Study title

The threat to human and animal health posed by a rise in infectious diseases, a decrease in antimicrobial resistance and the risk of zoonoses (diseases transmitted continuously from one species to another), such as avian flu, has rarely been higher on the government agenda. It is vital to know how to respond efficiently and effectively to such threats, be it on the farmyard or in hospitals. This project is based on interdisciplinary collaboration between sociology and applied linguistics and uses a novel combination of methods: corpus linguistics, critical discourse analysis and critical metaphor analysis. Its aim is to investigate the narratives and discourses around cleanliness in two sectors: poultry farms (dealing with the threat of avian flu) and hospitals (dealing with the threat of MRSA) and to compare them with policy and media discourses. The in-depth study of the language of cleanliness and hygiene in different local contexts allows the mapping of the linguistic topography of cleanliness and the identification of fault lines along which different understandings interact and might come into conflict. Based on the findings derived from two case studies, we will develop a number of recommendations to improve communication across two sectors of public and encourage sustainable good practice in and across these sectors.