Building on existing research on self-referencing persuasion and narrative health communication, this study examined the persuasive effects of a linguistic message strategy-narrative point of view-and assessed the effects of first-person point of view as compared to third-person point of view. Web-based experimental results (N = 222) showed that the first-person point of view brought about higher levels of character identification and perceived susceptibility than third-person point of view, while the two points of view were equally effective in evoking transportation, self- referencing, and perceived severity. The results also indicated that self-referencing fully mediated the positive relationship between transportation/identification and perceived susceptibility. Yet self-referencing showed no significant impact on perceived severity, whereas more transportation/identification directly led to more perceived severity. Theoretical and practical recommendations are provided for health practitioners, and social media health campaigns

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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: China‘s rise as an economic superpower has had important consequences for its relations with African countries over the past 10-15 years. Not only were these relations thoroughly reviewed and significantly increased, but China also adopted a new cooperation policy that its administration describes as being based on mutual benefits and win-win economic collaboration. However, there is a sceptical public opinion in Africa and also in some developed countries about China‘s current engagement with African countries, and in particular with countries from the sub-Saharan region. In fact, China is frequently accused of acting as a new colonizing power and of increasing its relations with African countries simply as a strategy to achieve higher power-politics status and to structure a new global economic order. The present study addresses the question of whether China‘s official discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2010 contains any grounds for the sceptical public opinion mentioned above. In more concrete terms, the main objective of the study is to determine from a linguistic perspective, and more specifically from a critical discourse analysis point of view, whether there are any overt or covert messages of power and ideology in China‘s discourse to sub-Saharan African countries which could justify the sceptical public opinion about China‘s current engagement in this part of the continent . The texts representing China‘s discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries that are examined for this study comprise official speeches, statements, and other related official documents delivered by Chinese officials in the period 2000-2010, and published in English on the websites of various institutions, including China‘s official websites. These texts are examined from within the framework of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) as set out by, specifically, Wodak (2001a). The texts are analysed using the DHA three-dimensional procedure consisting of (i) identifying the Content(s) and Topic(s) of the specific discourse, (ii) investigating the discursive strategies used in the specific texts, and (iii) analysing the linguistic means and the specific context-dependent linguistic realizations. On the one hand, the analysis of the Discourse Topics indicates that the relations between China and sub-Saharan African countries are grounded in China‘s pluralist approach to international affairs. From this perspective, then, it could be argued that China‘s current engagement in sub-Saharan Africa does not warrant the sceptical public opinion mentioned earlier. On the other hand, however, the analysis of the discursive strategies used to represent China and sub-Saharan African countries, indicates that such sceptisism is likely warranted. The relations between China and African countries have predominantly been investigated from economic and political perspectives. However, the manner in which these relations are expressed, implied, negotiated, interpreted, distributed, etc. in discourse has not yet received any systematic attention. The present study was therefore undertaken to contribute, from a linguistic perspective, to the knowledge of and the debate about China‘s current engagement in Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: China se opgang as ‘n ekonomiese supermoondheid het belangrike gevolge gehad vir sy betrekkinge met Afrikalande oor die afgelope 10-15 jaar. China het hierdie betrekkinge deeglik hersien en beduidend uitgebrei, en het daarby ook ‘n nuwe samewerkingsbeleid aanvaar wat volgens sy administrasie gegrond is op wedersydse voordele en wen-wen ekonomiese samewerking. Daar is nietemin ‘n skeptiese openbare mening in Afrika en ook in sommige ontwikkelde lande oor China se huidige verbintenis met Afrikalande, en in die besonder met lande van die sub-Sahara streek. Trouens, China word gereeld daarvan beskuldig dat hy optree soos ‘n nuwe koloniale moondheid, en dat sy verhoogde betrekkinge met Afrikalande bloot ‘n strategie is om groter magspolitieke status te bekom en om ‘n nuwe globale ekonomiese struktuur daar te stel. Die huidige studie fokus op die vraag of China se amptelike diskoers oor sy betrekkinge met sub-Sahara Afrikalande vanaf 2000 tot 2010 enige gronde bied vir die genoemde skeptiese openbare mening. In meer konkrete terme, is die hoofoogmerk van die studie om vanuit ‘n taalwetenskaplike perspektief, en meer spesifiek vanuit die oogpunt van kritiese diskoersanalise, vas te stel of China se diskoers met sub-Sahara Afrika enige overte of koverte boodskappe van mag en ideologie bevat wat kan dien as regverdiging vir die skeptiese openbare mening oor China se huidige betrokkenheid in hierdie deel van die kontinent. In die studie word ‘n verskeidenheid tekste ontleed wat verteenwoordigend is van China se diskoers oor sy betrekkinge met sub-Sahara Afrikalande. Dié tekste sluit amptelike toesprake, verklarings en verwante dokumente van Chinese amptenare in wat gelewer is in die tydperk 2000-2010, en wat in Engels gepubliseer is op die webwerwe van verskeie instellings, insluitend China se amptelike webwerwe. Die tekste word ondersoek binne die raamwerk van die Diskoers-Historiese Benadering (DHB) soos uiteengesit in, spesifiek, Wodak (2001a). Die analise van die tekste volg die DHB se drie-dimensionele prosedure, wat die volgende inhou: (i) identifisering van die Inhoud(e) en Onderwerp(e) van die spesifieke diskoers, (ii) analise van die diskursiewe strategieë wat gebruik word in die spesifieke tekste, en (iii) analise van die talige middele en die spesifieke konteks-afhanklike talige realiserings. Aan die een kant dui die analise van die Diskoers Onderwerpe daarop dat die betrekkinge tussen China en sub-Sahara Afrikalande gebaseer is op China se pluralistiese benadering tot internasionale sake. Vanuit hierdie perspektief kan daar dus geargumenteer word dat China se huidige betrokkenheid in sub-Sahara Afrika nie gronde bied vir die skeptiese openbare mening wat hierbo genoem is nie. Aan die ander kant, egter, dui die analise van die diskursiewe strategieë wat aangewend word in die voorstelling van China en sub-Sahara Afrikalande daarop dat daar waarskynlik wel gronde is vir sulke skeptisisme. Die betrekkinge tussen China en Afrikalande is tot dusver merendeels vanuit ekonomiese en politieke perspektiewe ondersoek. Die wyse waarop sulke betrekkinge uitgedruk, geïmpliseer, onderhandel, geïnterpreteer, versprei, ens. word in diskoers, is egter nog nie sistematies ondersoek nie. Die huidige studie is gevolglik onderneem om, vanuit ‘n taalwetenskaplike perspektief, ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die kennis van en die debat oor China se huidige betrokkenheid in Afrika.

by Chu Yiu Wai, Stephen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 316-336). / Acknowledgments --- p.ii / Chapter Chapter One --- "Introduction: The Politics of an ""Other"" Critical Discourse" --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- "Interpretation, Textuality, Paradox: Towards an ""Other"" Reading Position" --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter Three --- De/Formation of the Hermeneutical Framework in Chinese-Western Comparative Discourse --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Reading Feminist Reading and a Critique of Chinese Critical Discourse --- p.129 / Chapter Chapter Five --- The Problem of Reading in Contemporary Chinese Critics: Three Exemplary Positions --- p.170 / Chapter i. --- James J.Y. Liu --- p.172 / Chapter ii. --- Stephen Owen --- p.208 / Chapter iii. --- Wai-lim Yip --- p.227 / Chapter Chapter Six --- "An ""Other"" Conclusion: Towards an Oppositional Reading in the (Post)Colonial Context" --- p.257 / Select Bibliography --- p.316 / Glossary --- p.337

This present study examines the structural impact of language contact on discourse information marking in narrative. It focuses on the surface patterns and underlying linguistic principles used to describe the foregrounding events in traditional and modem short stories, written in Indonesian (the official language of Indonesia) and Sundanese (the native language of West Java province). These two languages have been in an intensive contact since 1945.The data indicate that aspect sets apart background from foreground, whereas tense distinguishes ordinary from significant within the background and foreground levels. Cross-linguistically, the ordinary background information appears in existential, stative, and progressive constructions, marked by the underlying past-tense and imperfective aspect; the significant background and significant foreground types occur in a direct speech and/or direct quote, with the underlying Historical Present. Besides signaling a switch from the past-tense to the HP, the direct speech or direct quote also marks a shift in deixis, distal to proximal. The ordinary foreground information, containing events that advance the story, appears in the underlying past-tense and perfective aspect.The surface markings of the ordinary foreground events, however, are different. In the traditional and modern Indonesian data, these events are dominantly depicted in the active-voice structure. The traditional and modern Sundanese texts, on the other hand, show two different dominant surface marking patterns: the KA (particle) and the active-voice constructions respectively. This appears as a shift in the surface marking strategy attributed to the Indonesian structural influence. The KA- to active voice surface-marking strategy shift indicates the change from the KA + Topic – Comment pattern to the Subject – Predicate structure, suggesting the adoption of the SVX word-order pattern. This affects not only the pragmatic relations of the constituents in an utterance, but also the marking of given-new information distinction.The study demonstrates that the KA to active-voice marking shift in the modern Sundanese data is mitigated by the long-term language contact with Indonesian. Follow-up investigations with varied narrative themes and oral speech data are warranted. Since the shift also appears to indicate the authors' unbalanced bilingual skills, it raises an issue pertinent to the current teaching of Sundanese in the West-Javanese provincial curriculum. / Department of English

abstract: This study tests the hypothesis and assumption of much critical scholarship that the discourse of mass media news transmits prejudicial ideologies to news consumers, influencing the way they think about social justice issues and non-dominant groups in American society, including immigrants, women, and African-Americans. Taking off from the motivations and premises of Critical Discourse Analysis concerning language, power, and ideology, this study aims to extend that paradigm in several ways by applying the analytic techniques of cognitive and critical linguistics to uncover implicit representations in biased discourse. This study also goes beyond previous work by examining the reader comments on media texts to understand how the media’s discourse was received and interpreted, with a focus on the covert transmission of ideological messages. The results reveal how ideologies of prejudice are communicated implicitly through media discourse and how readers’ own ideologies influence that process, as evidenced by their comments. As a study in Critical Discourse Analysis, this study uncovers abuses of power impacting social justice – in this case, the power of writing for the mass media to mold American minds, and therefore influence Americans’ behavior, including elections. Specific news articles from the American networks CNN and Fox were chosen on each of two topics for their relevance to current sociopolitical issues of prejudice and social justice: the US Supreme Court June 2018 decision to uphold the Trump administration “travel ban” and the January 2019 Gillette advertisement, considered controversial for its seemingly feminist criticism of male behavior. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2019

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

How do the Swedish police get represented in news media and how does that representation differentiate from other media channels where the police have full control over what is said? Through a discourse analysis of news texts and extracts from the police own webpage and Facebook page, we claim that the discourse in newspapers and the discourse on the webpage and Facebook page is pretty much the same, only packaged differently.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Humanities / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study examines the language situation in the media discourse on The Opposite Direction, al-Jazeera’s flagship talk show hosted by Faisal al-Qasim. It investigates the phenomenon of code-switching between Standard Arabic and different spoken vernaculars during the talk exchange. Theories of code-switching proposed by Gumperz, Giles, and Myers-Scotton et al. are introduced after the history of Arabic discourse analysis is briefly discussed. In order to explain under what conditions code-switching happens, I choose to observe and analyze instances of code-switching in four episodes of the program, focusing on the communicative functions and motivations for language choice. The applicability of relevant theories is examined to find the theories that best account for speakers’ engaging in code-switching in the pan-Arab media discourse. / text