Métaphores Conceptuelles Autour Du Thème « Développement Durable » Dans Alternatives Économiques (2000-2016)

This paper undertakes to identify and organize metaphorical occurrences in the long articles on sustainable development published in the French magazine ‘Alternatives Économiques’ between January 2000 and January 2016. The choice of the magazine was based on its well-established reputation, its broad scope of topics dealing with contemporary economic issues and its availability to the general public, which has a direct influence on the language used. The adopted theoretical approach is that of cognitive linguistics as illustrated by the work of G. Lakoff and M. Johnson (1980). Formerly a rhetorical or poetical device, the metaphor is now regarded as a naturally occurring phenomenon, deeply rooted in everyday life experiences and therefore present in language, thought and action in a way that is systematic. Metaphorical concepts are so pervasive and influential that they are at the core structure of our conceptual system. Since a metaphor is an interface between two different kinds of things allowing one to be understood in terms of another, a taxonomy that establishes three main categories of conceptual metaphors (structural, orientational and ontological) allows for a qualitative research whose purpose is to regroup the metaphors identified according to the general concepts that underlie them. Foreign to the field of economics, borrowed from domains as diverse as those of biology, medical science, mechanics, IT or gastronomy, these concepts allow cognitive access to economic activities linked to sustainable development by presenting them as living entities (human or not) in good or poor health, various machines and vehicles, sports and games or (usually harmful) substances, etc. Although heterogeneous, conceptual metaphors are more than just devices that enrich the language used: they are encoded pragmatically so as to make readers aware of sustainable development as a return to ethics and social responsibility as well as of the difficulties encountered in implementing associated policies.