Ideologies and Censorship in the Discourse of Two Opinion Columns: A Critical Discourse Analysis

This article examines two opinion columns titled “Dilema Ético” (Ethical Dilemma) and “A Margarita” (To Margarita) from a Critical Discourse Analysis perspective. The relevance of the analysis of these columns is that they were written within a context of social crisis in Colombia where the political polarization has increased over the last years. The study intends to identify and analyze expressions used in the discourse of two columnists that represent opposite political ideologies and how this can enact constraints of freedom of speech. The analysis is conducted through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The findings show that the columnist identified with right-wing ideologies imposed herself on the columnist aligned with left-wing ideologies, thus restrict her freedom of speech.

“B” (Accompanying My Daughter Through Life): Critical Discourse Analysis

This study analyzes the poem “B” by Sarah Kay, through the interpretation of the various metaphors that compose it. This was poem was first published in 2011 and it is a love letter that the author sends the daughter she does not yet have. In order to do this a critical discourse analysis methodology is used (Fairclough, 1995), as well as an interpretation of the metaphors that are present in the poem (Lakoff, 2003).

It’s all Greek to me: Missed Greek Loanwords in Albanian

Albanian is a language that has borrowed words and patterns from various other languages with which it came into contact from time to time. One of the most prominent sources of loanwords and loan-structures in Albanian is Medieval and Modern Greek. This paper discusses cases of Albanian loanwords of obvious or probable Medieval or Modern Greek origin that fail to be identified as such in the relevant literature. The discussion starts with a brief sketch of the history, affinities and contacts of Albanian with special focus on Medieval and Modern Greek. Then a classification is attempted of the Greek loanwords usually missed on the basis of their treatment in various works, while exploring the reason(s) why the Greek origin of such loanwords was missed. The main conclusion is that most such etymological mishaps are due to the limited knowledge of the donor language in terms of phonology, lexis and morphology.

“Ya No Nos Maten”: A Discourse Analysis of the Song “Querida Muerte”

Violence against women in Mexico has surged over the last five years. Within this context, the song Querida Muerte (Dear Death) (2019) portrays the harassment experienced by Mexican women. Moreover, this song narrates some dangerous events that some women might have encounter living in Mexico. In this study, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is implemented as an approach for the examination of the song, applying the Systematic Functional Linguistics (SFL) model by Halliday. The findings of this study demonstrate that this discourse was created as a demand for social justice and as an expression of the extent to which women are tired of being scared and in constant threat. The analysis based on the SFL model reveals that this song mostly uses declarative clauses, present tense, and negative adjectives.

Tracing Metaphor Transformations in Translation of Fiction by Type and Density

Heavily neglected by language scholars and ascribed poetics value only, metaphor was reinvented by Lakoff and Johnsons’ iconic study in the 1980s, which showed its pervasiveness in language and thought. Paradoxically, though, the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, especially in its early variants, alienated metaphor research from poetics. The latter has slowly been finding its feet in conceptual metaphor studies, especially with the help of newly developed fields of linguistic research such as corpus studies, which allow for obtaining of ample material for cross-cultural analysis. This paper is an example of such an analysis and aims by identifying the conceptual metaphors behind the metaphorical linguistic expressions in key texts from five of the greatest stylists of the English language, and by comparing them to their translations into Bulgarian, to find out whether metaphor is lost or transformed in any way. The main methodological tool used in the current paper is parallel text analysis. Our findings regarding literature in translation, suggest that the target texts (the translated ones) are not inferior in terms of metaphor type and density to the original ones and are appropriate for close reading.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Mexico: A Critical Discourse Analysis of AMLO’s Speech

A recent pandemic called coronavirus (Covid-19) has been spreading rapidly around the world this year, 2020. While some countries have confirmed cases and deaths, others as Mexico start to see far approaches of what is likely to be a large coronavirus outbreak. A video posted in YouTube by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known by his nickname AMLO, portrayed his opinion regarding the coronavirus and the security measure. This paper, based on Critical Discourse Analysis theory and Systematic Functional Linguistics, explore AMLO’s speech by analyzing focused on transitivity and modality to discover what is behind the Mexican president’s speech and its social consequences. The findings suggest that AMLO’s speech has a different intention than convince the Mexican population that everything is fine.

“Maestro: el Gran Aliado”: A Critical Discourse Analysis

This article examined an opinion column titled Maestro: el Gran Aliado (teachers: The great ally) from a Critical Discourse Analysis perspective. The relevance of the analysis of this piece lies on the fact that our current minister of education wrote it shortly before accepting this position. The study sets out to explore the linguistic features used in this opinion column and uncover the opaque intentions behind it. The analysis is conducted through the use of systemic functional linguistics. The findings imply that the discourse used in this opinion column had a different intention than the transparent purpose stated by the name given to it.

Where Culture and Metaphor Meet: Metaphoric Awareness in Comprehension of Culturally-Specific Idioms

The goal of the present study is to investigate whether the comprehension of oligosemic, i.e. culturally-specific (CS) idioms is raised with awareness of underlying conceptual metaphors (CMs) as seems to be the case with idioms motivated by metaphors (CM idioms). An experimental study was conducted involving the metaphor-aware Experimental group and the Control group which was unaware of the existence of CMs. Metaphoric awareness was achieved through brief 15 minute-long lessons on metaphor and underlying motivation. The Control participants were given general information on figurative language in order to ensure equality of input. The instrument containing 35 items was administered to both groups whereas the Experimental group was also provided the underlying CM motivation. An ANOVA test for repeated measures was used to compare CM data to CS data. There was a statistically significant effect of motivation on idiom comprehension, F(1,77)=67.203, p=.000 which suggests that CM idioms are better understood than CS idioms. The t-test results for the CS idioms indicate there is a significant difference between the Control and the Experimental group when it comes to the comprehension of CS idioms in favor of the Experimental participants; it seems the comprehension of CS idioms is raised with metaphoric awareness.

Right or Wrong? An Image for Immigrants: An Interpersonal Multimodal Discourse Analysis of MIA’s Music Video “Paper Planes”

Most of the time, the opinion that people have regarding immigrants is based on what media, press, and news offer to the public. The music video “Paper Planes” by MIA demonstrates some of the stereotypes that society has for people according to their identity, and the singer represents it with the most outstanding characteristics of the minority groups in America. To conduct a more in-depth analysis of the music video and lyrics of MIA, I will provide an interpersonal multimodal discourse analysis. The analysis is based on the theories proposed by Halliday (1978) on systemic functional linguistics and Machin (2010) for the visual semiotic framework. The results demonstrate how the discourse used in the song transmits the perspectives people create regarding immigrants and perpetuate them.

The Au Pair Cultural Exchange Program Advertising: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Advertising is everywhere, and the effects of advertisements on people are notorious. Consequently, through ads, you can convince the audience to follow an ideology or to acquire certain products. The following article examines the au pair cultural exchange program online advertisements from a Critical Discourse Analysis perspective. The article sets out to explore the linguistic features used in the au pair program advertisements that persuade participants to become au pairs and hosts. The analysis was achieved through a three-dimensional framework (Fairclough, 1994; 2001; 2003). This model demonstrates the correlation between linguistic forms, discourse, and social practices. The findings imply that advertisers use different linguistic forms and strategies to persuade Mexican girls from the age of 18 to 26 years old to enroll in the cultural program, as well as US citizens’ families who are persuaded to host someone.