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.
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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.
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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
35
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).
43
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
50
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
51
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.
53
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.
54
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;
57
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
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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.
84
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)
85
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
86
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.
91
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
92
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)
100
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.
101
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.
130
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.
132
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
134
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”.
135
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
155
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.
167
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-
195
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
202
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
203
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.
204
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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?
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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.
226
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.