“后真相”时代新闻话语符号的自反性与对话性

Reflexivity and Dialogicity of News Discourse in Post-Truth Era

自反性是人类语言区别于动物符号系统的一个显著特征,更是人性的一个关键侧面——人类建立在语言自反性基础上的自我反思能力使得当下包括大众传媒在内社会生活的方方面面都呈现出高度的自反性;新闻语篇中转述言语是语言、认知以及社会生活这三种意义上自反性的最佳体现。此外,新闻语篇中对于他人话语的转述表征还体现了语言符号的另一个特性:巴赫金意义上的对话性;对话性使得被转述表征的他人话语进入皮尔斯意义上无限衍义的符号活动,从而让新闻语篇具有了事实上的构建性和意义上的开放性,对于这种构建性与开放性的识别与解读是所谓"后真相"时代新闻从业者和受众都必须具有的批评性读解能力,从而做一个负责任的话语主体参与新闻语篇的构建与传播。

The feature of reflexivity is unique to human language which distinguishes it from the semiotic systems of animals, and more importantly constitutes a key facet of humanity. The human capacity for doing self-reflection enabled and supported by linguistic reflexivity has made various aspects of our social life and in particular mass media become highly reflexive. The reported speech in news discourse is a good case in point for such linguistic, cognitive, and social reflexivity. Moreover, the representation of others’ words through speech reporting in news discourse embodies another important feature of human linguistic signs, i.e. dialogicity, which enables the representations of others’ words to enter an endless process of Peircean semiosis. This makes the facts which are represented in news discourse interpreted as discursively constructed reality and the meaning of news discourse open for dynamic interpretations. To develop a clear picture of such features of news discourse is the key component of the critical literacy which is necessary for both news producers and consumers in the so-called post-truth era. On this basis, it is possible for them to become a responsible participant in producing and disseminating news discourse.