This study considers the question of how specific ideas about Jews are constructed and activated. At which point can a statement be regarded as anti-Semitic? The two authors examine the various verbal manifestations of current anti-Semitism and the mental images on which these are based, applying both a historical perspective and the perspective of linguistic and cognitive science.

Antisemitism never disappeared in Europe. In fact, there is substantial evidence that it is again on the rise, manifest in violent acts against Jews in some quarters, but more commonly noticeable in everyday discourse in mainstream European society. This innovative empirical study examines written examples of antisemitism in contemporary Germany. It demonstrates that hostility against Jews is not just a right-wing phenomenon or a phenomenon among the uneducated, but is manifest among all social classes, including intellectuals. Drawing on 14,000 letters and e-mails sent between 2002 and 2012 to the Central Council of Jews in Germany and to the Israeli embassy in Berlin, as well as communications sent between 2010 and 2011 to Israeli embassies in in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain, this volume shows how language plays a crucial role in activating and re-activating antisemitism. In addition, the authors investigate the role of emotions in antisemitic argumentation patterns and analyze "anti-Israelism" as the dominant form of contemporary hatred of Jews.

The Internet has not only transformed our verbal communication but has also changed all methods of recording, transmitting, and managing information. The subject of this volume is the interaction between technological development and communicative practice, as well as its socio-cognitive dynamics. This anthology, which contains contributions by experts in the fields of social psychology, communication studies, and linguistics, undertakes a critical discussion of interaction in the age of technology. In doing so, it makes an important contribution to scientific discourse about processes of convergence between technology, culture, and society, using the example of the Internet.

Anti-Jewish sentiment and prejudice are not a fringe-group phenomenon. In recent years the inhibition threshold for expressing anti-Semitic content in public has become lower, with Israel often serving as a screen for projecting anti-Jewish sentiment. This anti-Semitism of the mainstream of society was the focus of an interdisciplinary symposium in 2009 at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The book contains the conference contributions, in which eminent experts on anti-Semitism such as Wolfgang Benz, Jehuda Reinharz and Martin Kloke analyse the phenomenon.

English summary: The metaphor as a linguistic and intellectual phenomenon is one of the most fascinating subjects of cognitive linguistics. Metaphors are systematically analyzed on the levels of word, sentence and text. Phenomena such as innovative and lexicalized metaphors, the cognitive processing and pragmatic function of metaphorical expressions as well as metaphors in the process of text comprehension are theoretically explained and illustrated with the help of a large number of authentic examples. Separate chapters deal with metaphors in mass media and in literary texts. The book is suitable as a basis for teaching and for self-study. Integrated exercises help in further applying the content in practice. German description: Die Metapher ist als sprachliches und geistiges Phanomen einer der faszinierendsten Gegenstande der kognitiven Linguistik. Metaphern werden systematisch im Hinblick auf die Ebenen Wort, Satz und Text erortert. Unter anderem werden innovative und lexikalisierte Metaphern, die kognitive Verarbeitung und pragmatische Funktion metaphorischer Ausserungen sowie Metaphern im Textverstehensprozess theoretisch erlautert und an zahlreichen authentischen Beispielen veranschaulicht. Metaphern in massenmedialen und in literarischen Texten werden in eigenen Kapiteln behandelt. Der Band ist als Grundlage fur Lehrveranstaltungen und fur das Selbststudium geeignet. Anhand der integrierten Ubungen konnen die Inhalte vertiefend angewandt werden.