Linguistic Choices Research Articles

Multi-Level Approach for Critical Discourse Analysis

This study addresses methodological issues of critical discourse analysis and shows how an analytical multi-level approach we developed can be useful in adding theoretical resources and systematization to its methods. The analytical approach is grounded on the macrostructure of human activity (activity, actions, operations) and appropriates resources from text linguistics and sociolinguistics. We crossed this approach with historical and positioning discourses to identify ways of talking, foregrounded, and concealed meanings and ideologies in the statement of the ex-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson as delivered to the House of Commons on Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Our results point out he established an agreement with the House through an explanatory statement with the predominance of the use of informing discursive procedures, which corresponded for almost half of his procedures. Most of the time Johnson spoke in the future tense through the intense use of the modal auxiliary verb “will”. These, among other linguistic choices, collaborated to conceal the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s roles in the invasion of Ukraine, framing responsibility solely on the president of Russia. In conclusion, we comment on the contributions and limitations of the analytical approach.

How Covid-19 Has Changed Safety in the Car Transportation Sector: A Corpus-Assisted Analysis of Non-Financial Reports

The importance of people’s safety during Covid-19 has resulted in greater attention to this aspect in CSR and ESG disclosures, especially in the field of transport. The relevance of this topic is also reflected in the recent publication of linguistic studies that investigate how companies in some sub-sectors communicate their commitment to passengers’ safety (Rossato & Nocella, 2022; Bondi & Nocella, 2023). This paper explores how safety is discursively constructed and communicated in the car rental and ride sharing sectors, both before and during the pandemic. Working along the lines of corpus-assisted discourse studies (Partington et al., 2013), the research analyses a corpus of English CSR and ESG reports published by international American companies in the above-mentioned fields of transport. Findings suggest a great concern for safety issues and a more inclusive approach to both customers’ and employees’ safety during the pandemic. Additionally, car rental companies show more attention to vehicle safety, while ride sharing operators put more emphasis on road safety. Evidence also suggests that the companies largely employ commissive statements and vague linguistic choices that signal a general lack of transparency on the practices and initiatives enacted to ensure customers’ and workers’ safety.

Using bundle analysis to uncover formulaic language patterns in seminar discussions

Seminars serve as a valuable instructional tool in higher education, enabling scholars to engage in discussions, ask questions, and gain a clear account of the topic through interactive sessions. This leads to the significance of deciphering the discursive patterns and linguistic choices made by speakers in these academic discussions, one of these patterns is lexical bundles. This study focused on identifying the most frequently used four-word lexical bundles in 78 seminar discussions sourced from three online repositories. Drawing on Biber et al.’s taxonomy, the identified bundles underwent functional categorisation. This involved examining their contextual meanings through concordance lines to reveal something of the discoursal and communicative practices inherent in this genre, and explore how speakers organise their discourse in a formulaic way. The findings demonstrate the prominent presence of formulaic bundles in seminar discussions. Stance, which relates to the speaker’s degree of knowledge, their attitude and judgments, emerged as the most salient function of bundles, followed by referential and discourse-organising functions. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of discourse decisions in seminars, and offer insights into the formulaic linguistic choices made by speakers as they interact with their audience.

Dialect polishing and solidarity with ‘the others’: merchants as language creators in the 19th century

Abstract In this article, the linguistic choices of a group of young merchants and merchants’ sons are discussed. Living in Bergen in the second half of the 19th century, they wrote Danish and spoke a dialect marked by centuries of dialect and language contact. Most of them had some competence in German, some also in English and French. When Romanticism and nation building became dominating ideas in Norway, the merchants’ European culture and their mixed dialect did not seem appropriate. These men therefore turned their backs on both city culture and city language and started studying Old Norse and rural dialects as part of a movement promoting a language called Landsmål. They formed an organization called Vestmannalaget ‘The Association of Westmen’ in 1868, with the aim of helping to create a new Norwegian standard. In other places in Norway, those working for this new standard language usually had a rural background, and their mission was to promote pride in and the use of their own dialects and their own culture. The Association of Westmen however, aimed to learn a refined version of the dialects of the less privileged classes. This was controversial in the social class to which they belonged, and most of them did not linger on in the Landsmål movement as adults. They were young radicals who paved the way so that others, with closer ties to rural Norway, could take over the linguistic struggle.

The Variations in the Use of Sentence Connectors in Timed and Untimed Student Writing: A Comparative Corpus Study of British Students

This study investigates the use of sentence connectors in British students' timed and untimed writings, utilizing data from the British component of the International Corpus of English (ICE-GB). By comparing the frequency and patterns of 54 selected connectors between these two writing conditions, the research reveals that students tend to overuse certain basic connectors like and and or, particularly in timed examinations. The analysis also highlights the impact of time pressure on linguistic choices, showing a preference for simpler connectors in timed settings. The findings contribute to understanding native English speakers' connector usage and suggest implications for academic writing and teaching strategies.

Beyond a Slave: Support for the Manumission of Onesimus from Discourse Analysis

Did Paul intend for Philemon to manumit Onesimus? This article aims to present evidence in support of a manumissive view of Paul’s communicative intent to Philemon. Through a cognitive functional approach to discourse analysis, the sentence comprising vv. 15–16 is proposed to represent the peak of the epistle. Coincidingly, this central statement of the letter is precisely where Paul discusses the enslavement of Onesimus. There, through his linguistic choices, Paul construes emphatic discontinuity in Onesimus’s status, resulting in the most salient change in Philemon’s mental representation: Onesimus is no longer a slave, but beyond a slave, a beloved brother.

Erasing the ‘Victim’ from the ‘Victim–Perpetrator’

Abstract Dominic Ongwen — child soldier turned warlord — was tried, convicted and sentenced by Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Using the theoretical vehicle of expressivism, this article aims to look beyond the straightforward, normative consequences of his adjudication, identifying the Trial Judgment’s — and hence, the ICC’s — implicit, didactic/symbolic messages around his controversial victim–perpetrator duality. To achieve this goal, the article deploys the methods of empirical, discourse, and legal/doctrinal analysis, which examine the Judgment’s relevant legal, contextual and linguistic choices around the depiction of Ongwen’s two portraits — that of the victim and that of the perpetrator. Through the juxtaposition of the two portraits, defined by the absence of victimhood and the overpresence of perpetratorhood, the researcher extracts the Judgment’s expressive imprint, including the preservation of the victim–perpetrator dichotomy, the non-elucidation of the child soldiering phenomenon, the problematic deductions on the role and liability of child soldiers, as well as the defendant’s over-stigmatization. In light of the above, the article assesses the messages’ adherence to the aspirations and principles of expressivism.

Linguistic Characteristics In The Research Background And Problem Statement In The Doctoral Thesis Of Arabic EFL Students In Malaysia

This study explores the linguistic features within the move structures of the research background and problem statement sections in Chapter One of PhD theses written by Arab students in Malaysia. The analysis focuses on four key language elements: verb tense, modality, voice (active and passive), and personal pronouns. A corpus of 30 theses was analyzed to determine common linguistic patterns, revealing significant insights into the language choices of these academic writers. The study employs concordance and hand-tagged analysis to examine verb tense and voice, with manual verification for modality and personal pronouns to ensure accuracy. Eight distinct verb tenses were identified, with the present simple tense being the most frequently used, representing 55.30% of the total instances. This indicates a preference for focusing on current knowledge and ongoing research. In contrast, the past simple and future simple tenses were used to describe past methodologies and future implications, respectively. Modal auxiliaries play a crucial role in conveying sentiments and opinions. The study identified seven modal verbs, with 'can' being the most commonly used, suggesting a focus on possibility over obligation. The analysis of voice patterns revealed a higher occurrence of active voice (79.66%), especially in moves that conveyed up-to-date knowledge. In contrast, passive voice was more common in methodological descriptions, indicating a focus on the actions or subjects rather than the actors. The study also examined the usage of personal pronouns, finding a higher frequency of third-person pronouns, suggesting a more objective narrative style. These findings offer valuable insights into the linguistic choices of Arab EFL students in academic writing, providing a deeper understanding of their communicative intentions and alignment with academic discourse conventions. The results can guide future research on linguistic patterns in academic writing and help educators support EFL students in improving their writing skills.

Anti-vaccine COVID-19 narratives: A critical textual analysis of American and Indonesian online news

This study utilized Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), grounded in Van Dijk’s framework to investigate how online news articles from American and Indonesian outlets portrayed anti-vaccine views related to COVID-19. Through systematic online searches, the research examined the data through the lenses of macrostructure, superstructure, and microstructure. Eight articles were selected for this study: four from American sources and four from Indonesian sources. The selected articles were published during specific periods: February 2022 to February 2023 for the U.S., and January 2021 to January 2022 for Indonesia. These articles, ranging from 500 to 1500 words, focused on ‘Anti-Vaccine COVID-19’ topics. The findings revealed distinct thematic differences. The macrostructure analysis showed that American articles highlighted distrust in specific vaccines and opposition to mandates, fostering skepticism, while Indonesian articles examined a wider range of cultural, religious, and personal factors influencing vaccine hesitancy, including anti-vaccine sentiments among expatriates and athletes. The superstructure analysis indicated that American reports emphasized controversy, whereas Indonesian reports explored motivations more deeply. Additionally, linguistic choices in the microstructure influenced portrayals, with American articles using dysphemism and active voice to emphasize danger, while Indonesian articles employed strong language to convey diverse perspectives. Despite its emphasis on textual analysis, this study offered significant insights into the sophisticated discussions of anti-vaccine sentiments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reflected in American and Indonesian online news.

Emerging engineering scholars’ stance in citations

Abstract This paper presents a mixed-method study that integrates genre-based corpus analysis and discourse-based interviews to examine the form- and stance-related citation patterns in the research articles of ten first- and second-year engineering doctoral students. The corpus analysis reveals strong preferences for stance-marked citations and the proclaim and entertain devices in particular, suggesting that writers use authorial stance to endorse cited propositions or provide likelihood- or evidence-based judgments in citations. Interview results indicate a discordance between writers’ intentions and their stance-related linguistic choices, as well as varied perceptions of authorial stance. Despite the frequent use of stance markers in citations, most writers claimed to be neutral reporters of knowledge. Only a few acknowledged their strategic stance choices and demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the rhetorical roles citations play in their claim-making practices. The findings suggest that students with developing citation expertise lacked the academic and disciplinary expertise to understand the interplay among citations, authorial stance, and rhetorical move/step structures in their research writing. These writers could benefit from explicit feedback that raises their awareness of the strategic use of citations and stance, to facilitate the realization of rhetorical goals in research writing.

Transliteration in Selected Nigerian Novels and The Discourse in Traditional Ceremonies in Urhobo And Ukwani

The study investigates the use and importance of transliteration in selected Nigerian novels as well as the discourse in traditional ceremonies such as marriage and funeral in Urhobo and Ukwuani in Delta State. Unlike in literary works where some works have been done in transliteration, none has been carried out on the English used in traditional ceremonies. Even in literary works, studies on transliteration are mostly aimed at how English is "domesticated" to reflect African culture. None of the studies has actually specified what aspects of African culture each transliterated expression reflects. Owing to this gap in literature, this work aims at providing a socio-linguistic explanations for the special linguistic choices made in Achebe's Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah, Chimamanda Ngozi, Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and in traditional ceremonies. The theoritical framework adopted for the study is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis of communication accomodation, which attempts to explain the relationship between language and the interpretation of social reality. Data were sourced from the novels and the speeches of spokesmen in marriage and funeral ceremonies of heterogeneous nature and were analysed through descriptive method. The following research questions guided the analysis: i. Are there defining characteristics that determine the English used in the novels and the traditional ceremonies? ii. Are there similarities between the language used in the novels and the ones used in the traditional ceremonies? iii. Is the variety of English used relevant to African culture? iv. What specific aspects of African culture do the linguistic choices made reflect? The findings from the study show that the expressions identified reflect and promote African culture. The findings also show that there are similarities between the language of the novels and that of traditional ceremonies.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Joe Biden’s First Speech as President in 2020

This research article endeavors to apply the CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis) model by Norman Fairclough to reveal the political identities and distinct ideologies of the United States' political personalities. The U.S. has always been drowned in different leadership and especially race/color discrimination crises. This paper presents the CDA of the presidential-elect inaugural speech of Joe Biden after the historical U.S. election of 2020. This speech was delivered on 7th November 2020. Like all modified academic disciplines, CDA is developed as an advanced academic discipline. The present research article stands on the base of Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional analytical model. Applying Fairclough’s 3D framework helps examine the ground political ideology of the speech. Analysis of linguistic choices has been examined at the first level and discourse practice of the text at the second level. The third level examined sociocultural practices. The underlying aim of this research paper was to examine the linguistic resources the speaker used. It also aims to examine Joe Biden’s political ideology behind his speech. This study lays out an impetus for further research in this field by providing initial grounds for it.

Negation Forms in the Poetry of Philip Larkin

ABSTRACT This article presents an analysis of negation forms in Philip Larkin’s poetry, specifically forms negated by suffixes and prefixes. Drawing on the literary stylistic analysis approach, as proposed by Geoffrey Leech, we progress from linguistic description to literary interpretation, with the assumption that linguistics and literature should complement one another. We discuss nine poems by Larkin, with the focus placed on patterns that deliver precise understanding of the text’s unifying theme. The major argument is that the frequent use of negation forms by Larkin is not arbitrary; rather its use might illustrate an effort meant to make these forms resonate with the poem’s atmosphere and social contexts. The results suggest that linguistic choices and poetic style have helped Larkin convey messages concerning three themes, namely, 1) uncertainty, 2) futility of life, and 3) agnosticism. By focusing on Larkin’s poems and the ways in which the poems are read, different strands are plaited, and multilevel stylistics approaches help readers to focus on the gaps concerning social contexts that could illuminate other possibilities and meanings.

NARRATIVE BUILDING THROUGH MEMES ON RAPE AND HARASSMENT VICTIMS: A MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

The social media memes on rape and harassment victim in Pakistan create verbal and semiotic sexual violence for the victims along with their online supporters. Online misogyny is online abuse against women and girls that is rooted in a hatred and mistrust of women which seeks to silence the victims of rape and harassment, further reinforce gender inequalities. This research explored the role of linguistic and semiotic choices made by social media users to create social media memes serving victim blaming, victim silencing and revealing the diseased cognitive structures of such netizens (internet users) in the virtual world. The research is based on five social media memes on the most talked about cases of rape and harassment in the online world. The researcher selected those rape and harassment cases on which there were at least 25-50 memes. The present study data was taken from Facebook and Twitter in the form of screen shots of the memes. The data was analyzed at two level Micro-Discourse Analysis and Macro-Discourse Analysis. The research findings explored the triangular relationship between linguistic, social and cognitive structures. Thus, the social media memes revealed the cognitive structures of the meme creators through their linguistic as well as semiotic choices.

Language Matters: The Semantics and Politics of "Assisted Dying".

This essay examines the impact of linguistic choices on the perception and regulation of assisted dying, particularly in Canada. It argues that euphemistic terms like "medical assistance in dying" and its acronym, "MAID," serve to normalize the practice, potentially obscuring its moral gravity. This contrasts with what is seen in Belgium and the Netherlands, where terms like "euthanasia" are used, as well as in France and the United Kingdom, where terminology remains divisive and contested. By tracing the evolution of these terms and what they reveal about different cultural and legal approaches, this essay sheds light on the politics of language in end-of-life discourses. It suggests that the shift toward euphemistic language reflects a broader discomfort with death that can shape public attitudes and legal frameworks. It calls for a more transparent, philosophically grounded approach to terminology and suggests that continued debate about semantics is necessary to capture the complexities and ethical significance of assisted dying.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Songs in Advertisements: A Cognitive Stylistic Study

Advertisements fulfil a significant role in social life by directing and guiding consumer actions and practices and shaping cultural norms. They not only support products and services but also reproduce and strengthen societal standards and norms. This paper explores the functionality of songs used in advertising within the field of cognitive stylistics. This field of research offers useful information into how cognitive processes and linguistic choices interact to form the interpretation and influence of discourses. The research questions are: (1) How do cognitive stylistic features enhance the influence of songs on advertising? (2) How do cognitive stylistic features shape customers' attitudes and behaviours? To examine the research questions, this paper uses a qualitative analysis method. The data is made up of a song used in advertisements, which will be investigated to detect cognitive stylistic elements and their influence on consumer viewpoints and behaviors. We hypothesize, through applying the mixed cognitive stylistics model, that the manifestation of cognitive stylistic aspects in songs enriches their functionality in grasping and captivating the intended audience. The findings have themes for advertisers, offering perspectives on how to successfully interact with their target audience through songs and how to evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.

The effect of extralinguistic variables on verb selection in Italian requests

Abstract Politeness relies on interlocutors’ frames, which are cognitive concepts that include a linguistic expression and extralinguistic variables. Politeness research has highlighted the importance of extralinguistic variables on speakers’ linguistic choices. Despite many studies that touch on these topics, questions about the comparative importance of contextual variables and the joint effect of them on speakers’ utterances remain unanswered. To examine these questions, a quantitative approach using a conditional inference tree was employed to investigate the influence of power, distance, and imposition on the use of verb forms in requests in Italian. Verb forms were selected as the dependent variable because they are essential for performing speech acts and they can be placed on a politeness continuum. Considering the importance and hierarchical relationship of the predictor variables of power, distance, and imposition, the results indicated that the three variables were predictors of verb form. While power was the main predictor, the effect of distance and imposition depended on whether the other variables were considered, showing a varying and complex effect of contextual variables. The findings enhance the understanding of Italian politeness, and represent the complex calculations that speakers make when selecting linguistic forms by considering interacting contextual variables.

A Coherent Analysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Using Segmented Discourse Representation Theory

Shirley Jackson's The Lottery is a powerful narrative widely analyzed for its social, cultural, and literary dimensions. However, the linguistic intricacies of Jackson's work remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by applying Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT) to analyze the discourse structure of The Lottery. SDRT, a formal theory of discourse that emphasizes coherence relations, provides a systematic framework for examining how different narrative segments interact to create a cohesive and impactful story. By employing SDRT, this research uncovers the intricate ways in which Jackson's linguistic choices contribute to the story's thematic depth and emotional resonance. This analysis not only enhances our understanding of Jackson's narrative techniques but also demonstrates the applicability of SDRT in literary discourse analysis, offering new insights into the dynamic development of discourse within literary texts.

Negotiating the translanguaging instinct: Unpacking a transnational emergent multilingual student’s linguistic choices across time and space

ABSTRACT This paper explores how one transnational emergent multilingual (TEM) adolescent described her languaging practices across the spaces she navigated daily both within and outside of the classroom across her first year in the US Findings illustrate how this adolescent – a home language speaker of Spanish and Quiché and emergent speaker of English – engaged in languaging practices in ways that illustrated the deep connection between language and identity while also representing how she had been socialized to understand language as both a tool for communication and relationship-building and a way of showcasing – or concealing – her identity. Using translanguaging theory, specifically conceptualizations of the translanguaging instinct and translanguaging spaces, this paper illustrates how monoglossic ideologies operate in ways that can overpower students’ existing heteroglossic ideologies causing them to question their translanguaging instincts and abilities. Findings indicate the need to focus on the creation of translanguaging spaces that cultivate and nurture students’ translanguaging instinct by pushing back on larger monoglossic ideologies and language policies that dictate both school and community spaces that TEMs navigate.

Applying relational autonomy in US special education: Educators’ role in supporting parents’ decisions for deaf or hard-of-hearing children

ABSTRACT The concept of relational autonomy is widely applied in bioethics research to elucidate how patients’ abilities in agentively making medical decisions are constrained within a complex structural system and set of relations; thus, rather than being individualistic in nature, autonomy is relationally and interdependently situated. While this perspective is thought-provoking, it is seldom explored in settings outside of healthcare. An equally critical site of decision-making processes is found in special education, where parents of children with disabilities must contend with information from both teachers and physicians to make choices that best support their child’s learning and development. Families of deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) children in particular are uniquely positioned to encounter decisions that intersect educational, medical, and sociocultural levels – that is, in the earliest years of a D/HH child’s life, parents must make decisions about the child’s medical care and whether they will receive hearing technology or treatments, which in turn shapes the inherently cultural decision of linguistic choice, which in turn shapes educational decisions about the type of schooling environment for the child. This study broadly asks: In the field of special education, how do parents make decisions for their D/HH child? Data is drawn from semi-structured, ethnographic interviews with 16 educators of the deaf or hard-of-hearing (EODs) across public, private, and state levels in California. IMPACT STATEMENT The findings can help contribute academic research into conversation with social justice-oriented work to improve language and educational access for D/HH children.