This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of anti-surrogacy image-mediated commentary (IMC) on Chinese social media through a multimodal social semiotic approach, highlighting how users creatively engage with digital platforms. The study reveals a predominance of text-oriented image-mediated commentary employing verbal anchorage against simplistic visual backgrounds, strategically enhancing the impact of anti-surrogacy narratives. These image-mediated commentaries serve as powerful tools for identity construction, with users assuming roles such as Mobilizers and Feminist Celebrators, fostering a dynamic interaction that strengthens community cohesion and advocacy strategies. Nonetheless, the research identifies radical feminist ideologies that focus on women’s victimhood, while simultaneously critiquing the image-mediated commentaries’ limitations in target specificity and systemic critique. The findings illuminate the complex interplay of digital resistance and ideological discourse, advancing our understanding of image-mediated commentary culture as a potent site for digital activism. This study invites future cross-cultural research into rhetorical strategies and their implications for global social movements.

While the human quest for meaning in life is widely studied across various disciplines, research examining how children discursively construct and communicate this concept remains underexplored. Extensive cognitive linguistic research on meaning in life has primarily focused on the use of metaphors in adults. This study moves beyond figurative language to explore the broader range of linguistic features used by 10-year-old Hebrew native speakers ( N = 10) when discussing life’s meaning during semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Using Cognitive Discourse Analysis (CODA) of rich interview data, we find that children navigated their understanding of meaning in life through polar oppositions, as well as metaphors involving opposing directional spatial relationships (e.g. a rollercoaster and a Ferris wheel). Crucially, in recounting significant life events, participants frequently adopted thematic positions characterized by affectedness rather than agentivity. This pattern suggests that, for children, meaning is derived from social recognition and appreciation. The detailed analysis of children’s discourse concerning existential concepts in this study exemplifies CODA’s potential for gaining insights into meaning-making processes.

Rule-breaking occurs in healthcare settings and is typically pro-social. However, rule-breaking within a hospice setting has not been previously studied. This study investigates rule-breaking within hospice multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings using Conversation Analysis. Eight video and audio recordings of approximately 45-minute-long MDT meetings at one UK hospice were systematically analysed to identify how staff break rules. Rule-breaking was present throughout the data and was characterised by the minimisation of accountability through collectivising pronouns, extreme formulations and laughables. These three features supported rule-breakers to voice potentially transgressive opinions and recommendations that may have provoked criticism from MDT members. Rule-breakers were therefore able to evade social and professional sanctions whilst carrying out pro-social actions that benefit hospice patients, meeting participants, as well as the organisation and progression of the meeting itself. These findings contribute to the existing understanding of rule-breaking and have implications for how institutions understand and address it.

This paper examines Olympic-related bills in the U.S. Congress over the past five decades using critical discourse analysis (CDA). By integrating text mining with the discourse-historical approach (DHA), the study identifies the characteristics, themes, and strategies employed by policymakers to construct the Olympics within political discourse from 1973 to 2022. The results reveal that the Olympics are portrayed as a multifaceted instrument with the potential to advance legislative agendas, promote national identity, and serve as a venue for ideological and power struggles. Furthermore, the discourse has shifted from direct confrontation to more normative and moderate expressions. These findings provide valuable insights into the interplay between sports and political communication, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics underlying the Olympics.

Existing research on discursive self-disclosure in verbal communication has proved fruitful. However, while previous researchers have explored how speakers temporarily and voluntarily disclose their personal information for various reasons, scarcely have they focused on their self-evaluation in interaction, dubbed as “metapragmatic evaluative self-disclosure” (MES for short) in this study. With data collected from Chinese talk shows, the study reveals that celebrities evaluate themselves both positively and negatively in different positions of utterances in order to manage the force of their utterances while controlling their impression left on others. Used at different locations in the utterances concerned, MES is shown to function as either a credentialing device or a hedging device in this communicative context involved, so as to disclaim for themselves and prevent the potential risks.