Diachronic Corpus Analysis of War Terminology

Abstract

This paper conducts a diachronic linguistic analysis of war terminology between 2005 and 2020 to bridge the gap in methodologically structured, systematic linguistic analysis of how war discourse shapes collective memory and public judgement. The aim is to trace, quantify, and analyze the linguistic shifts in war terminology, hypothesizing that linguistic patterns are not only in political contexts but also in cultural and social perspectives. Following a corpus analytical framework that integrates CDA with cognitive linguistics, this study explores statistically significant changes observed across three distinct periods. Initial findings (2005-2011) show an emphasis on U.S. military casualties and specific conflict events (Iraq/Afghanistan). The second terminological shift (2014-2015) encompasses military conflicts, relevant organizational actors, and diplomatic contexts. Finally, the period (2017-2020) encompasses a remark about the frequency of war terminologies, which are sharply decreased, where war is primarily constructed through reference to historical events ("the end of World War II") or institutional contexts ("U.S. Army Corps of Engineers"). This suggests potential semantic bleaching and a shift in function toward historical or commemorative pragmatic use.