局部语法框架下中美媒体新冠疫情话语表征分析

A Local Grammar Approach to Investigating the Discursive Representation of Covid-19 in Chinese and American News Media

局部语法的区别性特征是采用功能语义术语分析具体语境中的语言使用,揭示形式成分实现的语义角色或范畴;它可用于考察社会事件或话语对象在语篇中的话语表征,在批评话语研究领域具有潜在应用价值。本文以局部语法为分析框架,结合新冠疫情热点话题,探讨新冠疫情在中美新闻媒体中的话语表征,以期丰富批评话语研究方法。研究发现,中美新闻媒体的疫情话语表征既具有质的共性,也存在量的差异,反映了二者在新冠疫情报道和防控策略等方面的差异。研究表明,局部语法有助于识别特定事件或话语对象在语篇中的语义角色,更具细微颗粒度地考察其话语表征,揭示语言使用和社会现实之间的深层次联系,可视为批评话语研究潜在可行的新方法路径。

One defining feature of local grammar research is that it uses functional-semantic terminologies to analyze language used in specialized contexts.This kind of analysis can facilitate the exploration of the discursive representation of specific social events or discourse objects,which indicates that local grammars could have potential value in critical discourse studies.This study therefore employs the local grammar approach to explore the discursive representation of Covid-19 in Chinese and American news media,aiming to enrich the toolkit of critical discourse studies.The study shows that there are both qualitative similarities and quantitative differences in the ways Covid-19 was discursively represented,which points to discrepancies in reporting,preventing,and controlling Covid-19 in the two societies.The study shows that local grammars help to identify the semantic roles of the target social event or discourse object,thereby contributing to the exploration of its discursive representation and the association between language use and social reality.Local grammar can thus be considered a potentially useful and new approach to critical discourse studies.