Abstract
This paper uses a computer-aided text analysis (CATA) to decipher the ideologies pertaining to function words in fictional discourse represented by Edward Bond’s Lear. In literary texts, function words, such as pronouns and modal verbs display a very high frequency of occurrence. Despite the fact that these linguistic units are often employed to channel a mere grammatical function pertaining to their semantic nature, they, sometimes, exceed their grammatical and semantic functionality towards further ideological and pragmatic purposes, such as persuasion and manipulation. This study investigates the extent to which function words, linguistically manifested in two personal pronouns (I, we) and two modal verbs (will, must) are utilized in Bond’s Lear to convey both persuasive and/or manipulative ideologies. This paper sets three main objectives: (i) to explore the persuasive and/or manipulative ideologies the four function words under investigation communicate in the selected text, (ii) to highlight the extent to which CATA software helps in deciphering the ideological weight of function words in Bond’s Lear, and (iii) to clarify the integrative relationship between discourse studies and computer-aided text analysis. Two findings are reported in this paper: first, function words do not only carry semantic functions, but also go beyond their semantic functionality towards pragmatic purposes that serve to achieve specific ideologies in discourse. Second, the application of CATA software proves useful in extracting ideologies from language and helps better understand the power of function words, which, in turn, accentuates the analytical integration between discourse studies and computer, particularly in the linguistic analysis of large data texts.
Highlights
Starting from the assumption that language is a means of communication that often reflects the ideologies of its users, it can be claimed that there is a reciprocal relationship between language and ideology [1]
This part constitutes two analytical strands: pronouns and modality, both of which reflect the extent to which pronouns and modality are carriers of specific ideologies, persuasive and/or manipulative in the discourse of the selected play. This part of the analysis presents two pronouns that are used in the discourse of Bond‟s Lear to communicate specific ideologies varying from persuasion to manipulation: the pronoun „I‟ and the pronoun „we‟
1) The pronoun I: The pronoun 'I' is used in Bond's play to communicate specific ideologies, whose core concern varies from persuasive ideology to manipulative one
Summary
Starting from the assumption that language is a means of communication that often reflects the ideologies of its users, it can be claimed that there is a reciprocal relationship between language and ideology [1]. Ideologies are individualized - and institutionalized-based notions that demarcate the process of communication within the in-group, and determine specific communicative guidelines to contact with the out-group. These shared-beliefs often serve to discursively distinguish between the ‘We‟ and „They‟ relationship in discourse. Ideology can be discussed from different linguistic angles, including the semantic, the pragmatic, the lexical, or the grammatical, and it can be communicated at the different levels of discourse: the word, the sentence, and the utterance Even function words, such as pronouns and modal verbs, whose main purpose in discourse is to convey a grammatical function, can be perceived as ideology carriers
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