterstowards

serialbail-outs.Theresulthasbeenasuccessionoferraticincrementalsteps,forcedbyeventsandlargelydrivenbytactics.

Germanyactedtoaverttheimminentfinancialcollapseofseveralcountries,butoften lateandneverdecisivelyenoughto

resolve the crisisonceandfor all. Instead,a yearafter the rescueofGreece, thenof IrelandandnowofPortugal, anxiety

seemstobegrowing.

TheEU,withpowerspreadacrossinstitutionsandcountries,isill-designedtoactswiftlyinacrisis.Germanyhastoprovide

leadership, if only because it has the deepest pockets. But it too often seems dysfunctional, partly because of its own

decentralised system and partly because being Europe's creditor-in-chief is unpopular. These days Angela Merkel, the

chancellor,maybetreatedinBrusselsasanempress,butinBerlinsheisjustoneofmanywarringnobles.

Take the latestupheaval. Somebody leakednews toDerSpiegel, aGermannewsmagazine, ofa secretmeetingof finance

ministersinLuxembourgonMay6thtodiscussGreece.Thatwasaccurate.Buttheclaimthatthecountrywasthreateningto

leave the euro seems to have been wrong, though it caused yet anothermarket convulsion. Jean-Claude Juncker, prime

ministerofLuxembourgandchairof theeurogroupof financeministers,saystherewasnotalkofrestructuringGreece's

publicdebt.Butwhocanbelieveamanwhoseofficialsdeniedthatthemeetingwastakingplace,andwhohasspokenofthe

needfor“secret,darkdebates”ineconomicpolicy-making?MrJunckerallbutadmittedthatGreececouldnotpayitsdebts,

saying itwouldneed “a furtheradjustmentprogramme”. InBerlin thisweekMrSchäublekeptmumabout this, to avoid

feeding“speculation”,thoughhisministryisnowlookingatdebtrestructuring.

In truth it isnot speculationbut indecisionand timidity thatareat fault.Germanyhasmadeexpensive loans totroubled

countries,butdoesnot likebigfiscal transfers. ItsaidtheEU'sbigbail-out fundwouldbetemporary,butitisbeingmade

216

permanent.Moneyforrescuesisbeingraisedwithjointguarantees,yetGermanywillnotacceptcommonEurobonds.Ithas

resisted immediately imposing lossesonbondholders, yet insists theymust share thepain from2013andhas started to

discuss lengtheningdebtmaturitiesdespite fierce resistancefromtheEuropeanCentralBank. Itdenouncesfinanciers for

causingthecrisis,buthasbackedargumentsagainstIrelandburningitsbankcreditors.

Morethanonce,MrsMerkelhascountermandedMrSchäuble.SheprevaricatedoverwhoshouldsucceedJean-ClaudeTrichet

asECBpresident,finallybackingItaly'sMarioDraghilongafterhehadwonoverotherleadersand,indeed,MrSchäuble.Even

Bild,Germany's leadingtabloid,elevatedMrDraghiasanhonoraryGerman,depictinghimwithaPrussianhelmet. “What

doesGermanywant?”asksanexasperatedEurocratinBrussels.Plainly,Germanydoesnotknow.TooneBerlineconomist,

“GermanyislikeanunguidedmissileoverEurope.”

Timeisnotonmyside

NoneofthisistosaythatGermanyisthemaincauseoftheeuro'scrisis.Asmuchormoreblamelieswiththosethatspent

irresponsibly, failedtoreformingoodtimesandwereblindtopropertybubbles.YetGermanhesitationhashinderedthe

searchforasolution.Itsstrategy,insofarasthereisone,hasfollowedatwintrack.Onehasbeentopushotherstoadopt

Germanicrigourthroughtougherfiscalrulesanda“fitnessprogramme”tomakeeconomiesmorecompetitive.Thisismeant

topreventafuturecrisis.Asfortoday'sills,causedbythesinsofthepast,theanswerhasoftenbeenjusttoplayfortime:to

trytorepairEurope'sbanks,insistondeficitsbeingtrimmedandhopethatgrowthmakestheproblemmoremanageable.EU

financeministerswant to postpone the reckoning again, perhapswith new loans for Greece, stretching out repayments,

reducingtheinterestrateorevenconsideringamodestvoluntaryreprofilingofcurrentdebt.

Buttimehasacost.Austerityintroubledcountriesisdeepeningrecession.MarketsdoubtthatGreeceandotherscanrepay

theirdebtsevenwithmuchmoretimeandfreshloans.AndthecrisisistearingatEurope'spoliticalfabric.Votersincreditor

countriesresentendlessbail-outs;indebtorcountriestheyresentendlessbelt-tightening.EvenBerlinmayberealisingthatit

istimeforhardchoices.Thatcouldmeanrestructuringdebts,imposinglossesoncreditorsandhelpingbanksindangerof

collapse. Or it could mean restructuring the euro area through common Eurobonds and fiscal transfers. One option

crystalliseslossesnowandraisesfearsoffinancialturmoil;theothermeansanopen-endedcommitmentthatriskspolitical

rejection.Neitheriseasy.Butprolongedindecisioncouldleadtosomethingevenmorepainful:break-upoftheeuro,whichto

pro-EuropeanGermanswouldbearepudiationofpost-warhistory.

ARTICLE2

Theeurocrisis

IfGreecegoes…

TheopportunityforEurope’sleaderstoavoiddisasterisshrinkingfast

Jun23rd2011

THEEuropeanUnionseemstohaveadoptedanewrule:ifaplanisnotworking,sticktoit.Despitethethousandsprotesting

inAthens,despitethejuddersinthemarkets,Europe'sleadershaveaneattimetabletosolvetheeurozone'sproblems.Next

weekGreeceislikelytopassanewausteritypackage.Itwillthengetthenext€12billion($17billion)ofitsfirst€110billion

bail-out,which itneedsbymid-July.Assuming theEuropeansagreeona face-saving “voluntary”participationbyprivate

creditorstopleasetheGermans,asecondbail-outofsome€100billionwillfollow.Thiswillkeepthecountryafloatthrough

217

2013,whenapermanenteuro-zonebail-outfund,theEuropeanStabilityMechanism(ESM),willtakeeffect.Theeurowillbe

savedandtheworldwillapplaud.

Timetostopkickingthecan

That is thehope that the EU's leaders, gathering in Brussels asThe Economistwent to press,want to cling to. But their

strategyofdenial—refusingtoacceptthatGreececannotpayitsdebts—hasbecomeuntenable,forthreereasons.

First,thepoliticsblockingaresolutionoftheeurocrisisisbecomingevermoretoxic.

Greeks see no relief at the end of their agonies. People are protesting daily in Syntagma Square against austerity. The

governmentscrapedthroughavoteofconfidencethisweek;themainoppositionpartyhascommitteditselftovotingagainst

theausterityplannextweekandafewmembersoftherulingSocialistpartyarealsodoubtfulaboutit.Meanwhile,German

voters are aghast at the prospect of a secondGreek bail-out,which they thinkwouldmerely tipmoremoney down the

plugholeofacountrythatisincapableeitherofrepayingitsdebtsorofreformingitself.Astheclimategetsmorepoisonous

andelectionsapproachinFrance,GermanyandGreeceitself,theriskofadisastrousaccident—anythingfromadisorderly

defaulttoacurrencybreak-up—isgrowing.

Second, themarkets are convinced thatmuddling through cannotwork. SpreadsonGreekbondsoverGermanbundsare

eightpointswiderthanayearago.Tradersknow thatGreece,whosedebts areequivalentto around160%of itsGDP, is

insolvent.Privateinvestorsareshyingawayfromaplacewheredefaultanddevaluationseemimminent,givingtheeconomy

littlechanceofgrowing.The longerrestructuringisputoff, themoreGreekdebtwillbeowedtoofficial lenders,whether

otherEUgovernmentsortheIMF—sothemoretaxpayerswilleventuallysuffer.

Thethirdobjectiontodenialisthatfearsofcontagionaregrowing,notreceding.EarlyhopesthatGreecealonemightneeda

bail-outweredashedwhenIrelandandPortugalalsosoughthelp.Theeurozonehastriedtodrawalinearoundthesethree

relativelysmalleconomies.Butthe jittersofrecentweekshavepushedSpainandevenItalyback intothemarkets'sights

again.Thebeliefthatbigeuro-zonecountriescouldbeprotectedfromattackhasbeendisproved.Indeed,farfromfearsof

contagionebbing,thetalkisofaGreekdefaultasa“Lehmanmoment”:liketheinvestmentbank'sbankruptcyinSeptember

2008,itmightunexpectedlybringdownmanyothersanddevastatetheworldeconomy.

While theEU's leadersare trying to deny the need for default, a rising chorus is taking the opposite line.Greece should

embracedefault,walkawayfromitsdebts,abandontheeuroandbringbackthedrachma(inasimilarwaytoBritainleaving

thegoldstandardin1931orArgentinadumpingitscurrencyboardin2001).

Thatoptionwouldberuinous,bothforGreeceandfortheEU.Evenifcapitalcontrolswerebrought in,someGreekbanks

wouldgobust.Thenewdrachmawouldplummet,makingGreece'sdebtburdenevenmoreonerous.Inflationwouldtakeoff

asimportpricesshotupandGreecehadtoprintmoneytofinanceitsdeficit.Thebenefitfromaweakercurrencywouldbe

small:Greece'sexportsmakeupasmallsliceofGDP.Thecountrywouldstillneedexternalfinance,butwhowouldlendtoit?

Andthecontagionriskwouldbebiggerthanfromrestructuringalone: ifGreece left,whynotPortugalorevenSpainand

Italy?Iftheeurozoneweretobreakupitwouldputhugepressureonthesinglemarket.

Thethirdway

Thereisanalternative,forwhichthisnewspaperhaslongargued:anorderlyrestructuringofGreece'sdebts,halvingtheir

valuetoaround80%ofGDP.Itwouldhardlybeashocktothemarkets,whichhavelongexpectedadefault(animportant

differencefromLehman).Thebanksthatstillholdabigchunkofthebondsareinbettershapetoabsorblossestodaythan

theywere lastyear.EvenifGreece'sdebtswerecut inhalf, thenet losswouldstillrepresentanabsorbableproportionof

mostEuropeanbanks'capital.

Anorderlyrestructuringwouldberisky.DoingitnowwouldcrystalliselossesforbanksandtaxpayersacrossEurope.Nor

would it,by itself,rightGreece.Thecountry'seconomyis indeeprecessionandit isrunningaprimarybudgetdeficit(ie,

beforeinterestpayments).EvenifGreecerestructuresitsdebtandembracesthereformsdemandedbytheEUandIMF,it

willneedoutsidesupportforsomeyears.Thatisboundtobringmorefiscal-policycontrolfromBrussels,turningtheeuro

218

zoneintoamorepoliticallyintegratedclub.Evenifthatneednotmeanasuperstatewithitsownfinanceministry,theEU's

leadershavenotstartedtoexplainthe likelyramificationsofall thistovoters.Butat leastGreeceandthemarketswould

haveaplanwithachanceofworking.

Nomatterwhat fictions they concoct thisweek, theeuro zone's leaderswill sooneror later facea choicebetween three

options:massivetransferstoGreecethatwouldinfuriateotherEuropeans;adisorderlydefaultthatdestabilisesmarketsand

threatens the European project; or an orderly debt restructuring.This last optionwould entail a long period of external

supportforGreece,greaterpoliticalunionandadebateabouttheinstitutionsEuropewouldthenneed.Butitisthebestway

outforGreeceandtheeuro.Thatoptionwillnotbeavailableformuchlonger.Europe'sleadersmustgrabitwhiletheycan.

ARTICLE3

Charlemagne

Theeuro'srealtrouble

Thecrisisofthesinglecurrencyispoliticalasmuchasfinancial

Jul14th

ANYONEstrugglingtounderstandwhyEuropehasprovedincapableofputtinganendtotheeuro'scrisismightfindanswers

inabad-tempereddinneratasummitonOctober28th2010.TheargumentwasoverademandbytheleadersofGermany

andFrance,madedaysearlieratDeauville,foratreatychangetocreateapermanentsystemtorescuecountriesunableto

paytheirdebts.Everyonegroaned.IthadtakenyearsoftribulationtoagreeontheEuropeanUnion'sLisbontreaty,which

hadonlyrecentlycomeintoeffect.ButtheybowedtoAngelaMerkel, theGermanchancellor,whowantedtopreventany

challengetothenewsystembyGermany'sconstitutionalcourt.

However,Jean-ClaudeTrichet,presidentoftheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB),worriedaboutsomethingelse:herdemandthat

futurebail-outsmustinclude“adequateparticipationofprivatecreditors”,meaninglossesforbondholders.Thatcouldonly

alarmthemarkets,hethought,stilljitteryaftertheGreekcrisisinthespring.“Youdon'trealisethegravityofthesituation…”

beganMrTrichet.ButhewascutoffbytheFrenchpresident,NicolasSarkozy,whointerjected,oneFrenchmantoanother:

“Perhapsyouspeaktobankers.We,weareanswerabletoourcitizens.”MrsMerkelchimedin:taxpayerscouldnotbeasked

tofootthewholebill,notwhentheyhadjustpaidtosavethebanks.

The politicians won the day. But Mr Trichet's worries have also been vindicated, as contagion has spread and is now

engulfing Italy.The dinner-table row illustrates how, throughout the sovereign-debt crisis, the requirements of financial

crisis-managementhavecollidedwithpolitical, legalandemotionalpriorities. Indeed, theeuro'swoesareasmuchabout

politics as about finance. European officials such as Mr Trichet parrot that the euro zone's overall debt and deficit are

sounderthanAmerica's.YetEuropelacksthebigfederalbudgetsandfinancialinstitutionstoredistributeincomeandabsorb

economicshocks.Andithasnosinglepolitytomediatetensionswithinandbetweenmembercountries.Itishardenoughto

getCalifornianstosaveWallStreetbankers;nowonderGermansbristlewhentheyareaskedtorescueGreekbureaucrats.

ButEurope'spoliticianscannotblameeverythingontheirlackoftools.Theirinconsistency,evenincoherence,overgetting

creditorstopayhasdonemuchtospreadcontagion.TheirfirstemergencyloansimposedtoughconditionsonGreece,but

noneonthebankers.Indeed,thecreationofabigbail-outfundwasmeanttomakedefaultunthinkable.AtDeauville,though,

MrsMerkelandMrSarkozywanteddefaulttobecomeapossibility:currentdebtwouldbesafe,theysaid,butleaderslater

219

agreedthatfrom2013countriesshouldissuenewtypesofbondsthatcouldbemoreeasilyforcedtotakeahitifacountry

ranintotrouble.NowGreeceneedsanotherrescue,defaultisnearerandtheGermansandDutch,threateningtostandinthe

way,wantprivatecreditorstocontributerightaway.Thishas ledtoanopendisputewithMrTrichet,whosayseventhe

mildestofdebtreschedulingrisksanupheavalcomparabletothecollapseofLehmanBrothers;hehasthreatened,ifthereis

any sortofdefault, to cutoff credit toGreekbanks—pushingmany intobankruptcy. Is it any surprise that investors are

fleeingvulnerableeuro-zonebonds?

Tocapitall,intalkswithGreece'screditorseuro-zonecountrieshavespentthepastfewweekspursuingcontradictoryaims.

At thebehestofBerlin andTheHague, they soughta “substantial” contributionbybondholders,but to satisfy theECB in

Frankfurt,thiswouldhavetobe“voluntary”—asifsomeonewouldwillinglytakealargelosswhenasmalleroneisonoffer.

FinanceministersinBrusselsthisweekmoreorlessaccepteda“selectivedefault”,solongasitisshort-lived(nolongerthan

afewdays)anddoesnottriggerapayoutoncredit-defaultswaps(aformofinsuranceagainstdefault).Toeasetheburden

onGreece,ministersseemreadytolenditmoneytobuybackexistingbonds,andtolowertheinterestratetheychargeon

loans.

Thisdealmaynotcomecheap.Dependingonthedegreeofcoercion,privatecreditorswillgiveupatmost€30billion($43

billion) for Greece's financing needs to 2014. But officials say thatmerely to lower Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio to that of

heavilyindebtedItaly,theunofficialgoal,wouldrequireasumseveraltimesbigger.IrelandandPortugalmayneedsimilar

treatment.

Thinkbiggerandbolder

Therearegoodreasonstomaketheprivatesectorpay.Taxpayersshouldnotbearthewholecostofbondholders'losses—

afterall,investorsreceivedhigherreturnsfortheirrisk-taking(ifnothighenough).Butthepresentpolicybringstheworstof

both worlds: too little money from creditors to make a big difference to Greece, too much turmoil to make the effort

worthwhile.

Itistimetothinkdifferently.Ifthereistobeadefault,thenitmightaswellbeabigone,withalargehaircutoncreditorsthat

givesGreecereliefandagreaterchanceofrecovery.Eventhen,Greecewillneedhelpforyearstocome.Andsomebankswill

havetoberecapitalised.Oneusefulmeansofallayingthepanicmightbeforeuro-zonecountriestoissuepartoftheirdebtas

jointbonds. Jointlyguaranteedbonds sold toraisemoney for the currentbail-out fundsarebeingeagerly snappedupby

investors.

Thismaymakefinancialsense.Butthenear-insurmountableobstacleis,asalways,political:thereishugeresistancetowhat

would become a more overt “transfer union”. In a group of democracies, where big decisions are taken by unanimity,

consensusishardtocomebyandtakestime.Hence,leadershaveactedonlyinthefaceofimpendingdisaster,andthenwith

half-measures.Marketsoperateonafastertimetable.TheywillnotwaitforEurope'sleaders,likeChurchill'sAmericans,to

dotherightthingafterhavingexhaustedallthealternatives.

ARTICLE4

Italyandtheeuro

Ontheedge

ByengulfingItaly,theeurocrisishasenteredaperilousnewphase—withthesinglecurrencyitselfnowatrisk

Jul14th2011

220

FORmorethanayeartheeurozone'sdebtdramahaslurchedfromonenail-bitingscenetoanother.FirstGreecetookcentre

stage; thenIreland;thenPortugal; thenGreeceagain.EachtimeEuropeanpolicymakersreactedsimilarly:withdenialand

dithering,followedattheeleventhhourwithahalf-bakedrescueplantobuytime.

Thisweek the shortcomings of thismuddling-throughwere laidbare. Financialmarkets turned on Italy, theeuro zone's

third-biggesteconomy,withalarmingspeed.Yieldsonten-yearItalianbonds jumpedbyalmostapercentagepoint intwo

tradingdays:onJuly12ththeybreached6%,theirhighestsincetheeurowascreated.TheMilanstockmarketslumpedtoits

lowestintwoyears.Thoughbondyieldssubsequentlyfellback,thedebtcrisishasclearlyenteredanewphase.Nolonger

confinedtothesmallperipheraleconomiesofGreece,IrelandandPortugal,ithashurdledoverSpain,supposedlynextinline,

andreachedoneoftheeurozone'sgiants.Allitsmembers,butespeciallyGermany,faceastarkchoice.

Consider the stakes. Italyhas thebiggest sovereign-debtmarket inEuropeand the third-biggest intheworld. Ithas€1.9

trillion($2.6trillion)ofsovereigndebtoutstanding,120%ofitsGDP,threetimesasmuchasGreece,IrelandandPortugal

combined—and farmore than the€250billionor so left in theEuropeanFinancial StabilityFacility (EFSF), thecurrency

club'srescuekitty.Defaultwouldhavecalamitousconsequencesfortheeuroandtheworldeconomy.Evenifthemorelikely

immediateprospectissustainedstressintheItalianbondmarket,thatwillsurelypromptinvestorstofleeEuropeanassets,

makingthecontinent'srecoveryeverharder.MeanwhileinthebackgroundthereistheabsurdpantomimeofBarackObama

and congressionalRepublicans feuding overhow to raise the federal government's debt ceiling to stave off anAmerican

“default”.ThatmayhavedistractedAmericaninvestorsbriefly;oncetheyrealisehowmuchisatstakeinItaly,itwillnothelp.

FromRometoBrussels,FrankfurtandBerlin

Theproximate causeof thisweek's scare lies in Italianpolitics, anda row inwhichSilvioBerlusconi, theprimeminister,

hurled playground insults at Giulio Tremonti, the financeminister, over a new austerity budget. Add in the underlying

concerns about the Italian economy's feeble growth rate, and investors are understandably worried about the Italian

government'sabilitytoshoulderitshugedebt.

Intheory,theseconcernsshouldbeeasyforagrown-upgovernmenttoaddress.Afterall,Italy,forallitsfaults,isnotabig

Greece.Itsdebtburdenhasbeenhighbutstableforyears.Itsprimarybudget(ie,beforeinterestpayments)isinsurplus.It

hasarecordofcuttingspendingandraisingtaxesif itneedstodoso: in1997,whenitwastryingtoget intotheeuro,its

primarysurpluswas34.6%ofGDP.ByEuropeanstandardsitsbanksaredecentlycapitalised.Highprivatesavingmeansthat

muchsovereignborrowingisfundedathome.

Inpractice,though,thereisseldomaclearlinebetweenilliquidityandinsolvency:ifthepriceItalymustpaytoborrowrises

highenoughforlongenough,itsdebtwilleventuallyspiraloutofcontrol.AndItaly'sprospectsarebeingoverwhelmedby

the contradictions and uncertainties in Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin, where respectively the Eurocrats, the European

Central Bank (ECB) and Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, have all vainly tried to follow two contradictory goals—

namely, avoiding any formal default on Greek debt, while also avoiding an open-ended transfer from richer European

countriestotheinsolventperiphery.

To be fair toMrsMerkel andEurope's other leaders, they have not chosen tomuddle throughmerely out of cowardice,

thoughtherehasbeenplentyofthat,butbecausetheeuro-zonecountriesareprofoundlydivided.Theycannotagreeonwho

shouldbearthecostof today'scrisis:shouldit46.becreditors(throughawrite-down),debtors(throughausterity)orthe

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Germans(throughtransferstothesouth)?Andtheyhavenotdecidedwhetherthelong-termanswerisafiscalunion,ornot.

Investorsarethusunclearabouthowbadlytheymaybehit.WithEuropeansinsuchamuddleoverlittleGreece,nowonder

investorsaresoterrifiedbybigItaly.

Comeththehour,comeththeEurobond

Whatistobedone?Thisnewspaperhaslongarguedthatmuddling-throughmustbereplacedbyacomprehensivestrategy

basedonthreecomponents:debtreductionforplainlyinsolventcountries;arecapitalisationoftheEuropeanbanksthatwill

sufferfromthatrestructuring;andthebuildingofafirewallbetweentheinsolventandtherest.

DebtreductionmustbeginwithGreece,thecountrythatismostobviouslybust.Howevertherestructuringispitched,Greece

willbeindefault,soaplantorecapitalisebankshitbadlybythis,startingwithGreece'sown,willbeneededtoo.Theresults

ofstresstests,dueonJuly15th,shouldshowhowmuchmorehelpisrequired.Theremayhavetobeasimilarrestructuring

forPortugalandIreland.

Thetaskofbuildingafirewallaroundthesolventcore,includingSpainandItaly,hastobesharedbetweenthecountriesat

riskandtheeurozoneasawhole. Italyneedstopass itsbudgetspeedily—andalsopushthroughlongoverduestructural

reforms.Itschallengesarenotonly,orevenmainly,aboutfiscalausterity,butaboutmakingtheeconomygrow.Asforthe

eurozone,short-termhelpmayhavetocomefromtheECBbuyingItalianbonds(difficultpoliticallybecausethenextheadof

theECBwillbeMarioDraghi,thebossofItaly'scentralbank).SoonthoughtheeurozonemaywellhavetoexpandtheEFSF

andallowittoissuejointlyguaranteed“Eurobonds”.

Thatisahugepoliticalleap—especiallyforMrsMerkel.Germanyisfirmlyopposedtoanysolutionthatcouldimplyopen-

endedtransfersto fecklesssoutherners;soareseveralothernorthernEuropeancountries,not leastbecauseguaranteeing

othersmayraisetheirownborrowingcosts.Itisnotapleasantoption.Butthealternativecouldbetheendoftheeuro.That

isthehorriblelessonofthisweek.

ARTICLE5

Germany

Angstovertheeuro

TheEU’scurrencycrisistakesitstollontherulingcoalition

Sep3rd2011|SCHWERIN

ONTHEcampaigntrail,AngelaMerkeltellsvoterstothinkpositively.Germany“hascomethroughtheeconomiccrisisbetter

than some other countries,” the chancellor says to a crowd in themarket square of Schwerin, the picturesque capital of

Mecklenburg-WestPomerania, aneastern state. “Manyhaveangst about theeuro,” sheobserves. “Youdon'thave to.The

currencyisstable.”

Her supportersarenot so sure.BerndLampe, a spectatorwhohasbelongedtoMrsMerkel'sChristianDemocraticUnion

(CDU)for45years,admitsto“alittleangst”.Bail-outsbackedlargelybyGermantaxpayershavegonetoofar,hethinks.His

feelingiswidelyshared.Theeurocrisishasreplacedunemploymentasvoters'topconcern,saysForschungsgruppeWahlen,

apollster.Althoughmost are contentwith theirownsituation, just30%expect theeconomy to improve, comparedwith

morethanhalfinJune.

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Thisgnawsatconfidence inMrsMerkelandinhercoalition,which includestheCDU'sBavariansisterparty,theChristian

SocialUnion, and the liberal FreeDemocraticParty (FDP). Littlemore thana third of theelectoratewould back them if

electionswereheld today.TheoppositionSocialDemocraticandGreenparties arewell ahead.Elections inMecklenburg-

WestPomeraniaonSeptember4thandinBerlintwoweekslaterarelikelytoconfirmtheopposition'sstrength.

AbiggerworryismountingdissentamongMrsMerkel'sallies.HelmutKohl,thelastCDUchancellor,wholaunchedboththe

euro and Mrs Merkel's political career, fumed in an interview that Germany is “no longer a predictable actor, either

domestically or abroad”. ChristianWulff, who owes his job as Germany's president to Mrs Merkel, complained that the

financialmarketsarepushinggovernmentsaround.TheCDUrankandfile,neverwhollyateasewithMrsMerkelasparty

chairman, isbewilderedbyherabruptchangesofcourse.Shescrappedconscription,aconservativesacredcow.Anuclear

accidentinJapanpromptedhertoshutdownnuclearplantsinGermany.

But nothing ismore dangerous to her than the euro crisis.Mrs Merkel has tried to help indebted euromembers while

refusing to write blank cheques. But themarkets have repeatedly tested that approach, requiring ever larger andmore

elaboratebail-outs.Now,Germany'sincreasinglyscepticalBundestag(lowerhouseofparliament)isabouttoweighin.This

month it will consider legislation to approve expanded powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a

temporaryfundforhelpingtheindebtedeurocountries.Afterthatitwillvoteonasecondbail-outofGreece,worthabout

€109billion($157billion),andthenonapermanentsuccessortotheEFSF.

Resistance,much of it fromMrs Merkel's coalition, is stiffening. Dissenters have twomain worries. The first is that the

Bundestag will be stripped of its right to determine how taxpayers' money is spent. They expect encouragement on

September7thfromarulingbytheconstitutionalcourtonthelegalityofthefirstGreekbail-outandtheEFSF.Thecourtis

notexpectedtooverturnthemeasures,butmayreinforcetheBundestag'sauthorityoverbudgetarymatters.Thetrickwillbe

todothatwithoutparalysingtheinstitutionsbeingsetuptodealwitheurocrises.

ThesecondfearisthatGermanywillenduppouringevenmoremoneyintocountriesthatareunwillingorunabletosolve

theirownproblems.Therescuemeasures“willcertainlybuytime,”saysWolfgangBosbach,aCDUleaderintheBundestag

whoisnormallyloyaltoMrsMerkel.“ButIfeartheywon'tsolvetheproblempermanently,sotherewillhavetobemoreaid.”

Greece'sproblemisnotlackofcredit;itislackofcompetitiveness,hebelieves.

Thereareenoughpro-rescuevotesintheBundestagtopassthelegislation(themainoppositionpartiesfavourevenmore

generousmeasures,suchasissuingEurobondsjointlyguaranteedbyeuro-zonegovernments).Thequestioniswhetherthe

“chancellormajority”willsufficetoenactthepackagewithoutoppositionvotes.Ifthemajoritybuckles,MrsMerkelwouldbe

weakened,perhapsfatally.Thegovernmentcouldcollapse,twoyearsbeforeelectionsarescheduled.Butthisseemsunlikely.

Noneofthecoalitionpartiesiskeentofaceelectionsnow.TheFDP,whichharbourssomevocalsceptics,mightnotevenre-

entertheBundestag.MrBosbachexpectsthechancellor'smajoritytoholdup,thoughhedoesnotplantojoinit.

Belatedly,MrsMerkelisstartingtocounterthethreat.ShewilltrytoplacatetheCDU'sbaseinaseriesofregionalmeetings

andhassetupacommissiontofashionapartyconsensusontheeuro.Herrhetoricnowsometimesthrobswithun-Merkel-

like fervour. “Europe is the most important thing we have,” she says (though not in Schwerin). Other CDU leaders are

soundingEurophilenotesnotheardforsometime(withoutprovidingmuchdetailoranytimetable).UrsulavonderLeyen,

thelabourminister,callsfora“UnitedStatesofEurope”.

MrsMerkelmayrecoverfromhermid-termslump.ThoughCDUtraditionalistsgrumbleaboutherleadership,theyhaveno

onecapableofchallengingher.RisingstarslikeMrsvonderLeyenaremoderniserslikethechancellorherself.“Thereisno

alternativecentreofpower”withintheparty,saysGerdLangguthoftheUniversityofBonn.Withluck,MrsMerkelwillhave

twoyearstopersuadevoters,also,toseethebrightersideofthings.

Correction:AnearlierversionofthisarticlesaidthatAngelaMerkelwas"East-Germanborn",whenshewasactuallybornin

Hamburg.ThiswascorrectedonSeptember9th2011.

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ARTICLE6

Europe'scurrencycrisis

Howtosavetheeuro

Itrequiresurgentactiononahugescale.UnlessGermanyrisestothechallenge,disasterlooms

Sep17th2011

SO GRAVE, so menacing, so unstoppable has the euro crisis become that even rescue talk only fuels ever-rising panic.

InvestorshavesniffedoutthatEurope'sleadersseemunwillingevertodoenough.Yetunlesspoliticiansactfasttopersuade

theworldthattheirdesiretopreservetheeuroisgreaterthanthemarkets'abilitytobetagainstit,thesinglecurrencyfaces

ruin.Ascreditlinesgumupandoutsiderspleadforaction,itisnotjusttheeurothatisatrisk,butthefutureoftheEuropean

Unionandthehealthoftheworldeconomy.

It isasoberingthoughtthatsomuchdependsonthe leadershipofsquabblingEuropeanpoliticianswhostillconsistently

underestimatewhatconfrontsthem.Buttheonlywaytostopthedownwardspiralnowisanactofsupremecollectivewillby

euro-zonegovernmentstoerectabarrageoffinancialmeasurestostaveoffthecrisisandputthegovernanceoftheeuroona

sounderfooting.

Thecostswillbelarge.Fewpeople,leastofallthisnewspaper,wanteithervastinterventioninfinancialmarketsorabigshift

ofnationalsovereigntytoEurope.Nordomanywelcomeabiggerdividebetweenthe17countriesoftheeurozoneandthe

EU'sremaining ten. It is just thatthealternativesare farworse.That is theblunt truth thatGermany'sAngelaMerkel, in

particular,urgentlyneedstoexplaintoherpeople.

Thefailureofausterityandpretence

Arescuemustdofourthingsfast.First,itmustmakeclearwhichofEurope'sgovernmentsaredeemedilliquidandwhichare

insolvent,givingunlimitedbackingtothesolventgovernmentsbutrestructuringthedebtofthosethatcanneverrepayit.

Second,ithastoshoreupEurope'sbankstoensuretheycanwithstandasovereigndefault.Third,itneedstoshifttheeuro

zone'smacroeconomicpolicyfromitsobsessionwithbudget-cuttingtowardsanagendaforgrowth.Andfinally,itmuststart

theprocessofdesigninganewsystemtostopsuchamesseverbeingcreatedagain.

Thefourthpartwilltakealongtimetocomplete:itwillinvolvenewtreatiesandapprovalbyparliamentsandvoters.The

othersneedtobedecidedonspeedily(sayoveraweekend,whenthemarketsareshut)withtheclearaimthatEuropean

governmentsandtheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB)acttogethertoendtoday'sviciouscircleofpanic,inwhichtheweakness

ofgovernmentfinances,thefragilityofbanksandworriesaboutlowgrowthallfeedoneachother.

Sofartheeurozone'sresponsehasreliedtoomuchontwothings:austerityandpretence.Sharplycuttingbudgetdeficitshas

been thepriority—hence the tax risesand spending cuts.But this collectivelyhuge fiscal contraction is self-defeating.By

drivingenfeebledeconomiesintorecessionitonlyincreasesworriesaboutbothgovernmentdebtsandEuropeanbanks.And

merebudgetcuttingdoesnotdealwiththerealcauseofthemess,whichisalossofcredibility.

ItalyandSpainareunderattacknotbecausetheirfinanceshavesuddenlydeteriorated,butbecauseinvestorsfretthatthey

maybeforcedtodefault.Forthislossofconfidence,blamethepretence.Europe'sleadershaverepeatedlydeniedthatGreece

isinsolvent(wheneveryoneknowsitis),failingtodrawalinebetweenitandthelikesofSpainandItaly,whicharesolvent

but short of liquidity. The excuse is that a Greek restructuringmay cause contagion. In fact denying the inevitable has

underminedpledgesaboutsolventgovernments.

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Instead of austerity and pretence, a credible rescue should start with growth and, where it is unavoidable, a serious

restructuringofdebt.Europemustmakeanhonestjudgmentaboutwhichsideofthelinecountriesareon.Greece,whichis

unambiguouslyinsolvent,oughttohaveahardbutorderlywrite-down.Thelatest,inadequateplanforasecondGreekbail-

out, agreedat a summit in July, should be thrownawayand rewritten. But all the othereuromembers (and on present

numbers Portugal is just about in the solvent camp) should be defendedwith overwhelming financial firepower. All the

troubled economies, solvent or insolvent, needa renewed programme of structural reform and liberalisation. Freeingup

services and professions, privatising companies, cutting bureaucracy and delaying retirement will create conditions for

renewedgrowth—andthatisthebestwaytoreducedebts.

Howtopreventcontagion?AGreekdefaultwouldthreatenmanybanks,notjustinGreece:thisweekthemarketstookaimat

French banks that hold southern European debt. Moreover, solvent countries need a breathing-space to push through

reforms.Thatpointstoagreeingtotwomeasuresatthesametime:aschemetoshoreupthebanks,whichmaytakemonths

toputintopractice,andarock-solidpromisetosupportsolventgovernments,whichhastobeimmediate.

TherecapitalisationofEurope'sbanksmustbebasedonproperstresstests(whichshouldthistimeincludepossibledefault

onGreeksovereigndebts).Somebanksmaybeabletoraisemoneyintheequitymarkets,butthemostvulnerablewillneed

governmenthelp.Core countries likeGermanyand theNetherlandshaveenoughcash to lookafter theirownbanks,but

peripheralgovernmentsmayneedeuro-zonemoney.IdeallythatwouldcomefromtheEuropeanFinancialStabilityFacility

(EFSF),whoseoverhaulwasthemostusefulthingtoemergefromtheJulysummit.Butitalsomakessensetosetupaeuro-

zonebankfund, togetherwitha euro-zonebank-resolutionauthority.That ispartof the longer-term institutionbuilding.

However,theECBcouldhelpthebanksbygivingacommitmenttoprovideunlimitedliquidityforaslongasitisrequired,

ratherthanarollingsixmonths,asnow.

ThegreatfirewallofEurope

NoneofthiswillworkunlesstheEuropeanscreateafirewallaroundthesolventgovernments.Thatmeansshoringupeuro-

zone sovereigndebt. Spainand Italyowe€2.5 trillion.What if themarkets suddenly tookfrightoverBelgiumorFrance?

SomehavearguedforasystemofEurobonds inwhicheverycountry'sdebtisbackedbyall.Butthepoliticaloversightto

ensurethathigh-spendingcountriesdonotfritterawayotherpeople'smoneywouldtakeyearstosortout—andonething

theeurozonedoesnothaveistime.Theansweristoturntotheonlyinstitutionthatcancrediblycounteracollectivelossof

confidenceonsuchascale.

The ECBmust declare that it stands behind all solvent countries' sovereign debts and that it is ready to use unlimited

resourcestowardoffmarketpanic.ThatisconsistentwiththeECB'sgoaltoensurepriceandfinancialstabilityfortheeuro

zoneasawhole.Solongasgovernmentsaresolventandthebanksellsthebondsbacktothemarketafterthecrisis,thisdoes

notamounttomonetisinggovernmentdebt.Intoday'srecessionaryworld,theECBcouldbuyseveraltrillioneuros-worthof

bondswithoutunleashinginflation.

Even so, this is a huge step. The ECB's German officials have taken to resigning in protest at the limited bond-buying

undertakensofar.Theyfearnotonlythatsoyounganinstitutionisvulnerabletoalossofcredibility,butalsothattheECB,

whichisindependentbutunelected,couldbecomeembroiledinpoliticaldecisions—especiallybydeclaringastateinsolvent

andcuttingitoff.Boththeselonger-termrisksarereal,buttheyarefaroutweighedbytheneedtostoptherot.Itwouldbea

nonsenseiftheECB'sdoggeddefenceofmonetaryrigourled,say,toanItaliandefaultandaglobaldepression.

Abaddeal,oramuchworseone?

PutourplantomanyEuropeans—creditorGermans,debtorGreeksorEuroscepticBritons—andtheymaymoanthatthisis

notwhattheywerepromisedwhentheeurowassetup.Completelytrue,andsadlyirrelevant.Theissuenowisnotwhether

theeurowasmis-soldorwhetheritwasaterribleideainthefirstplace;itiswhetheritisworthsaving.Woulditbecheaper

tobreakitupnow?Andarethelonger-termpoliticalcostsofredesigningEuropetosavetheeurotoogreat?

225

Thesoberingtruthaboutthesinglecurrencyisthatgettinginisaloteasierthangettingoutagain.Legally,theeurohasno

exit clause. If Greece stormed out, and damn the law, as itmight yet have to do, it would suffer a run on its banks, as

depositorswithdreweurosbeforetheywereforciblyconvertedintodevaluednewdrachma.Itwouldhavetoimposecapital

controls.Greek companieswith internationalbillswould riskbankruptcy, as theywould suddenlybewithout thecash to

coverthem;andthepressureonotherwobblycountrieswould increase.That iswhywefavourrestructuringGreece,but

lettingitstayintheeuro.

If,ontheotherhand,astrongcountrylikeGermanywalkedoutoftheeuro,probablytakingotherstrongcountrieswithit,

theresultwouldbejustasterrible.Thenewhardcurrencywouldsoar,hittingGermanexporters.Turmoilintherumpofthe

eurozonewouldbatterexportmarketsjustasthenorth'sfirmsbecamelesscompetitive.Germanbanksandcompanies,ina

mirror imageofwhatwouldhappen inGreece,would suffer fromthe suddendevaluationofeuroassetsoutsidethenew

hard-currencyzone.Andtherumpmightstillbreakapart,asItalyorSpainwouldnot105.wantanythingtodowithGreece.

Amidthedebrisofbrokentreaties,wildcurrencyswingsandbitterrecriminations,Europe'ssinglemarketcouldcollapseand

theEUitself—therockofthecontinent'spost-warstability—couldstarttocrumble.

Attachinghardnumberstoanyofthisisdifficult.AnalystsatUBS,abank,reckonthateurobreak-upcouldcostaperipheral

country40-50%ofGDPinthefirstyear,andacorecountry20-25%.Yes,thatisaguess(asarethevariousestimatesforthe

ongoingcostsofbreak-upandthoseofabail-outinfutureyears).Buttheimmediatebillforabreak-upofthesinglecurrency

would surelybe in the trillionsof euros.By contrast, a successful rescuewould seemabargain.Add together themoney

alreadyspentonrescues,towhatisneededtorecapitaliseEuropeanbanksandanypotentiallossestotheECB,andthetotal

willstillonlybeinthehundredsofbillionsofeuros.IftheECB'sinterventionisboldandcredibleitmightnotevenhaveto

buythatmuchdebt,becauseinvestorswouldstepin.Inshort,theeurozonewouldberecklesstoflirtwithcollapsewhenan

affordablerescueispossible.

Germantaxpayersmightacceptthattheimmediatecostsofourrescueplanaresmallerthanbreak-up.Butwhattheydetest

istheideathatitmightletfecklessItaliansandPortugueseoffthehook.SafeintheknowledgethattheECBstandsbehind

theirbonds,theymayshyawayfromreformandrectitude.

Tworisksflowfromthis.Theimmediate(andreal)oneisthatfuriousGermanswilldemandthatGreeceisthrownout(or

bulliedout)oftheeurotofrightentheothers.SuchahorrificeventwouldindeedscarePortugalandIreland,butathreatto

expel ItalyorSpain isempty: theyaretoobigandtootightlytied intotheEU.SimplychuckingoutGreecebecauseitwas

convenient would permanently undermine the security of small members of the EU. Besides, once Greece defaults and

restructures,itseconomystandsagoodchanceofmakingacrediblestartonitslongjourneytoeconomichealth.

Thelonger-termriskhastodowith“moreEurope”.Fansofpoliticalintegrationsaythattheonlywaytoenforcedisciplineis

tocreateaUnitedStatesofEurope(seeCharlemagne).Perhapsafiscalunionthatwouldsupervisetheissuanceofcommon

Eurobonds? Or a new supervisory role for euro-zone governments, or, heaven forbid, the useless European Parliament?

Somewherebehindthisalsoloomstheideathattheinswillnowbeabletobossaroundtheouts.Thetencountries,including

Sweden,PolandandBritain, thatkepttheirowncurrenciesmayfaceachoice: to jointheeuroorbeexcludedfromanew

“coreEurope”,whichineffectstartssettingpolicies.And,thisbeingEurope,thereiseverychancethatthepoliticianswilltry

toavoiddiscussingalotofthiswiththeirelectorates.

TheEconomistconcedesthatourrescueplanbeginswithademocraticdeficitthatneedstobefixedifstepstowardscloser

fiscalunionaretowork.Buttheremustbewaysforgoodgovernmentstoforcebadonestokeepinlinethatdonotrequire

thebuildingof ahugenewfederal superstate.TheDutchhave suggesteda commissioner inBrusselswithpower toveto

countries'fiscalexcesses,andtoimposehisjudgmentsbylaw.MrsMerkelhastalkedofgivingtheEuropeanCourtofJustice

therighttoimposegoodbehaviour.Thesearebigsteps—makenomistake—andbecausetheyinvolvetreatychangesthey

wouldhavetobesoldtovoters.ButtheyarealongwayshortofaUnitedStatesofEurope.

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MrsMerkel,it'stimetoexplainthechoices

The outs, in particular,may still be nervous about all this. So frankly is this newspaper. But the alternativemay be the

collapseofnotjustthesinglecurrencybutthesinglemarketandthewholeEuropeanproject.Theeurohasreachedthepoint

wherenobodyisgoingtogetwhattheywant—somethingthatneedstobespelledouttotheGermansmorethananybody.

Overthepast18monthstheyhavegrudginglysupportedhalf-rescueafterhalf-rescue—andthebillhasgoneup.Intheend

confidenceandcredibilityareall.FortheECBtostandbehindlessprudentcountriesmaybeunwelcometoGermans;but

lettingtheeurofalltobitsismuch,muchworse.Spellthatoutclearlytoyourvoters,MrsMerkel.

ARTICLE7

Economiccrisis

Europe’srescueplan

Thisweek’ssummitwassupposedtoputanendtotheeurocrisis.Ithasn’t

Oct29th2011

YOUcanunderstandtheself-congratulation.IntheearlyhoursofOctober27th,aftermarathontalks,theleadersoftheeuro

zoneagreedona“comprehensivepackage”todispelthecrisisthathasbeenplaguingtheeurozoneforalmosttwoyears.

Theyboostedafunddesignedtoshoreuptheeurozone'stroubledsovereignborrowers,draftedaplantorestoreEurope's

banks,radicallycutGreece'sburdenofdebt,andsetoutsomewaystoputthegovernanceoftheeuroonaproperfooting.

Afterasummerovershadowedbythethreatoffinancialcollapse,theyhadshownthemarketswhowasboss.

Yet in the light of day, the holes in the rescue planare plain to see.The scheme is confused an unconvincing. Confused,

becauseitsfinancialengineeringistoocleverbyhalfandvulnerabletounintendedconsequences.Unconvincing,becausetoo

manydetailsaremissingandtheschemeatitscoreisnotuptothejobofsafeguardingtheeuro.

Thisistheeurozone'sthirdcomprehensivepackagethisyear.Itisunlikelytobeitslast.

Wordsarecheap…

Thesummit'smostnotableachievementwastoforgeanagreementtowritedowntheGreekdebtheldbytheprivatesector

by50%.Thisnewspaperhaslongarguedforsuchamove.YetanessentialcounterparttotheGreekwritedownisacredible

firewall around heavily indebted yet solvent borrowers such as Italy. That is the only way of restoring confidence and

protectingEuropeanbanks'balance-sheets,thusensuringthattheycangetonwiththebusinessoflending.

Unfortunatelytheeuro zone's firewall is theweakestpartof thedeal.Europe'smain rescue fund, theEuropeanFinancial

StabilityFacility(EFSF),doesnothaveenoughmoney towithstanda runon Italy andSpain.Germanyand theEuropean

CentralBank(ECB)haveruledouttheonlysourceofunlimitedsupport: thecentralbankitself.Theeurozone'snorthern

creditorgovernmentshaverefusedtoputmoreoftheirownmoneyintothepot.

InsteadtheyhavecomeupwithtwoschemestostretchtheEFSF.Oneistouseittoinsurethefirstlossesifanynewbonds

arewrittendown.Intheory,thismeansthattherescuefund'spowercouldbemagnifiedseveraltimes.Butinpractice,such

“credit enhancement”maynotyieldmuch.Bondmarketsmaybe suspiciousofguaranteesmadeby countries thatwould

themselvesbevulnerableiftheirover-indebtedneighbourssufferedturmoil.

Under the second scheme, theEFSFwould createa setof special-purposevehicles financedbyother investors, including

sovereign-wealthfunds.Again,therearereasonstodoubtwhetherthiswillwork.Eachvehicleseemstobededicatedtoa

227

singlecountry,soriskisnotspread.AndwhyshouldChinaorBrazilinvestalotinthemwhenGermanyisholdingbackfrom

puttinginmoremoney?

Together, theseschemesaresupposedtoextendthevalueof theEFSFto€1trillion($1.4trillion)35.ormore.Sadly, that

looksmore likeanaspirationthanaprediction.AndbecausetheEFSFbearsthefirst losses,itscapitalisatgreaterriskof

beingwipedoutthanunderaloanprogramme.ThiscouldtaintFrance,whichfinancestherescuefundandhasrecentlyseen

its AAA credit rating come under threat. Since the EFSF depends partly on France for its own credit rating, a French

downgradecouldunderminetherescuefundjustwhenitismostneeded.

Ifthefoundationsofthefirewallaretooshallow,thenthebankplanplungestoodeep.BytheendofJune2012,banksare

expectedtoestablishacore-capitalratioof9%.Inprinciple,thatislaudable.Butifbankshavemonthstoreachtheirtarget,

theycanavoidraisingnewequity,whichwoulddilutetheirshareholders'stakes,andinsteadmovetotherequiredratioby

shrinkingtheirbalance-sheets.Thatwouldbeaterribleoutcome:bydeprivingEurope'seconomyofcredit,itwouldworsen

thedownturn.

ThenthereisGreece.Althoughthesizeofthewritedowniswelcome,euro-zoneleadersaredesperateforittobe“voluntary”.

Thatisbecauseadefaultwouldtriggerthebond-insurancecontractscalledcredit-defaultswaps(CDSs).Thefear isthata

default could lead to chaos, because the CDS market is untested. That is true, but this implausibly large “voluntary”

writedownwillleadinvestorsinotherEuropeansovereignbondstodoubtwhetherCDSsoffermuchprotection.Sowhilethe

EFSFschemeisdesignedtoofferinsurancetobondholders, theEuropeanleaders' insistencethattheGreekwritedownbe

voluntarywillmakeeuro-zonedebthardertoinsure.

.…buttrustisnowheretobefound

EuropehasgottothispointbecauseGermanpoliticiansareconvincedthatwithoutmarketpressuretheeurozone'stroubled

economieswillslackentheireffortsatreform.DespitealistofpromisespresentedtothesummitbySilvioBerlusconi,Italy's

prime minister, Germany has good reason to worry. But it needs to concentrate on institutional ways of disciplining

profligategovernments,ratherthanstarvingtherescuepackageoffunds.Asitis,thisdealatbestfailstosolvetheeurocrisis;

atworstitmayevenmakeitworse.Astheshortcomingsofeachcomponentbecomeclear,investors'fearswillsurelyreturn,

bondyieldswillriseandbanks'fundingproblemswillworsen.

Yetagain,disasterwillloom.Andyetagain,theECBwillendupstavingitoff.Fortunately,MarioDraghi,theECB'sincoming

president,madeitclearthisweekthatherealisesthatishisjob.Butthereinliesthetragedyofthissummit.AnECBpledgeof

unlimitedbackingforsolventgovernmentswouldhavehadafarbetterchanceofsolvingthecrisismonthsago,andremains

thebestoptiontoday.

At this summit Europe's leaders had hoped to prove that their resolve to back the euro was greater than themarkets'

capacitytobetagainstit.Forallthebackslappingandbravewords,theyhaveonceagainfailed.Therewillbemorecrises,

andfurthersummits.Bythetimetheysettleonasolutionthatworks,thecostswillhaverisenstillfurther.

ARTICLE8

Theeurozone

Isthisreallytheend?

UnlessGermanyandtheECBmovequickly,thesinglecurrency’scollapseislooming

Nov26th2011

228

EVENastheeurozonehurtlestowardsacrash,mostpeopleareassumingthat,intheend,Europeanleaderswilldowhatever

ittakestosavethesinglecurrency.Thatisbecausetheconsequencesoftheeuro'sdestructionaresocatastrophicthatno

sensiblepolicymakercouldstandbyandletithappen.

Aeurobreak-upwould causea globalbustworseeven thantheone in2008-09.Theworld'smost financially integrated

regionwouldberippedapartbydefaults,bankfailuresandtheimpositionofcapitalcontrols.Theeurozonecouldshatter

intodifferentpieces,oralargeblockinthenorthandafragmentedsouth.Amidtherecriminationsandbrokentreatiesafter

thefailureoftheEuropeanUnion'sbiggesteconomicproject,wildcurrencyswingsbetweenthoseinthecoreandthoseinthe

peripherywouldalmostcertainlybringthesinglemarkettoashudderinghalt.ThesurvivaloftheEUitselfwouldbeindoubt.

Yetthethreatofadisasterdoesnotalwaysstopitfromhappening.Thechancesoftheeurozonebeingsmashedaparthave

risenalarmingly,thankstofinancialpanic,arapidlyweakeningeconomicoutlookandpigheadedbrinkmanship.Theoddsof

asafelandingaredwindlingfast.

Markets,maniasandpanics

Investors'growingfearsofaeurobreak-uphavefedarunfromtheassetsofweakereconomies,astampedethatevenstrong

actions by their governments cannot seem to stop. The latest example is Spain. Despite a sweeping election victory on

November20thforthePeople'sParty,committedtoreformandausterity,thecountry'sborrowingcostshavesurgedagain.

Thegovernmenthasjusthadtopaya5.1%yieldonthree-monthpaper,morethantwiceasmuchasamonthago.Yieldson

ten-yearbondsareabove6.5%.Italy'snewtechnocraticgovernmentunderMarioMontihasnotseenanyreliefeither:ten-

year yields remainwell above 6%. Belgianand French borrowing costs are rising.And thisweek, anauction of German

governmentBundsflopped.

ThepanicengulfingEurope'sbanks isno less alarming.Their access towholesale fundingmarketshasdriedup, and the

interbankmarketisincreasinglystressed,asbanksrefusetolendtoeachother.Firmsarepullingdepositsfromperipheral

countries'banks.Thisbackdoorrunis forcingbankstosellassetsandsqueeze lending; thecreditcrunchcouldbedeeper

thantheoneEuropesufferedafterLehmanBrotherscollapsed.

AddtheevergreaterfiscalausteritybeingimposedacrossEuropeandacollapseinbusinessandconsumerconfidence,and

thereislittledoubtthattheeurozonewillseeadeeprecessionin2012—withafallinoutputofperhapsasmuchas2%.That

will leadtoaviciousfeedback loopinwhichrecessionwidensbudgetdeficits,swellsgovernmentdebtsandfeedspopular

oppositiontoausterityandreform.Fearoftheconsequenceswillthendriveinvestorsevenfastertowardstheexits.

Pastfinancialcrisesshowthatthisdownwardspiralcanbearrestedonlybyboldpoliciestoregainmarketconfidence.But

Europe'spolicymakersseemunableorunwillingtobeboldenough.Themuch-ballyhooedleveragingoftheeuro-zonerescue

fundagreedoninOctober isgoingnowhere.Euro-zone leadershavebecomeadeptat talkingupgrandlong-termplansto

safeguard their currency—more intrusive fiscal supervision, new treaties to advance political integration. But they offer

almostnoideasforcontainingtoday'sconflagration.

Germany'scautiouschancellor,AngelaMerkel,canberuthlesslyefficientinpolitics:witnessthe41.wayshehelpedtopullthe

rugfromunderSilvioBerlusconi.Acreditcrunchishardertomanipulate.Alongwithleadersofothercreditorcountries,she

refuses toacknowledge theextentof themarkets'panic.TheEuropeanCentralBank (ECB)rejects the ideaofactingasa

lenderoflastresorttoembattled,butsolvent,governments.Thefearofcreatingmoralhazard,underwhichtheofferofhelp

easesthepressureondebtorcountriestoembracereform,isseeminglyenoughtostopallrescueplansintheirtracks.Yet

229

thatonlyreinforcesinvestors'nervousnessaboutalleuro-zonebonds,evenGermany's,andmakesaneventualcollapseofthe

currencymorelikely.

This cannotgo on formuch longer.Without a dramatic change of heartby theECB and byEuropean leaders, the single

currencycouldbreakupwithinweeks.Anynumberofevents,fromthefailureofabigbanktothecollapseofagovernment

tomoredudbondauctions,couldcauseitsdemise.InthelastweekofJanuary,Italymustrefinancemorethan€30billion

($40billion)ofbonds.Ifthemarketsbalk,andtheECBrefusestoblink,theworld'sthird-biggestsovereignborrowercould

bepushedintodefault.

Theperilsofbrinkmanship

Cananythingbedonetoavertdisaster?Theanswerisstillyes,butthescaleofactionneededisgrowingevenasthetimeto

actisrunningout.TheonlyinstitutionthatcanprovideimmediatereliefistheECB.Asthelenderoflastresort,itmustdo

moretosavethebanksbyofferingunlimitedliquidityforlongerdurationagainstabroaderrangeofcollateral.Evenifthe

ECBrejectsthislogicforgovernments—wrongly,inourview—large-scalebond-buyingissurelynowjustifiedbytheECB's

ownnarrowinterpretationofprudentcentralbanking.Thatisbecausemuchloosermonetarypolicyisnecessarytostaveoff

recessionanddeflationintheeurozone.IftheECBistofulfilitsmandateofpricestability,itmustpreventpricesfalling.That

meanscutting short-termratesandembarkingon “quantitativeeasing”(buyinggovernmentbonds)ona large scale.And

sinceconditionsaretightestintheperipheraleconomies,theECBwillhavetobuytheirbondsdisproportionately.

Vastmonetarylooseningshouldcushiontherecessionandbuytime.Yetrevivingconfidenceandluringinvestorsbackinto

sovereignbondsnowneedsmorethanECBsupport,restructuringGreece'sdebtandreformingItalyandSpain—ambitious

thoughallthisis.Italsomeanscreatingadebtinstrumentthatinvestorscanbelievein.Andthatrequiresapoliticalbargain:

financialsupportthatperipheralcountriesneedinexchangeforrulechangesthatGermanyandothersdemand.

This instrumentmust involvesomejoint liabilityforgovernmentdebts.UnlimitedEurobondshavebeenruledoutbyMrs

Merkel;theywouldprobablyfallfoulofGermany'sconstitutionalcourt.Butcompromisesexist,assuggestedthisweekbythe

EuropeanCommission.Onepromisingidea,fromGermany'sCouncilofEconomicExperts,istomutualisealleuro-zonedebt

above60%ofeachcountry'sGDP,andtosetasideatrancheoftaxrevenuetopayitoffoverthenext25years.YetGermany,

still fretful about turning a currency union into a transfer union inwhich it forever supports theweakermembers, has

dismissedtheidea.

This attitude has to change, or the eurowill break up. Fears ofmoral hazardmean less now that all peripheral-country

governmentsarecommittedtoausterityandreform.Debtmutualisationcanbedevisedtostopshortofapermanenttransfer

union.MrsMerkelandtheECBcannotcontinuetothreatenfecklesseconomieswithexclusionfromtheeuroinonebreath

andreassuremarketsbypromisingtheeuro'ssalvationwiththenext.Unlessshechoosessoon,Germany'schancellorwill

findthatthechoicehasbeenmadeforher.

ARTILCE9

Charlemagne

Thehorsemenapproach

Europeanleaderscanstillavoidtheapocalypse,butonlyiftheyactboldlyandquickly

Dec3rd2011

230

THEendisnigh.OlliRehn, theEuropeaneconomiccommissioner,saystheeurozonehastendaystosave itself(sowhat

exactlywillhappenonDecember12th?).RadekSikorski,Poland'sforeignminister,sayshefearsGermanparalysismorethan

German power (or Russianmissiles). BarackObama says the euro zone poses the greatest risk to America'swell-being.

HavingoncespurnedtheIMF,euro-zoneleadersbegforitshelp.InEuropeanchancelleriesthetalkisofwhoshouldbethe

electones.Willitbethe27membersoftheEU,orjustthe17thatareintheeurozone?Or,ifeventhatisimpossible,could

thesixAAA-ratedmembersoftheeurozonebindthemselvestogether?

Itistime,inshort,torepent.Butwhatistheoriginalsin?ForGermany,itisover-indebtedness.Althoughtroubledcountries

canbehelped,realsalvationmustcomethroughindividualactionstoreducedeficits,repaydebtsandboostcompetitiveness.

Germanyalsowantsanewcovenant:EUtreatiesmustbechangedsothatnationalbudgetsarescrutinisedbyBrussels,with

powerstoimpose“automatic”sanctionsoncountriesthatstray.ThiswouldbebackedupbytheEuropeanCourtofJustice.

TheGermansthinkonlyatreatycommitmentandthepowerofthejudgeswillensurethatvowsofdisciplinearehonoured.

Nobodydeniesthattheyhaveapoint.Butmostalsothinkthatthesinningismorewidespreadthanthat.Germanyitselfwas

oneofthefirsttobreachthestabilitypact'sceilingsin2002-03.Foreveryirresponsibleborrowerthereisarecklesslender

(often a German bank). Excessive deficits for some imply excessive surpluses in others. The euro's design was flawed,

withoutfiscalintegrationoracentralbanktoactasalenderoflastresort.Ifso,whatisneededisgreatermutualsupport:

jointEurobondstomutualiseatleastsomeofthedebt,assuggestedbytheEuropeanCommission,andperhapsachangeto

thestatuteoftheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB).

Suchpositionswillbehardtoreconcileaheadofnextweek'ssummit.GermanyandFranceusuallytrytopresentacommon

position but that looks less easy this time, with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, andNicolas Sarkozy, the French

president,makingseparatespeechesthisweek.Germanywillnothearofthrowingcashattheproblem:nomorefortheeuro-

zone rescue fund, no Eurobonds and no open pressure on the ECB to buymorebonds. In Brussels thisweek euro-zone

financeministersmuddledalong.TheyapprovedthenexttrancheofloansforGreecetoavoidasuddendefault;theyfinalised

planstoenhancetheirrescuefundthroughfinancialengineering,eventhoughitmayfallshortoftheoriginalpromiseof€1

trillion;theypledgedanewefforttoincreasetheIMF'sfunds.Wherethemoneywouldcomefromwasleftvague;theIMF

alonecannotsavetheeuro.Perhaps,suggestsome,itcouldborrowfromtheECB.

ItisbeinglefttoHermanVanRompuy,presidentoftheEuropeanCouncil,tofindacompromiseandavertabreakdown.Heis

knowntobewaryofopeningupthetreaties.Butifamendmentstheremustbe,heislikelytotrytobalanceTeutonicrigour

withLatinsolidarity.Thismightincludea“roadmap”toEurobonds.Itmightalsoinvolvetoningdownapreviousdealthat

private creditors should be singled out if debtors cannot meet their obligations. But Mr Van Rompuy faces several

conundrums.

First,Germanyopposesanysuchgrandbargain.EventhoughMrsMerkelhascrossedmanyearlierredlines,conversionto

anything resembling Eurobonds or to unlimited ECB liquidity is unlikely in a few days, if ever. Second, Britain has an

impossiblelistofdemandsifthereisanewtreaty.Theseincluderepatriationofsocialpolicy,specialprotectionoftheCityof

Londonandsafeguardstostopthe17“ins”gangingupagainsttheten“outs”.Third,France'sovertcampaignforasmaller,

moreexclusiveinnercoreisstokingthefearsofBritainandsomeothers.“Ithinkthereisnotenougheconomicintegrationin

theeuro zone, the17, and toomuch integration in the EUat 27,”Mr Sarkozy declared in October. French EU diplomats

231

recently stunned colleagues by arguing that, when the commission's proposals for new budget rules are debated in the

EuropeanParliament,onlyMEPsfromeuro-zonecountriesshouldbeabletovote.

IthasfallentoPoland,anon-eurocountry,tospeaktruthtotheEU'sbiggermembers. InapowerfulspeechinBerlinthis

week,MrSikorskisaidGermanywasEurope's“indispensablenation”andhadtoprovideleadership.WithaneyeonFrance,

hedeclared:“Tothosewhowould liketodivideEurope, Isay:howaboutanaturaldivision intogrowth-Europeandnon-

growthEurope?”AndhetoldBritain:“Wewouldpreferyouin,butifyoucan'tjoin,pleaseallowustoforgeahead.”

Timetofixeverything

Europeneedsanall-encompassingdeal tosave itself.Thecrisis isnowaboutthesurvivalof theeuro,so itrequiresabig

response;nobodywillbesparediftheeurocollapses.Asensiblecompromisewouldbetoimposegreaterdisciplinenow,in

exchangefortheeventualintroductionofconditionalEurobonds.ApaperbytheBrussels-basedthink-tankBruegeladdsthe

needforaeuro-zonefinanceministry,withpowertoraiseitsowntaxesandtooverseethebankingsystem.

Withtimerunningshort,anall-encompassingdealmighttaketoolongtonegotiate.Thatsaid,alimitedGerman-styletreaty

wouldalso take time.Abalanceddeal ismore likely tobeacceptedbyvoters, inboth creditoranddebtor states, and to

assuagemarkets.Itmayneedtobedoneinphases.Intheshortterm,itmustbeenoughtofreetheECBtointervenewithout

limit,byassuagingfearsofmoralhazard.Inthelongtermitneedstosignaltoinvestorsthattheeuro'sproblemsarebeing

fixedforgood.Onlythenmighttheapocalypsebecheated.

ARTICLE10

TheEuropeanUnionindisarray

Acomedyofeuros

Britainhadabadsummit,buttheeurozonehadaworseone

Dec17th2011

ASYOUreadthis,lawyersarebusilydraftingaEuropeanfiscal“compact”designedtorestoredisciplinetotheeurozone's

economies. Inthenewyearallbutoneof theEuropeanUnion's27membersaretostart thrashingoutthistreaty'sdetails.

MeanwhiletheBritishgovernment,havingfallenoutwithallits26partners,ispromisingthatitwillremainacentralpartof

theunion—andthatLondonwillremainEurope'sfinancialcapital.Alliswell.

Exceptthatitisn't.MerelytosetoutthesepurportedachievementsofthelatestEUsummitinBrusselsistoshowhowhollow

theyare.OnceagainEurope'sleadershavefailedtosolvetheeurocrisis.Thenewtreatycouldeasilybekilledbythemarkets

orbyitsrejectioninoneormoreeuro-zonecountry.TheEUhassufferedplentyofdisappointingsummitswithoutthesky

fallingin—a10.goodmanyoftheminthepastyear.Butunlikethemarathondisputeoveranewconstitution,theeuroisina

raceagainsttimebecausemarketsarepushingcountriestoinsolvency.Asinvestorsandvoterslosefaith,thetaskofsaving

thesinglecurrencygrowsharder.Soonerorlater,theeurowillbebeyondsaving.

This summit also threatens to change the nature of the EU—and not in a goodway. One reason is that it has plotteda

misguidedcoursefortheeuro.TheotheristhatBritain,longambivalentaboutitsmembership,hasmovedclosertowards

droppingout,evenifthatwouldbemorebyaccidentthandesign.AnEUwithoutBritainwouldbemoreparochialandless

liberal.AnEUwithouttheeuromightnotexistatall.

Isitreallythatbad?

232

ForallthefussaboutBritain,themainfailureinBrusselswastodrawupaplantosavetheeuro.Thatrequiresatrade-off.

Governments need to bind themselves to credible fiscal rules that provide incentives for good behaviour. They need to

assumesomeformofjointliabilityfordebts,withonlythewell-behavedbenefitingfromtheshelterofEurobonds.Inreturn

theEuropeanCentralBank(ECB)needstogivetotalsupporttoallsolventmembers.Thatwouldleavemuchtodo,especially

tounleashgrowthandtoreformthebankingsystem.Butinvestorswouldatleastseeaclearpathahead.

Insteadtherewasanotherfudge,withneitherthegovernmentsnortheECBdoingenough.Intherun-uptothesummit,the

ECBextendeditssupportforeuro-zonebanks—ineffectlendingthemunlimitedcheapmoney.Thatwillhelpthebanksand

mightintheoryfeedthedemandforeuro-zonesovereigndebt.Butithardlycountsasthe“bigbazooka”investorswant,if

onlybecause thebanksarewaryof taking lossesonever larger stashesof governmentdebt.Moreover, theECB remains

adamantthatitcannotinterveneasthelenderoflastresorttoeuro-zonesovereigns.

Thegovernmentsdideven less.True, the leaderspledgedextramoney in the formof loans to the IMFand leftopen the

possibility of boosting theeuro zone's ownrescue fund. But there arealready signs that not all the cashwill turn upas

promised.Andthefiscalcompactthatwasthesummit'scentrepieceisflawed.

The idea is towrite fiscaldiscipline intonational constitutionsandharness theEU's institutions topunishprofligacyand

excess.Butsuchacompactwillnotsafeguardtheeuroagainst futureboomsandbusts.Until financialmarketscrashedin

2008,SpainandIrelandwerehailedaseconomicstars,withlowerpublic-debtburdensandhealthierbudgetsthanGermany.

Bythetimetheirpublicfinanceswentvisiblywrong,itwastoolate.Worse,thecompactwillnotresolvetoday'stroubles.The

package dwells toomuch on austerity, and too little on growth. That risks aggravating the deep Europe-wide recession

threateningnextyear,whichcouldpromptadowngradeoftheentirezone'screditratingsandcauseeconomiestomisstheir

deficittargets—triggeringstillmoreausterity.

AlthoughthecompactwasgreetedastheacmeofEuropeansolidarity,itismorelikelytoprovokestrife.Thesummitpoured

coldwaterontheideaofEurobonds,inwhichallmemberswouldsharesomeorallof thetroubledeconomies'burdenof

debt. Instead the adjustment is being imposed almost entirely on deficit countries, guaranteeing that itwill be long and

painful.Ifinthecomingyearselectedgovernmentsthatimposeausteritystirupcivilunrest,outsideenforcersintheEUwill

beforelongbecomeatargetforpopularrage.

Alreadygovernmentsthatagreedtotheideaofacompactarewarningthatitsratificationdependsuponthedetail.TheIrish

governmentisunderpressuretoholdareferendumthatitwouldstruggletowin.France'soppositionpresidentialcandidate,

whois leadinginthepolls,sayshewouldrenegotiatethedeal togetEurobondsandamoreactiveECB.AllacrossEurope

therearemurmursthatGermany,whichhasbenefitedsohandsomelyfromtheeuro,isaskingtoomuchofeverybodyelse.

Apoorhandmisplayed

HoweverdidDavidCameron,Britain'sprimeminister,managetounitethemall?Theanswer is throughacombinationof

politicalexpediency,inepttacticsandfumbleddiplomacy.MrCameron'splanwastoseeksafeguardsforthesinglemarket

andtosubjectsomepartsoffinancialregulationtounanimousapproval,inexchangeforbackinganewtreaty.Whenhefailed

togetwhathewanted,hewithheldhissupport.

InMrCameron'sdefence,hehasto contendnotonlywithConservativeEuroscepticbackbenchers,but alsoaEurosceptic

public—justasGermany'sAngelaMerkelandFrance'sNicolasSarkozyalsohavedomesticpoliticalconstraints.Furthermore,

Britainhasrealcausetoworryaboutfinancialregulation.Londonishosttobyfarthebiggestfinancial-servicesindustryin

Europe—insomeareasithasasmuchas90%oftheEU'sbusiness.TheEuropeanCommission,eggedonbytheFrenchand

others,hasproducedmanydaftproposalstoregulateit,aswellassuggestingafinancial-transactionstax.

Butifthepoliticswasexpedient,thetacticsandthediplomacywerenot.MrCameronknewwhathewanted,butwentabout

gettingitthewrongway.Hepresentedalast-minuteunilateraldemandthatwouldhavepartiallyoverturnedtheprincipleof

majorityvotingonsingle-marketrules,whichBritainitselffirstputforwardunderMargaretThatcherover20yearsago.Had

233

hepreparedthegroundwithothergovernmentsinadvancehemighthavesucceeded.Hadhetalkedtofellowcentre-right

leadersonthesummit'seveinsteadofstayingoutoftheirpoliticalgroup,hewouldhaveknownthathecouldnot.

MrCameron'svetowasself-defeating.Hemayhavebrieflybaskedinhisbackbenchers'praise,butifhisaimwastoprotect

theCityandthesinglemarket,hehasfailed.BotharethreatenedmorebyBritain'sabsencefromthesummitsofupto26

leadersthatwillnowtakeplacethanbyBritain'sparticipationinatreatyof27thatplacednoconstraintsonit.Fordecades,

British diplomacy has been guided by a determination to keep a seat at the table. It has worked: Britain has not been

outvotedonaseriouspieceoffinancial-serviceslegislation.

Insteadofclosingthedoor,mendthefence

Iftheeurocollapses,orthetreatyisstillborn,MrCameronmayyetclaimthathewasrightallalong.Itwouldcertainlymake

hisvetoseemlessmomentous.However,otherEuropeancountrieswillnotsoonforgetBritain'sattempttoholdthesummit

to ransom at a vitalmoment—and to protect financial services,whichmany of them blame for the crisis.And the Tory

EuroscepticsandtheirLiberalDemocratcoalitionpartnersarealreadyateachother'sthroats.

Atitsworst,thismightbethestartofaprocessbywhichBritainfallsoutoftheEU.Yetitdoesnothavetobe—solongasMr

CameronispreparedtomendfencesandalignhistacticswithastrategytobepartofEurope.

HehasmadeastartbywithdrawinghisfutilethreattoblocktheuseoftheEU'sbuildingsandinstitutionsbythe26members

ofthenewtreaty.AspowershiftsinEurope,therewillbemoreopportunities.Britaincanhelpothernon-eurocountrieswho

gibeat the new treaty's stricturesaswell as euro-zone countries thatwant to resist protectionism or over-regulation—

includingGermany.AttheveryleastMrCameronshouldmakeupwithMrsMerkel,whohadpreviouslyfoughthardtokeep

theBritishatthetable.AcompromisethatgivesBritainsomereassuranceabouttheCityandthusletsMrCameronreturnto

the tablemay stillbepossible.Remember,hisrecalcitranceat the summitmeansthat thenewbulldogCameron isbetter

equippedtofacedowntheLittleEnglanders.ThequestionisnotwhetherhecanrecoverBritain'sposition,butwhetherheis

readytodowhatittakes.

Ultimately, theeurozonefacesasimilarchoice. ItsmemberscouldstrikeagrandbargainthatdeploystheECB'sbalance-

sheetandsomeformofEurobondinexchangeforfiscalintegration.Thequestionisnotwhethertheycansavethecurrency,

butwhetherenoughofthemarepreparedtopaytheprice.Thissummitsuggestsnot.

Appendix2–Vehicletermsoccurrences

1.ThediseasevehiclegroupVEHICLE

GROUP

VEHICLETERM ARTICLES TOPIC

Disease

Contagion

23rdJune

14th July

(Charlemagne)

17thSeptember

“Economic

difficulties”

Convulsion

12thMay

Feeble/enfeebled

Leaders 14th

July

Fragility 17thSeptember

Pain/painful

12thMay

17thDecember

Plaguing

29thOctober

Recovery

14th July

(Charlemagne)

234

14thJuly

(Leaders)

Shock/s

23rdJune

14thJuly

(Charlemagne)

Toxic 23rdJuly

Vulnerable

14thJuly

(Charlemagne)

17thSeptember

29thOctober

Weakness,

weaker,weakest,

weakening

17thSeptember

29thOctober

26thNovember

28 9

Occurrencesofvehicletermsaboutdisease

Contagion23thJune2011

1. Thethirdobjectiontodenialisthatfearsofcontagionaregrowing.

2. Thebeliefthatbigeuro-zonecountriescouldbeprotectedfromattackhasbeendisproved.Indeed,farfromfearsofcontagionebbing,thetalkisofaGreekdefaultasa“Lehmanmoment”.

3. Greece'sexportsmakeupasmallsliceofGDP.Thecountrywouldstillneedexternalfinance,butwhowouldlendto

it?Andthecontagionriskwouldbebiggerthanfromrestructuringalone.Charlemagne14thJuly2011

4. Thepoliticianswontheday.ButMrTrichet'sworrieshavealsobeenvindicated,ascontagionhasspreadandisnowengulfingItaly.

5. Theirinconsistency,evenincoherence,overgettingcreditorstopayhasdonemuchtospreadcontagion.17thSeptember2011

6. Europe'sleadershaverepeatedlydeniedthatGreeceisinsolvent(wheneveryoneknowsitis),failingtodrawalinebetweenitandthelikesofSpainandItaly,whicharesolventbutshortofliquidity.TheexcuseisthataGreekrestructuringmaycausecontagion.

7. Howtopreventcontagion?AGreekdefaultwouldthreatenmanybanks,notjustinGreece:thisweekthemarketstookaimatFrenchbanksthatholdsouthernEuropeandebt.

Convulsion12thMay2011

8. Thatwasaccurate.Buttheclaimthatthecountrywasthreateningtoleavetheeuroseemstohavebeenwrong,thoughitcausedyetanothermarketconvulsion.

Feeble/Enfeebled14thJuly2011

9. AddintheunderlyingconcernsabouttheItalianeconomy's feeblegrowthrate,andinvestorsareunderstandablyworriedabouttheItaliangovernment'sabilitytoshoulderitshugedebt.

17thSeptember2011

235

10. BydrivingenfeebledeconomiesintorecessionitonlyincreasesworriesaboutbothgovernmentdebtsandEuropeanbanks.Andmerebudgetcuttingdoesnotdealwiththerealcauseofthemess,whichisalossofcredibility.

Fragility19thSeptember

11. Theothersneedtobedecidedonspeedily(sayoveraweekend,whenthemarketsareshut)withtheclearaimthatEuropeangovernmentsandtheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB)acttogethertoendtoday'sviciouscircleofpanic,inwhichtheweaknessofgovernmentfinances,thefragilityofbanksandworriesaboutlowgrowthallfeedoneachother.

Pain/painful12thMay2011

12. Ithasresistedimmediatelyimposinglossesonbondholders,yetinsiststheymustsharethepainfrom2013andhasstartedtodiscusslengtheningdebtmaturitiesdespitefierceresistancefromtheEuropeanCentralBank.

13. Butprolongedindecisioncouldleadtosomethingevenmorepainful:break-upoftheeuro,whichtopro-EuropeanGermanswouldbearepudiationofpost-warhistory.

17thDecember201114. Although the compact was greeted as the acme of European solidarity, it is more likely to provoke strife. The

summitpouredcoldwaterontheideaofEurobonds,inwhichallmemberswouldsharesomeorallofthetroubledeconomies' burden of debt. Instead the adjustment is being imposed almost entirely on deficit countries,guaranteeingthatitwillbelongandpainful.Ifinthecomingyearselectedgovernmentsthatimposeausteritystirupcivilunrest,outsideenforcersintheEUwillbeforelongbecomeatargetforpopularrage.

Plaguing29thOctober2011

15. Youcanunderstandtheself-congratulation.IntheearlyhoursofOctober27th,aftermarathontalks,theleadersoftheeurozoneagreedona“comprehensivepackage”todispel thecrisis thathasbeenplaguingtheeurozoneforalmosttwoyears.

RecoveryCharlemagne14thJuly

16. Itistimetothinkdifferently.Ifthereistobeadefault,thenitmightaswellbeabigone,withalargehaircutoncreditorsthatgivesGreecereliefandagreaterchanceofrecovery.

Leaders14thJuly

17. EvenifthemorelikelyimmediateprospectissustainedstressintheItalianbondmarket,thatwillsurelypromptinvestorstofleeEuropeanassets,makingthecontinent'srecoveryeverharder.

Shock23rdJune

18. It would hardly be a shock to themarkets, which have long expected a default (an important difference fromLehman).

Charlemagne14thJuly19. Yet Europe lacks the big federal budgets and financial institutions to redistribute income and absorb economic

shocks.Toxic23rdJune

20. ThatisthehopethattheEU'sleaders,gatheringinBrusselsasTheEconomistwenttopress,wanttoclingto.Buttheir strategy of denial—refusing to accept that Greece cannot pay its debts—has become untenable, for threereasons.First,thepoliticsblockingaresolutionoftheeurocrisisisbecomingevermoretoxic.

VulnerableCharlemagne14thJuly

21. Isitanysurprisethatinvestorsarefleeingvulnerableeuro-zonebonds?

17thSeptember22. Somebanksmaybeabletoraisemoneyintheequitymarkets,butthemostvulnerablewillneedgovernmenthelp.23. TheECB'sGermanofficialshavetakentoresigning inprotestat the limitedbond-buyingundertakensofar.They

fear not only that so young an institution is vulnerable to a loss of credibility, but also that the ECB, which isindependentbutunelected,couldbecomeembroiledinpoliticaldecisions—especiallybydeclaringastateinsolventandcuttingitoff.

236

29thOctober201124. The scheme is confused an unconvincing. Confused, because its financial engineering is too clever by half and

vulnerabletounintendedconsequences.Unconvincing,becausetoomanydetailsaremissingandtheschemeatitscoreisnotuptothejobofsafeguardingtheeuro.

Weakness17thSeptember2011

25. […]theclearaimthatEuropeangovernmentsandtheEuropeanCentralBank(ECB)acttogethertoendthetoday’sviciouscircleofpanicinwhichtheweaknessofgovernmentfinances,thefragilityofbanksandworriesaboutlowgrowthallfeedoneachother.

29thOctober201126. Unfortunately, the Eurozone’s firewall is theweakest part of the deal. Europe’smain rescue fund, the European

FinancialStabilityFacility(EFSF),doesnothaveenoughmoneytowithstandarunonItalyandSpain.26thNovember2011

27. Yetthethreatofadisasterdoesnotalwaysstop it fromhappening.Thechancesof theEurozonebeingsmashedapart have risen alarmingly, thanks to financial panic a rapidly weakening economic outlook and pigheadedbrinkmanship.

28. Investors’growingfearsofaeurobreak-uphavefedarunfromassetsofweakereconomies,astampedethateven

strongactionsbytheirgovernmentscannotseemtostop.

29. Yet Germany, still fretful about turninga currency union into a transfer union inwhich it forever supports theweakermembers,hasdismissedtheidea.

2.TheRescuevehiclegroup2.1Occurrencesoftherescuevehicleterm

VEHICLE

GROUP

VEHICLE

TERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Rescue

Rescue,rescues 12thMay

“Helping

countries

financially”

rescue Charlemagne

14thJuly

rescue Leaders

14thJuly

rescue 3rdSeptember

Rescue,rescues 17th

September

rescue

29thOctober

rescue 26thNovember

rescue 3rdDecember

rescue 17thDecember

31 9

12thMay1. Germanycontinuestoditheroverhowbesttorescuetheeuro

2. Germanyacted toavert the imminent financial collapse of several countries,but often late and never decisively

enoughtoresolvethecrisisonceandforall.Instead,ayearaftertherescueofGreece,thenofIrelandandnowofPortugal,anxietyseemstobegrowing.

3. Moneyforrescuesisbeingraisedwithjointguarantees,yetGermanywillnotacceptcommonEurobonds

Charlemagne14thJuly

237

4. TheargumentwasoverademandbytheleadersofGermanyandFrance,madedaysearlieratDeauville,foratreatychangetocreateapermanentsystemtorescuecountriesunabletopaytheirdebts.Everyonegroaned.IthadtakenyearsoftribulationtoagreeontheEuropeanUnion'sLisbontreaty,whichhadonlyrecentlycomeintoeffect.

5. ItishardenoughtogetCalifornianstosaveWallStreetbankers;nowonderGermansbristlewhentheyareaskedtorescueGreekbureaucrats.

6. NowGreeceneedsanotherrescue,default isnearerandtheGermansandDutch,threateningtostandintheway,

wantprivatecreditorstocontributerightaway.

Leaders14thJuly

7. EachtimeEuropeanpolicymakersreactedsimilarly:withdenialanddithering,followedattheeleventhhourwithahalf-bakedrescueplantobuytime.

8. Considerthestakes.Italyhasthebiggestsovereign-debtmarketinEuropeandthethird-biggestintheworld.Ithas

€1.9trillion($2.6trillion)ofsovereigndebtoutstanding,120%ofitsGDP,threetimesasmuchasGreece,IrelandandPortugalcombined—andfarmorethanthe€250billionorso leftintheEuropeanFinancialStabilityFacility(EFSF),thecurrencyclub'srescuekitty.

3rdSeptember

9. The rescue measures “will certainly buy time,” saysWolfgang Bosbach, a CDU leader in the Bundestag who isnormallyloyaltoMrsMerkel.“ButIfeartheywon'tsolvetheproblempermanently,sotherewillhavetobemoreaid.”Greece'sproblemisnotlackofcredit;

10. Thereareenoughpro-rescuevotesintheBundestagtopassthelegislation(themainoppositionpartiesfavourevenmoregenerousmeasures,suchasissuingEurobondsjointlyguaranteedbyeuro-zonegovernments).

17thSeptember

11. SOGRAVE,somenacing,sounstoppablehastheeurocrisisbecomethatevenrescuetalkonlyfuelsever-risingpanic.

12. Arescuemustdofourthingsfast.First,itmustmakeclearwhichofEurope'sgovernmentsaredeemedilliquidandwhichareinsolvent,givingunlimitedbackingtothesolventgovernmentsbutrestructuringthedebtofthosethatcanneverrepayit.

13. Insteadofausterityandpretence,acrediblerescueshouldstartwithgrowthand,whereitisunavoidable,aseriousrestructuringofdebt.

14. Buttheimmediatebillforabreak-upofthesinglecurrencywouldsurelybeinthetrillionsofeuros.Bycontrast,a

successfulrescuewouldseemabargain.

15. Add together the money already spent on rescues, to what is needed to recapitalise European banks and anypotentiallossestotheECB,andthetotalwillstillonlybeinthehundredsofbillionsofeuros.

16. IftheECB'sinterventionisboldandcredibleitmightnotevenhavetobuythatmuchdebt,becauseinvestorswould

stepin.Inshort,theeurozonewouldberecklesstoflirtwithcollapsewhenanaffordablerescueispossible.

17. Germantaxpayersmightacceptthattheimmediatecostsofourrescueplanaresmallerthanbreak-up.

18. TheEconomistconcedesthatourrescueplanbeginswithademocraticdeficitthatneedstobefixedifstepstowardscloserfiscalunionaretowork.

19. Theeurohasreachedthepointwherenobodyisgoingtogetwhattheywant—somethingthatneedstobespelled

outtotheGermansmorethananybody.Overthepast18monthstheyhavegrudginglysupportedhalf-rescueafterhalf-rescue—andthebillhasgoneup.

29thOctober

20. Europe’srescueplan.Thisweek’ssummitwassupposedtoputanendtotheeurocrisis.Ithasn’t.

21. Yet in the light of day, the holes in the rescue plan are plain to see. The scheme is confused an unconvincing.Confused, because its financial engineering is too clever by half and vulnerable to unintended consequences.

238

Unconvincing,becausetoomanydetailsaremissingandtheschemeatitscoreisnotuptothejobofsafeguardingtheeuro.

22. Unfortunately theeuro zone's firewall is theweakestpart of thedeal.Europe'smain rescue fund, theEuropean

FinancialStabilityFacility(EFSF),doesnothaveenoughmoneytowithstandarunonItalyandSpain.

23. InsteadtheyhavecomeupwithtwoschemestostretchtheEFSF.Oneistouseittoinsurethefirstlossesifanynewbondsarewrittendown.Intheory,thismeansthattherescuefund'spowercouldbemagnifiedseveraltimes.

24. […] because the EFSF bears the first losses, its capital is at greater risk of beingwiped out than under a loan

programme.This could taintFrance,which finances therescue fundandhas recently seen itsAAAcredit ratingcomeunderthreat.

25. SincetheEFSFdependspartlyonFranceforitsowncreditrating,aFrenchdowngradecouldunderminetherescue

fundjustwhenitismostneeded.

26. EuropehasgottothispointbecauseGermanpoliticiansareconvincedthatwithoutmarketpressuretheeurozone'stroubledeconomieswillslackentheireffortsatreform.DespitealistofpromisespresentedtothesummitbySilvioBerlusconi,Italy'sprimeminister,Germanyhasgoodreasontoworry.Butitneedstoconcentrateoninstitutionalwaysofdiscipliningprofligategovernments,ratherthanstarvingtherescuepackageoffunds.

26thNovember

27. Past financial crises show that this downward spiral can be arrested only by bold policies to regain marketconfidence. But Europe's policymakers seem unable or unwilling to be bold enough. The much-ballyhooedleveragingoftheeuro-zonerescuefundagreedoninOctoberisgoingnowhere.

28. Thefearofcreatingmoralhazard,underwhichtheofferofhelpeasesthepressureondebtorcountriestoembrace

reform,isseeminglyenoughtostopallrescueplansintheirtracks.

3rdDecember

29. GermanyandFranceusuallytrytopresentacommonpositionbutthatlookslesseasythistime,withAngelaMerkel,theGermanchancellor,andNicolasSarkozy,theFrenchpresident,makingseparatespeechesthisweek.Germanywillnothearofthrowingcashattheproblem:nomorefortheeuro-zonerescuefund,noEurobondsandnoopenpressureontheECBtobuymorebonds.

30. In Brussels thisweek euro-zone financeministersmuddled along. They approved the next tranche of loans forGreecetoavoidasuddendefault; theyfinalisedplanstoenhancetheirrescue fundthroughfinancialengineering,eventhoughitmayfallshortoftheoriginalpromiseof€1trillion;theypledgedanewefforttoincreasetheIMF'sfunds.

17thDecember

31. Thegovernmentsdidevenless.True,theleaderspledgedextramoneyintheformofloanstotheIMFandleftopenthepossibilityofboostingtheeurozone'sownrescuefund.

2.2Occurrencesofthebail-outvehicleterm

VEHICLEGROUP

VEHICLETERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Bail-out

bail-outbail-outs

12thMay Helpingcountriesfinancially

Bail-out 23rdJuneBail-outBail-outs

14thJuly(Charlemagne)

Bail-outBail-outs

14thJuly(Leaders)

Bail-outBail-outs

3rdSeptember

Bail-out

17thSeptember

17 512thMay

1. Ministersaretornbetweenpromises“todowhateverittakes”todefendtheeuroandthehostilityoftheirvoterstowardsserialbail-outs.

239

2. Germanyhasmadeexpensiveloanstotroubledcountries,butdoesnotlikebigfiscaltransfers.ItsaidtheEU'sbigbail-outfundwouldbetemporary,butitisbeingmadepermanent.

3. Votersincreditorcountriesresentendlessbail-outs;indebtorcountriestheyresentendlessbelt-tightening.

23rdJune

4. NextweekGreeceislikelytopassanewausteritypackage.Itwillthengetthenext€12billion($17billion)ofitsfirst€110billionbail-out,whichitneedsbymid-July.

5. Assuming the Europeans agree on a face-saving “voluntary” participation by private creditors to please theGermans,asecondbail-outofsome€100billionwillfollow.

6. Thiswillkeepthecountryafloatthrough2013,whenapermanenteuro-zonebail-outfund,theEuropeanStability

Mechanism(ESM),willtakeeffect.Theeurowillbesavedandtheworldwillapplaud.

7. Meanwhile,GermanvotersareaghastattheprospectofasecondGreekbail-out,whichtheythinkwouldmerelytipmoremoneydowntheplugholeofacountrythatisincapableeitherofrepayingitsdebtsorofreformingitself.

8. EarlyhopesthatGreecealonemightneedabail-outweredashedwhenIrelandandPortugalalsosoughthelp.

Charlemagne14thJuly

9. However, Jean-ClaudeTrichet,presidentof theEuropeanCentralBank(ECB),worriedabout somethingelse:herdemand that future bail-outs must include “adequate participation of private creditors”, meaning losses forbondholders.

10. ButEurope'spoliticianscannotblameeverythingontheirlackoftools.Theirinconsistency,evenincoherence,overgettingcreditorstopayhasdonemuchtospreadcontagion.Theirfirstemergencyloansimposedtoughconditionson Greece, but none on the bankers. Indeed, the creation of a big bail-out fund was meant to make defaultunthinkable.

11. Itistimetothinkdifferently.Ifthereistobeadefault,thenitmightaswellbeabigone,withalargehaircuton

creditorsthatgivesGreecereliefandagreaterchanceofrecovery.Eventhen,Greecewillneedhelpforyearstocome.Andsomebankswillhavetoberecapitalised.Oneusefulmeansofallayingthepanicmightbeforeuro-zonecountriestoissuepartoftheirdebtasjointbonds.Jointlyguaranteedbondssoldtoraisemoneyforthecurrentbail-outfundsarebeingeagerlysnappedupbyinvestors.

3rdSeptember

12. Hersupportersarenotsosure.BerndLampe,aspectatorwhohasbelongedtoMrsMerkel'sChristianDemocraticUnion(CDU)for45years,admitsto“alittleangst”.Bail-outsbackedlargelybyGermantaxpayershavegonetoofar,he thinks. His feeling iswidely shared.Theeuro crisis has replacedunemploymentas voters' top concern, saysForschungsgruppeWahlen, a pollster. Althoughmost are contentwith their own situation, just 30% expect theeconomytoimprove,comparedwithmorethanhalfinJune.

13. MrsMerkelhastriedtohelpindebtedeuromemberswhilerefusingtowriteblankcheques.Butthemarketshaverepeatedlytestedthatapproach,requiringeverlargerandmoreelaboratebail-outs.

14. Thismonth itwill consider legislation toapproveexpandedpowers for theEuropeanFinancial StabilityFacility

(EFSF), a temporary fund forhelping the indebtedeuro countries.After that itwill voteona secondbail-out ofGreece,worthabout€109billion($157billion),andthenonapermanentsuccessortotheEFSF.

15. Resistance,muchofitfromMrsMerkel'scoalition,isstiffening.Dissentershavetwomainworries.Thefirstisthat

theBundestagwillbestrippedofitsrighttodeterminehowtaxpayers'moneyisspent.TheyexpectencouragementonSeptember7thfromarulingbytheconstitutionalcourtonthelegalityofthefirstGreekbail-outandtheEFSF.

17thSeptember

16. The latest, inadequateplan for a secondGreekbail-out, agreedat a summit in July, shouldbe thrownawayandrewritten.

240

17. Attachinghardnumberstoanyofthisisdifficult.AnalystsatUBS,abank,reckonthateurobreak-upcouldcostaperipheralcountry40-50%ofGDPinthefirstyear,andacorecountry20-25%. Yes, that isaguess(asarethevariousestimatesfortheongoingcostsofbreak-upandthoseofabail-outinfutureyears).

3.TheRestructuringvehiclegroup3.1Occurrencesoftherestorevehicleterm

VEHICLEGROUP

VEHICLETERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Restructuring

torepair 12thMay

“Solving economic problems”

torestore 29thOcotber

restoring 29thOctobertorestore 17thDecember

4 4 12thMay

1. Asfortoday's ills,causedbythesinsof thepast,theanswerhasoftenbeen justtoplayfortime:totryto repairEurope'sbanks,insistondeficitsbeingtrimmedandhopethatgrowthmakestheproblemmoremanageable.

29thOctober

2. YOUcanunderstandtheself-congratulation.IntheearlyhoursofOctober27th,aftermarathontalks,theleadersoftheeurozoneagreedona“comprehensivepackage”todispel thecrisis thathasbeenplaguingtheeurozoneforalmosttwoyears.Theyboostedafunddesignedtoshoreuptheeurozone'stroubledsovereignborrowers,draftedaplantorestoreEurope'sbanks,radicallycutGreece'sburdenofdebt,andsetoutsomewaystoputthegovernanceoftheeuroonaproperfooting.

3. The summit'smost notable achievementwas to forge an agreement towrite down the Greek debt held by theprivatesectorby50%.Thisnewspaperhaslongarguedforsuchamove.YetanessentialcounterparttotheGreekwritedownisacrediblefirewallaroundheavilyindebtedyetsolventborrowerssuchasItaly.ThatistheonlywayofrestoringconfidenceandprotectingEuropeanbanks'balance-sheets, thusensuringthattheycangetonwiththebusinessoflending.

17thDecember

4. ASYOUreadthis,lawyersarebusilydraftingaEuropeanfiscal“compact”designedtorestoredisciplinetotheeurozone'seconomies.InthenewyearallbutoneoftheEuropeanUnion's27membersaretostartthrashingoutthistreaty'sdetails.

3.2Occurrencesoftherestructuringvehicleterm

VEHICLEGROUP

VEHICLETERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Restructuring

restructuring 12thMay

“Solving economic problems”

restructuresrestructuring

23rdJune

restructuring 14thJuly(Leaders)

restructuresrestructuring

17thSeptember

restructuring 26thNovember19 5

12thMay

1. Jean-ClaudeJuncker,primeministerofLuxembourgandchairoftheeurogroupoffinanceministers,saystherewasnotalkofrestructuringGreece'spublicdebt.

2. InBerlinthisweekMrSchäublekeptmumaboutthis, toavoidfeeding“speculation”, thoughhisministry isnowlookingatdebtrestructuring.

241

3. EvenBerlinmayberealisingthatitistimeforhardchoices.Thatcouldmeanrestructuringdebts,imposinglossesoncreditorsandhelpingbanksindangerofcollapse.

4. OritcouldmeanrestructuringtheeuroareathroughcommonEurobondsandfiscaltransfers.

23rdJune

5. The longer restructuring is put off, the more Greek debt will be owed to official lenders, whether other EUgovernmentsortheIMF—sothemoretaxpayerswilleventuallysuffer.

6. Thecountrywouldstillneedexternal finance,butwhowould lendto it?Andthecontagionriskwouldbebiggerthanfromrestructuringalone: ifGreece left,whynotPortugalor evenSpainand Italy? If theeuro zoneweretobreakupitwouldputhugepressureonthesinglemarket.

7. There is an alternative, for which this newspaper has long argued: an orderly restructuring of Greece's debts,

halvingtheirvaluetoaround80%ofGDP.

8. An orderly restructuring would be risky. Doing it nowwould crystallise losses for banks and taxpayers acrossEurope.Norwouldit,byitself,rightGreece.

9. EvenifGreecerestructures itsdebtandembracesthereformsdemandedbytheEUandIMF,itwillneedoutside

supportforsomeyears.Thatisboundtobringmorefiscal-policycontrolfromBrussels,turningtheeurozoneintoamorepoliticallyintegratedclub.

10. […]a disorderly default that destabilises markets and threatens the European project; or an orderly debt

restructuring.Leaders14thJuly

11. Whatistobedone?Thisnewspaperhaslongarguedthatmuddling-throughmustbereplacedbyacomprehensivestrategy based on three components: debt reduction for plainly insolvent countries; a recapitalisation of theEuropeanbanksthatwillsufferfromthatrestructuring;andthebuildingofafirewallbetweentheinsolventandtherest.

12. Debt reductionmust begin with Greece, the country that is most obviously bust. However the restructuring is

pitched,Greecewillbeindefault,soaplantorecapitalisebankshitbadlybythis,startingwithGreece'sown,willbeneededtoo.

13. Theresultsofstresstests,dueonJuly15th,shouldshowhowmuchmorehelpisrequired.TheremayhavetobeasimilarrestructuringforPortugalandIreland.

17thSeptember

14. Arescuemustdofourthingsfast.First,itmustmakeclearwhichofEurope'sgovernmentsaredeemedilliquidandwhichare insolvent,givingunlimitedbackingtothesolventgovernmentsbutrestructuringthedebtof thosethatcanneverrepayit.

15. TheexcuseisthataGreekrestructuringmaycausecontagion.Infactdenyingtheinevitablehasunderminedpledges

aboutsolventgovernments.

16. Insteadofausterityandpretence,acrediblerescueshouldstartwithgrowthand,whereitisunavoidable,aseriousrestructuringofdebt.Europemustmakeanhonestjudgmentaboutwhichsideofthelinecountriesareon.

17. Thesoberingtruthaboutthesinglecurrencyisthatgettinginisaloteasierthangettingoutagain.Legally,theeuro

hasnoexitclause.IfGreecestormedout,anddamnthelaw,asitmightyethavetodo,itwouldsufferarunonitsbanks, as depositorswithdreweuros before theywere forcibly converted into devalued newdrachma. Itwouldhave to impose capital controls. Greek companieswith internationalbillswould riskbankruptcy, as theywouldsuddenlybewithoutthecashtocoverthem;andthepressureonotherwobblycountrieswouldincrease.That iswhywefavourrestructuringGreece,butlettingitstayintheeuro.

18. Tworisksflowfromthis.Theimmediate(andreal)oneisthatfuriousGermanswilldemandthatGreeceisthrown

out(orbulliedout)oftheeurotofrightentheothers.SuchahorrificeventwouldindeedscarePortugalandIreland,butathreattoexpelItalyorSpainisempty:theyaretoobigandtootightlytiedintotheEU.SimplychuckingoutGreecebecauseitwasconvenientwouldpermanentlyunderminethesecurityofsmallmembersoftheEU.Besides,

242

once Greece defaults and restructures, its economy stands a good chance ofmaking a credible start on its longjourneytoeconomichealth.

26thNovember

19. Vastmonetary looseningshouldcushiontherecessionandbuytime.Yetrevivingconfidenceand luring investorsbackintosovereignbondsnowneedsmorethanECBsupport,restructuringGreece'sdebtandreformingItalyandSpain—ambitiousthoughallthisis.

4.TheCollapsevehiclegroup4.1Occurrencesofthebreak-upvehicleterm

VEHICLEGROUP

VEHICLETERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Collapse

Break-up 12thMay

Break-up 23rdJuneBreak-up 17thSeptemebrBreak-up 26thNovember

11 412thMay

1. But prolonged indecision could lead to something even more painful: break-up of the euro, which to pro-European.Germanswouldbearepudiationofpost-warhistory.

23rdJune

2. As the climate getsmore poisonous and elections approach in France, Germany and Greece itself, the risk of adisastrousaccident—anythingfromadisorderlydefaulttoacurrencybreak-up—isgrowing.

3. if Greece left, why not Portugal or even Spain and Italy? If the euro zone were to break-up it would put hugepressureonthesinglemarket.

17thSeptember

4. Attachinghardnumberstoanyofthisisdifficult.AnalystsatUBS,abank,reckonthateurobreak-upcouldcostaperipheralcountry40-50%ofGDPinthefirstyear,andacorecountry20-25%.

5. […]thatisaguess(asarethevariousestimatesfortheongoingcostsofbreak-upandthoseofabail-outinfutureyears).

6. Buttheimmediatebillforabreak-upofthesinglecurrencywouldsurelybeinthetrillionsofeuros.Bycontrast,a

successfulrescuewouldseemabargain.

7. Germantaxpayersmightacceptthattheimmediatecostsofourrescueplanaresmallerthanbreak-up.26thNovember

1. Aeurobreak-upwouldcauseaglobalbustworseeventhantheonein2008-09.Theworld'smostfinanciallyintegratedregionwouldberippedapartbydefaults,bankfailuresandtheimpositionofcapitalcontrols.

2. Investors'growingfearsofaeurobreak-uphavefedarunfromtheassetsofweakereconomies,astampedethatevenstrongactionsbytheirgovernmentscannotseemtostop.

3. Thiscannotgoonformuchlonger.WithoutadramaticchangeofheartbytheECBandbyEuropeanleaders,the

singlecurrencycouldbreak-upwithinweeks.

4. Thisattitudehastochange,ortheeurowillbreak-up.Fearsofmoralhazardmeanlessnowthatallperipheral-countrygovernmentsarecommittedtoausterityandreform.

4.2Occurrencesofthevehicletermsaboutcollapse

243

VEHICLEGROUP

VEHICLETERM

ARTICLE TOPIC

Collapse

collapse 12thMay “Sudden majornegativefinancialchange”

disasterdisastrousbust

23rdJune

collapsedisaster

14thJuly(Charlemagne)

collapse 3rdSeptembercollapsefall(intobits)disaster

17thSeptember

collapsedisaster

29thOctober

collapsedisasterdestructionripped(apart)shatter (intopieces)smashed

26thNovember

collapsesbreakdown

3rdDecember

collapsescrashed

17thDecember

30 912thMay

1. Austerityintroubledcountriesisdeepeningrecession.MarketsdoubtthatGreeceandotherscanrepaytheirdebtsevenwithmuchmoretimeandfreshloans.AndthecrisisistearingatEurope'spoliticalfabric.Votersincreditorcountries resent endless bail-outs; in debtor countries they resent endless belt-tightening. Even Berlin may berealising that it is time forhard choices.That couldmean restructuringdebts, imposing losseson creditors andhelpingbanksindangerofcollapse.

2. Ministersaretornbetweenpromises“todowhateverittakes”todefendtheeuroandthehostilityoftheirvoterstowardsserialbail-outs.Theresulthasbeenasuccessionoferraticincrementalsteps,forcedbyeventsandlargelydrivenby tactics.Germanyacted toavert the imminent financialcollapse of severalcountries,butoften lateandneverdecisivelyenoughtoresolvethecrisisonceandforall.

23rdJune

3. TheopportunityforEurope’sleaderstoavoiddisasterisshrinkingfast4. As the climate getsmore poisonous and elections approach in France, Germany and Greece itself, the risk of a

disastrousaccident—anythingfromadisorderlydefaulttoacurrencybreak-up—isgrowing.5. Evenifcapitalcontrolswerebroughtin,someGreekbankswouldgobust.

Charlemagne14thJuly

6. MrsMerkel andMr Sarkozywanted default to become a possibility: current debtwould be safe, they said, butleaderslateragreedthatfrom2013countriesshouldissuenewtypesofbondsthatcouldbemoreeasilyforcedtotakeahitifacountryranintotrouble.NowGreeceneedsanotherrescue,default isnearerandtheGermansandDutch, threatening to stand intheway,wantprivatecreditors to contribute right away.Thishas led toanopendispute with Mr Trichet, who says even themildest of debt rescheduling risks an upheaval comparable to thecollapseofLehmanBrothers;hehasthreatened, if there isanysortofdefault, tocutoffcredit toGreekbanks—pushingmanyintobankruptcy.Isitanysurprisethatinvestorsarefleeingvulnerableeuro-zonebonds?

7. Hence,leadershaveactedonlyinthefaceofimpendingdisaster,andthenwithhalf-measures.3rdSeptember

8. The government could collapse, two years before elections are scheduled. But this seems unlikely. None of thecoalitionparties iskeento faceelectionsnow.TheFDP,whichharbourssomevocalsceptics,mightnotevenre-entertheBundestag.

17thSeptember

244

9. Amidthedebrisofbrokentreaties,wildcurrencyswingsandbitterrecriminations,Europe'ssinglemarketcouldcollapseandtheEUitself—therockofthecontinent'spost-warstability—couldstarttocrumble.

10. IftheECB'sinterventionisboldandcredibleitmightnotevenhavetobuythatmuchdebt,because116.investorswouldstepin.Inshort,theeurozonewouldberecklesstoflirtwithcollapsewhenanaffordablerescueispossible.

11. Theouts,inparticular,maystillbenervousaboutallthis.Sofranklyisthisnewspaper.Butthealternativemaybe

thecollapseofnot just the singlecurrencybut the singlemarketand thewholeEuropeanproject.Theeurohasreached thepointwherenobody is going togetwhat theywant—something thatneeds tobe spelledoutto theGermansmorethananybody.

12. FortheECBtostandbehindlessprudentcountriesmaybeunwelcometoGermans;butlettingtheeurofalltobitsismuch,muchworse.Spellthatoutclearlytoyourvoters,MrsMerkel.

13. Itrequiresurgentactiononahugescale.UnlessGermanyrisestothechallenge,disasterlooms.29thOctober

14. YOUcanunderstandtheself-congratulation.IntheearlyhoursofOctober27th,aftermarathontalks,theleadersoftheeurozoneagreedona“comprehensivepackage”todispel thecrisis thathasbeenplaguingtheeurozoneforalmosttwoyears.Theyboostedafunddesignedtoshoreuptheeurozone'stroubledsovereignborrowers,draftedaplantorestoreEurope'sbanks,radicallycutGreece'sburdenofdebt,andsetoutsomewaystoputthegovernanceoftheeuroonaproperfooting.Afterasummerovershadowedbythethreatoffinancialcollapse,theyhadshownthemarketswhowasboss.

15. Astheshortcomingsofeachcomponentbecomeclear,investors'fearswillsurelyreturn,bondyieldswillriseandbanks'fundingproblemswillworsen.Yetagain,disasterwillloom.

26thNovember

16. UnlessGermanyandtheECBmovequickly,thesinglecurrency’scollapseislooming.

17. Add the ever greater fiscal austerity being imposed across Europe and a collapse in business and consumerconfidence,andthereislittledoubtthattheeurozonewillseeadeeprecessionin2012—withafallinoutputofperhapsasmuchas2%.

18. Yetthatonlyreinforcesinvestors'nervousnessaboutalleuro-zonebonds,evenGermany's,andmakesaneventual

collapseofthecurrencymorelikely.

19. Thiscannotgoonformuchlonger.WithoutadramaticchangeofheartbytheECBandbyEuropeanleaders, thesinglecurrencycouldbreakupwithinweeks.Anynumberofevents,fromthefailureofabigbanktothecollapseofagovernmenttomoredudbondauctions,couldcauseitsdemise.InthelastweekofJanuary,Italymustrefinancemorethan€30billion($40billion)ofbonds. If themarketsbalk,andtheECBrefusestoblink, theworld'sthird-biggestsovereignborrowercouldbepushedintodefault.

20. Theeurozonecouldshatterintodifferentpieces,oralargeblockinthenorthandafragmentedsouth.

21. The chances of the euro zone being smashed apart have risen alarmingly, thanks to financial panic, a rapidly

weakeningeconomicoutlookandpigheadedbrinkmanship.Theoddsofasafelandingaredwindlingfast.

22. Theworld'smostfinanciallyintegratedregionwouldberippedapartbydefaults,bankfailuresandtheimpositionofcapitalcontrols.

23. ThesurvivaloftheEUitselfwouldbeindoubt.Yetthethreatofadisasterdoesnotalwaysstopitfromhappening.

24. Cananythingbedonetoavertdisaster?

25. Thatisbecausetheconsequencesoftheeuro'sdestructionaresocatastrophicthatnosensiblepolicymakercould

standbyandletithappen.

26. Aeurobreak-upwouldcauseaglobalbustworseeventhantheonein2008-09.

27. Evenastheeurozonehurtlestowardsacrash,mostpeopleareassumingthat,intheend,Europeanleaderswilldowhateverittakestosavethesinglecurrency.

245

3rdDecember28. Europeneedsanall-encompassingdealtosaveitself.Thecrisisisnowaboutthesurvivaloftheeuro,soitrequiresa

bigresponse;nobodywillbesparediftheeurocollapses.

29. It is being left to Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, to find a compromise and avert abreakdown.

17thDecember30. If the euro collapses, or the treaty is stillborn,Mr Cameronmay yet claim that hewas right all along. Itwould

certainlymakehis veto seem lessmomentous.However, otherEuropeancountrieswillnot soon forgetBritain'sattempttoholdthesummittoransomatavitalmoment—andtoprotect financialservices,whichmanyof themblameforthecrisis.

31. Until financialmarketscrashed in2008,SpainandIrelandwerehailedaseconomicstars,with lowerpublic-debtburdensandhealthierbudgetsthanGermany.