Γεωργία Φραγκάκη & Αιμιλία Χατζή: Ευθύνη, υπευθυνότητα και πειθαρχία: Ο κυβερνητικός λόγος κατά την πρώτη περίοδο της πανδημίας του κορονοϊού στην Ελλάδα

The paper investigates the meaning and use of the words efθíni, ipefθinótita ‘responsibility’ and piθarxía ‘discipline’ in the governmental discourse during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Greece. The data include coronavirus briefings by the Greek Vice-Minister of Civil Protection (66,360 words) and addresses by the Greek PM on the pandemic (9,739 words) from March to May 2020. In the corpora of governmental discourse the word efθíni ‘responsibility’ refers mainly to citizens rather than the State or other entities and its most significant collocation is atomicí ‘individual’, in opposition to the use of the word in the Greek Web 2014 corpus. Its most frequent meaning is that of the positive property of being responsible, while it is also used with the meanings of ‘duty or obligation to do something’ and ‘blame in the case of failure’. Its parallel uses with other, more neutral or negative meanings, as well as its divergence from previous usage, contribute to vagueness and ambivalence that give rise to variable interpretations. This slippage in the meaning and use of the words studied, along with other linguistic strategies, such as the parallel use of exclusive and inclusive first plural, point to the interpretation of responsibility as a burden for the citizens, who are to blame in case of failure of the measures taken by the government.