The role of metonymy in social identity

Abstract In this study the role of metonymy in relation to social identity is investigated in naturally occurring internet discourse of social groups. Two Reddit subreddits banned for promoting hate based on identity are compared with two unbanned subreddits that predominantly relate to the same gender-focused concerns. It is found that metonymies to reference social identity are more prevalent in the two banned subreddits, where they represent both social in-groups, and out-groups. Analysis of their use in conjunction with other variables identified as having psychological significance finds that each metonymy has a particular role and psychological characterisation. And consideration of diachronic change in the prevalence and cooccurrence of the metonymies provides insights into the evolution of the identity and concerns of the groups. It is concluded that metonymies at the group level support access to and reification of evolving group-specific conceptualisations, and that this in turn supports group identity. Considering metonymies of social groups in large corpora may thus support understanding of group-specific attitudes, and their evolution over time, including in relation to potential hatefulness of discourse.