Usage Patterns of the Concept of “Women’s Rights” in the German Press: A Corpus-Based Analysis of the Berliner Zeitung
Abstract
This study examines how the concept of “Frauenrechte” (women’s rights) is used and discursively constructed in contemporary German news discourse. The analysis is based on a corpus of 62 occurrences retrieved from the Berliner Zeitung via the German Reference Corpus (DeReKo) for the period 2024–2025. Adopting a corpus-based discourse-analytic approach, the study investigates both the contextual distribution and the discursive framing of the term. The findings show that references to Frauenrechte are distributed across multiple discursive domains, with a clear predominance of international political contexts. Compared to domestic political debates, women’s rights are more frequently articulated in relation to developments outside Germany. In addition, the concept appears in cultural and social debates, indicating its broader integration into societal discourse. In terms of framing, women’s rights are primarily constructed as a normatively positive concept, while also functioning as a reference point for critique and as a neutral descriptive element. The results suggest a discursive tendency to externalize women’s rights, framing them less as an internal issue and more as a global concern.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Language Studies (Other)
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
A. Fulya Şen
*
0000-0003-3350-8292
Türkiye
Publication Date
June 29, 2026
Submission Date
May 3, 2026
Acceptance Date
May 21, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 8 Number: 1