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‘It is completely ok to give up a little sometimes’ : Metaphors and Normality in Swedish Cancer Talk

Gustafsson, Anna W LU and Hommerberg, Charlotte (2018) In Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines 10(1). p.1-16
Abstract
The clichéd conceptualization of cancer illness as a battle, which the patient can either win or lose, can be problematic. For patients referred to palliative care, it can cause feelings of guilt and failure. This framing of cancer, here referred to as ‘the battle script’, has been questioned in previous research, and there seems to be awareness among health practitioners that battle metaphors should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this battle script by examining the discursive dynamics of metaphor use in a large corpus of Swedish blogs written by terminally ill patients. The study focuses on two common linguistic metaphors, kämpa [fight/struggle] and ge upp [give up]. These expressions have the potential to actualize... (More)
The clichéd conceptualization of cancer illness as a battle, which the patient can either win or lose, can be problematic. For patients referred to palliative care, it can cause feelings of guilt and failure. This framing of cancer, here referred to as ‘the battle script’, has been questioned in previous research, and there seems to be awareness among health practitioners that battle metaphors should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this battle script by examining the discursive dynamics of metaphor use in a large corpus of Swedish blogs written by terminally ill patients. The study focuses on two common linguistic metaphors, kämpa [fight/struggle] and ge upp [give up]. These expressions have the potential to actualize the battle script, but do not necessarily do so, due to their ambiguous meanings. By analyzing the contextualized meaning of these two metaphors, we illustrate the normality of the battle script as well as the problem to handle the perceived normativity of the script. We also discuss discursive strategies used by the bloggers to handle the negative implications of the battle script. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
The clichéd conceptualization of cancer illness as a battle, which the patient can either win or lose, can be problematic. For patients referred to palliative care, it can cause feelings of guilt and failure. This framing of cancer, here referred to as ‘the battle script’, has been questioned in previous research, and there seems to be awareness among health practitioners that battle metaphors should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this battle script by examining the discursive dynamics of metaphor use in a large corpus of Swedish blogs written by terminally ill patients. The study focuses on two common linguistic metaphors, kämpa [fight/struggle] and ge upp [give up]. These expressions have the potential to actualize... (More)
The clichéd conceptualization of cancer illness as a battle, which the patient can either win or lose, can be problematic. For patients referred to palliative care, it can cause feelings of guilt and failure. This framing of cancer, here referred to as ‘the battle script’, has been questioned in previous research, and there seems to be awareness among health practitioners that battle metaphors should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this battle script by examining the discursive dynamics of metaphor use in a large corpus of Swedish blogs written by terminally ill patients. The study focuses on two common linguistic metaphors, kämpa [fight/struggle] and ge upp [give up]. These expressions have the potential to actualize the battle script, but do not necessarily do so, due to their ambiguous meanings. By analyzing the contextualized meaning of these two metaphors, we illustrate the normality of the battle script as well as the problem to handle the perceived normativity of the script. We also discuss discursive strategies used by the bloggers to handle the negative implications of the battle script. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
alternative title
Det är helt ok att ge upp lite ibland: metaforer och normalitet i svenska samtal om cancer
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
metaforer, palliativ vård, cancer, kampscript, normativitet, metaphor, palliative care, cancer, battle script, normativity
in
Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines
volume
10
issue
1
article number
1
pages
17 pages
ISSN
1752-3079
project
Metaphors in palliative cancer care
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
350a235e-eb37-46e3-a155-d63acb1ee8bd
alternative location
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/journals/cadaad/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/01-Gustafsson-Hommerberg.pdf
date added to LUP
2018-08-07 09:56:36
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:41:01
@article{350a235e-eb37-46e3-a155-d63acb1ee8bd,
  abstract     = {{The clichéd conceptualization of cancer illness as a battle, which the patient can either win or lose, can be problematic. For patients referred to palliative care, it can cause feelings of guilt and failure. This framing of cancer, here referred to as ‘the battle script’, has been questioned in previous research, and there seems to be awareness among health practitioners that battle metaphors should be avoided. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this battle script by examining the discursive dynamics of metaphor use in a large corpus of Swedish blogs written by terminally ill patients. The study focuses on two common linguistic metaphors, kämpa [fight/struggle] and ge upp [give up]. These expressions have the potential to actualize the battle script, but do not necessarily do so, due to their ambiguous meanings. By analyzing the contextualized meaning of these two metaphors, we illustrate the normality of the battle script as well as the problem to handle the perceived normativity of the script. We also discuss discursive strategies used by the bloggers to handle the negative implications of the battle script.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, Anna W and Hommerberg, Charlotte}},
  issn         = {{1752-3079}},
  keywords     = {{metaforer; palliativ vård; cancer; kampscript; normativitet; metaphor; palliative care; cancer; battle script; normativity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--16}},
  series       = {{Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines}},
  title        = {{‘It is completely ok to give up a little sometimes’ : Metaphors and Normality in Swedish Cancer Talk}},
  url          = {{http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/journals/cadaad/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/01-Gustafsson-Hommerberg.pdf}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}