Discursive Representations Research Articles

Van Leeuwen’s Categorization of Lower Caste Christians are in Our Lady of Alice Bhatti

This study tries to explore how the lower caste Christians are represented in the text of a novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, by Mohammad Hanif. Applying van Leeuwen’s categorization from the SAR (Social Actor Representation) model, it deconstructs the textual representation of lower caste Christians in the text by the Muslim social actors and middle and upper-class Christians. Also, it attempts to highlight how the discursive representation of lower caste Christians as identification (what they are) and functionalization (what they do) presents them as marginalized characters. How these characters are appraised negatively owing to their caste and religion in the text is also presented. Van Leeuwen’s SAR emphasizes that such discursive recontextualization of the social actors by the writers reflects discrimination against these characters. These social roles given to them show their suppression in society. The analysis reveals that the representation of lower caste Christians demonstrates the following characteristics: they are represented as Choohras shit cleaners, untouchables, which is the major cause of discrimination in Pakistan. Through such depiction of lower caste Christians, the writers want to highlight the sorry plight of lower caste Christians in Pakistan.

Role Models or Inferior Participants? Chinese News Portrayals of Gender and Disability in the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games

The question of how gender and disability are portrayed in sports media is less explored in many societies including China. This research investigates the Chinese news portrayals of female versus male Paralympians and their relationships with the Chinese sociocultural context. Employing Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (Multimodal CDA) to analyze language and images in Chinese news coverage of the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, this study finds evidence that female and male Paralympians are both constructed as inferior physicalities in sports. However, in the discourse of ableism and sexism, female Paralympians are doubly marginalized from the perspectives of physicality and masculinity. The display of sexism further trivializes female Paralympians by portraying them as feminine, infantile, and physically inferior compared to male Paralympians. The discursive representations interact with body ideology, disability discourse, and gender ideology in post-reform China, further strengthening the dominance of males and the non-disabled in and beyond sports.

Discriminatory discourses against Morocco and Moroccan immigrants in the Spanish context. A corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of ‘Jovenlandia/jovenlandés’ (Youthland/Youthlandian) on X

Media discourse has provided a breeding ground for the advent of new patterns of discrimination with the power of influencing the public narrative. This goal of this study is to analyze how the recently-created terms ‘Jovenlandia’ (Youthland) and ‘jovenlandés’ (Youthlandian) are employed mockingly on X in response to the use of generic ‘joven’ (youth, youngster) in news articles. With the use of these terms, X users imply a supposed cancel culture in mass media that withholds data of Muslim immigrant criminals. The theoretical approach adopted combines corpus tools with Critical Discourse Analysis to examine 3856 posts on X during the 2023 Spanish general election campaign (from May 29th to July 23rd 2023). The analysis is based on Wodak’s discourse-historical approach and examines referential and predication strategies to unveil the linguistic expressions to represent immigrants. The results show that the words serve to construct a racist discursive representation of Moroccan migrant identities on the platform X in Spain. Immigrants are portrayed as violent, criminals, and rapists, whereas Morocco is depicted as a land of criminals with homophobic and sexist traditions. The discursive strategies against migrants were commonly grounded in the Muslims’ perceived failure to assimilate into the Spanish culture. In this sense, pork meat is used as a symbolic cultural criterion for evaluating authentic Spanish adherence. Spaniards are self-portrayed as victims of the left-wing government decisions and X users appeal to the extreme-right wing party Vox to solve the problem.

Exploring the Discursive Representation of Pakistani Female Politicians in Print and Electronic Media: A Qualitative Study of Narrative and Framing

This study uses a qualitative discourse analysis approach to investigate Pakistani female politicians' discursive representation in print and electronic media. Specifically, the research focuses on the narratives and framing strategies employed by the media to construct and portray the public image of these political figures. By employing Corpus-Assisted Diachronic Discourse Analysis (CADDA), the study traces the changes in media discourse over time, uncovering how gender biases, societal norms, and power dynamics shape the representation of women in Pakistani politics. The findings reveal significant trends in gendered framing, highlighting how media portrayal fluctuates between marginalization and recognition of female politicians' contributions, though gender stereotypes remain deeply embedded in these narratives. The findings of this study have important implications for future media reform initiatives, advocating for a more equitable and balanced representation of women in politics. The insights gained can also inform gender advocacy strategies and policy efforts to enhance women's visibility and leadership roles in traditional and digital media.

Affective spaces of the rural: A praxeological analysis of the “spatial pioneers” of Upper Lusatia (Germany)

While many rural regions in Germany are facing a downward socio-structural spiral, there is a growing societal yearning for rurality and the practices associated with it. By creating a network for individuals who migrate from urban centers to a peripheral rural area, the self-proclaimed “spatial pioneer” movement of Upper Lusatia operates at the convergence of these realities. Through an ethnographic inquiry into this movement, we study the social practices of these spatial pioneers, particularly focusing on affective practices that evoke emotional responses within individuals. We identified five dimensions that shape the spatial pioneers' rural lifeworlds — nature, work, community, simplicity, and self-efficacy. From the perspective of the spatial pioneers, rural spaces are not necessarily ‘ideal’ via their discursive representations. However, rurality as a lifestyle (as a way of living) becomes desirable via the (affective) practices it enables. The singularity of structurally weak rural areas lies in the fact that they offer opportunities for living the ‘good life’ that, due to limiting material and cultural structures, are unavailable elsewhere (e.g., in urban settings). In applying the concept of affective spaces, we aim for a deeper understanding of the spatial pioneers' bodily-affective experience, perception, and practice-based production of space. By doing so, we provide insights into practice-based, affective (re-)productions of rurality and rural spaces.

Implicit hierarchies in the EU representation of refugees: a comparative text-analysis of the European Parliament's framing of Syrian and Ukrainian diasporas

Abstract The article explores the discursive representations of Syrian and Ukrainian refugees in the European Parliament (EP). The theoretical framework draws on Critical Securitisation Theory, pointing out the implicit hierarchies that affect the European Union (EU) reception policies in terms of race and gender. The main hypothesis is that a stigmatisation process based on race and gender affects the representation of refugees in the EU. Against this backdrop, the manuscript delves into how speech acts can either cast refugees as urgent threats or even facilitate the de-construction of the refugee as a threat. These are investigated through Computational Text-Analysis tools, such as Word- and Bigram-Frequency Analysis, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency test and Structural Topic Modelling. On the one hand, contrary to expectations of a securitisation of Syrian refugees primarily based on race, what emerges is also a process of de-personalisation that helps justify the anti-migration stand of some members of the EP (MEPs). On the other hand, the assumption that deconstruction of the refugee as a threat would mainly occur through an emphasis on cultural proximity between Ukrainian people and the EU is challenged. Instead, our analysis shows a gender-based victimisation of Ukrainian refugees, which contributes leading to protective measures being enacted by the EU.

‘Learning German is like … ’: how learner representations, motivational beliefs, and perceptions of public views relate to motivation for continuing German study

ABSTRACT In England, motivation for language learning is low, especially for learning German at high school, with potentially negative educational and societal implications. Previous research has tended to overlook the relevance for low motivation of social factors such as negative messages in public discourse (Krüsemann, H. 2018. Language learning motivation and the discursive representations of German, the Germans, and Germany in UK school settings and the press. PhD diss., University of Reading.). This study therefore aimed to provide deeper insights through an investigation of 391 adolescent learners. They completed a questionnaire exploring not only their representations of German and the Germans (German*), their motivational beliefs about learning German, and whether they intended to continue studying it, but also how they perceived public views about German*. Whether all these factors, together with gender and socio-economic status (SES), predicted future German study intentions was also investigated. Findings showed that the negative public views highlighted by previous research were only partly mirrored in learner representations. Learners were more likely to continue German study if they believed others viewed German positively, if they had higher expectations for success, saw German as personally meaningful, and were female and of higher SES. The study thus presents new insights into motivation for learning German, providing empirical evidence for previously unsubstantiated claims of links between public discourse messages and learner motivation for German study.

The representation of sub-Saharan African migrants in the Tunisian written media: a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis

ABSTRACT While the topic of migrant representation in media discourse has been extensively researched, a significant portion of scholarly attention is concentrated on Western media. This focus leaves a considerable gap in the study of media representations in transitional countries, particularly North African nations like Tunisia. This topic assumes greater significance in light of the recent surge in xenophobia towards sub-Saharan African migrants in the country – a movement partly instigated by President Kais Saied's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Utilising Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper examines the discursive representations of sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisian written media discourse, focusing on the 2022 and 2023 anti-migrant wave in Tunisia under the presidency of Kais Saied. The research findings reveal that while a glimpse of a humanitarian discourse was evident, the majority of the discourse was characterised either by biased neutrality or explicit prejudice. The research indicates a predominantly negative representation, categorising migrants as invaders, security threats, economic burdens, and moral hazards. Significantly, much of the discourse echoes the political anti-immigrant policy, suggesting a potential media alignment with the emerging authoritarian tendencies in Tunisia. This alignment harbours damaging implications for the safety and well-being of the migrant community, as well as for the overall human rights and democratisation process in the country.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of American News Reports on the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympics

The opening ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022 has been extensively covered in international news reports. Although these news reports seem impartial and objective, they carry underlying ideologies that can influence public opinions and judgments. This paper examined the discursive representation of China in American news reports on the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics using Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis model as the theoretical basis. News stories from American media were collected and analysed in terms of headline, collocation, and quotation pattern. The research found that American news reports present mixed and multifaceted views toward the host country. They showed appreciation for the host country’s success in delivering a spectacular opening ceremony, but they tended to frame China negatively, portraying it as an intimidating power and a geopolitical threat. This study can improve our understanding of the discursive practice of news reports and enhance critical awareness in interpreting news texts.

Conditions for higher education study: the perspectives of prospective students from rural areas

ABSTRACT Background Access to higher education in rural areas has been a recurring theme of debates and government inquiries in many countries in recent decades. Previous research is relatively unequivocal regarding the importance of higher education for regional or national development, identifying the local presence of highly educated individuals in a municipality as crucial for its prosperity and development. Purpose This study aims to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge regarding linguistic discursive representations by rurally located prospective university students in Sweden, of the conditions for further study at university level. Method A total of 23 qualitative interviews and/or discussion groups were held with 34 prospective university students in three rural municipalities in Sweden. Data were collected and analysed to answer the research question: How do prospective university students in rural areas describe the conditions for further study at the university level? Findings Prospective university students created and reproduced a series of linguistic representations in two discursive categories: (1) proximity/distance to study; and (2) education offerings. In the first category, narratives related to the physical distance to study; commuting by public transport or private car; and moving to the home city of a higher education institution. In the second category, narratives focused around the importance of location; remote learning; and doubts about pursuing higher education and/or making the right choice. Conclusion Linguistic representations in both categories were tense, balancing depictions of conflict and consensus. This balancing act represents a linguistic means of creating and re-creating cohesion, involvement, integration, participation, unity, and normality in the discourse and can be interpreted as a form of social pedagogical recognition that is important for the individual’s success in the context that the narratives reflect.

Neoliberal Nationalism in Television Commercials: Discursive Representations of Exploring and Entrepreneurial Indonesians

AbstractThe article examines the intertwinement of neoliberalism with nationalism and the new conceptualizations of Indonesianness that it generates. The principles of the two paradigms are often seen as antitheses, but this article shows that the growing neoliberal ideas and practices have informed notions of the nation and Indonesianness. The conjunction of the two paradigms indicates a shift in Indonesia, where until 1998, the state portrayed neoliberal principles as un‐Indonesian. Examining 212 nationalistic television commercials aired between 2005 and 2021, two discourses of Indonesianness can be identified. The first depicts Indonesians as passionately productive and entrepreneurial people, and the second frames the partaking in the marketization and promotion of exotic cultural diversity as acts of nationalism. These discourses reflect the growing acceptance of neoliberal values, especially among the middle class. Despite the relatively new conjunction of neoliberalism and nationalism, these new imaginings continue to build on the older state's discourse that excludes socio‐economic and ethnic minorities. Thus, diverging from the vision of a democratic post‐authoritarian Indonesia, this point of convergence between nationalism and neoliberalism continues to marginalize minorities.

Bringing “Religion as Such” to the City: Sacred History and Nation Branding in Contemporary Germany

Abstract This article focuses on a multireligious building project named House of One in contemporary Berlin. Initiated in 2012 by a Protestant community at the center of Berlin, House of One consists of a synagogue, a church, a mosque, and a communal room. My central suggestion is that House of One is invested in a pluralist re-branding of (liberal) Protestantism, a rebranding that underlies the post-unification emergence of a new national German imaginary: out of “soil” marked as historically Christian spreads an “Abrahamic” future that transcends its particularity via its assumed ability to incorporate Islam and Judaism. Liberal, Christian-secularized norms and affects are thus being rearticulated in a language of religious pluralism, so that a normative, Christian-secularized category of religion can be extended to Christianity’s “monotheistic brothers.” Elaborations of this building project’s intended purpose, I argue, are thus animated by a broader question about the appropriate relation between religion and the state, and conjointly, between the self and culture at a moment in time in which hitherto normative, Christian-secularized assumptions concerning this relation are challenged. As such, the discursive representation that sustains the yet-to-be-built House of One is conducive to the making of a new national imaginary: it is driven both by the desire to renounce past evil through a recognition and inclusion of alterity into the body politic, as much as by the simultaneous de-politization and scrutinization of such alterity.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Images of the Turks in English Renaissance Drama: A Case Study

This study is based on a critical discourse analysis of images widely used for the portrayals of Turks in English Renaissance drama with reference to Philip Massinger’s Renegado. This study intends to develop a systematic method to examine the discursive tendencies in the selected work to determine the frequencies of the use of particular linguistic expressions used to depict the Turks and the ideas that are established and promoted through the recurrently employed images of Turks in order to identify the dominant cultural attitudes and the political, ideological and religious implications of certain discursive representations and constructions. To do so, a structural framework for a thematic content analysis is created and it is based on the identified categories, codes, and themes as to who did what to whom and how. This approach provides a fertile ground for the categorical, thematic, and conceptual examination. The analysis of the data derived from the plays under study provides insight into what patterns and tendencies English Renaissance playwrights generated through their discursive practices and how the frequently used images supported historical, cultural, theological, and ideological productions that played a determining role in the development of certain perceptions, understandings and thoughts about Turks.

Discourse Implementation of “New Sincerity” in Communicative Space of Media

The article represents the peculiarities of “new sincerity” discursive representation in a media text. The research into this phenomenon from sociocultural angle presupposes conducting a multifaceted analysis, in particular, in communicative-and-cognitive and communicative-and-discursive perspectives. It is shown that the willingness of a linguistic personality to share their own thoughts and feelings in the public space is manifested in the generation of media discourse of “new sincerity”. The referential aspects of the “new sincerity” are revealed. The author establishes a repertoire of denotative-identifying reference (concrete, abstract referents, referent event), and a set of subject-marked text reference (emotive, evaluative referents). The explication of “new sincerity” is proved to become a tool of linguistic creative activity, as a result of which discourse scenarios are generated. They are focused on influencing the addressee (explication of personal significance, hypersensitivity). The macrostructural positions of the radio discourse of the “new sincerity” are revealed: lead, detailing, evaluative, emotionally oriented parts. Thematic dominants that form the discursive field of “new sincerity” are identified: “everyday life”, “life’s troubles”, “demonstration of weaknesses, inability”, “personal achievements and failures”, “personal preferences, secrets, qualities, interests, habits”, “fears and phobias”, “desires and dreams”, “details of personal life”. The television and radio discourses are rich in emotionally and personally oriented topics and concepts of sincerity, which leads to a change in the status of sincerity and sensitivity from peripheral phenomena to discourse-forming ones. It determines significant functional, qualitative changes in television and radio discourse.

Ideologies in Geospatial Futurism: A Computational and Critical Discourse Inquiry Into the ArcGIS and ESRI-Blogs

Geographic information systems (GIS) are ubiquitous building blocks of geosurveillance environments embedded in everyday social practices. This article builds on the literature on geomedia, the criticisms of GIS, and communicative spaces, to delve into the realm of GIS software and spatial analytics. The data corpus consists of ArcGIS and ESRI blogs on the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) site, which defines itself as the global market leader in GIS software, location intelligence, and mapping. This project assesses the impact of their discursive representations of the future and the societal implications of these views through an iterative process of computational and critical interpretive analyses—extending from LDA topic modelling to critical discourse analysis—to unveil the ideological underpinnings of a corporate-prescribed understanding of (GIS) future. The analysis reveals that representations of the future in the main blogs of the geospatial industry are deeply embedded in ideological principles that emphasise perceived indispensability and technosolutionism as the inherent belief that complex social, political, and economic issues can be solved primarily or exclusively through technological means. The article identifies the rhetorical and structural operations in a discourse that ultimately kidnaps any alternative futures. The geospatial industry’s representations of the future serve as ideological tools that shape perceptions about societal development and democratic conditions. The critical engagement with these representations contributes to understanding the role of GIS technology in the shaping of fair futures built on democratic public spheres in the digital age.

A world-leading periphery: exploring representations of Northern Sweden in view of its green transition

In pursuit of the EU’s goal to become the world’s first climate neutral region, Northern Sweden is positioned as a centrepiece to the green transition development. Its innovative industries are hailed as crucial, not only for Sweden but for the sustainable future of Europe. Yet, previous research depicts the cultural region of Norrland as an inner periphery of Sweden, subjected to colonization and marginalization. This article delves into this paradox by examining discursive representations of Norrland in light of the current green transition narratives. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, this study employs critical discourse analysis to systematically examine representations from news media, political opinion, and government institutions, uncovering tensions and contradictions within the discourse. The analysis suggests the prevalence of two main themes, construing Norrland simultaneously as the future and as a struggle. By contextualizing these discourses within the concept of peripheralization, this research suggests that the future-oriented representations dominate the current understanding of Norrland, potentially perpetuating patterns of spatial disparities within the region. Thus, this research contributes with an updated understanding of processes of peripheralization under the guise of a green discourse, suggesting that the development in Norrland seems part of a broader narrative aiming to frame Sweden as the world leader within green transition initiatives.

Discursive Representation of Social Actors in Selected Speeches of the Former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe

This study investigates the discursive devices deployed by the late former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, to represent social actors in his speeches, in order to unveil how these devices and the ideologies in them are mobilized to maintain political power and garner popular support. The data for the study comprise his: 2002 world summit on sustainable development speech in South Africa, 2005 party manifesto speech in Zimbabwe, 2003 Non-aligned speech in Malaysia, and 2007 UN speech in New York. These were subjected to qualitative analysis with insights from Teun A. van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of Critical Discourse Analysis. The study reveals that Mugabe uses discursive polarization strategies to emphasize positive things/de-emphasize negative things about his in-group (himself, Zanu-PF, the majority black, majority Zimbabwean supporters, and the third-world country allies), but emphasizes negative things/de-emphasizes positive things about the out-group (the minority white Zimbabwean land grabbers, the USA, the UK, Tony Blair, George Bush, etc.). The discursive strategies identified were used to pursue land ownership, anti-imperialist, revolutionary, and Marxist ideologies. The study concludes that these strategies were employed by Mugabe as linguistic, rhetorical and political strategies to maintain power and mobilize the support of majority black Zimbabweans for years.

“If you don’t know English, it is like there is something wrong with you.” Students’ views of language(s) in a plurilingual setting

Abstract Based on a repertoire-oriented stance to language learning and a broad definition of language awareness, this study investigates students’ discursive representations of the languages in their repertoires in the context of a plurilingual language awareness course (Almen Sprogforståelse). The study is based on a subset of data collected in a multi-case study focusing on language awareness across educational levels. Through an inductive and iterative thematic content analysis of interview and classroom data, the authors identify six themes central to the ways in which students talk about language: (1) language learning experiences and skills, (2) gateways, (3) attractiveness, (4) family and friendship, (5) everyday presence and (6) usefulness. The study investigates the relationship between the different themes and languages, revealing how students’ personal linguistic biographies and Spracherleben interact with classroom ideologies in shaping the ways in which students perceive and describe different languages. Despite students’ display of rich repertoires and language awareness, some languages are positioned discursively as need-to-have and others as nice-to-have or even impossible-to-opt-out-of, mirroring societal discourses surrounding these languages. In this sense, the results of the study underscore the importance of the development of critical language awareness, specifically in the context of the compulsory General Language Awareness course.

Becoming a legitimate actor: “Rainbow pastors” and same-sex marriage within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

This article explores the public discussion in the media where a group of religious activists who call themselves rainbow pastors are constructed as a legitimate actor in terms of the same-sex marriage debate within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Same-sex marriage was legalized in Finland in March 2017. The majority of the population and members of the ELCF support same-sex couples’ right to marry. However, it is not officially approved within the ELCF, which causes polarization. This study draws on a neo-institutionalist framework of epistemic governance to identify the discursive representations and justifications presented in the media. The activists aimed to convince the church decision-makers and general public of the need for institutional change regarding the religious understanding of marriage while the media pushed its own agenda. The data for this study consist of news articles in which the issue of the ELCF and same-sex marriage was discussed. Four discursive representations were identified: contesting the authority of the ELCF, creating heroic narratives, drawing on common moral principles, and normalizing same-sex marriage. The findings show that the debate also turned into a battle over authority, in which the rainbow pastors challenged the official power structures of the ELCF.

Examining the discursive construction of Chinese grassroots cybernationalism

Abstract Recent years have seen a surge in Chinese grassroots nationalism. Based on the public discussion on Weibo, the largest social media platform in China, this study investigated the cybernationalism (re)produced during the People’s Republic of China’s release of the Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners in early 2020. Deploying a synergy of thematic analysis and the discourse-historical approach (Reisigl and Wodak 2005, 2016), especially its argumentative perspectives, it examined the articulation of bottom-up cybernationalism and how this nationalism, boosted by the party-state, turns against the party-state when it fails to uphold its own nationalistic rhetorics, thereby influencing the government’s immigration policymaking. The results revealed that the discursive construction of a dichotomy between “derogatory foreigners” and “dignified Chinese” prevents the implementation of the regulation; the foregrounded anti-Black sentiment reflects a (re)appreciation of the global hierarchy of race in China based on orientalistic views; the discursive representations of humiliated history vitally motivates nationalism.