A critical-discourse study of the representation of unaccompanied foreign minors in a sample of the Spanish press
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15381/lengsoc.v22i1.23944Keywords:
Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (UFM), critical discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, social actors, Spanish pressAbstract
The arrival of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM) to Spain has increased in the last decades. The objective of this article is to study the discursive representation of UFM in a sample of the Spanish press to deepen the understanding of how they are portrayed The data consist of a corpus of all the news items on UFM published in the digital editions of the newspapers El País, ABC and El Mundo from January 1st 2012 to January 1st 2022. The methodology is mixed, i.e. quantitative data will be obtained using the software Antconc for concordance analysis and cluster lists. Thus, a corpus-linguistic analysis is made to observe the main linguistic patterns associated with UFM. Moreover, qualitative data will be offered by using the discursive model of social actors proposed by Van Leeuwen (2008). This model will be used to delve into the main categories employed by the Spanish press to refer to UFM, for this purpose, patterns of assimilation vs individualization and role allocation and identification are described. The study reveals that UFM are mainly associated with criminalization and exclusion. Thus, their representation is associated with social problems.
References
Alcaraz-Mármol, G., and Soto-Almela, J. (2022). Refugees’ dehumanization in the Spanish media: A corpus-assisted study within the semantic preference framework. Applied Linguistics Review, 13(5), 791–817. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2019-0069
Alonso-Bello, E., Santana-Vega, L., and Feliciano-García, L. (2020). Employability skills of unaccompanied immigrant minors in Canary Islands. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 9(1), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2020.1.433
Anthony, L. (2020). AntConc (Version 3.5.9) [Computer Software]. Tokyo: Waseda University. Available in: www.laurenceanthony.net
Ardévol, A. (2009). Información sobre inmigración en la prensa de Tenerife. Las manifestaciones de vecinos contra un centro de menores inmigrantes en 2006. RUTA Revista Universitària de Treballs Acadèmics, 2, 1-24. http://ddd.uab.cat/pub/ruta/20130740n2a2.pdf
Asín, M. (2012). La residencia y protección de los menores inmigrantes no acompañados. In D. Boza Martínez, F. J. Donaire Villa and D. Moya Malapeira (Coords.), La nueva regulación de la inmigración y la extranjería en España: régimen jurídico tras la LO 2/2009, el Real Decreto 557/2011 y la Ley 12/2009 (pp. 307-320). Tirant lo Blanch.
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C., Khosravinik, M., Krzyz˙, M., McEnery, T., and Wodak, R. (2008). A useful methodological synergy? Combining critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics to examine discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK press. Discourse & Society, 19(3), 273–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926508088962
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C., and McEnery, T. (2013). Sketching Muslims: A corpus-driven analysis of representations around the word Muslim in the British press 1998-2009. Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 255-278. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams048
Baker P., and McEnery T. (2015). Introduction. In P. Baker & T. McEnery (Eds.), Corpora and Discourse Studies (pp 1-19). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137431738_1
Bhabha, J., Kanics, J., and Senovilla, H.D. (2018). Research handbook on child migration. Elgaronline. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786433701.00007
Bravo, A., and Santos-González, I. (2017). Menores extranjeros no acompañados en España. Necesidades y modelo de intervención. Psychosocial Intervention, 26(1), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2015.12.001
Council of the European Union. (1997). Council Resolution 97/C 221/03 of 26 June 1997 on unaccompanied minors who are nationals of third countries. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31997Y0719(02)&from=EN
Etxeberría, F., Murua, H., Garmedia, J., and Arrieta, E. (2012). Menores Inmigrantes no acompañados en Euskadi y Aquitania. Elaboración y puesta en marcha de un programa de formación para educadores y responsables. Revista de Educación Social, 15, 1–28. http://www.eduso.net/res/pdf/15/mena_res_15.pdf
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: the critical study of language. Longman.
Fernández-Ramos, M. (2019). Niños y niñas no acompañados. Entre la desprotección y la garantía de derechos. Trabajo Social, 21(2), 119-139. https://doi.org/10.15446/ts.v21n2.75262
Fuster, M., Gregori, C., and Santaemilia, J. (Eds.). (2020). Multiperspectives in analysis and corpus design. Editorial Comares.
Gabrielatos, C. (2018). Keyness Analysis: nature, metrics and techniques. In C. Taylor & A. Marchi, A. (Eds.), Corpus approaches to discourse: A critical review (pp. 225-258). Routledge.
Garavito, S., Sánchez A., and Carbarcas, Y. (2018). Menores inmigrantes no acompañados, las dos orillas de la vulnerabilidad, estatus de irregulares al llegar a España. Summa Iuris, 6(2), 285-296. https://doi.org/10.21501/23394536.3178
Gimeno-Monterde, C. (2010). Menores no acompañados: una cuestión compleja para las políticas públicas y sociales. Revista de derecho migratorio y extranjería, 25, 55-72.
Gimeno-Monterde, C. (2018). Retos de la acogida residencial a menores que migran solos: Hacia un trabajo social transnacional. Cuadernos de Trabajo Social, 31(1), 95-108. https://doi.org/10.5209/CUTS.56005
Gómez-Quintero, J.-D, Aguerri, J.-C., and Gimeno-Monterde, C. (2021). Representaciones mediáticas de los menores que migran solos: Los MENA en la prensa española. Comunicar. Revista Científica de Educomunicación, 66, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.3916/C66-2021-08
González, I., and Torrado, E. (2008). Frente a frente. Proyectos educativos y proyectos migratorios de menores extranjeros no acompañados en Canarias. Revista Qurriculum, 21, 103–135.
Gries, S. Th., and Berez, A. (2017). Linguistic annotation in/for corpus linguistics. In N. Idy & J. Pustejovsky (Eds.), Handbook of linguistic annotation (pp. 379–408). Springer.
Harkensee, C., Olness, K., and Esmaili, B. (2021). Child refugee and migrant health A manual for health professionals. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74906-4
Knezevic, Z. (2017). Amoral, im/moral and dis/loyal: Children’s moral status in child welfare. Childhood, 24(4), 470-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568217711742
Lázaro González, I. (2007). Menores extranjeros no acompañados. La situación en España. Revista Prolegómenos. Derechos y Valores de la Facultad de Derecho, 10(19), 149-162.
Log-Likelihood and Effect Size Calculator (2020). [Online], [2 February 2020]. Available from: http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/llwizard.html
López, R. (2020). Discursive de/humanizing: A multimodal critical discourse analysis of television news representations of undocumented youth. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(47), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.4972
Martínez Lirola, M. (2014). Exploring visual dysphemisms in pieces of news related to immigrant minors in a Spanish newspaper. Visual Communication, 13(4), 405-427. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357214541741
Martínez Lirola, M. (2022). Critical analysis of deshumanizing news photographs on immigrants: examples of the portrayal of non-citizenship. Discourse &Society, 33(4) 478-500. https://doi.org/10.1177/09579265221088121
Martínez, E., and Cerdá, P. (Dir.). (2009). Bandas juveniles, inmigración y ciudad: España y México. Club Universitario.
McEnery, T., and Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus linguistics: Method, theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Menjívar, C., and Perreira, K. (2019). Undocumented and unaccompanied: Children of migration in the European Union and the United States. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(2), 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2017.1404255
Neubauer, A. (2020). El derecho a la educación de los menores refugiados y solicitantes de asilo desde el enfoque basado en los derechos humanos: dificultades, finalidad e intervención educativa. Revista Española de Educación Comparada, 35, 70-91. https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.35.2020.24342
Paquot, M., and Gries, S. (Eds.) (2020). A practical handbook of Corpus Linguistics Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46216-1
Pelaez, P. (2018). Estado de la cuestión sobre los derechos de los menas en España: entre la protección y el abandono. RES, Revista de Educación Social, 27, 48-70.
Perelló, M., and Lacomba, J. (2020). Las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en fronteras de alta migración. Entre el humanitarismo y la defensa de derechos. REMHU, 28(58), 13-32. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-85852503880005802
Pérez, P. (2021). Corpus Linguistics for education. A guide for research Routledge.
Rodriguez, S. (2018). Borders and badges: Arizona’s children confront detention and deportation through art. Latino Studies, 16(3), 310-340.
Rosen, R., and Crafter, S. (2018). Media representations of separated child migrants: From dubs to doubt. Migration and Society, 1(1), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.3167/arms.2018.010107
Santana, L. Feliciano, L., and Jiménez, A. (2016). Perceived family support and the life design of immigrant pupils in secondary education. Revista de Educación, 372, 32–58.
Scandoglio, B. (2009). Jóvenes, grupos y violencia: de las tribus urbanas a las bandas latinas. Icaria.
Souto-Manning, M. (2021). On the abolition of belonging as property: Toward justice for immigrant children of color. Urban education, 00(0), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859211017967
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2016). Los menores no acompañados y la protección del asilo. http://www.acnur.org/t3/a-quien-ayuda/ninos/los-menores-no-acompanados-y-la-proteccion-del-asilo/
Van Dijk, T. (2009). Critical discourse studies: A sociocognitive approach. In R. Wodak R. & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (pp. 62-86), 2nd ed. Sage.
Van Dijk, T. (2017) Ideology: An Interdisciplinary Approach. London.
Van Leeuwen, T. (2008). Discourse and practice. New tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford University Press.
Vickers, T., and Rutter, A. (2018). Disposable labour, passive victim, active threat: Migrant/non-migrant othering in three British television documentaries. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(4), 486-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549416682968
Zatz, M., and Rodriguez, N. (2015). Dreams and nightmares: immigration policy, youth, and families. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520958890
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 María Martínez Lirola
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
AUTHORS RETAIN THEIR RIGHTS
a. Authors retain their trade mark rights and patent, and also on any process or procedure described in the article.
b. Authors can submit to the journal Lengua y Sociedad, papers disseminated as pre-print in repositories. This should be made known in the cover letter.
c. Authors retain their right to share, copy, distribute, perform and publicly communicate their article (eg, to place their article in an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in the journal Lengua y Sociedad.
d. Authors retain theirs right to make a subsequent publication of their work, to use the article or any part thereof (eg a compilation of his papers, lecture notes, thesis, or a book), always indicating its initial publication in the journal Lengua y Sociedad (the originator of the work, journal, volume, number and date).
