Abstract
In December, 2012, two Tibetan monks involved in the immolation of a Tibetan were detained by Chinese police. The event drew considerable attention from worldwide news agencies. However, the event was presented differently in terms of the different ways of reporting and the different languages employed. This paper examines the two representations of the event that appeared in Chinese and US news media. Processes of text production and linguistic choices are discussed, along with the possible reasons underlying those choices. In this case, the interplay between discourse and ideology is illustrated. Also, it is argued that the comparative analysis of discourse can be considered as an effective way to decode the ideology embedded in a discourse.
Highlights
Discourse analysis has been approached from different perspectives (e.g., Foucault, 1978; Stubbs, 1983; Lee, 1992; Cook, 1994)
In terms of this event, there was extensive coverage worldwide, among which I choose two online English news texts to show the interplay between discourse and ideology: one is produced by CNN (Cable Network News), an American news institution, and the other by CCTV (China Central Television)
By examining CCTV and CNN news on a syntactical level, I have tried to illustrate how a discourse can be constructed within the framework of ideology
Summary
Discourse analysis has been approached from different perspectives (e.g., Foucault, 1978; Stubbs, 1983; Lee, 1992; Cook, 1994). Among the various definitions of the term discourse, I take the view that discourse is involved with linguistic and ideological processes which are inseparably intertwined (Trew, 1979). This means: (1) discourse exists through language and comes into being as a text; (2) the formation of a discourse is accompanied by ideology; (3) ideology acts upon the use of language and influences the construction of a discourse and, in return, linguistic features refract ideology in the form of a discourse. I intend to explore how and why the same events are represented in significantly different ways within the different ideological systems, and attempt to investigate the purpose of discourse
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