This article offers a discourse-based and phraseological analysis of the figurative collocation attiser les tensions (“to fuel tensions”) in contemporary media discourse, using a specialized corpus of about one million tokens (396 occurrences). Drawing on the collocational palimp- sest model, it describes mechanisms of contextual mea- ning activation. The analysis shows that the expression retains a figurative heritage from attiser le feu (“to stoke the fire”) – notably intensification and propagation – yet this heritage is not automatically activated. its relevance depends on textual cues and discursive configurations. across geopolitical, politico-social, and judicial/institu- tional contexts, different interpretative layers are selecti- vely activated, which can yield a derived evaluative effect rather than an inherent evaluative meaning. The article proposes a dynamic account linking lexical inheritance and discursive activation.
Palimpseste collocationnel et activation discursive dans le discours médiatique contemporain : analyse discursive de la collocation « attiser les tensions »
De Giovanni C
2026-01-01
Abstract
This article offers a discourse-based and phraseological analysis of the figurative collocation attiser les tensions (“to fuel tensions”) in contemporary media discourse, using a specialized corpus of about one million tokens (396 occurrences). Drawing on the collocational palimp- sest model, it describes mechanisms of contextual mea- ning activation. The analysis shows that the expression retains a figurative heritage from attiser le feu (“to stoke the fire”) – notably intensification and propagation – yet this heritage is not automatically activated. its relevance depends on textual cues and discursive configurations. across geopolitical, politico-social, and judicial/institu- tional contexts, different interpretative layers are selecti- vely activated, which can yield a derived evaluative effect rather than an inherent evaluative meaning. The article proposes a dynamic account linking lexical inheritance and discursive activation.
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