Constant fear, but lingering nostalgia: British press representations of post-colonial Hong Kong 20 years on

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 630-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Liu ◽  
Cong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Past ◽  
British Colony ◽  
British Press ◽  
The Times

This study conducts a corpus-assisted discourse study of the representations of post-colonial Hong Kong in The Times over the past 20 years. The primary purpose is to reveal its preferential ways of representing Hong Kong and explicate the intricate relations between language use and the historical and socio-political contexts. Through an integration of the methods and theories associated with critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, this study conducts both synchronic and diachronic analyses of the representations of Hong Kong from 1997 to 2017. The findings suggest that The Times’ representations of Hong Kong tend to be crisis- and conflict-oriented. While evoking constant fear about the future of Hong Kong, it still suggests that it is Britain’s duty and moral obligation to protect the former British colony. The same trend can also be identified in The Times’ representations of the mass protests against the proposed extradition bill in 2019.

scholarly journals ‘Bisexual oysters’: A diachronic corpus-based critical discourse analysis of bisexual representation in The Times between 1957 and 2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-267
Author(s):  
Mark Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Lexical Meaning ◽  
The Past ◽  
British Press ◽  
The Times ◽  
Bisexual People

Recent decades have witnessed an increase in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) visibility in the British media. Increased representation has not been equally distributed, however, as bisexuality remains an obscured sexual identity in discourses of sexuality. Through the use of diachronic corpus-based critical discourse analysis, this study seeks to uncover how bisexual people have been represented in the British press between 1957 and 2017. By specifically focusing on the discursive construction of bisexuality in The Times, the results reveal how bisexual people are represented as existing primarily in discourses of the past or in fiction. The Times corpus also reveals significant variation in the lexical meaning of bisexual throughout the 60 years in question. These findings contribute to contemporary theories of bisexual erasure which posit that bisexual people are denied the same ontological status as monosexual identities, that is, homosexuality and heterosexuality.

Exploring stance in the manifestos of 3 candidates for the Hong Kong Chief Executive election 2017: Combining CDA and corpus-like insights

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sin Yan Eureka Ho ◽  
Peter Crosthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Political Discourses

While much work has been done on the textual analysis of political discourses in Western countries, relatively little has focused on electoral manifestos in the East. Manifestos are open extensive declarations of individual ideologies for campaigns, comprising small texts in terms of word count but with massive implications for voters’ perception of the candidates’ political leanings. Focusing on the manifestos produced by the three candidates for the Hong Kong Chief Executive Election 2017, this article compares the linguistic features of the written political evaluative stances of the candidates. Combining critical discourse analysis using the APPRAISAL model, with analyses traditionally associated with corpus linguistics including log-likelihood keyword analysis and statistically driven visualisations, we find clear differences between the candidates in terms of the allocation of evaluative resources in their manifestos, representative of the perceived evaluative stance of candidate. Our findings justify the use of corpus linguistic techniques as a complement to critical discourse analysis, even in data with small word counts (<5000), in situations where nuanced, micro-managed selection of language resources is crucial to the perception of stance in very high-stakes contexts.

scholarly journals Battles and breakthroughs: representations of dementia in the British press

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Bailey ◽  
Tom Dening ◽  
Kevin Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Professional Attitudes ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Linguistic Strategies ◽  
British Press

AbstractMedia coverage of dementia can influence public and professional attitudes towards the syndrome, shaping societal knowledge of dementia and impacting how people with dementia are cared for. This paper reports on a study of news articles about dementia published in the British press in the years 2012–2017. The analysis combines the tools of corpus linguistics, a methodology for quantitatively surveying a vast amount of electronic linguistic data, with the qualitative perspectives of Critical Discourse Analysis, which seeks to uncover dominant discourses and ideologies. The most salient discourse that emerged from this analysis was the portrayal of dementia in biomedical terms, with a particular focus on the pathological processes of dementia, and pharmaceutical treatments and research. Keywords relating to this discourse are interrogated in detail, illuminating the linguistic strategies through which the pathology of dementia and people with dementia are depicted. This study highlights the challenges that this type of reporting presents to people living with dementia and their families, and points to the relevance of a discursive approach to understanding societal perceptions of dementia.

Translating images of Hong Kong in news coverage on BBC Chinese

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Ping
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Image Building ◽  
British Press ◽  
Target Readership

Abstract This study investigates how the image of Hong Kong is presented in translated news in the case of the 2014 protests, adopting an imagological approach. The corpus consists of translated news articles on the BBC Chinese website and their English-language source texts from a variety of British press articles published between 28 September and 15 December 2014. The study is a corpus-based critical discourse analysis focusing on aspects of the labelling and semantic prosodies in relation to Hong Kong. It also assesses aspects of image-building, including the selective appropriation of texts for translation, the institutional procedures, and target readership reception, that together contribute to the discursive construction of socio-political images of Hong Kong.

Corpus Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Orpin
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Constructive Criticism ◽  
Language And Ideology ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Connotation ◽  
Geographical Locations

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has often proved fruitful in providing insights into the relationship between language and ideology. However, CDA is not without its critics. Constructive criticism has been offered by Stubbs, who suggests bolstering CDA by using a large corpus as the basis on which to make reliable generalisations about language use. Taking up that suggestion, this paper reports on a study of a group of words semantically related to corruption. In the study, corpus methodology is used to manipulate the data: concordances and collocational tools are used to provide semantic profiles of the words and highlight connotational differences, and to identify the geographical locations that the words refer to. It is argued that words with a noticeably negative connotation tend to be used when referring to activities that take place outside of Britain, while less negative words are used when referring to similar activities in British contexts. CDA theory is drawn on to interpret the ideological significance of the findings.

Attitudinal stance towards the anti-extradition bill movement in China Daily and South China Morning Post

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuling Cao ◽  
Danqi Zhang ◽  
Qianjun Luo
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
South China ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
South China Morning ◽  
China Daily

Abstract Based on Appraisal Theory and critical discourse analysis, this corpus-assisted study examines how China Daily (CD) and South China Morning Post (SCMP) used appraisal resources to express their respective stances towards the anti-extradition bill movement. The results show that both newspapers employed negative resources of Judgement and the predication strategy to convey their stance, but SCMP seemed more refrained in the use of appraisal resources. CD openly stated that any illegal actions should be punished, and SCMP also criticised these actions. Besides, CD emphasized the consequences brought by violence and attributed the breakout of the protests to the opposition camp’s political intention for their own benefit, whereas SCMP highlighted Hong Kongers’ widespread opposition to the bill. These differences in language use and stance might be explained by the different press systems they respectively belong to and related to their respective historical and socio-political contexts.

scholarly journals A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordanian Newspapers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Amal Riyadh Kitishat ◽  
Murad Al Kayed ◽  
Mohammad Al-Ajalein
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Syrian Refugee ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Syrian Refugee Crisis

The present study employs corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis to investigate the attitudes of Jordanian news towards the Syrian refugee crisis. The corpus of the research, which consists of 10140 articles (Word types: 103170 and Word tokens: 1956589), were taken from the Petra news agency between 2016 and 2018. Antconc Tools Version 3.4.4w was used to analyze the data. The study used corpus statistical tools of collocates and concordance. Collocates tool used to create a list of 200 collocates associated with the words: /lad3iʔ/ &lsquo;refugee&rsquo;, /lad3iʔi:n/ &lsquo;refugees&rsquo;, /su:ri:/ &lsquo;Syrian&rsquo;, and /su:ryi:n/ &lsquo;Syrians&rsquo;. These collocates were organized into two thematic categories: &lsquo;services and resources&rsquo; and &lsquo;Jordanians and Syrians&rsquo;. The study used a concordance tool to unveil the attitudes of newspapers towards the Syrian refugee crisis. The findings of the study showed that Jordanians see Syrians as &ldquo;brothers&rdquo; and &ldquo;guests&rdquo;. However, Jordanian newspapers overstated the negative effect of Syrian refugees on the Jordanian economy, education, healthcare, etc. Jordanians were frustrated because Syrians compete with them on their resources and governmental services.

“We are here to help you”: understanding the role of careers and employability services in UK universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Fotiadou
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Patterns ◽  
The World

Abstract This paper examines the language used by careers services in UK universities. Using a combination of critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics methods and tools, the analysis of 2.6 million words collected from 58 UK university websites shows that the services highlight the quantity and variety of resources and assistance offered to Higher Education (HE) students. In addition, the close analysis of linguistic data brings to light a commonly used semantic pattern where the services act as the enablers of the students’ self-beneficiary actions. The main idea communicated in these webpages is that if HE students want to succeed in the graduate job market they need to prepare for the world of work, follow instructions and develop their employability. This course of action is presented by UK universities as natural or common sense. The interpretation and evaluation of linguistic patterns that emerge from the corpus-based analysis challenges the notion of employability and its association with the idea of ‘empowering’ young people to successfully compete in the graduate job market.

An introduction to the special issue on “Language, politics and media: The Hong Kong protests”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Ming ◽  
Guofeng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract Protests and social movements have become part of Hong Kong’s local politics since the 1970s. However, protests against the proposed extradition bill in 2019‒20 turned out to be the most violent political mass movement in Hong Kong after its return to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. It not only drew wide international attention but also evoked another round of “news war” over Hong Kong (Lee et al. 2002). This special issue collects six articles which address the representations of the protests in Hong Kong by different parties on different media platforms. Adopting a critical discourse analysis approach, these studies examine discursive strategies employed in media representations of the protests and the ideologies and power struggles at play. It aims to present different perspectives towards the issue and shed light on the complex relations between language, media and politics in the representations of the Hong Kong protests.

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