ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the interpretive frames that have been invoked in German public discourse on the issue of mask-wearing. First, the history of official policies on masks is outlined as well as recommendations from German ministerial epidemiologists. In addition, a short overview of street protests with regard to COVID-19 policies in Germany is provided. To explore the meaning attributed to mask-wearing in different parts of public discourse, this chapter focuses on nomination strategies. By analysing the referential, evaluative and emotive dimensions of mask-related terms, the underlying semantic and argumentative structures of public discourse become apparent. The frequencies of interpretive frames over the course of the pandemic are then traced based on the distribution of the linguistic references. Using a corpus linguistic approach as a methodological framework, the study is based on a corpus of approximately 90 million words that consist of all texts of the German newspaper Die Welt as well as all articles and user comments from the right-wing news platform Politically Incorrect (pi-news.net) from 1 January 2020 to 1 July 2021. The key finding is that while mainstream society embraces masks as a means of protection from contagion, the radical right, from the very beginning of the pandemic, has framed the mask as a symbol of a supposed totalitarian state and quasi-dictatorial government.
