FRAMES, FEELINGS AND FACTS: COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Climate change is not only a scientific issue but also a social and communicative one, because the way climate facts are presented can shape how people understand and respond to them. Therefore, this study, examines how climate-related facts are organized through language and connected with emotional orientations. The study aims, first, to identify the cognitive frames and conceptual metaphors used in climate communication and, second, to examine how these frames connect climate facts with feelings such as fear, hope, responsibility, vulnerability, urgency, and agency. Furthermore, a qualitative interpretivist approach is used, and publicly available climate communication texts are purposively selected and analyzed through Cognitive Linguistic textual analysis, particularly frame semantics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Moreover, the findings show that crisis, war, race, health, disaster, responsibility, challenge, and resilience are major frames through which climate facts are presented. Additionally, these frames make different emotional meanings more salient: crisis and disaster emphasize fear, urgency, and vulnerability, while challenge, resilience, and collective action emphasize hope, agency, and responsibility. However, these linguistic frames do not automatically determine audience emotions or behavior. Therefore, the study concludes that climate communication involves an important relationship among facts, frames, and feelings. Finally, it recommends that journalists, policymakers, educators, and environmental communicators use scientifically accurate, culturally relevant, and balanced frames that communicate climate risks while also providing realistic pathways for action and hope.