Original scientific paper
“Time’s Up” When Enough is Enough: The Proverbial Voice of Social Change
Anna Konstantinova
orcid.org/0000-0002-5647-8236
Abstract
The present article explores how Anglo-American proverbs function in the discourse of the contemporary social movement “Time’s Up”. The hypothesis behind the study is the proposition that due to their cognitive nature and universality as a linguistic means proverbs can serve as efficient tools of influencing public opinion and achieving the ultimate goal of making social change happen. Cognitive-discursive functions of 8 paremias used in public speaking and Internet discourse by prominent activists and supporters of the “Time’s Up” initiative are described. It is revealed that proverbs fulfill the function of semantic highlighting (formulate key ideas of the campaign), phatic function (a signal of establishing and maintaining contact in discourse), the function of cognitive economy and emotional highlighting. The hypothesis is supported by the results of the study.
Keywords
Anglo-American proverbs; social movements; #Time’s Up,; #MeToo; cognitive-discursive functions; social change; women’s rhetoric
Hrčak ID:
278215
URI
Publication date:
31.8.2019.
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