CORPUS- BASED METAPHORICAL FRAMING ANALYSIS OF WAR AND GENOCIDE METAPHORS IN THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT IN WESTERN MEDIA

Abstract

                This research proposes an operational approach to a metaphorical framing analysis while using large-scale data of western media. This study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to critically and discursively analyze the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by two prominent Western media outlets, CNN and The Guardian, over a ten-month period from 7th October 2023 to 10th July 2024. Focusing specifically on the metaphors of “war” and “genocide,” the research aims to uncover how these terms frame the conflict and shape public perception. The analysis reveals that the term “war” appears 443 times, constituting 0.45% of the corpus, while “genocide” occurs 377 times, or 0.38% of the corpus. These findings highlight the significant role of these terms in framing the conflict as a persistent state of military aggression and a moral crisis, respectively. Collocation analysis shows that “war” and “genocide” shares a narrative that evokes strong emotional responses and images of cruelty, victimization, and brutality. The concordance lines of “war” frequently depict the conflict as damaging and urgent, with negative semantic prosody emphasizing large-scale and long-term struggles. Similarly, “genocide” carries a negative semantic prosody, framing the conflict in terms of extreme moral and humanitarian crises, and evoking accusations of intentional acts of brutality. Additionally, thematic and content analysis reveals key themes associated with these metaphors, displaying their narratives. The study concludes that Western media frames the conflict through a wide range of perspectives, significantly influencing both regional and global interpretations.