La función discursiva de las metonimias basadas en topónimos: Análisis de Cataluña y España en un corpus periodístico bilingüe

Place name-based metonymies are widely used as rhetorical tools in the media due to their referential ambiguity. They simplify complex references and can be used to conceal agency, generalize and consolidate discourses and stereotypes. These metonymies can refer to territories, institutions or communities, activating multiple conceptualizations. In this study, we analyze how toponyms such as Cataluña and España are used in polarized discourses, like media discourse in Catalan and Spanish on the Catalan independence movement and the unilateral referendum of October 1, 2017. For the study, notions of cognitive linguistics are used consistently within the framework of critical discourse studies. Different discursive strategies are identified to represent various political and social actors represented metonymically through place names. Furthermore, it is pointed out how similar discursive strategies can generate different narratives when place names are accompanied by different semantic prosodies and activate different orders of indexicality.