The Language Applied in the British Press to Portray the Landmark Occasion – Platinum Jubilee of the Queen Elizabeth II – a Case Study

Abstract

ach of the round anniversaries of the Queen’s reign took place in a different socio-political climate, reflecting the dynamics of change in the United Kingdom. Elizabeth II celebrated the Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the Sapphire Jubilee of her reign in 2017 and finally, in 2022, the Platinum Jubilee. Although so much has changed since the Silver Jubilee, the Queen, through the preservation of her stance, has become a symbol of constancy and stability not only among Britons or Commonwealth citizens but perhaps also among people from other cultural areas of the world. All those anniversaries were abundantly and thoroughly reported in various national newspapers. However, the language applied to present the 2022 Platinum Jubilee by the popular press, and the language employed by the quality press to describe the same event differed significantly. The case study presented in this article shows how popular press representatives such as “Daily Mirror”, “The Sun” and “Sunday Mirror” and quality press representatives, “The Guardian” and “The Sunday Times” vary linguistically while delivering the same information to the reader. The case study contains the frequency and choice of idiomatic application, play on words and overall cultural significance.

Keywords

• wyrażenia idiomatyczne
• prasa
• kultura
• język