Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
The movement for reparations for those enslaved on the North American continent from 1450 to 1866 has a long history fraught with debate, criticized by individuals on both the right and left sides of the political spectrum. Specific points of contention include how much money should be allocated, who the recipients and potential liable parties should be, and what specific form reparations should take. Accounting for this historical opposition, this paper employs a corpus-based discourse analysis to examine the communicative barriers to implementing reparations. The corpora consisted of YouTube comments posted to news reports of six cities’ reparations proposals. I utilized Sketch Engine to examine frequency of keywords, collocations, and concordance, followed by a close-reading discourse analysis of lexical, grammatical, and tonal elements. The analysis revealed myriad constructions of reparations resulting in inertia, the institutional tendency to preserve the status quo. This discursive formation is consequential not only for its implications for reparations, but for broader structural reform efforts.
Category Archives: SAGE Publications: Discourse & Communication
How diabetes forum-users complain about others’ expectations: Troubles-telling and troubles-receiving
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
This article offers a qualitative analysis of two instances of troubles-telling threads on a diabetes forum, with a specific focus on how these instances contribute to constructing a way to manage others’ expectations concerning how persons diagnosed with diabetes control their condition. From the perspective of conversation analysis and discursive psychology, this article shows some recurrent features of both troubles-telling (namely announcement, stake inoculation and self-deprecation) and of troubles-receiving (namely appreciation, second stories, escalation). Our analysis furthermore shows how inadequate expectations from family members are judged differently from those of health professionals. The latter are judged more harshly for what seems a lack of professional competence, whereas the former are more easily pardoned but pose a particular challenge in that patients do not wish to remove these persons from their lives. Through this analysis, we contribute to showing a particularly important function of patient fora, namely allowing patients to tell troubles about others’ expectations and to receive support and advice for these circumstances that put a heavy emotional burden.
This article offers a qualitative analysis of two instances of troubles-telling threads on a diabetes forum, with a specific focus on how these instances contribute to constructing a way to manage others’ expectations concerning how persons diagnosed with diabetes control their condition. From the perspective of conversation analysis and discursive psychology, this article shows some recurrent features of both troubles-telling (namely announcement, stake inoculation and self-deprecation) and of troubles-receiving (namely appreciation, second stories, escalation). Our analysis furthermore shows how inadequate expectations from family members are judged differently from those of health professionals. The latter are judged more harshly for what seems a lack of professional competence, whereas the former are more easily pardoned but pose a particular challenge in that patients do not wish to remove these persons from their lives. Through this analysis, we contribute to showing a particularly important function of patient fora, namely allowing patients to tell troubles about others’ expectations and to receive support and advice for these circumstances that put a heavy emotional burden.
Neoliberal, trouble-free worlds for an aspirational middle-class in Chinese EFL publications: A multimodal critical discourse analysis
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
For most English language learning engagements in expanding circle countries, textbooks play a key role in defining a syllabus and corralling students toward some measure of completion in a course of study. While scholars have shown how English is broadly seen as a prestigious skill, connected with upward socio-economic mobility, less work has been done on the discourses and ideologies carried by the textbooks, even though this is a billion-dollar-a-year industry with titles selling in the millions. Research clearly raises the need for further investigations of the discourses and world views that they carry as they appear in different territories. In this paper, using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, we analyze a corpus of texts books produced domestically within China. In China, English language learning has become a fundamental part of the aspirations of the emerging middle classes, who also tend to consume Western-style products and increasingly take on more individualistic Western-style values. Analysis shows that these textbooks carry language learning activities which combine a gloss of signifiers of more local, cultural ideas embedded in a privileged world inhabited by an aspirational, international middle-class.
For most English language learning engagements in expanding circle countries, textbooks play a key role in defining a syllabus and corralling students toward some measure of completion in a course of study. While scholars have shown how English is broadly seen as a prestigious skill, connected with upward socio-economic mobility, less work has been done on the discourses and ideologies carried by the textbooks, even though this is a billion-dollar-a-year industry with titles selling in the millions. Research clearly raises the need for further investigations of the discourses and world views that they carry as they appear in different territories. In this paper, using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, we analyze a corpus of texts books produced domestically within China. In China, English language learning has become a fundamental part of the aspirations of the emerging middle classes, who also tend to consume Western-style products and increasingly take on more individualistic Western-style values. Analysis shows that these textbooks carry language learning activities which combine a gloss of signifiers of more local, cultural ideas embedded in a privileged world inhabited by an aspirational, international middle-class.
Decoding paradoxical identities: The discourse construction of left-behind children in news reports
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
This paper presents an empirical corpus-based study on the identity of left-behind children in China, employing the discourse-historical approach (DHA) framework. It is the first study to combine Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling and reported speech analysis to examine how China Daily constructs the identity of left-behind children and explore the cultural and rhetorical factors influencing this identity construction. By integrating computational techniques and qualitative analysis methods, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate nature of identity construction for left-behind children. This interdisciplinary approach strengthens the theoretical foundations of media analysis and offers fresh insights into the dynamics of media discourse. The findings reveal that China Daily portrays left-behind children in a multifaceted and diverse manner, encompassing both positive and negative aspects, while placing emphasis on their vulnerability and passivity. Furthermore, the media employs communication techniques such as identification by sympathy, antithesis, and inaccuracy to establish emotional resonance and foster audience identification, ultimately influencing the audience’s perspectives on these children.
This paper presents an empirical corpus-based study on the identity of left-behind children in China, employing the discourse-historical approach (DHA) framework. It is the first study to combine Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling and reported speech analysis to examine how China Daily constructs the identity of left-behind children and explore the cultural and rhetorical factors influencing this identity construction. By integrating computational techniques and qualitative analysis methods, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate nature of identity construction for left-behind children. This interdisciplinary approach strengthens the theoretical foundations of media analysis and offers fresh insights into the dynamics of media discourse. The findings reveal that China Daily portrays left-behind children in a multifaceted and diverse manner, encompassing both positive and negative aspects, while placing emphasis on their vulnerability and passivity. Furthermore, the media employs communication techniques such as identification by sympathy, antithesis, and inaccuracy to establish emotional resonance and foster audience identification, ultimately influencing the audience’s perspectives on these children.
Reading ‘between the lines’: How implicit language helps liberal media survive in authoritarian regimes. The Kommersant Telegram posts case study
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
This case study demonstrates identification, explicitation, and validation of the implicatures found in the Kommersant (Russia) Telegram channel posts. It explores the primary reasons for Kommersant’s implicature use and the language means employed for the creation of the implicature. The contributors to the Kommersant Telegram channel use irony/sarcasm, creative neologisms, wordplay, metaphors, and legally imposed euphemisms for the expression of the implicit meaning. The use of implicatures is mainly motivated by the authors’ desire for self-protection and cooperation. Kommersant’s implicit language also contributes towards the creation of a circle of loyal readers who may enjoy explicitating the implicatures so as to feel they belong to a specific socio-political group. The multi-stage perceptual analysis substantiates the assumption that readers with prior knowledge of Kommersant’s style are more sensitive to its implicatures. The report also concludes that at times of rigid war-time media regulation in Russia, Kommersant’s reporters use a code of implicit expressions as a means to preserve a certain objectivity in their reporting and to maintain their loyal readership.
This case study demonstrates identification, explicitation, and validation of the implicatures found in the Kommersant (Russia) Telegram channel posts. It explores the primary reasons for Kommersant’s implicature use and the language means employed for the creation of the implicature. The contributors to the Kommersant Telegram channel use irony/sarcasm, creative neologisms, wordplay, metaphors, and legally imposed euphemisms for the expression of the implicit meaning. The use of implicatures is mainly motivated by the authors’ desire for self-protection and cooperation. Kommersant’s implicit language also contributes towards the creation of a circle of loyal readers who may enjoy explicitating the implicatures so as to feel they belong to a specific socio-political group. The multi-stage perceptual analysis substantiates the assumption that readers with prior knowledge of Kommersant’s style are more sensitive to its implicatures. The report also concludes that at times of rigid war-time media regulation in Russia, Kommersant’s reporters use a code of implicit expressions as a means to preserve a certain objectivity in their reporting and to maintain their loyal readership.
Credibility in corporate testimonial videos: Addressed from a combined interactional and multimodal semiotic perspective
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
The article reports a study of corporate testimonial videos from a Danish tech SME. The aim of the study is to show how combining Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis (EMCA) and Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) may provide new insight into the persuasive appeal of corporate testimonial videos. The study uses EMCA to demonstrate how participants interactionally construct a position of credibility and authenticity from which to deliver the recommendation. It uses MCDA to show how the interaction is integrated into a larger set of multimodally constructed meanings with a specific strategic communicative purpose, specifically how visual and editorial choices contribute to the credibility of the videos by creating a sense that viewers are watching a spontaneous (online) conversation rather than a staged corporate video. The article concludes that the videos construct credibility by providing access to a curated backstage region which viewers are invited to understand as ‘authentic’ and ‘unedited’.
The article reports a study of corporate testimonial videos from a Danish tech SME. The aim of the study is to show how combining Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis (EMCA) and Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) may provide new insight into the persuasive appeal of corporate testimonial videos. The study uses EMCA to demonstrate how participants interactionally construct a position of credibility and authenticity from which to deliver the recommendation. It uses MCDA to show how the interaction is integrated into a larger set of multimodally constructed meanings with a specific strategic communicative purpose, specifically how visual and editorial choices contribute to the credibility of the videos by creating a sense that viewers are watching a spontaneous (online) conversation rather than a staged corporate video. The article concludes that the videos construct credibility by providing access to a curated backstage region which viewers are invited to understand as ‘authentic’ and ‘unedited’.
Book review: Hazel Price and Dan McIntyre (eds), Communicating Linguistics: Language, Community and Public Engagement
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
Book review: Andreas Musolff, Ruth Breeze, Kayo Kondo and Sara Vilar-Lluch (eds), Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
Book review: Gwen Bouvier and Joel Rasmussen, Qualitative Research Using Social Media
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
Book review: Gordon C Chang, Revolution and Witchcraft: The Code of Ideology in Unsettled Times
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.