Abstract
This chapter investigates a corpus of interviews carried out for the ESRC project Cycling Cultures in a Mass Motorised Society. By looking at spoken discourse, this analysis retrieves what makes people choose cycling over other means of transport, as these arguments may prove effective in promotional material. The investigation focuses on road users labels, the use of metaphors, ‘us vs. them’ discourse, framing and reframing strategies. The role attributed to ‘culture’ is observed together with the notion of lifestyle practices, exploring the role played by identity-related issues. The chapter closes with some hints for motivational campaigns retrieved from the observation of themes touched by the interviewees, highlighting the positive effects of slow cycling and connecting these aspects to the ecosophy behind the book and the notions of good life and well-being.
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Notes
- 1.
Rachel Aldred, The University of East London, the Economic and Social Research Council and the UK Data Archive bear no responsibility for the further analysis and interpretation of the data presented in this book.
- 2.
A figure of speech characterised by the action of substituting for a word or phrase denoting an object, action, institution, etc., a word or phrase denoting a property or something associated with it, e.g. as when referring to the monarchy as ‘the crown’ or the theatre as ‘the stage’; an instance of this (OED Online 2019).
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Caimotto, M.C. (2020). The Words of People Who Cycle. In: Discourses of Cycling, Road Users and Sustainability. Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8_7
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