Critical Discourse Analysis Based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics: Taking The Economist’s First Commentation on the End of China’s Zero-COVID Policy as an Example

Based on Halliday’s systemic functional grammar,especially the ideational function,this research aims at disclosing the hidden ideologies and values of the seemingly objective news reports on China’s COVID-19 policies in The Economist.Transitivity,voice,and nominalization are the major analytical subjects.After China lifted the zero-COVID policy,western media began criticizing China’s lack of data sharing,with some misinformation and misleading reports.The denouncement of inertness and reluctance to fight against the pandemic disclaim the Chinese government’s efforts and depreciate China’s image.China is portrayed as the villain and destroyer of people’s health worldwide.Meanwhile,they also hold a hesitant attitude toward China’s diplomacy.The re-engaging with foreign countries and travel restrictions have been described as imprudent and rushed actions.They also consider China as the fuse of contradiction in the United Nations.What is overt is their view of breaking up China.

Generalization of the linguistic aggregation operator and its application in decision making

A generalization of the linguistic aggregation functions （or operators） is presented by using generalized and quasiarithmetic means. Firstly, the linguistic weighted generalized mean （LWGM） and the linguistic generalized ordered weighted averaging （LGOWA） operator are introduced. These aggregation functions use linguistic information and generalized means in the weighted average （WA） and in the ordered weighted averaging （OWA） function. They are very useful for uncertain situations where the available information cannot be assessed with numerical values but it is possible to use linguistic assessments. These aggregation operators generalize a wide range of aggregation operators that use linguistic information such as the linguistic generalized mean （LGM）, the linguistic OWA （LOWA） operator and the linguistic or- dered weighted quadratic averaging （LOWQA） operator. We also introduce a further generalization by using quasi-arithmetic means instead of generalized means obtaining the quasi-LWA and the quasi-LOWA operator. Finally, we develop an application of the new approach where we analyze a decision making problem regarding the selection of strategies.

An Exploration of the English Reading Instruction Model with a Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective

Reading is an important channel for students to acquire knowledge and information.Therefore,exploring an effective reading instructional model to improve students’reading ability is one of the main goals of today’s university English teaching.The model of English reading instruction based on the theory of systemic functional linguistics is designed to study how teachers can apply this theory to the teaching of reading in order to improve students’reading comprehension.

Systemic Functional Linguistics’ Influence on the Communicative Approach

As the founder of systemic functional linguistics,Halliday once said the driving force of producing his linguistictheories is of education.Therefore,his theories have a great influ-ence on foreign language teaching and inspire the creation ofsome new teaching theories and methods.And this paper focuseson the influence produced by systemic functional linguistics up-on the communicative approach.

A Tentative Study of Translation Evaluation System of Chinese Classical Poetry Form: From the Perspective of Functional Linguistics

Chinese classical poetry is the special form of literature. The translated texts of various qualities hinder the foreign read-ers from appreciating of CCP and even from correctly understanding of the Chinese unique culture, which presents obstacles to thetransmission of Chinese great culture. Tentatively establishing an evaluation system of CCP from the perspective of functional lin-guistics,based on three meta-functions proposed by Halliday, by applying the translation evaluation system, the quality of six trans-lated versions of 清明, a poem by Du Mu are assessed. By this case study, it is intended to prove the feasibility and practicability ofthis translation evaluation system, and then provide the suggestions on bettering the translated versions.

The Construction of PLA Image in China’s Official Discourse From the Perspective of Positive Discourse Analysis——Based on Government Work Reports Over the Last 15 Years

Government Work Report is essential for domestic and international understanding of China’s national conditions.This paper selects the national defense section in Government Work Reports released by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China over the last fifteen years from 2009 to 2023 as an example of China’s official discourse.From the perspective of positive discourse analysis,the theory of three meta-functions of language proposed by M.A.K.Halliday in Systemic Functional Linguistics is used in this article in terms of transitivity,appraisal,mood,modality,and theme to explore the constructing of the People’s Liberation Army(PLA)image.This study finds that,by using the goals and circumstances with optimistic meaning in material processes,adopting more appreciation in attitude,applying more declaratives in mood,utilizing modal operators with high modulation,and implicit objective modal adjuncts,and employing government-focused themes,China’s official discourse objectively and authentically conveys a positive image of the brave and just PLA both at home and abroad which advocates itself to peace-keeping,and mission-fulfilling.

A Contrastive Analysis of Same-Topic News Reports in Chinese and American Mainstream Media

Based on ideational,interpersonal,and textual metafunctions in systemic functional linguistics(SFL),a contrastive analysis is carried out on two same-topic news reports of Chinese and American main stream media.Two reports from the People’s Daily and CNN are analyzed in terms of the lexical-grammatical systems(transitivity,mood and modality,and theme)realizing the three corresponding metafunctions to compare Chinese and American media reports on the same event.Results show that the two reports deploy different transitivity processes,but indicate similarity in the uses of mood and thematic choices.There are also respective preferences for reporting the sametopic news:CNN focuses on the whole process of the incident,the report being relatively objective and fair without obvious emotional bias,while the report of People’s Daily is relatively comprehensive,analyzing the incident from various angles,and playing a positive role in guiding public opinion.

SFL Analyses of Slaughterhouse-Five

It analyses an excerpt from the post-modern novel Slaughterhouse-Five from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics.Through transitivity analysis and cohesion analysis,it finds that the novelist Kurt Vonnegut uses passive voice and the image of the moon to enhance the passivity and insanity of the anti-hero Bill Pilgrim respectively.Moreover,the fact that there is only one conjunction helps to form the feature of fragmentedness of the postmodern novel.

Discourse Analysis of Taylor Swift’s“Look What You Made Me Do”—From the Perspective of Multimodal Metaphor and the Formal Level of SFL Basis

Multimodal discourse analysis is a relatively new area of study and has received great attention these years.Relative studies have also made development in recent years concerning advertisement,classroom education,political speech,and commer⁃cial events,but few have stepped into the music domain.This paper made use of Taylor Swift’s hit single“Look What You Made Me Do”to explore multimodal discourse analysis on music from the perspective of multimodal metaphor and the formal level of sys⁃temic functional linguistics(SFL),and to reveal the relationship between its lyric,tune,and music video,which shows how these multimodal discourse interrelated and coordinated to express the producer’s meaning,attitude,and ideas.

A Brief Introduction to Genre Analysis

This paper first discussed the concept of genre,and then introduced three schools to genre analysis which are Systematic Functional Linguistics(SFL),English for Specific Purposes(ESP) and New Rhetoric.The characteristics and general description of them were given.Finally,the paper introduced the seven ways to analyze unfamiliar genres proposed by Bhatia(1993).

An Analysis of Logico-Semantic and Cohesive Relations in Chinese EFL Students’Writing Samples

More recently,in China,some EFL teachers have produced textbooks with genre-based discourses as primary teaching units,which is different from those that use the traditional writing pedagogies based on either the process writing approach to on the Grammar Translation Method.On the basis of this previous point in relation to the research,therefore,the paper aims to analyze eight EFL student writing samples of TEM 4 that were written as part of class requirements in China that were produced by texttype or genre pedagogies,and to examine and interpret the language features and cohesive relations based on the theory of System⁃atic Functional Linguistics.This paper shows an analysis of logico-semantic and cohesive relations conducted from Chinese EFL students’writing samples in the real classroom to help college students have a well-organized pieces of writing based on different genres.

An inter-semiotic analysis of ideational meaning in text-prompted AI-generated images

This paper explores the inter-semiotic analysis of the ideational meaning in images generated by the text-to-image AI tool,Bing Image Creator.It adopts Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design as its theoretical framework as the original grounding of the framework in systemic functional grammar(SFG)ensures a solid theoretical basis for undertaking analyses that involve the incorporation of textual and visual components.The integration of an AI generative model within the analytical framework enables a systematic connection between language and visual representations.This incorporation offers the potential to generate well-regulated pictorial representations that are systematically grounded in controlled textual prompts.This approach introduces a novel avenue for re-examining inter-semiotic processes,leveraging the power of AI technology.The paper argues that visual representations possess unique structural devices that surpass the limitations of verbal or written communication as they readily accommodate larger amounts of information in contrast to the limitations of the linear nature of alphabetic writing.Moreover,this paper extends its contribution by critically evaluating specific aspects of the Grammar of Visual Design.

Functional Language Analysis:A Linguistically-informed Approach to Content Area Reading Instruction

As the educational knowledge that students have to learn becomes more specialized and complex in colleges and universities,the language that constructs such knowledge also becomes more technical,dense,abstract and complex.In order to effectively engage with the texts of disciplinary learning,college students must develop new reading skills and strategies that go beyond those they have learned in the elementary and secondary schools.This article describes an approach to content area reading instruction,Functional Language Analysis,that enables teachers to help their students comprehend and critique the advanced texts of tertiary schooling.

GRADUATION in Play with Other Systems of Meaning in the Enactment of Interpersonal Relations

Over the past two decades the quantity and scope of research drawing on the system of APPRAISAL in SFL has massively expanded.It is reasonable to claim that the majority of these studies have foregrounded the subsystems of ATTITUDE and ENGAGEMENT.Our aim in contributing to this special issue celebrating two decades of APPRAISAL research is to focus on the subsystem of GRADUATION.We do so in descriptive accounts of three studies exploring the role of GRADUATION in the enactment of social relations and the building of affiliative communities.The intended contribution is two-fold.Together the studies provide an indication of the progressive development and application of this dimension of SFL theory.Specifically they range from analyses of written academic discourse to the semiosis of body language,and studies of English to Khorchin Mongolian.While each study foregrounds the interpersonal function of GRADUATION we do not suggest that one can attend to this in isolation.The thread that unites the studies is an emphasis on the ways in which expressions of GRADUATION always co-instantiate or couple with choices in other systems in the enactment of social relations,with different kinds of coupling differently supporting bonds for affiliation.

从功能语言学角度对《清明》及英译文的主位、主题系统分析

1、引言 对于古诗的英译及其评论,译界至今没有一个统一的标准.本文拟从功能语言学的主位,主题系统对<清明>一诗的信息结构进行更深入的讨论,说明我们对古诗英译的研究除了文学批评和文学翻译的角度,可以从功能语言学出发,寻找更多更新的视角,有理有据地审视古诗的英译. ……

Aspects of Transitivity in Select Social Transformation Discourse in Nigeria

This article examines transitivity in the mediatised discourse of social transformation in Nigeria.Data for the study comprises texts on aspects of social transformation campaigns in Nigeria in the context of democracy,anti-corruption crusades,insecurity,and domestic violence.The data was drawn from speeches,radio commentaries,jingles,printed texts,interviews,tweets,and online newspaper comments about government actors and non-government actors covering the period between March 2013 to March 2018.This five-year span was informed by a wide gamut of negative realities in the nation which led to increased mediatisation of social transformation messages.The analysis of data is hinged on the transitivity system espoused in Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis by Fairclough(1989;revised 2015)and Machin and Mayr(2012).Data analysis revealed that the different participants in the discourse deployed material processes,relational processes,and mental processes to negotiate the social transformation challenge and agenda in Nigeria.The presentation of the agents in relation to the processes in the discourse reflected positive in-group representation and negative-other representation for legitimation and manipulation.The study concludes that transitivity is a veritable tool in the discourse that primarily serves in foregrounding social problems in Nigeria while also affording social participation.