기후위기의 언어적 구성과 담론 수행성 - 한국어, 영어, 러시아어 기후위기 담론의 비교 분석

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study approaches the climate crisis as a discursive phenomenon constructed through linguistic naming and discourse practices rather than as a purely natural event. Although climate change exists as a scientific fact, the ways in which societies perceive, interpret, and respond to it are largely shaped by language and discourse structures. From this perspective, the study conducts a comparative analysis of climate discourse in Korean, English, and Russian in order to examine how the climate crisis is constructed within different linguistic communities.
The analysis is conducted at three levels. First, it investigates the semantic competition among key lexical items used to denote the climate crisis. Expressions such as the Korean sequence ‘기후변화-기후위기-기후재난-기후재앙’, English terms such as ‘climate change’, ‘climate crisis’, and ‘climate catastrophe’, and Russian terms such as ‘климатические изменения’ and ‘экологическая катастрофа’ function not merely as synonyms but as discursive devices that structure different degrees of urgency and responsibility. Second, the study examines disaster metaphors and their emotional and behavioral framing. While Korean discourse often employs war and apocalyptic metaphors that mobilize strong emotions and urgency, English discourse frequently integrates such metaphors with institutional and policy-oriented language. Russian discourse tends to portray nature through metaphors of elemental force or living organisms, often accompanied by reflexive discussions of the rhetorical effects of such metaphors. Third, the study explores the performativity of climate discourse. Climate discourse does not merely describe reality; it also organizes social action through linguistic acts such as warning, assigning responsibility, and calling for action.
The findings suggest that the climate crisis becomes a social reality through linguistic naming, metaphorical framing, and performative speech acts. The comparison across three languages further demonstrates that while climate change is a global phenomenon, its meaning is constructed differently within distinct linguistic and cultural environments. These results highlight the importance of incorporating linguistic and discursive perspectives into climate crisis research alongside scientific analyses.