Corpus-based Discourse Analysis Research Articles

Disciplinary tribes and the discourse of mainstream media expert opinion articles: evidencing COVID-19 knowledge claims for a public audience

Abstract Much applied linguistic research has investigated how experts from different disciplines – different “disciplinary tribes” – present knowledge claims, drawing on taken-for-granted disciplinary ideologies and epistemologies. However, this research has mainly focused on specialist to specialist communication rather than specialist to non-specialist communication. This article aims to fill this gap by examining a corpus of mainstream media “expert opinion articles”, written by experts for members of the public, on the topic of the COVID-19 crisis and published in The Guardian and The New York Times. The corpus included articles by experts in Medical Science, Medical Practice, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Law, and Economics. Using corpus-based discourse analysis, we consider the effect of discipline on the way that experts present and evidence knowledge claims. We compare the kinds of experts, their content focus, and forms of evidentiality seen in verbal evidentials used in the articles. The analysis identifies four discourse strategies: (1) deriving knowledge from experience; (2) invoking the knowledge of the expert community; (3) invoking vernacular knowledge; and (4) raising claims in argument or critique. Differences in disciplinary epistemologies lead to systematic differences in presenting and evidencing knowledge claims, even in texts primarily intended for a wide public audience.

Corpus-based discourse analysis: from meta-reflection to accountability

Abstract Recent years have seen an increase in data and method reflection in corpus-based discourse analysis. In this article, we first take stock of some of the issues arising from such reflection (covering concepts such as triangulation, objectivity/subjectivity, replication, transparency, reflexivity, consistency). We then introduce a new ‘accountability’ framework for use in corpus-based discourse analysis (and perhaps beyond). We conceptualise such accountability as a multi-faceted phenomenon, covering various aspects of the research process. In the second part of this article, we then link this framework to a new cross-institutional initiative – the Australian Text Analytics Platform (ATAP) – which aims to address a small part of the framework, namely the transparency of analyses through Jupyter notebooks. We introduce the Quotation Tool as an example ATAP notebook of particular relevance to corpus-based discourse analysis. We reflect on how this notebook fosters accountability in relation to transparency of analysis and illustrate key applications using a set of different corpora.

A corpus-based discourse analysis of reparations inertia

A corpus-based discourse analysis of reparations inertia

Shifting Narratives: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis of American Media’s Portrayal of China’s COVID-19 Response

Shifting Narratives: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis of American Media’s Portrayal of China’s COVID-19 Response

Bilingual translations of intensifiers in Dong-A Ilbo's news about China: A corpus-based discourse analysis approach.

Drawing on the framework of Ideological Square Model, this paper carries out a corpus-based analysis of the ways in which group relations and the image of China are re-shaped in the English translation (ET) and the Chinese translation (CT) of Korean news discourse about China with intensifiers as an entry of inquiry. The results show that (1) There is a statistically significant difference regarding faithfulness between the ET and the CT of intensifiers (χ2 = 38.11>3.84, p<0.05), with the ET having more translation shifts. Additionally, the Chi-square test of a 3x3 contingency table (T = 49.77>5.99, P<0.05) indicates that there is a difference between the distribution of translation shifts at the 3 levels between ET and CT. (2) The ET of Korean news about China aligns more closely with van Dijk's ideological square model, while CT violates. It is argued that South Korean media have ideological factors to consider when it comes to Chinese readers accepting CT. (3) There is an alteration of the ideological square model in the target texts. The results indicate that in the translation of a target language, the translation propensity for relevant topics of the target country in which the language is spoken obeys the rules of "Us", the ingroup, but not "them", the outgroup.

Corpus-Based Diachronic Analysis on the Representations of China’s Poverty Alleviation in People’s Daily

Abstract Poverty, as a global issue, challenges the sustainable development of the world. In the past 40 years, China has made great achievements in poverty alleviation which arouses the media interest across the world. This article examines how People’s Daily reported China’s poverty alleviation from the beginning of China’s reform and opening up in 1978–2020, particularly with regard to the interaction between discourse and social practice. Through corpus-based discourse analysis, it has found that, first, the number of the reports changed with the process of poverty alleviation and the national policies. Second, it has shown differences in lexical choices in different periods, with an overall shift from the agricultural reform and economic investment to education, culture and ecology poverty alleviation; third, China’s involvement in the world’s poverty alleviation causes changed from initially seeking help to gradually becoming a leading voice calling for cooperation and offering aid for other countries. The findings reveal that there is a strong correlation between the discourse and social change: the social context is echoed in the discourse features in different periods; meanwhile, news discourse also plays a positive role in publicizing the Chinese government’s achievements and promoting the process of poverty alleviation.

Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis of Chinese Kung Fu in the Media Along the Southern Line of the “Belt and Road”

This study presents a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Chinese Kung Fu, utilizing a corpus-based approach to examine media portrayals along the southern line of the “Belt and Road” initiative. The research underscores the role of the “Belt and Road” Initiative in promoting Chinese martial arts culture and fostering cultural exchanges. By constructing a specialized corpus from mainstream media reports on Chinese Kung Fu, sourced from the LexisNexis database, this study employs corpus linguistics tools such as AntConc to analyze word frequency, collocation, keyword, and index line. The findings reveal a predominantly positive portrayal of Chinese Kung Fu in the media of countries along the southern route of the “Belt and Road.” This positive representation is instrumental in enhancing the understanding of these countries’ attitudes towards Chinese culture and paves the way for more effective foreign discourse construction for China. The study’s insights into media discourse provide valuable perspectives for cultural diplomacy, reflecting the positive impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on spreading Chinese culture.

Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis of Climate Change in TED

In this research, guided by Wolfgang Tuebert’s theory of meaning as discourse self-reference, two small self-built climate change corpora are formed and the method of corpus analysis is used to make both quantitative and qualitative analyses of 376 transcripts of climate change in TED from 2006 to 2022 by using Word mith 6.0. The study found there are similarities and differences between TED Talks 2006-2019 and 2019-2022.

Political framing of Covid-19

Abstract The present study is a corpus-based discourse analysis of the metaphorical framing of Covid-19 in American political discourse. Drawing on data from a corpus of the White House briefings and statements, the study investigates the corpus profile of war and virus and illustrates how the Coronavirus is primarily represented as an enemy to go to war with, rather than a public health crisis to control and mitigate. The study further situates the militaristic framing of Covid-19 within the theoretical framework of moral panic and examines the discursive features that ultimately bridge the metaphorical representation of the pandemic and the construction of moral panic. The study points to nuanced discourse strategies used in the White House press briefings that reconstruct the enemy and regroup the Coronavirus with other so-called enemies of the United States, such as the Communists, as well as the Islamic radicals and the Latin gangs and cartels.

Argumentation Mining System for Corpus-based Discourse Analysis based on Structured Arguments

An Argumentation mining system can analyze a large volume of text data through a variety of sources. Nowadays it is highly useful in the areas of business, economics, and finance with digital marketing being the most promising field along with social media. It is the study of corpus-based discourse analysis that involves the automatic identification of argumentative structure in text. Initially, AM talks about extracting structured arguments from natural text, often unstructured or noisy text. Theoretical approaches of AM and pragmatic schemes that satisfy the needs of social media generated data, recognizing the need for adapting more flexible and expandable schemes, capable of adjusting to argumentation conditions that exist in social media. In this scenario it is a very challenging argumentation scheme able to identify the distinct sub-task and capture the needs of social media text, revealing the need for adopting a more flexible and extensible framework. Corpus-based Machine Learning of linguistic annotations has enabled researchers to identify repetitive linguistic patterns of language use and to uncover hidden meaning in all areas of Natural Language Processing.

Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis of a Reddit Community of Users of Crystal Methamphetamine: Mixed Methods Study.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Crystal methamphetamine is a form of the drug resembling glass fragments or shiny bluish-white rocks that can be taken through smoking, swallowing, snorting, or injecting the powder once it has been dissolved in water or alcohol. The objective of this study is to examine how identities are socially (discursively) constructed by people who use methamphetamine within a subreddit for people who regularly use crystal meth. Using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed 1000 threads (318,422 words) from a subreddit for regular crystal meth users. The qualitative component of the analysis used concordancing and corpus-based discourse analysis to identify discursive themes informed by assemblage theory. The quantitative portion of the analysis used corpus linguistic techniques including keyword analysis to identify words occurring with statistically marked frequency in the corpus and collocation analysis to analyze their discursive context. Our findings reveal that the subreddit contributors use a rich and varied lexicon to describe crystal meth and other substances, ranging from a neuroscientific register (eg, methamphetamine and dopamine) to informal vernacular (eg, meth, dope, and fent) and commercial appellations (eg, Adderall and Seroquel). They also use linguistic resources to construct symbolic boundaries between different types of methamphetamine users, differentiating between the esteemed category of "functional addicts" and relegating others to the stigmatized category of "tweakers." In addition, contributors contest the dominant view that methamphetamine use inevitably leads to psychosis, arguing instead for a more nuanced understanding that considers the interplay of factors such as sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, and neglected hygiene. The subreddit contributors' discourse offers a "set and setting" perspective, which provides a fresh viewpoint on drug-induced psychosis and can guide future harm reduction strategies and research. In contrast to this view, many previous studies overlook the real-world complexities of methamphetamine use, perhaps due to the use of controlled experimental settings. Actual drug use, intoxication, and addiction are complex, multifaceted, and elusive phenomena that defy straightforward characterization.

A corpus-based discourse analysis of China’s national image constructed by environmental news in The New York Times

The persuasive function of topoi—the conclusion rules connecting the arguments and claims—in national image construction through news discourse has been relatively under-researched. This article presents findings from a corpus-based discourse analysis of 21 China-related environmental news stories in The New York Times to address this gap. The corpus analysis of frequency was utilized to find out recurrent and characteristic topics in the news discourse, while the concordance analysis revealed the discourse prosody in the news stories. Topoi in the reported speech was scrutinized to uncover the persuasive intentions in the coverage and the press’s opinion of China’s pro-environmental actions. The findings demonstrate that China is constructed as a country pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment and a country that is good at showing resolution of governance but with poor governance capacity. The paper suggests that China should spread environmental-related information more transparently using a vigorous international discourse system and diversify means of communication to offer the world more ways to see China’s pro-environmental actions.

Book Reviews: Transgender Identities in the Press: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis

Book Reviews: Transgender Identities in the Press: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis

The Reporting of Brigadier J Murder on Indonesian Police’s Official News Media: Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis

This study aimed to analyze the discourses in news articles regarding the Brigadier J murder reported by the Indonesian Police’s official news media &amp; the attempts of the institution in framing the image of the Indonesian Police in handling the murder case through particular words used by the institution’s news media. Further, this study used the descriptive qualitative method as its methodological approach &amp; the corpus-based discourse analysis method as its theoretical approach. The data in this study were taken from news articles from Indonesian Police’s official news media website. The results of the study showed that the relevant keyword used by Indonesian Police news media to frame the murder case of Brigadier J case is the word murder and or premeditated murder. Besides, the way Indonesian Police online news media frame the image of the institution is by distributing positive news about the institution, as well as designating the positions &amp; titles within the names of the officials. Furthermore, the Indonesian Police news media is engaging several positive adjectives to distribute positive images regarding the Police’s accomplishment in handling the murder case of Brigadier J.

A corpus-based discourse analysis of transgender labels in the Spanish-speaking press

Abstract Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing coverage of transgender people in Latin American and Spanish media. However, there are very few research studies that thoroughly examine the increasing use of terms such as transgender “transgénero” and trans in Spanish-speaking press. This contribution studies the linguistic representation of transgender people in Spanish-speaking quality press produced in Colombia and Spain. Within the framework of Queer Linguistics and Corpus-based Discourse Analysis, this article explores the linguistic choices employed by the Spanish-speaking press to name transgender people and examines the main differences in the linguistic choices made by newspapers in the two countries. Unlike in English, the findings suggest that trans and transexual are the most commonly used labels in Spanish. Although the semantic categories of representation are seen to differ between the two countries, the linguistic choices observed seem to be closely linked to sociopolitical and ideological preferences.

Improving Peer Online Forums (iPOF): protocol for a realist evaluation of peer online mental health forums to inform practice and policy

IntroductionPeer online mental health forums are commonly used and offer accessible support. Positive and negative impacts have been reported by forum members and moderators, but it is unclear why these...

Hybrid News (in the) Making: A Content and Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis of Political Live Blogs on the 2020 US Presidential Debates

ABSTRACT Political journalism continues to be the main source of political information in deliberative democracies. However, the advent of hybrid media systems during the last decade(s) has altered how journalists cover politics and how audiences consume relevant content. In this context, live blogging has emerged as a web-based alternative to traditional TV broadcasting. To explore whether and in which forms the trend toward hybrid media systems is empirically traceable in current journalism practice, the present study focuses on political live blogging from four popular media outlets covering the two 2020 US presidential TV debates. It applies a discourse-oriented, mixed-methods, corpus-based approach and specifically considers sourcing practices as well as the normalization of professional role conceptions and practices of objectivity. Results suggest that political live blogging establishes multi-layered and multi-authored discourse that places strong emphasis on accountability and disclosure transparency by updating and linking information, while maintaining the journalistic gatekeeping/gatewatching function. It further emerges that political live blogs are characterized by an informal tone but also by a continuation of traditional news media practices as regards objectivity, as instantiated by the salience of debate topics and political terms and by a clear delineation of information from opinion and contextualization.

Understanding and appraising ‘hate speech’

Abstract Hate speech has become a matter of international concern, permeating institutional and lay discussions alike. Yet, exactly what it means to refer to a linguistic act as ‘hate speech’ remains unclear. This paper examines the lay understanding of hate speech, focusing on (1) the relationship between hate speech and hate, and (2) the relationship between hate speech and offensive speech. As part of the second question, the paper considers how hate speech is defined as a legal matter in the UK Public Order Act 1986. The study adopts a corpus-based discourse analysis approach and examines 255 hate speech-related news articles and the general English Web 2020 corpus. Hate speech is a complex multifaceted phenomenon; while ‘hate’ is one of its core characteristics, it is not sufficient to assess a certain behaviour as hate speech. Threats, denigration of the targets based on a protected characteristic (age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability), the potential to cause harm and the intent to stir up hatred are also essential in distinguishing hate speech and offense.

Choice and control: corpus-based discourse analysis of teacher education policy in England (2010-2021)

Education policy in recent years has dramatically repositioned the role and status of teachers, trainee teachers and teacher education in the UK and beyond. This paper focuses specifically on education policy in England; however, it has broader significance for those interested in education and teacher education in international policy contexts. Two corpora were constructed for the project; one collated education policy documents in 2010–2021, and another collated education policy documents in 1970–2009. The analysis used the corpus linguistic tool Wordsmith 8. Keywords, concordance, and collocation, were used to examine themes within the discourse of the focus corpus, supported by a critical policy discourse analysis frame. The themes identified in this analysis were governance (control) and marketisation (choice). These themes have strong connections to analyses of the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) and contribute to understanding how education policy discourses can frame teacher education. The positioning of trainee teachers as both product and subject of initial teacher education in education policy documents is explored in the analysis.

Institutional translators’ mediation of CPC Work Reports diachronically through personal pronouns: a corpus-based discourse analysis approach

ABSTRACT Drawing on a corpus-based discourse analysis approach, this paper presents a diachronic-cum-contrastive study of institutional translators’ mediation of Chinese political discourse through personal pronouns and their collocations with modal verbs, with a view to identifying how interpersonal relations and power distance are diachronically mediated between the author and the readers when recontextualized. The corpus comprises six Work Reports of the Communist Party of China and their corresponding English translations from the 1990s to the 2010s. Textual analysis reveals that there has been a diachronically shifting trend across the six TTs towards constructing a closer and more symmetrical relationship with the target readers vis-à-vis the STs by manipulating personal pronouns. Moreover, the prevalent collocational patterns of ‘we’ with modal verbs tend to shift from encoding obligation in the earlier TTs to emphasizing inclination in more recent TTs. Further critical analysis of the metadiscourse of China’s institutional translation of political discourse suggests that such shifts over time have been motivated by a major ideological evolution in the Chinese political context and the changing target readership. Our findings suggest that a corpus-based diachronic perspective on translation may unveil subtle, patterned variations in minor linguistic signs that provide important clues to broader contextual transformations.