Edited by Laure Gardelle, Laurence Vincent-Durroux and Hélène Vinckel-Roisin
[Studies in Language Companion Series 228] 2023
► pp. 171–184
The chapter proposes a corpus-based study of references to electric vehicles, a controversial technological innovation. The aim is to see whether representations, especially as conveyed through referential expressions, show any convergences, whether within a given publication or a given country. The corpus comprises 130 online articles from French and German national daily newspapers (2015–2020), with a special focus on 2017–2018, which witnessed many changes in reporting on electric vehicles. The study finds that referential expressions partly differ in the two countries, especially as regards metaphors. It also shows that referential expressions can only be interpreted in context. A seemingly “neutral” noun phrase may carry strong economic, political and cultural orientations. As such, it is highly subjective, an instrument of power.