A corpus-based study of corruption metaphors: the case of the Jordanian ‘Hirak’ protest movement

Abstract

This study examines the metaphors used to depict corrupt individuals in the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement during the Arab Spring (2011–2012). This analysis was conducted using the lens of a Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) approach. To this end, a specialized corpus of socio-political articles was built from two mainstream Jordanian newspapers: Al-Rai and Addustour. The corpus was examined using WordSmith Tools, which support Arabic data. The study reveals that several source domains were employed to represent corrupt individuals in the Jordanian socio-political discourse, namely, disease, organisms, warfare, nature, supernatural creatures, meal/kitchen, machine, fire and journey. The metaphors employed represent the great wrath of Jordanians toward widespread corruption and its effects on Jordanians and the nation at large. Additionally, these metaphors highlight Jordanians’ steadfast commitment to combatting corruption and holding those responsible for it accountable, both of which have been elevated to the top of their priority list. The study concludes that the use of negative metaphors to describe corrupt individuals in Jordanian socio-political discourse demonstrates the significant expansion of Jordanians’ freedom of expression in the backdrop of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement during the Arab Spring.

Keywords:

• Corpus analysis
• corruption
• critical metaphor analysis
• Jordanian Hirak
• metaphors

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Guangchao Feng, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

SUBJECTS:

• Language & Linguistics
• Media Communication
• Corpus Linguistics

1. Introduction

The Arab Spring pertains to a series of popular uprisings that sparked in 2011 across the Middle East and North Africa. This upheaval quickly overthrew autocratic authorities in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt and led to several mass protests across the region. It also triggered civil war in Syria (Morrison, 2019).

Inspired by the Arab Spring, the Jordanian Hirak protest movement was swamped by mass demonstrations, mainly in Amman in 2011/2012. The Islamic Action Front (IAF) party, the left and national parties, youth groups and professional syndicates called for weekly protests to fight corruption, achieve political and economic reform and introduce democratic change (Abdel-Hadi, 2016). For instance, on 24–25 March 2011, a large demonstration took place in Amman’s Interior Circle, with hundreds of participants demanding the prime minister’s resignation and calling for greater freedom of speech. Furthermore, approximately 2000 Jordanians, including Islamists and youth activists, assembled in central Amman on 15 July 2011, for an open-ended sit-in to demand political reform (Helfont & Helfont, 2012). Abdel-Hadi (2016) argues that the series of Jordanian protests have managed to introduce a few political and social changes without presenting any serious threats to the Jordanian monarchy.

Wiktorowicz (2000) posited that Jordanian security officials imposed bureaucratic restrictions and laws to limit the scale of demonstrations, resorting to other non-violent means to subvert mass protests in Amman. The emergence of the Hirak protest movement is considered the most distinguishing attribute of the Jordanian Arab Spring experience (Ryan, 2018). When protests erupted in Jordan, King Abdulla II responded promptly to avoid deteriorating conditions in the country. Accordingly, he changed the government and reshuffled cabinet. Moreover, four Prime Ministers were appointed by the king during the protests that started in January 2011. The King has also pledged to achieve reform by establishing committees with reform mandates. In particular, he created the National Dialog Committee in March 2011, which was instructed to draft new laws for elections and political parties. Ryan (2018) states that King Abdulla II has also established a new committee for constitutional reform whose amendments to the constitution were appreciated by several protesters and opposition parties.

Ryan (2018, p. 150) asserts that Jordanians have been mainly concerned about issues related to unemployment, poverty, the increasing cost of food and housing and corruption among business and government elites. However, the majority of Jordanians support, trust and view the Jordanian monarchy as sufficiently competent to rule the country. Several within this majority would like to witness some changes, yet they are eager to maintain a Jordanian Monarchy. They agreed on maintaining the stability and safety of the country and its people. Furthermore, the monarchy’s non-violent approach toward protesters was highly appreciated (Christophersen, 2013). In this regard, Barari and Satkowski (2012) argue that unlike the spontaneous protests that erupted in other Arab states, Jordan’s protests were orchestrated and planned by political forces. Thus, the Jordanian Hirak protest movement was represented positively in Jordanian newspapers as being civilized and tranquil (Abu Rumman & Haider, 2023, p. 12).

Several Jordanians still ‘complain of economic injustices and corruption in government, especially in terms of business deals connected to privatization’ (Ryan, 2018, p. 130). Corruption is perceived as the primary issue for Jordan and a significant cause of its struggling economy. It is also considered the biggest obstacle to implementing reform in Jordan, since individuals involved in corruption often occupy prominent positions within the government and society (Christophersen, 2013, pp. 59–60). Barari and Satkowski (2012) postulate that the demands of Jordanians are becoming increasingly economic rather than political, since they see corruption to be at a level where it is obstructing the state’s ability to function. They also argue that a large number of Jordanians consider curbing corruption their top priority (ibid, p. 52).

There are three criteria for classifying corruption. The first criterion relates to who exercises the abuse of power, such as state officials, organizational managers or political figures. The second criterion concerns the forms of corruption, such as bribery, privatization of state resources, abuse of public funds, theft, nepotism, favoritism, abuse of authority and electoral violations (i.e. votes buying and election results fraud). The third criterion pertains to the prevalence of corruption (Rasheed TI-JO Research Series: Human Rights, 2020). For instance, Al-Nimri (2022, p. 29) stated that according to Jordan’s corruption ranking, ‘Jordan achieved its highest score in 2020 with 59 points, and the lowest in 1995 with 35 points’. According to Schoeberlein (2019), this rise in ranking is caused by a variety of elements related to the interaction between communities and the government. These include perceived levels of corruption, public trust in the government, the government’s belief in people’s ability to introduce change and the current political and economic situation.

Despite extensive research in Cognitive Semantics investigating the metaphorical conceptualization of corruption in English and several European languages (Bratu & Kažoka, 2018; Chiluwa, 2007; Isyaku et al., 2016; Negro, 2015), the number of studies that investigate this linguistic phenomenon in the Arabic language in general and in the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement, in particular, is limited in number and scope (Albtoush & Sahuri, 2017a, 2017b). For instance, Albtoush and Sahuri (2017a) examined how only one source domain, namely animals, is used to depict corruption in only 10 articles written by columnist Ahmad Hasan Al-Zu’bi on his private news website Sawalief.com, whereas Albtoush and Sahuri (2017b) investigated 19 articles written by the same writer to identify how the target domains of shame and corruption are metaphorically represented. Additionally, the two previously mentioned studies were constrained by the size of the corpus they examined. Accordingly, this study seeks to address this gap in the literature by scrutinizing the conceptualization of corruption and corrupt individuals in Jordanian socio-political discourse. In particular, corruption is a universal phenomenon which exists in all countries and cultures. Accordingly, how such a universal phenomenon is conceptualized in a specific culture, i.e. Jordanian Arab culture is an issue that can be of great interest to other researchers to compare and contrast the conceptualization of corruption across different cultures and languages. Consequently, this study is meant to contribute to providing a better understanding of a universal concept, i.e. corruption in a culture-specific context. To achieve this, a significantly larger corpus was compiled and examined, incorporating approximately 7543 newspaper articles consisting of approximately three million words.

Before we move forward, it is important to note that there are two main approaches to defining corruption: the constructivist approach and the positivist approach. The constructivist approach focuses on understanding how corruption is socially constructed and represented through discourse and narratives. It involves analyzing language, symbols and metaphors used in media, political discourse and everyday conversations to uncover underlying assumptions and power dynamics that shape these perceptions. In contrast, the positivist approach focuses on objective, empirical measurement and analysis of corruption as a quantifiable phenomenon. It relies on statistical methods and indices, among others, to assess the prevalence and impact of corruption in various contexts. Further, it seeks to identify patterns, causes and effects of corrupt practices through observable and measurable data (Kupka & Naxera, 2023).

This study adopts a constructivist approach, integrating the Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) approach with Corpus Linguistics (CL) to investigate metaphorical portrayals of corruption and corrupt individuals. Specifically, this article focuses on two Jordanian mainstream daily newspapers, Al-Rai and Addustour, in the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement spanning 2011–2012. It aims to answer the following questions:

1. What metaphors are used to describe corruption and corrupt people in the Jordanian socio-political discourse?

2. How do these metaphors reflect Jordanians’ perceptions of corruption and corrupt individuals?

2. Background

Conceptual metaphor is defined as ‘understanding one domain of experience (that is typically abstract) in terms of another (that is typically concrete)’ (Kövecses, 2017, p. 13). For example, in the conceptual metaphor argument is war, argument is considered the target domain, whereas war functions as a source domain (Kövecses, 2010, p. 4). Evans and Green (2006, p. 295) explain within the framework of conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) that ‘there is a set of correspondences between the source domain and the target domain, which is technically called mappings’. For instance, the conceptual metaphor of love is a journey involving elements such as obstacles, travelers, routes and means of transportation. Similarly, love involves lovers, difficulties, events and so on. Therefore, the components of the source domain correspond to the elements of the target domain. Lovers become travelers, as in ‘We’re at a crossroads’, who use a particular means of transport, such as ‘We’re spinning our wheels’, traveling along a specific route, like ‘Our relationship went off course’ and face obstacles, for instance, ‘Our marriage is on the rocks’.

Kövecses (2020) developed the extended CMT, which contains a substantial contextual element and is not merely a cognitive explanation of metaphor. This theory posits that the employment of metaphors in discourse is influenced by various contextual variables, including situational, discourse, conceptual-cognitive and bodily contexts. This refined theory also demonstrates that each conceptual metaphor exists at four hierarchical levels of schematicity, namely image schemas, domains, frames and mental spaces, rather than at just one level, such as domains or frames (Kövecses, 2021).

CMA is considered ‘an approach to metaphor analysis that aims to reveal the covert (and possibly unconscious) intentions of language users’ (Charteris-Black, 2004, p. 34). The CMA involves three stages: metaphor identification, metaphor interpretation and metaphor explanation. The initial stage involved identifying candidate metaphors by carefully examining the selection of texts. Candidate metaphors are expressions that exhibit semantic tension at the linguistic, pragmatic or cognitive levels. In particular, the context of these expressions is closely examined to determine whether they are used metaphorically or literally (Charteris-Black, 2004, p. 35).

The metaphorical interpretation stage includes the development of a relationship between metaphors and the cognitive and pragmatic factors that influence them. This included the identification of conceptual metaphors at this stage. Furthermore, it is possible to explain the extent to which the choice of metaphor contributes to producing socially significant representations (ibid, p. 37–38).

At the metaphorical explanation stage, the focus is on recognizing the social agents responsible for creating metaphors and understanding their persuasive role. This specifically involves determining the discursive function of metaphors to reveal their underlying intentions and rhetorical functions, which are derived from the corpus rather than from the intuition (Charteris-Black, 2004, p. 39).

Metaphors in CMA were identified according to the metaphor identification procedures (MIP) proposed by the Pragglejaz Group (2007, p. 3), which are listed as follows:

1. Read the entire text – discourse to establish a general understanding of its meaning.

2. Determine the lexical units in the text – discourse.

3. (a) For each lexical unit in the text, establish its meaning in context; that is, how it applies to an entity, relation or attribute in the situation evoked by the text (contextual meaning). Consider what comes before and after a lexical unit. (b) For each lexical unit, determine if it has a more basic contemporary meaning in contexts other than that in the given context.

4. If yes, mark the lexical unit as metaphorical.

According to Ansah (2014, pp. 46–47), MIP provides an explicit, flexible and reliable method for metaphor identification. However, Steen et al. (2010) developed a modified version of MIP, known as MIPVU. This modified version, MIPVU, focuses mainly on directly expressed metaphors that involve comparisons and similes, such as ‘he’s like a favorite old coat’, whereas MIP addresses indirectly expressed metaphors (pp. 93–94). Despite the introduction of MIPVU, it continues to be widely used because it offers an explicit procedure for identifying indirectly expressed metaphors and minimizes potential bias in identifying metaphorical expressions. While MIP is a valuable tool for identifying metaphors at the linguistic level, it fails to identify conceptual metaphors (Ansah, 2014, p. 47).

The literature proposes a top-down approach to identifying conceptual metaphors in which hypotheses about cross-domain mappings are constructed first, followed by a search for linguistic evidence to support them (Ansah, 2014; Kövecses, 2000; Lakoff, 1987; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). However, this approach has received criticism. As a result, a bottom-up approach, in which linguistic evidence forms the basis for constructing hypotheses about cross-domain mappings, has been widely adopted instead (Ansah, 2014, p. 47).

In this study, the Pragglejaz group’s (2007, p. 3) MIP procedure was adopted instead of MIPVU, as this study aimed to identify indirectly expressed metaphorical expressions. A bottom-up approach was then followed, adopting Steen’s (2007) five-step procedure to infer the underlying conceptual metaphors from the metaphorical expressions identified by MIP in the first stage.

3. Literature review

The representation of the Arab Spring uprisings in media has been explored by a number of researchers (Abu Rumman & Haider, 2023; Afzal & Harun, 2015; Al Nahed, 2015; Haider, 2016; Kessar et al., 2021; Yehia 2011) For example, Yehia (2011) investigated how the Egyptian revolution was portrayed in news releases by Aljazeera and CNN. Aljazeera prioritized showcasing the protesters and their justified grievances, while CNN focused more on discussing the stability of the region. Furthermore, Aljazeera expressed greater optimism regarding the revolution, viewing it as a promising start for Egypt, whereas CNN’s coverage centered more on the governments of Egypt and the USA.

The discourse surrounding the uprisings in Libya and Syria was examined by Afzal and Harun (2015) as presented in the Arab News of Saudi Arabia and the News International of Pakistan. The research uncovered that both newspapers depicted the authorities as obstructive to the demands for change by the populace. The Arab News of Saudi Arabia provided a more detailed and severe portrayal of the uprising authorities compared to the News International of Pakistan. Nevertheless, both publications endorsed the changes initiated by the people, portraying them positively, while critiquing the authorities and their resistance to the people’s demands through negative portrayal.

In the Jordanian context, Abu Rumman and Haider (2023) explored how Jordan’s 2011 Hirak protest movement is portrayed in opinion articles of Jordanian newspapers. The study revealed a positive portrayal of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement in Jordanian mainstream newspapers, depicting it as popular and nonviolent. Moreover, the Jordanian Spring is described as vibrant and distinctive, implying a period of prosperity and peace.

On the other hand, several studies have investigated how corruption is metaphorically conceptualized and represented in newspapers in various languages worldwide (Bratu & Kažoka, 2018; Chiluwa, 2007; Isyaku et al., 2016; Negro, 2015). In the Nigerian context, Chiluwa (2007) explored the metaphor of corruption in several publications extracted from Guardian, The Punch, Tell and The News between 1998 and 2006. This period was marked by the expansion of military dictatorship in Nigeria and the tensions caused by the transfer to democratic rule. The study categorized the metaphors of corruption into three main types. The first type was termed ‘renaming metaphors’, which ‘enable a writer or speaker to encode meaning, applying a principle which recognizes similarities among entities being linked together’ (p. 9). For instance, the former Nigerian House of Representatives was called the ‘House of Fraud’. The second type was termed ‘analogous metaphors’, which ‘exploit the similarities that exist between two conceptual domains, i.e. the topics and vehicles of metaphor’. For instance, the following excerpt: ‘years of accumulated bad habits, reckless government, and outright looting of the country’s treasury continue to sink the nation further in the abyss of poverty’ revealed that the nation’s poverty was compared to biblical abyss, suggesting that Nigerians are living in hell (ibid, p. 9). The third type of metaphors was ‘hyperbolic metaphors’, considered ‘a form analogous metaphor but in this case, a vehicle script is linked with a literal equivalent which is deliberately exaggerated for some discourse effect’. For instance, the following exaggerated example ‘expectations of bombshell answers these multi-million-dollar questions (for example,. Did El-Rufai and other ministerial nominees bribe to facilitate senate’s approval of their nominations?; belonged to this category. The phrase ‘bombshell answers’ is linked to dropping an atomic bomb, emphasizing the consequential impact of ‘charging senators with bribes’ (ibid, p. 6).

Concerning the Spanish press, Negro (2015) investigated the metaphorical conceptualization of corruption adopting the theoretical framework of the CMT. Specifically, the researcher examined four newspapers that represent both right- and left-wing perspectives. This study revealed that corruption was the most prevalent metaphor for representing corruption. Thus, corruption was conceptualized in terms of litter, rot and stains. The following conceptual metaphors were identified: corruption is a spider net, corruption is a sea, corruption is a poison, corruption is darkness, corruption is a war and corruption is a disease. Politicians involved in scandals were metaphorically described as bad apples, chickpeas and weeds, implying a need for eradication. The researcher concluded that ‘various metaphors structuring corruption carry a strong axiological weight by providing a negative evaluation of political corruption’ (ibid, p. 214).

Regarding, Nigeria, Iraq and Malaysia, Isyaku et al. (2016) explored the conceptual metaphors employed to depict corruption in several online newspapers in these three countries. The researchers selected five online newspapers from each country and extracted news reports published between January 2016 and June 2016. They employed the framework of Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) CMT. The findings suggest that the following conceptual metaphors were employed in Nigerian newspapers to depict corruption: corruption is war, corruption is a fighter, corruption is a disease, (more specifically corruption is cancer), corruption is an animal (more specifically corruption is a cow, corruption is a worm), corruption is a crop plant, corruption is a dirt, corruption is a disaster, (more specifically corruption is fire), corruption is a habit (more specifically corruption is a way of life) and corruption is a man (Isyaku et al., 2016, pp. 75–78).

The findings also showed that the following conceptual metaphors were employed in Iraqi newspapers to depict corruption: corruption is war, corruption is a virus, corruption is a culture, corruption is cancer and corruption is a phenomenon (ibid, p. 79). Regarding Malaysian newspapers, the analysis indicated that the following conceptual metaphors were employed to depict corruption: corruption is war, corruption is a virus, corruption is an orientation, corruption is a machine, corruption is sexual abuse, corruption is a natural disaster, corruption is a color and corruption is a destroyer (ibid. pp. 79–80).

The researchers found that online newspapers employing metaphors of corruption most frequently were those from Nigeria, followed by Malaysia and Iraq. The frequency of these metaphors refers to the political events in the respective countries. The researchers concluded that the employment of corruption metaphors in online news outlets has emerged as one of the most potent forces shaping our perceptions of individuals both within and outside our country (ibid, p. 82).

In a large-scale study respecting European countries, Bratu and Kažoka (2018) investigated the use of corruption metaphors in newspapers from (France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the UK) over 10 years (2004–2014). The findings indicated that there were five main source domains used to conceptualize the notion of corruption: agriculture, disease, war, leisure/pleasure and culture. In the agriculture domain, corruption was depicted as a bad plant (weed) with deep roots and was also conceptualized as a worm. In the disease domain, corruption is described as cancer, gangrene or paralysis. In the war domain, corruption was metaphorically represented as an enemy that could destroy a country. In the entertainment domain, corruption is metaphorically conceptualized as a theatre or banquette. Corruption was metaphorically represented as an ocean, mud, business or scheme. In the cultural domain, corruption can be a business when political and commercial interests are entangled, as in the case of business politicians, given that a principle obtains significant financial attention in unethical ways (ibid, p. 64). The researcher concluded that newspapers in seven EU member states used corruption metaphors derived from comparable source domains in different nations and eras (ibid, p. 69).

Kupka and Naxera (2023) adopt a constructivist approach to studying corruption by examining how Czech political parties and movements have depicted corruption and anti-corruption in their electoral manifestos from 1990 to 2017. In these documents, corruption is often viewed as a security issue linked to economic and organized crime. The discourses on corruption fall into three categories: neoliberal, centrist and populist. Each discourse has different views on the causes, main actors and countermeasures of corruption. The study also compares these findings to political views on corruption in other cultural contexts, highlighting factors that led to framing corruption as a security issue in Czechia. The results underscore the critical role of media discourse in shaping political perceptions of corruption. This aligns with this study’s broader aim to explore how corruption was metaphorically portrayed in the Jordanian newspapers during the Arab Spring, which may further our understanding of the media’s impact on social constructs of corruption.

In the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement, Albtoush and Sahuri (2017a) examined how the source domain of animals is used to depict corruption. To achieve this, the researchers analyzed 10 articles written by Jordanian columnist Ahmad Hasan Al-Zu’bi and published on his website, Sawalief.com. The researchers adopted two theoretical frameworks: Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) CMT and Charteris-Black (2004) CMA. These were used to identify the animal source domain used to conceptualize corruption and to identify the functions that animal metaphors fulfill in this context. They found that whereas citizens were represented as passive animals, politicians were described as dangerous animals. Furthermore, the conceptual metaphors used to characterize corrupt individuals and politicians included corrupters/politicians as parasites, corrupters/politicians as predators and powerful as up/active. The conceptual metaphors used to represent citizens are as follows: citizens are passive victims/prey, powerless is down/passive and bad is down. The researchers revealed that the purpose of using animal metaphors was to criticize corrupt officials and undermine their legitimacy (ibid, p. 117).

Albtoush and Sahuri (2017b) expanded the scope of their previous research by investigating the various source domains utilized to depict the target domain of corruption. Furthermore, this study aims to identify the rhetorical functions of these metaphorical expressions. To this end, the researchers examined 19 articles written by Jordanian columnist Ahmad Hasan Al-Zu’bi and published on his website, Sawalief.com. They adopted two theoretical frameworks: Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) CMT and Charteris-Black (2004) CMA. The study revealed that multiple source domains were utilized to depict the abstract concept of corruption, including dirt, an unwanted animal, a pest, a pathology, boundary transgression, a puzzling game, crime, a physical deformity, an illegitimate pregnancy, diversion of a life-giving resource and deformed fertility. The analysis showed that all these conceptual domains underscored the emotion of shame associated with corrupt practices in the community. The call to ban such practices was the rhetorical function of these metaphorical expressions. In addition, the researchers concluded that all linguistic metaphors identified in the study were realizations of the following conceptual metaphor: corruption is shame.

Only a few studies have examined conceptual metaphors of corruption and corrupt individuals on a smaller scale in Arabic, particularly in relation to the Jordanian Hirak protest movement during the Arab Spring. These studies analyzed a limited number of newspaper articles, not exceeding 19 articles in total. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the metaphorical conceptualization of corruption and corrupt individuals on a larger scale by examining a 3-million-word corpus. Having presented metaphors commonly employed in socio-political discourse in several languages to represent corruption, the next section describes the methodology adopted in this study. The aim is to examine the influence of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement on the use of metaphors to describe corrupt individuals in two mainstream Jordanian daily newspapers.

4. Methodology

4.1. Data collection

A specialized corpus of newspaper opinion articles mainly addressing socio-political issues in Jordan in the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement during the Arab Spring (2011–2012), was compiled for this study. The Opinion articles were extracted from two mainstream Jordanian daily newspapers: Al-Rai (meaning ‘The Opinion’) and Addustour (meaning ‘The Constitution’). Selecting these two newspapers was motivated by their recognition as the most widely read newspapers in Jordan (Jordan Press Foundation, 2009, p. 5). Consequently, they offer a more accurate depiction of how Jordanians metaphorically perceive corruption and corrupt individuals.

The researchers accessed the online archives of both newspapers to extract opinion articles, which were then collected as text files and organized based on their titles and publication dates. The corpus consisted of approximately three million words. While the English translation provided is generally idiomatic, literal translations of certain crucial Arabic words and expressions are provided, where necessary and appropriate. This approach may help readers gain a better understanding of these words and expressions in the Jordanian context.

4.2. Pilot study

An initial study was conducted to identify metaphorical instances employed in a manageable sample of Jordanian newspaper opinion articles to depict corrupt individuals, following the approach proposed by Charteris-Black (2004). The researchers first filtered the corpus by topic of interest, that is, corruption and corrupt individuals. Subsequently, MIP was manually applied to a manageable sample (196 of 7543 opinion articles) extracted from the corpus. This process was used to identify metaphorical expressions, either single or multi-word expressions, which were employed in metaphorical constructions (Charteris-Black, 2004).

Charteris-Black (2014, p. 175) noted that the second stage of CMA involves a thorough reading of the corpus to pinpoint the metaphors used within it. The researchers used a bottom-up approach to derive fundamental conceptual metaphors from metaphorical expressions identified within the corpus. To systematize this process, the researchers adopted Steen’s (2007, p. 16) five-step procedure, which is summarized as follows:

1. Find the metaphorical focus.

2. Find the metaphorical proposition.

3. Find the metaphorical comparison.

4. Find the metaphorical analogy.

5. Find the metaphorical mapping.

Following Steen’s (2007, p. 16) procedure, the first step involved the use of MIP to identify metaphorical words. In the following example, the word (ʔal)ʕadwa ‘infection’ is used metaphorically. Metaphorical expressions, along with words that express the focus or source domain, are identified:

(1) wa biʔanna ʕadwa "ʔalfasa:di" wasalatha kama: wasalat ɣajraha min muʔassasa:tina wa qita:ʕa:tina ʔalmuxtalifa

(Ad-dustour, July 2012)

‘…And that the infection of "corruption" has reached it as it has reached our other institutions and our various sectors.’

In step 2, researchers transformed the metaphorical expression into a conceptual metaphor using a series of propositions, that is, infection and corruption. In step 3, the single proposition accompanied by concepts from two different domains identified in step 2 is transformed into an open comparison between two unfinished propositions, each related to a different source domain. Step 3 stipulates some similarity between a certain state F in the target domain (corruption) and an entity in the source domain (epidemic). Using the terms ‘source’ source ‘target’ domains suggests that similarity must be projected from the infection caused by an epidemic on widespread corruption.

In step 4, the researchers transformed the open comparison from step 3 into a closed comparison, structured formally as an analogy, and provided interpretations of the open values identified in step 3 (Steen, 2007, p. 18). Finally, in step 5, the researchers transformed the analogical structure derived in step 4 into a mapping structure between two conceptual domains: corruption and epidemic. This was achieved by establishing a link between widespread infection caused by an epidemic and the spread of corruption. Thus, the conceptual metaphor of corruption is an epidemic. The metaphors identified at this stage form the basis for further concordance searches over the entire corpus (Charteris-Black, 2004; Deignan, 2009).

4.3. Corpus-based study

The WordSmith Tools version 7 (Scott, 2012), which is compatible with Arabic data, was used to examine the entire corpus. MIP (2007) was adopted to search the corpus for metaphorical expressions identified and collected in the first stage. This search was conducted using the Key Word in Context (KWIC) concordancer function of WordSmith Tools (Scott, 2012) into which the Arabic metaphorical expressions identified during the pilot study were fed. The concordancer returned these metaphorical expressions along with the text in which they were used.

5. Results and discussion

Table 1 shows the raw frequencies (RFs) and percentages of the metaphorical expressions underlying each source domain employed to depict corruption in Al-Rai and Ad-dustour newspapers in the context of the Jordanian Hirak Protest movement.

Table 1. Raw frequencies and percentages of the metaphorical expressions representing different source domains used in Al-Rai and Ad-dustour newspapers.

Source domain	Raw frequency (RF)	Percentage
Disease	893	61.20
organism	350	23.98
warfare	119	8.15
Nature	58	3.97
Supernatural creatures	15	1.02
Meal/kitchen	9	0.61
Machine	6	0.41
Fire	5	0.34
Journey	4	0.27
Total	1.459

Concerning the conceptual metaphors used in the corpus, Table 1 indicates that both newspapers employed several source domains with varying degrees of frequency to depict corruption metaphorically in the context of the Jordanian protest movement during the Arab Spring (2011–2012). A glance at Table 1 also reveals that the total RF of metaphorical expressions used in the corpus was 1459. The three most commonly used source domains in the corpus are disease, organism and warfare, whereas the three least frequently used source domains in the corpus are machine, fire and journey. These source domains and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions are presented and discussed in the following section, which reflects the role of each source domain in metaphorically portraying corruption and corrupt people.

5.1. Disease metaphors

Table 2 reveals the disease source domain, associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the disease source domain in both newspapers was 893.

Table 2. The sub-types of the disease source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic metaphorical expression	English gloss	RF in AR	RF in AD	Total RF in both
corruption is a disease	(ʔal)marad	(the) disease	1	3	4
	(ʔal)muka:faħa	(the) combat	418	393	811
	(ʔal) ħumma	(the) fever	1	0	1
	(ʔad)da:ʔ	(the) disease	4	1	5
	(ʔat) tafaʃʃi	(the) outbreak	3	1	4
	(ʔal)ʔistiʃra:ʔ	(the) outbreak	0	5	5
	(ʔal)ʔistiʔsa:l	(the) eradication	1	2	3
	mustaʃri	rampant	4	8	12
	(ʔal)muʕa:laʤa	(the) treatment	5	5	10
	(ʔas)sarata:n	(the) cancer	0	4	4
	(ʔal)mala:rja	(the) malaria	3	0	3
	(ʔal)ʕamalijja (ʔal)ʤira:ħijja	(the) surgery	2	0	2
	(ʔal)mutala:zima	syndrome	0	1	1
	(ʔal)waram	(the) tumor	2	1	3
	(ʔal)ʕila:ʤ	(the) remedy	1	0	1
	(ʔad)dama:mil	(the) boils	1	0	1
	(ʔal)ʔifra:za:t	(the) secretions	0	1	1
corruption is an epidemic	(ʔal)waba:ʔ	(the) epidemic	3	14	17
	(ʔal)ʕadwa	(the) infection	0	2	3
	(ʔat)ta:ʕu:n	(the) plague	0	2	2
Total					893

Bratu and Kažoka (2018, p. 62) maintain that ‘metaphor of disease is by far the most common way to depict corruption in the media’. ʔalfasa:d ‘Corruption’ is conceptualized as marad ‘disease’ or waba:ʔ ‘epidemic’ that is mustaʃri: ‘rampant’ in the country as in (2). This suggests that corruption is widespread and has an extremely negative impact on society as a whole. As a result, the country should juka:fiħ ‘combat’ it, as in (3). Apparently, corruption leads to several negative economic consequences that negatively affect investments and economic development and increase prices. Corruption also leads to several negative outcomes, such as crimes, social tension, political instability and lack of confidence in the government (Rasheed TI-JO Research Series: Human Rights, 2020)

(2) hija –la: ʃakka- ʔaħadu ʔasba:bi ʔalfasa:di ʔalmustaʃri fi: bila:dina,

(Ad-dustour, September 2012)

‘It is - no doubt - one of the causes of the rampant corruption in our country’,

(3) mana:hiʤin wa ʔadawa:tin taʕli:mijjatin ʤadi:datin tulabbi ha:ða ʔalmatlaba ʔalha:difa ʔila bina:ʔi muʤtamaʕin mustaqbalijjin juka:fiħu ʔalfasa:d

(Al-Rai, January 2012)

‘new educational curricula and tools meet this demand aimed at building a future society that combats corruption.’

In (4), corruption is portrayed as a body having dama:mil ‘boils’ which should be lanced, implying that corruption should be eliminated completely. Conceptualizing corruption as a disease has a negative connotation, because diseases damage the functions of the human body. Similarly, corruption leads to devastating consequences that diminish a country at all levels. This conceptualization lends support to Albtoush and Sahuri (2017b, p. 21) who argue that ‘the target concept of corruption is framed in terms of illness in the body of the country’.

(4) masi:rati ʔalʔisla:ħi du:na ʔan jufaʤʤira dama:mila ʔalfasa:di wa jutahhira ʔalbadana min ʔadra:nihi wa ʔa:fa:tihi ʔalmuhlikati ʔalmudammira

(Al-Rai, December 2012)

‘the process of reform without exploding the boils of corruption and cleansing the body’s dirt and its destructive illnesses’.

5.2. Organism metaphors

Table 3 reveals the organism source domain, the associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the organism source domain in both newspapers was 350.

Table 3. The sub-types of organism source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic metaphorical word/expression	English gloss	RF in AR	RF in AD	Total RF in both
Corruption is a being	(ʔad)dafn	(the) burial	0	2	2
	(ʔal)muħa:kama	(the) trial	1	3	4
	jantaʕiʃ	revives	2	0	2
	ju:wlad	born	0	1	1
	(ʔal)ajdi	(the) hands	1	2	3
	tuħassin	immunize	1	0	1
	(ʔað)ðahir	(the) back	17	25	42
	(ʔal)jad	(the) hand	0	1	1
	(ʔal)ʔakta:f	(the) shoulders	1	0	1
	(ʔal)ʕumr	(the) age	16	38	54
	(ʔaʤ)ʤasad	(the) body	1	1	2
	jasi:r	walk	0	1	1
corruption is a weed	(ʔaʤ)dʒuðu:r	(the) roots	4	0	4
	ʔidʒtiθa:θ	eradication	13	12	25
	janmu	grow	0	3	3
	jazraʕ	plant (v.)	1	0	1
	(ʔal) ħasa:d	(the) harvest	0	2	2
	mutaʤaððir	deeply rooted	0	1	1
	ʔalaʃwa:k	(the) thorns	0	2	2
	(ʔaʃ)ʃaʤara	(the) tree	1	0	1
	sammana	fatten	1	0	1
	(ʔal) ħi:ta:n	(the) whales	8	12	20
	(ʔal)ʔa:fa	(the) pest	39	25	64
	(ʔal)bara:θin	(the) claws	1	2	3
	(ʔal)muta:rada	(the) chasing	1	2	3
	(ʔal)ʔaʕʃa:ʃ	(the) nests	1	3	4
	talʤum	rein in	0	1	1
	(ʔal)ʤara:d	(the) locusts	5	2	7
	(ʔal) xana:zi:r	(the) pigs	0	1	1
	(ʔas)su:s	(the) mites	6	9	15
	(ʔad)diba:ʕ	(the) hyenas	2	16	18
	janxur	gnaw	17	15	32
A corrupt person is an animal	(ʔal)ʔawka:r	(the) dens	1	1	2
	(ʔal)qirsh	(the) shark	0	6	6
	jataka:θar	breed	2	1	3
	(ʔad)di:da:n	(the) worms	0	1	1
	)ʔal (maxa:lib	(the) claws	0	1	1
	tafri:x	hatching	0	1	1
	(ʔal)ʤirða:n	(the) rats	5	2	7
	(ʔal)fiʔra:n	(the) mice	1	1	2
	(ʔazzawa:hif	(the) repitles	0	4	4
corruption is a microorganism	(ʔal)fajru:sa:t	(the) viruses	0	2	2
	(ʔal)bikti:rja	(the) bacteria	0	1	1
	(ʔat)tufajlijja:t	(the) parasites	0	1	1
Corrupt person is a microorganism	(ʔal)ʕawa:liq	(the) planktons	1	1	2
	(ʔal)ʕafan	(the) mold	3	0	3
	(ʔat)tufaylijji:n	(the) parasites	1	0	1
	(ʔat)taħa:lib	(the) algae	1	1	2
Total					350

On the other hand, ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically depicted as a weed or a useless plant that requires a complete ʔiʤtiθa:θ ‘eradication’ as in (5). This is in line with Albtoush and Sahuri (2017a, p. 24), who stated that corruption is portrayed ‘as planting weeds or undesirable plants with the result of gaining an undesirable harvest’. The Jordanian government is keen on curbing corruption, which is known to be serious and harmful. Conceptualizing corruption as a weed indicates that the government can eliminate corruption entirely, as farmers can completely clear all weeds. For example, Jordan has a comprehensive system that includes legislative and institutional authorities, such as the Anti-Corruption Commission, which draws policies to prevent corruption (Rasheed TI-JO Research Series: Human Rights, 2020, p. 17).

(5) faʔinna ʔawwala mutatallabati ʔiʤtiθa:θi ʔalfasa:di wa ʔalqada:ʔi ʕalajhi huwa ʔistiqta:bu ʔalʕana:siri ʔannazi:hati wa ʔalmuxlisati wa ʔalkafuʔati litusda laha ʔida:ratu ʔaʃʃaʔni ʔalʕa:m.

(Al-Rai, April 2011)

The first requirement for eradicating and eliminating corruption is to attract honest, sincere and efficient personnel for the management of public affairs.

In (6), corrupt people are conceptualized as diba:ʕ ‘hyenas’. The Arabic connotation of this animal is that it is repulsive, foul-smelling and feeds decaying bodies. (Al Mu’jam Al Waseet). Accordingly, construing corrupt individuals as hyenas suggests that they are avaricious and never stop preying on a nation’s finances, resources and assets. In addition, corrupt individuals tend to adopt unethical and criminal actions.

(6) fala nuri:du ʔabadan liman jula:ħiqu:na diba:ʕa ʔalfasa:di ʔan jadubba fi:him xadaru ʔalxawfi, fajusa:bu:na bittaʕa:mi ʕan ʔalmaħsu:si wa ʔalmalmu:s

(Ad-dustour, December 2012)

‘We never want those who pursue corruption hyenas to trigger a numbness of fear, so they become blind to the physical and the tangible’.

Charteris-Black (2004, p. 182) argues that the conceptual basis of people are animals is that ‘there is a semantic transfer of the attributes that are associated with the animal to refer to the behaviour of humans’. For instance, (7) shows that corrupt people are perceived as ʔalquru:ʃ ‘sharks’, suggesting that corrupt people pose a considerable threat to the country and its people. Sharks symbolize ‘power, superiority, and authority in its natural environment’ (Green, 2018). Consequently, representing corrupt people as sharks denotes that corrupt people abuse their authority and power to obtain illicit benefits for their personal gain.

(7) ʔalqurra:ʔu laɣɣamu taʕli:qa:tihim wa tahakkuma:tihim wa muna:kafa:tihim, ħi:nama tasa:ʔalu ʕan mada xuluwwi bi:ʔa:tina ʔalbarrijjati ʔalbaʕi:dati ʕan ʃawa:tiʔi ʔalʕaqabati min ʔalquru:ʃ

(Ad-dustour, January 2011)

‘Readers muffled their comments, mockery, and harassment, when they wondered about the extent to which our wild environments far from the shores of Aqaba are free of sharks…’

Human metaphors contribute to the conceptualization of corruption since corruption is construed as a human being who should go on muħa:kama ‘trial’ as in (8). This implies that corrupt people should be held accountable for their actions. In (9), corruption is conceptualized as a human being who should not be yuħassan ‘immunized’ against any disease, suggesting that corrupt people should not be shielded. Corruption is also described as a human being who jantaʕiʃ ‘revive’ all the time and never gets sick, implying that corruption is always active and present at all levels as in (10). Depicting corruption as a human being is in line with Isyaku et al. (2016, p. 78), who state that corruption is portrayed as a human being who must be brought to its knees.

(8) muħa:kamatu "ʔalfasa:di" fursatun litaħqi:qi ða:lik

(Ad-dustour, December 2011)

‘the trial of "corruption" may be an opportunity to achieve this’.

(9) wa ha:ðihi ʔalʔiʃka:lijjatu biħa:ʤatin ʔila muqa:rabatin mawdu:ʕijjatin, la: «tuħassinu» ʔalfasa:da wa tasu:nu ħurrijjata ʔassaħa:fati wa tadmanu ʕadama ʔalmasa:si bikara:ma:ti ʔanna:s

(Al-Rai, October 2011)

‘This problem requires an objective approach that does not «immunize» corruption, safeguard freedom of the press, and ensure that the dignity of people is not compromised’.

(10) ʔalfasa:du la: jaxtassu bifatratin zamanijjatin muħaddadatin jantaʕiʃu fi:ha bajnama jaxtafi fi: ʔuxra

(Al-Rai, January 2012)

‘Corruption is not restricted to one specific period of time in which it revives while disappears in another…’

5.3. Warfare metaphors

Table 4 reveals the warfare source domain, their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of the metaphorical expressions associated with the warfare source domain in both newspapers was 119.

Table 4. The sub-types of warfare source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in RA	RF in DA	Total RF in both
Corruption is an enemy	(ʔal)muħa:raba	(the) battling	189	114	303
	(ʔal)ʕaduw	(the)enemy	1	1	2
	juħa:rib	fight	8	10	18
corruption is war	(ʔal)ħarb	(the) war	34	38	72
corruption is a battle	(ʔal)maʕraka	(the) battle	15	10	25
corruption is an army	ʔidʒta:ħa	Invaded	1	1	2
Total					119

In (11), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically construed as a large army that ʔidʒta:ħa ‘invaded’ our country, implying that corruption becomes massive and widespread, and thus it should be fought bravely. In the same vein, the metaphor of war in (12) is employed to depict corruption as ʕaduw ‘enemy’ that the country, i.e. Jordan should juħa:rib ‘fight’ as in (13). Accordingly, the country decided to wage ħarb ʔalfasa:d ‘a war on corruption’ as in (14). When corruption is viewed as an adversary, Jordan recognizes the great threat that corruption poses to both individuals and the nation. Further, Jordan is determined to eradicate corruption through all the necessary means. For instance, the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission has been established since 2006, and the National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy for the years (2017–2025) has been developed and updated (the Integrity & Anti-Corruption Commission).

(11) ʔalfasa:du ʔallaði ʔiʤta:ħa bila:dana

(Ad-dustour, March 2012)

‘Corruption has swept our country…’

(12) ʔaʃʃaʕbu ʔasbaħa jaʕtabiru «ʔalfasa:da» ʕaduwwahu ʔalʔawwal

(Ad-dustour, September 2011)

‘The people have come to regard "corruption" as their first enemy…’

(13) ʔalfasa:du juħa:rabu bilʔisla:ħi ʔassija:sijji ʔallaði taʔaxxarat muʕtaja:tuhu wa mukawwina:tuhu wa qudura:tuhu ʕala ða:lik.

(Al-Rai, March 2012)

‘…corruption is fought with political reform whose data, components, and capabilities have been postponed’.

(14) tantaliq ʔalʔa:na ħarbu ʔalfasa:di, wa nuri:duha ʔan tastamirra wa ða:lika jatatallabu tawfi:ra ʔaddaʕmi liha:ðihi ʔalħarb

(Ad-dustour, December 2011)

‘The war of corruption is starting now, and we want it to continue, and that requires providing support for this war…’

5.4. Nature metaphors

Table 5 reveals the nature source domain, associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the natural source domain in both newspapers was 58.

Table 5. The sub-types of the nature source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in AR	RF in AD	Total RF in both
corruption is an uncontrollable and unpredictable natural force	(ʔal)ʕa:sifa	(the) storm	0	3	3
	(ʔal)mawʤa	(the) wave	3	1	4
	(ʔal)burka:n	(the) volcano	1	0	1
	ʔattuwufa:n	(the) flood	0	1	1
	(ʔal)mawʤa	(the) wave	11	4	15
	(ʔal)hadi:r	(the) thunder	0	1	1
corruption is water	(ʔal)mansu:b	(the) level	2	1	3
	(ʔal)ʔinħisa:r	(the) receding	1	0	1
	(ʔaʃ)ʃawa:ʔib	(the) impurities	2	2	4
	(ʔal)mana:biʕ	(the) water sources	7	7	14
	taɣalɣala	penetrate	4	1	5
	(ʔat)tasarrub	(the) leakage	1	0	1
	(ʔat)taʤfi:f	(the) drying	1	0	1
	(ʔal) ħanafijja:t	(the) faucets	0	2	2
	(ʔal)mustanqaʕ	(the) swamp	0	2	2
Total					58

In (15), ʔalfasa:d’corruption is metaphorically conceptualized as a giant mawʤa ‘wave ‘, implying that corruption is massive and it causes devastating consequences on the country and its people. In (16) and (17), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically construed as ʕa:sifa ‘storm’ and burka:n ‘volcano’. The consequences of these natural disasters are huge, as they cause significant damage and suffering. Similarly, corruption has a huge negative impact on the country, including its people, properties and resources, as it causes social inequality, poverty, unemployment, poor economy, frustration and hardship among citizens, decreasing the country’s human capital.

(15) raɣma ʔannahu ka:na biwusʕihim ana «jutaʔtiʔu» ruʔu:sahum ʔama:ma mawʤati ʔalfasa:di ʔalʕa:tijati ħatta tamur…

(Ad-dustour, February 2019)

‘Although they could have ‘lowered their heads’ in front of the fierce wave of corruption until it passed…’

(16) baqijat mula:ħaðatun ʕala ha:miʃi ʕa:sifati ʔalfasa:di

(Ad-dustour, June 2011)

‘A note remained on the sidelines of the storm of corruption…’

(17) … rabidun ʕala burka:ni fasa:din min kulli ʔalʔittiʤa:ha:t

(Al-Rai, August 2012)

‘…crouching on a volcano of corruption from all directions’.

5.5. Supernatural creatures metaphors

Table 6 reveals the supernatural creatures’ source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the source domain of supernatural creatures in both newspapers was 15.

Table 6. The sub-types of supernatural creatures source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in RA	RF in AD	Total RF in both
corruption is a supernatural creature	(ʔaʃ)ʃabaħ	(the) ghost	2	1	3
	(ʔal)ɣu:l	(the) ogre	1	5	6
	ʔalʕanqa:ʔ	(the) phoenix	0	1	1
	(ʔal)waħʃ	(the) monster	0	5	5
Total					15

Supernatural creatures such as monsters, ogres and ghosts are employed to conceptualize negative phenomena and represent our fear of being unable to defeat them. In (18), corruption is metaphorically perceived as a supernatural creature i.e. waħʃa ‘a monster’ which is typically shown as a terrifying gigantic demonic entity that devours innocent people – especially babies and children –symbolizes a type of blind and selfish power. Similarly, corrupt individuals abuse their positions of authority and engage in any illegal conduct to serve a personal interest since they are greedy and have a propensity to live off the resources of their nation.

(18) lajsat musa:dafatun ʔanna waħʃa ʔalfasa:di ʔidʒta:ħa ʕa:lamana

(Al-Rai, November 2011)

‘It is no coincidence that the monster of corruption invaded our world’

5.6. Meal/kitchen metaphors

Table 7 reveals the meal/kitchen source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the meal/kitchen source domain in both newspapers was 9.

Table 7. The sub-types of meal/kitchen source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in RA	RF in AD	Total RF in both
Corruption is food	(ʔal)wadʒba	(the) meal	0	2	2
	(ʔat)taʕm	(the) taste	0	1	1
	ʔarra:ʕiha	(the) smell	4	2	6
Total					9

In (19), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically portrayed as an expensive waʤba ‘meal’ that corrupt people consume, implying that the issues of corruption that corrupt people are involved in and take advantage of the country are a lot of money that is spent uselessly just to fill their pockets. In (20), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically represented as food that has a delicious taste that corrupt people jatalaððaðu ‘savour’, implying that corrupt individuals enjoy all illicit benefits and their abuse of power for their personal gain.

(19) faʔinna waʤbata fasa:din wa:ħidatan tusa:wi kulfataha lisanawa:tin ʕadi:da

(Ad-dustour, December 2011)

‘one meal of corruption is equal to its cost for many years’.

(20) la: ʔadri: kajfa jana:mu ʔalfa:sidu? wa kajfa jatalaððaðu bitaʕmi ʔalfasa:d?

(Addustour, February 2011)

‘How does a corrupt person sleep? How does he save the taste of corruption?’

5.7. Machine metaphors

Table 8 reveals the nature of the source domain and its associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the natural source domain in both newspapers was 6.

Table 8. The sub-types of the machine source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

Conceptual metaphor	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in AR	RF in AD	Total RF in both
Corruption is a machine	(ʔal)ʔa:la	(the) machine	1	1	2
	(ʔal)ma:kina	(the) machine	0	1	2
	(ʔad)du:la:b	(the) wheel	2	0	2
Total					6

In (21) and (22), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption’ is metaphorically conceptualized as a great ma:ki:na or ʔa:la ‘machine’, suggesting that corruption is massive and that it increases and expands as a machine that is used to produce a large number of goods and products.

(21) … wa biða:lika ma:ki:natu ʔalfasa:di la: tatawaqqafu wa la tanqatiʕu ʕani ʔalʔinta:ʤ

(Ad-dustour, March 2019)

‘… and thus the machine of corruption does not stop and does not cease from production’.

(22) ʔinnama ʔaqu:lu ʔannahumu mudʒarradu musannana:tin saɣi:ratin fi ʔa:lati ʔalfasadi ʔalkubra

(Ad-dustour, August 2011)

‘Rather, I say that they are just small cogs in the great corruption machine’

5.8. Fire metaphors

Table 9 reveals the fire source domain and its associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the fire source domain in both newspapers was 5.

Table 9. The sub-types of the fire source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in AR	RF In AD	Total RF in both
Corruption is fire	(ʔan)na:r	(the) fire	1	2	3
	(ʔal)luɣum	(the) shot	0	1	1
corruption is fuel	(ʔal)wuqu:d	(the) fuel	0	1	1
Total					5

The instances of fire metaphors mentioned in the corpus have negative connotations because they are associated with destruction and hell. In (23) ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption is also portrayed metaphorically as a fire that devoured everything’, suggesting that corruption destroyed everything and the most important results is economic misery or bankruptcy and the loss of public confidence in state institutions, which is one of the most important reflections of corruption. In (24), ʔalfasa:d ‘corruption is also metaphorically construed as fire whose fule is ʔalfaqr wa ʔalbita:la ‘poverty and unemployment’, suggesting that poverty and unemployment are considered major causes of massive and rampant corruption.

(23) na:ru ʔalfasa:d ʔakalat ʔalʔaxdara waa ʔalja:bias

(Al-Rai, January 2012)

‘The fire of corruption has devoured everything’

(24) ʔalfaqr wa ʔalbita:la huma wuqu:du ʔalfasa:d

(Ad-dustour, February 2012)

Poverty and unemployment are the fuel of corruption.

5.9. Journey metaphors

Table 10 reveals the journey source domain, its associated metaphorical linguistic expressions and their RFs. The total RF of metaphorical expressions associated with the journey source domain in both newspapers was 4.

Table 10. The sub-types of the fire source domain and their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, and their raw frequencies (RFs).

	Arabic word/expression	English gloss	RF in RA	RF In AD	Total RF in both
combating corruption is a journey	(ʔal) xutwa:t	(the) steps	1	3	3
	(ʔal)masa:r	(the) path	0	1	1
Total					4

A journey is considered an intentional movement through physical space from a starting point to a destination or endpoint (Charteris-Black, 2004, p. 74). In (25), Corruption ‘ʔalfasad’ is metaphorically conceptualized as riħla ‘journey’. For any journey, there is a starting point and destination at which travelers aim to arrive. Likewise, the government is depicted as a traveling entity/person that takes xutuwa:t ‘steps’ toward reaching their destination, i.e. combating corruption. During this journey, the government must have a well-defined masa:r ‘path’ toward reaching its destination as in (26).

(25) ʔalxutwa ʔal ʔu:la tabdaʔ mina ʔal ħukumati min xila:li ʔisra:riha ala ʔistikma:li xutwa:ti muħarabti ʔalfasadi

(Ad-dustour August 2012)

The first step begins with the government’s insistence on completing steps to combat corruption

(26) wa maʕa taʃdʒi:ʔi ʕ ajji xutwatin ʕala masa:ri muwa:dʒahati ʔalfasadi

(Al-Rai, July 2011)

‘With the encouragement of any step on the path of confronting corruption’. 6. Explanation of the choice of metaphor used

After completing metaphor identification and interpretation, Charteris-Black (2014, p. 176) asserted that it is necessary for researchers to analyze the political and social contexts to understand the reasons for the usage of these metaphors in specific situations. Looking at the social, political and economic context in Jordan during the Arab Spring, it becomes clear that Jordan, an Arab country with limited resources, depends heavily on foreign loans from the Gulf and Western allies (Zibin, 2017). The huge influx of Syrian refugees across Jordanian borders has imposed a larger economic burden on Jordan and its people (Zibin, 2020). In addition, the national debt issue, the sharp rise in oil prices and the budget deficit negatively impacted the Jordanian economy (Amman Chamber of Commerce, 2013; Zibin, 2020). Jordanians live in difficult economic situations. Accordingly, Jordanians’ demands were primarily economic rather than political during the Arab Spring (Barari & Satkowski, 2012, p. 53).

Since 2010, corruption has been considered a significant economic and socio-political concern in Jordan. This issue has become critical and alarming, being discussed both in daily life and in mass media. One case in point is the growing number of strikes and demonstrations by Jordanians seeking social equity and comprehensive reform (Albtoush and Sahuri, 2017a, 2017b, p. 17).

Jordanians believe that ‘corruption has reached a point where it is impeding the functioning of the state’ (Barari & Satkowski, 2012, p. 53). Furthermore, they realize that ‘corruption reached an unprecedented point in the history of Jordan’ (ibid, p. 47). Thus, resentment has grown dramatically among Jordanians owing to the widespread spread of corruption. The realization that corruption has become pervasive in the country is conveyed in disease metaphors, which depict corruption as (ʔal)waba:ʔ ‘epidemic’ or marad ‘disease’ that is mustaʃri: ‘rampant’ in the country. The threatening nature of corruption is also conveyed in warfare metaphors, where corruption is represented as a large army that ʔidʒta:ħa ‘invaded’ our country, implying that corruption has become massive and widespread. The impression that corruption has become critical and uncontrollable is expressed through nature metaphors, where corruption is described as (ʔal)burka:n ‘volcano’, and ʔattuwufa:n ‘flood’. The pervasive corruption is also conveyed in machine, corruption is depicted as a massive (ʔal)ma:kina ‘machine’ that keeps producing goods, implying that corruption continues spreading in various sectors and parts of the country.

The use of these metaphors in Jordanian socio-political discourse indicates that corruption has become an alarming concern in Jordan. As a result, writers of newspaper opinion articles have begun discussing corruption and the scandals of corrupt individuals openly and freely. In addition, the writers aimed to convey Jordanians’ urgent messages to the government, urging them to act quickly and take immediate and effective actions to combat corruption at all levels in Jordan. Moreover, the Arab uprising that sparked off in neighboring Arab countries greatly encouraged Jordanians to tackle the issue of corruption in public and advocate for the necessity of combating all forms of corruption while preserving national resources.

Jordanians view fighting corruption as their top priority. This aligns with Al-Hiari (2022, p. 1), who posited that ‘combatting corruption has been a long-standing commitment for Jordan, which had particularly heightened in light of the Arab Spring in 2011’. The demand to fight corruption is conveyed in warfare metaphors in which ħarb ‘war’ against corruption must be waged. Moreover, corruption is conceptualized as ʕaduw ‘enemy’ that necessitates muħa:raba ‘fighting’. The demand to fight corruption is also conveyed in disease metaphors in which corruption is portrayed as a(ʔal)waba:ʔ ‘epidemic’ or marad ‘disease’ that require muka:faħa ‘combating. ‘ Besides, corruption is described as waram ‘tumor’ and sarata:n ‘cancer’ that necessitate ʔistiʔsa:l ‘eradication’. Combating corruption is also conveyed in journey metaphors, in which the government is represented as a traveler who must take steps on the right path toward its destination, that is, combating corruption.

The use of these metaphors also demonstrates that Jordanians are no longer tolerant of witnessing such a phenomenon, i.e. corruption in their country. Jordanians have experienced detrimental effects on themselves and their country as a whole. Corruption has led to rising rates of poverty, crime, social inequality, unemployment and sluggish national economic growth.

Realizing the negative impact of corruption on people and their countries is conveyed through nature, supernatural creatures and fire metaphors. Corruption is metaphorically conceptualized as natural disasters, such as ʕa:sifa ‘storm’, ʔattuwufa:n ‘flood’and burka:n ‘volcano’, which cause devastating consequences for the country and its people. Corruption is also metaphorically portrayed as a ʃabaħ ‘monster’ or ɣu:l ‘ogre’ that threatens Jordanians and lives on their properties and resources. Furthermore, corruption is depicted as na:r ‘fire’ that destroys everything around, suggesting the devastating influence of corruption on Jordan and its people as a whole.

Barari and Satkowski (2012, p. 52) posited that ‘Jordanian press, especially the new media, buzzed with corruption scandals’. This is evident through Organism metaphors in which corrupt individuals are metaphorically construed as quru:ʃ ‘sharks’, ʤirða:n ‘rats’, (ʔat)tufaylijja:t ‘parasites’ that feed on Jordanians’ properties and resources. Corrupt individuals are also metaphorically construed as fajru:sa:t ‘viruses’ that have spread dramatically. The use of these negative metaphors to describe corrupt individuals in Jordanian socio-political discourse suggests that people, including writers, are no longer afraid of discussing corrupt individuals, even if they are high-profile people or popular public figures.

7. Conclusion and recommendation

The study adopted a constructivist approach to investigate the metaphors employed to depict corruption and corrupt individuals in Jordanian socio-political discourse, utilizing a CMA methodology for analyzing the data. The results demonstrate that several metaphors are employed to depict corruption and corrupt individuals in Jordanian socio-political discourse. The source domains of these metaphors included disease, organisms, warfare, nature, supernatural creatures, meal/kitchen, machine, fire and journey. These metaphors reflect Jordanians’ resentment of pervasive corruption and its damaging consequences on both individuals and the country as a whole. In addition, they underscore Jordanians’ determination to combat corruption and hold those involved accountable, which has become a top public priority. More specifically, the three most frequently used source domains utilized to represent corruption and corrupt individuals in the corpus, namely disease, organism and warfare reveal that corruption is a serious issue which poses a dire threat to the functioning of societies and economies, hindering development, exacerbating inequalities and eroding trust in institutions. Accordingly, governments, civil society and the private sector must work together to combat corruption by advancing accountability, transparency and good governance.

The use of negative metaphors to represent corruption and corrupt individuals, including high-profile political figures in Jordanian socio-political discourse, reflects the significant increase in Jordanians’ freedom of expression in the context of the Jordanian Hirak protest movement during the Arab Spring. The role of opinion article writers is evident in reflecting and reinforcing Jordanians’ negative attitudes toward corruption and corrupt individuals, and in conveying their messages to the government about the urgent necessity of fighting corruption. The main findings indicate that the vast majority of conceptual metaphors used to represent corruption in this context are also employed in other languages (Bratu & Kažoka, 2018; Chiluwa, 2007; Isyaku et al., 2016; Negro, 2015). This supports Kövecses (2010), who argued for the existence of near-universal conceptual metaphors, in which people, regardless of their language, conceptualize cognitive processes, human ideas and biological, physical and emotional experiences. Future research could be conducted on the metaphors employed to conceptualize corruption and corrupt individuals in English-language Jordanian mainstream daily newspapers. This study explored the metaphorical conceptualization of a universal phenomenon, i.e. corruption in a culture-specific context, i.e. Jordanian Arab culture. Thus, this study opens a venue for future research to compare and contrast metaphors used to depict this universal concept, i.e. corruption across different cultural contexts.

Author contribution

Ronza Abu Rumman, Jihad Hamdan and Amer Al-Adwan were involved in the design of the paper, the analysis and interpretation of the data, the drafting of the paper, revising it critically for intellectual content and the final approval of the version to be published; and that all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, A.A., upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Qatar National Library.

Notes on contributors

Ronza N. Abu Rumman

Ronza Abu Rumman is an instructor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. She received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Jordan/Jordan. Her current research focuses on Cognitive Semantics, Pragmatics, (Critical) Discourse Analysis and second language

Jihad M. Hamdan

Jihad M. Hamdan holds a Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics. He is currently a full Professor at the Department of English Language and Literature, University of Jordan. His research interests focus on Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis and Translation. He published many papers in international Scopus-indexed journals.

Amer Al-Adwan

Amer Al-Adwan is currently an Associate Professor of Audiovisual Translation in the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). He received his BA in English Language and Literature from Yarmouk University, Jordan in 2003, and his MA in Applied Translation in 2005 from the University of Exeter, UK. He also obtained his doctorate in Translation and Intercultural Studies from the University of Manchester in 2009. Before joining HBKU in 2014, he worked at Jordan University and the Applied Science University, Jordan, as an assistant professor, where he taught several courses of translation and intercultural studies.