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A corpus-based discourse analysis of China’s national image constructed by environmental news in The New York Times

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  • Mei Yang

    (Jilin University)

  • Ziwei Wang

    (Jilin University)

Abstract

The persuasive function of topoi—the conclusion rules connecting the arguments and claims—in national image construction through news discourse has been relatively under-researched. This article presents findings from a corpus-based discourse analysis of 21 China-related environmental news stories in The New York Times to address this gap. The corpus analysis of frequency was utilized to find out recurrent and characteristic topics in the news discourse, while the concordance analysis revealed the discourse prosody in the news stories. Topoi in the reported speech was scrutinized to uncover the persuasive intentions in the coverage and the press’s opinion of China’s pro-environmental actions. The findings demonstrate that China is constructed as a country pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment and a country that is good at showing resolution of governance but with poor governance capacity. The paper suggests that China should spread environmental-related information more transparently using a vigorous international discourse system and diversify means of communication to offer the world more ways to see China’s pro-environmental actions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mei Yang & Ziwei Wang, 2023. "A corpus-based discourse analysis of China’s national image constructed by environmental news in The New York Times," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02052-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02052-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sunyoung Park & Luke M. Western & Takuya Saito & Alison L. Redington & Stephan Henne & Xuekun Fang & Ronald G. Prinn & Alistair J. Manning & Stephen A. Montzka & Paul J. Fraser & Anita L. Ganesan & Ch, 2021. "A decline in emissions of CFC-11 and related chemicals from eastern China," Nature, Nature, vol. 590(7846), pages 433-437, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dongping Wang & Siping Liang, 2024. "Discourse construction of Chinese modernization from the perspective of Malaysian media," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.

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