Discourse-historical Approach Research Articles

Средства «делегитимации» темы «Хлопок в Синьцзяне» в медиадискурсе российских СМИ: дискурсивно-исторический анализ

The study aims to identify the means of “delegitimisation” of the topic “Xinjiang Cotton” based on a corpus of texts of the Russian mass media within the framework of the discourse-historical approach. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the ways of using the data of a linguistic corpus in the discourse analysis and in revealing the socio-political reality constructed on the topic “Xinjiang Cotton” in the media discourse of the Russian mass media within the framework of the discourse-historical approach. On the basis of the 59 media texts selected, a linguistic corpus is created, the discourse topic and discursive strategies (the nomination strategy, the predication strategy, the argumentation strategy and the perspectivisation strategy) reflecting the implicit attitudes of the discourse subject are analysed in a comprehensive manner. As a result of the analysis of the media discourse, it has been found that the positive characteristic of the Chinese side and the negative representation of the American side are formed in relation to the “cotton war”. The goal of the discursive construction of “delegitimisation” of the cotton issue in Xinjiang is achieved in the implementation of the discursive strategies using emotional-evaluative vocabulary, the topoi of uselessness and reality, as well as the tone of quotations.

Nacionalni identitet iz optike njegovog diskurzivnog konstruisanja

The central interest of this paper is the investigation of the phenomenon of national identity from the point of view of its constructional character. With this aim, a synthetic presentation of key modern and postmodern theoretical starting points and ideas that support this line of his conceptualization is given first. Instrumentalist approaches to national identity are observed, which treat it as historically situated and socially and politically constructed, through connection with the phenomena of modernity and the role played by state political projects and state elites in its formation (Hobsbawm, Gellner). Developed on the same basis, national identities were observed through looking at the building of feelings of belonging, solidarity and togetherness, through collective practices of reception and interpretation of common cultural and historical references (Tijes, Renan). As particularly relevant to the topic of this work, we focused on ideas about the imaginary in identity affirmation in settings (Bajar, Anderson), because we consider that line of conceptualization to be the basis of modern understandings of national identity as a primarily mental construct. As an instrument and medium of the nation's imagination, culture is apostrophized, developed with the emergence of "printed" language. We also find the primacy of culture in Smith's statements of national identity as constructed on ethnic grounds, based on the concept of cultural configuration. We tried to present contemporary approaches to national identity (Hall, Bhabha, Matrin, Vodak) in the light of their basic common features - the operationalization of modernist concepts in a new constructionist and discursive key. By moving the study into the area of discourse and the process of meaning generation, these approaches deconstruct the metanarratives of the nation, through (linguistic) analysis of their constituents, and seek to explain how national identities are socially constructed through discourse, using language in systematic ways. With this presentation of the development of a complex of ideas and analytical positions, we tried to point out the key assumptions for the creation of modern conceptual-analytical models. At the same time, the scientific basis of the model of discursive construction of national identity created within the framework of the contemporary discourse-historical approach, whose presentation is the second thematic centre of this paper, was demonstrated. This threedimensional analytical model (macro-theme content, strategies and linguistic means) offered systematic ways of viewing national identity as a product of specific strategies of expression in specific historical and institutional locations, with specific discursive formations and practices. The fact that it is widely used in contemporary case studies best confirms its analytical productivity and indicates the scientific relevance of its theoretical elaborations.

Female Sympathisers of ISIS as Muhajirahs in ISIS-Affiliated Media

International media have reported on the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), an international terrorist organisation based in Syria and Iraq since 2014. Women, often young and unmarried, were leaving their homes and families to sneak into Syria and join ISIS, according to reports in the international media (Neumann, 2015). Sjoberg &Gentry (2011) assert that the media's portrayal of female terrorists and the factors that encourage women to support terrorist organisations have not been sufficiently investigated. This study examines the discursive strategies employed by ISIS-affiliated media outlets to represent female sympathisers as muhajirahs. Using Critical Discourse Analysis – the Discourse Historical Approach (Resigl, 2017), this paper will analyse the diverse and often contested ways in which the Self versus Other (Wodak, 2009) schemata is prominent in the representations of ISIS female sympathisers. The data were taken from ISIS-affiliated media, including the Manifesto from the Al Khannssa Brigade and six Dabiq magazines. This paper will focus on referential, predicational and argumentation strategies (topoi) in the selected ISIS-affiliated media. This paper intends to pave the way for an examination of gender and terrorism that explores the complexities of representations by examining gender through multiple lenses.

Argumentation Strategies and Linguistic Features of the Philippine Mining Policy: A Discourse Historical Analysis

This study analyzes the argumentation strategies and linguistic features of the Philippine mining policy using Discourse Historical Approach and Gunnarsson’s (1984) theory on functional comprehensibility of legislative texts. Two intercoders validated the manual analysis, while UAM Corpus Tool, a linguistic tagging software, was used to identify the linguistic feature of the policy. Interviews with local legislators were also carried out to provide a holistic interpretation of the mining policies. Results reveal that the mining policy hinged on the topoi of duty, authority, and justice while its linguistic features reflect the conventions of legislative genre, heavily loaded with registers identifiable to members of a legalese community. Further, the policy generally contains action-directing orientation and the modal, shall, which are both indicative of the sense of urgency and accountability in the execution of duties and responsibilities. Results further indicate the salient role of the state in the environmental management and balanced use of resources of the country and in ensuring the protection of the rights of its citizens, particularly the marginalized ones.

Discourses of “Europeanness” in Asylum Practices in the Postcolonial Context

This article examines the impact of ethno-racial factors on perceptions of refugees and asylum practices in the European postcolonial context. Using Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) the authors analyse “Europe for Europeans” public discourse against the backdrop of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, the humanitarian disaster on the Polish-Belarusian border in 2021 and asylum seekers’ influx in spring 2022. The study shows that attitudes to refugees and their “right” to asylum in a European country are impacted by ethno-racial markers of applicants. Such discursive practices call into question one of the understandings of Europeanness, namely Europe as the embodiment of advanced political ethics, since European political discourse has recently positioned a refugee from the Middle East and North Africa as an “alien” “non-European,” thus normalizing threats to human life in allegedly “uncivilized” parts of the world. This normalization is consequently affecting the decision making in asylum process. The problematization of discursive aspects of asylum allows us to expand DHA to the international sphere, where different national models and cultural contexts collide, allowing us to talk about the influence of discursive practices on the political decisions in international relations. The evolution of the concept of asylum in the postcolonial context is considered in connection with the ideology of Europeanism, which is currently in the process of formation. Although ideas about Europeanness have undergone major transformations, this study shows that a systematic study of the entire range of conceptual meanings of this discursive object has not yet been carried out. Thus, Europeanness is either interpreted as a set of desired social ideals and values, or, reductively, as a quality associated exclusively with European institutions in their current form. Both interfere with the postcolonial debate about the nature of “Europe” and “Europeanness” in the postcolonial world.

Discourse on Gayo through Historical Narration: Linge Kingdom, Loyang Mendale, and Loyang Ujung Karang

The construction of an understanding of Gayo is greatly influenced by how the discourse on Gayo is produced. Discourse about Gayo can only be traced through historical texts that document various narrations about Gayo. This study aims to describe how the historical discourse contained in the text is used as legitimacy in building constructions about Gayo. To analyze the various narratives about Gayo in the text, this research uses qualitative research methods with the DHA (Discourse Historical Approach). Through DHA, the construction of an understanding of Gayo in the present which was built based on historical discourse found the context. The results of this study indicate that: (1) the texts about Gayo which are grouped into three sets “Linge Kingdom Texts 1”, “Linge Kingdom Texts 2”, and “Loyang Mendale and Loyang Ujung Karang Texts” are narratively contradictory to each other; (2) the three sets of texts become a discourse that legitimizes its narrative based on historical events; (3) The “Text of the Kingdom of Linge 1” becomes the understanding of the dominant group in reproducing the understanding of the dichotomy between the Acehnese as the dominant group and the Gayo tribe as a minority through discursive practices.

Corporate sustainability as a hegemonic discourse of globalization: The discourse-historical approach as a critical issues and stakeholder analysis tool

Corporate social responsibility, and its other conceptual variants such as corporate sustainability, encourages businesses to act on a range of issues outside what the law and shareholders require. But what are the limits of the concept and its discursive practices in a globalizing world marked by accentuated asymmetrical power relations between businesses, and the communities they operate in and serve (especially corporations working in less powerful global peripheries), and the regulators who are expected to police them? This study uses the discourse-historical approach (DHA) and corporate sustainability framework (CSF) to analyze a British independent oil production firm’s—Tullow—communication. It illustrates the utility of the DHA and the CSF for doing critical stakeholder and issues analysis from corporate communication texts. Second, it argues that corporate sustainability illustrates the power asymmetry between the global and local, corporations and community. Specifically, we observe how a petroleum firm uses sustainability discourse, as a form of hegemonic globalization, to perpetuate dominant tropes and conceptions about African local communities as homogeneous and lacking agency, commodifying the lived experiences of the locals in the process while entrenching the superiority of the firm’s own position as a ‘benevolent dictator.’ We also illustrate how particular mitigation and intensification discourse techniques are employed to uphold Tullow as a ‘do-good’ actor. The corporation’s discursive strategies have a cumulative effect of cementing the power asymmetry that already exists between the firm as an agent of a dominant center of global power and Ghanaian communities as less powerful interests in the globalization process. Suggestions for disrupting the hegemony are provided.

Turkey and Greece as frenemies: discourse-historical approach to foreign policy repertoires of the leaders

This paper analyzes Turkish-Greek relations during the contentious period of July 2019-2022, when tensions between the two countries have risen due to domestic and conjunctural factors. The study employs a Discourse Historical Approach to reveal the processes of identity construction in Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ political statements. The analysis suggests that the two leaders have developed discursive repertoires of frenemies, which represent interactive processes of logics and practices of amity and enmity between Turkey and Greece, in which they are competitive and mistrustful, but also convinced that collaboration advances their respective and often conflicting interests.

Populism in Internet Memes. An Investigation with Analytical Approaches from Discourse Analysis and Multimodality

This article explores if and how populist elements are expressed in Internet memes within German-language political discourses. This is done by conducting a data-based investigation rooted in the discourse historical approach and multimodality theory. Memes with varying political alignments are analysed with regards to how they express either of the following features of populist style: the appeal to the people vs. the elite, the use of bad manners, and the performance of crisis. Special focus is given to the political context as well as the semiotic resources used to convey populist themes. The findings of this study show that in order for populism to be analysed within memes a gradational perspective on populism is necessary. Applying this method, a diverse variety of populist characteristics can be found in memes, revealing the many possibilities of populist expression in this format.

Beauty Standard Discourse on Skin Game Advertisement

The current study aims to analyze the discourse of Skin Game advertisements. The approach used was a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques were documentation, identification, and note techniques. The data analysis method used was the perspective of critical discourse analysis from Ruth Wodak, known as the Discourse Historical Approach (DHA). The data source was the Skin Game advertisement which consists of four videos. The results of the study present that Skin Game advertisements have the courage to take a different stream from the common skincare advertising habit, which always displays talents according to the construction of beauty standards in society. The discourse of the Skin Game advertisement is interpreted as a discourse that desires to change the construction of ideal beauty standards into a more colorful meaning of beauty.

PROVOKING PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS THROUGH WAR SONGS:AN INTERTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF PAKISTANI [INDO-PAK] WAR SONGS

This study explores the linguistic forms which are employed in the war time songs to evoke the sentiments of patriotism. The present study utilizes Discourse Historical Approach to better understand and analyze the lyrics of the songs. DHA’s four levels of analysis and the sociopolitical circumstances, were employed to look for commonly emerging themes in the selected text. The study reveals the themes of persuasion to join jihad, nationalism, interstate conflict and intertextuality. The Pakistani War songs evoke the sentiments of patriotism with a focus on tophi, figurative speech and other linguistic devices such as nomination, adjectives, and hyperboles. Findings of this study may be utilized while writing patriotic songs to evoke social cohesion among multi-ethnic citizens and call for peace on the borders.

A Tale of Two Banks of A river: A Critical Study of Ethnonyms in the Toponymies of Rufa’a and Hassahiesa, Sudan

This study investigates the use of ethnonyms in the toponymies of Hassahiesa and Rufa’a areas in Gezira State, Sudan. Using the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Discourse Historical Approach (DHA), the study analyses place names as arenas of power struggle and explores the additional functions they play. It studies the distribution of ethnonyms in the names of 1161 villages and the impact of the historical, socio-political, and economic factors on their choice. The study shows that there are two types of ethnonyms used in the two areas and that their distribution is more widespread in the toponymies of Rufa’a than in that of Hassahiesa. It further shows that the unequal distribution of ethnonyms is the result of herders’ migrations to the Butana plain and the introduction of the agricultural scheme and light industries in Gezira. The study demonstrates that the inhabitants of Rufa’a used ethnonyms as a passive resistance strategy to challenge state power. On the other hand, the decreased number of the feature in Hassahiesa is an indication of its farmers’ population integration in the colonial development projects and their tendency to form multi-ethnic and cooperative communities. It indicates that ethnonyms are utilized as identity constructive and perpetuating strategies and as boundary demarcation markers. Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Discourse Historical Approach, Ethnonyms, Toponymy, Sudan.

Wanneer de taalklok vijf voor twaalf slaat

The present paper seeks to shed light on the language-ideological dynamics of contemporary (1995-2018) Belgian media discourses that present multilingualism as a problem. Conceiving of the media as meaningful actors in (re)producing, recontextualising and naturalising language-ideological discourses, we analyse a corpus of 170 French- and Dutch-medium press articles containing multilingualism-as-problem orientations. Following the Discourse-Historical Approach, thematic and critical-pragmatic analyses were conducted of (1) the news topics in which multilingualism can be identified as a problem and (2) the linguistic mechanisms through which that ‘problem’ is discursively constructed. Results point to three key elements: discourses of victimhood, teleological perspectives on language justice and language history, and (false) dilemmas opposing multilingualism to the community language. These characteristics will emphasise the persistence and instrumentalisation of standard language ideology and ideals of societal monolingualism rooted in Belgian history. The article concludes with a brief reflection on the role of sociolinguistic research in engaging with language ideologies in public language debate.

Deconstructing the European Commission's Discource on Serbia's Accession Process

This article enquires into the evolution of the European Commission’s discourse with respect to rule of law, corruption and media development in Serbia during period 2010–2021. The study performs a critical discourse analysis with use of discourse historical approach on the annual progress reports published by the European Commission. The study uncovers that the progress reports shows patterns of both continuity and change. The topics and subtopics related to rule of law, corruption and media represents large patterns of continuity. Some new topics, mostly negative ones, have arisen during the period, but the criteria and form of evaluation seems stable. The intensification strategy in the discourse the last four years seems not to be enough to transform the EU accession process, and it seems that Serbia lacks motivation on their road to accession.

The Myth of Choice in Maryam Lee’s Unveiling Choice

Malaysia has witnessed Islamic revivalism since the 1980s and its Islamisation is exemplified in the normalisation of hijab . Although the adoption of hijab is often cited as a choice in Malaysia, Maryam Lee’s controversial book Unveiling Choice presents an alternative portrait of choice in a society where hijab is a predominant practice. Using Wodak’s (Reisigl & Wodak, 2005, 2017; Wodak, 2001, 2018) Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) to Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), this paper explores the argumentation strategies used against women, particularly Maryam in challenging and delegitimising her de- hijabbing decision. The findings revealed how hijab is not only indoctrinated from childhood but the choice of removing it is delegitimised using linguistic means of topoi ; more specifically topos of authority, threat and consequence. This paper concludes by highlighting the implication of these topoi to women’s agency pertaining to hijab in a society where the pressure to wear it is indoctrinated and forceful, resulting in hijab becoming a tool of hegemonic gendered practice that works toward sustaining the patriarchal status quo in Malaysia.

When a Party Paper Meets COVID-19: Crisis and Legitimacy in Renmin Ribao’s Commentary Articles

Similar to many other countries, journalistic production in China during the first half of 2020 was dominated on a thematic level by the COVID-19 pandemic. The trend included the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Renmin Ribao. Its news and commentary articles, which are widely republished by other media, influence the country’s political life, and contribute to the process of meaning generation in the news discourse and to the CCP’s effort to align Chinese citizens to official narratives. Renmin Ribao can therefore provide a relevant source to investigate the relationship between political power and the COVID-19 pandemic, starting from the hypothesis that the paper’s narrative would aim at discursively turning the international health crisis into a piece of positive propaganda. This study aims to verify whether and how the paper did so, and to question the assumption that the outlet’s media discourse can be equated to the CCP official discourse.
 The research is developed as a case study and blends quantitative and qualitative tools grounded on Applied Linguistics, Discourse-Historical Approach, and Frame Analysis, in order to analyse a corpus of commentaries that have appeared in the outlet’s online edition in 2020. By applying a Genre Analysis approach, the study also offers insights into the possibility to identify distinguishing characteristics and communicative goals in the different sub-genres of Renmin Ribao commentaries.

Democracy in Taiwanese presidential inaugural addresses

Abstract This study explored metaphorical expressions related to democracy in 15 Taiwanese presidential inaugural addresses. The source domain concepts mapped to understand democracy were examined and the relationship between these metaphorical expressions and ideologies was teased out by employing the discourse-historical approach. Our analysis demonstrates that various source domain concepts were utilized to discuss democracy, and most newly-emerged types occurred after the success of the first direct presidential election in 1996. A more detailed analysis of the source domain elements showed that different scenarios were highlighted, reflecting specific ideologies embedded along with the social, historical and political situation.

VICTIMS OR TERRORISTS? A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF WESTERN MEDIA DISCOURSE IN THE DEPICTION OF IRAQI REFUGEES (2007-2017)

Throughout a long and troubled past Iraq has faced many dogmatic, circumspect, and social plights. Serious problems arising as a cause of these plights have caused many of the population to seek sanctuary and protection in other countries. As a result of this, the increase of refugees now inhabiting Eastern and Western countries becomes a focal point of the media. The way these refugees are depicted and perceived by the public as terrorists or victims in the host and non-host countries is heavily influenced by media reports and as such, they have a crucial role to play. The aim of this paper is to highlight the most significant linguistic choices coupled with the ideological point of view of the participants. To achieve this, the researcher analyses British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news reports employing critical discourse analysis. Accordingly, the researcher employs Wodak's (2001; 2009) discourse-historical approach and van Leeuwen's (2008) sociological categories of actor representation approach. The findings of the analysis have revealed that in the Netherlands the Iraqi refugees are portrayed as victims targeted by hostile laws. In the USA they are portrayed as terrorists that threaten society. Under Trump’s administration seven Arab countries including Iraq have been denied entry. Furthermore, the way Iraqi refugees are described by the media is attributed to the use of generic references. Despite the negative representation of Iraqi refugees by the Dutch government, USA policies, and the Iraqi government, the BBC’s media coverage continues to represent them in a neutral light.

From performative anti-fascism to post-fascism: the Lega (Nord)’s political discourse in historical context

ABSTRACT This article addresses a significant gap in the literature on the Lega (Nord) by examining the resemiotisation of the party’s early discourse of ‘performative anti-fascism’ under Umberto Bossi into the current ‘post-fascist’ discursive strategy of Matteo Salvini’s Lega. Employing a Discourse Historical Approach (DHA), we perform a two-step analysis. First, through an examination of textual and visual documents produced by and about Umberto Bossi’s party, this article examines the Lega’s process of reconceptualizing and recontextualising anti-fascism; second, through an analysis of Matteo Salvini’s Lega, the article identifies how ‘post-fascism’ has evolved from ‘performative anti-fascism’. The article makes three contributions: first, it encourages a shift away from a focus purely on the Lega’s populism towards articulations of its far right ideology; second, it illustrates the importance of focusing on long-term enactments of discursive shifts and a normalization/mainstreaming of far right ideology; finally, it contributes to a new conceptualization of post-fascism as a discursive feature of far right ideology rather than an ideology in and of itself.

The “Chinese Dream” as a discursive symbol

Abstract This study examines the political discursive construction of the “Chinese Dream” and its representations in global media by drawing on the methodological combination of the discourse-historical approach, corpus linguistics, and framing analysis. The data for analysis consists of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official speeches and news coverage on the Chinese Dream by the China Daily, the South China Morning Post, and The New York Times for around six years (2012–2018). The analysis identified that the Chinese Dream discourse largely aims to serve toward Chinese nationalism, the reinforcement of the ruling Party’s legitimacy, and the Chinese leadership’s authority. Meanwhile, it was also found that the three media adopted different dominant frames to reshape the Chinese Dream, namely China Daily’s Chinese national-centric frame, South China Morning Post’s multiculturalist-oriented frame, and The New York Times’ US-centric “othering” frame. These news frames were tactically designed to serve their sociopolitical and ideological interests. Through corpus-assisted discourse analysis, the article aims to 1) reveal the discursive strategies and patterns of the Chinese Dream; 2) shed light on the discursive representations of the Chinese Dream in specific global media; and 3) bridge the gap between the original political discourse and its discursive reproduction in media representation.