"En el camino hacia la cima, la última cuesta es la más dura": metáfora y argumentación en el discurso del terrorismo en España

Abstract

This article analyzes critically the most prominent strategies of metaphorical argumentation that have been exploited in the recent past within the discourses of the terrorist band ETA. Our paper focuses on a corpus of 10 press releases and interviews that were spread by ETA between 2006 and 2011, and which are characterized by a striking presence of metaphors with a varied expressive and argumentative relevance that aim to support and legitimize terrorist action. The study is developed on the basis of a multi-level model of critical analysis that takes into account: firstly, the degree of assessment that is inherent to each metaphorical pattern; and, secondly, the way in which this intrinsic evaluative content is contextually articulated in each particular discourse, where its argumentative potential is definitely shaped.

Keywords: Metaphor, argumentation, legitimization, terrorism, contextual analysis