COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CORONAVIRUS METAPHORIC REPRESENTATION IN CHINESE AND RUSSIAN ONLINE MEDIA

Abstract

This article aims at comparing the coronavirus metaphorical image in the online media of China and Russia. A metaphor is viewed as a cognitive frame within the discourse. The study was conducted on 750 Chinese and 1000 Russian headlines and leads of news reports about the coronavirus. General results show that the virus images in the two countries are based on similar metaphorical models, but the quantitative analysis of metaphors and metaphorical entailments indicate significant differences in the virus image that media creates. The coronavirus in the Chinese media generally images an enemy that should be fought and can be defeated, which helps to cool down public opinion. The Russian media discourse on the other hand treats the coronavirus as a dangerous surprise enemy, giving no suggestions on ‘how it can be won'.