| Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1-20 |
| Abbreviation: APJCR |
| e-ISSN: 2733-8096 |
| Publication date: 31 August 2022 |
| Received: 30 May 2022 / Received in Revised Form: 1 August 2022 / Accepted: 16 Auguster 2022 |
| DOI: https://doi.org/10.22925/apjcr.2022.3.1.1
|
A corpus-based longitudinal study of diction in Chinese and British news reports on Chang’e Project |
| Rong Lu (Tianshui Normal University / Universiti Putra Malaysia), Xue Xie (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Jiashuang Qi (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Afida Mohamad Ali (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Jie Zhao (Lanzhou Jiaotong University) |
| Copyright 2022 APJCR
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Abstract |
| As a milestone progression in China’s space exploration history, Chang’e Project has attracted a lot of media attention since its first launching. This study aims to examine and compare the similarities and differences between the Chinese media and the British media in using nouns, verbs, and adjectives to report the Chang’e Project. After categorising the documents based on specific project phases, we created two diachronic corpora to explore the linguistic shifts and similarities and differences of diction employed by the Chinese and British media on the Chang’e Project ideology. This longitudinal study was performed with Lancsbox and the CLAWS web tagger through critical discourse analysis as the theoretical framework. The findings of the current study showed that the Chang’e Project coverage in both media increased on an annual basis, especially after 2019. In contrast to the objectivity and positivity in the Chinese Media, the British Media seemed to be more subjective with more appraisal adjectives in the news reports. Nonetheless, both countries were trying to be objective and formal in choosing nouns and verbs. Ideology-wise, the Chinese news media reports portrayed more positivity on domestic circumstances while the British counterpart was typically more critical. Notably, the study outcomes could catalyse future research on the Chang’e Project and facilitate diplomatic policies. |
Keywords |
| Chang’e Project, Corpus-based Study, Diction, Longitudinal, News Discourse |
References |
| Akpan, C. S., Ifeanyi, A. L., Martin, O. P., Alexander, O. C., & Uchenna, A. (2012). Rethinking objectivity in news reporting in the digital age. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 4(4), 711-729.
Canella, G. (2021). Journalistic power: Constructing the “Truth” and the economics of objectivity. Journalism Practice, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2021.1914708. Deng, F. (2020). Computerized corpus keyword approaches to evaluation: A case study of evaluative attitudes of “the Belt and Road” reports in mainstream media of China and America, International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education, DOI: 10.1177/0020720920923303. Fairclough, N. (2013). Language and power 2000. In Candlin, C. N. (Ed.), Language and Power (2nd ed.) (pp. 203-218). London: Routledge. Guanah, J. S., & Obi, I. (2020). Newspaper reportage and objectivity: An examination of newspaper owners’ affiliation to political parties. Edo Journal of Arts Management and Social Science, 2(1), 275-293. Hackett, R. A. (1984). Decline of a paradigm? Bias and objectivity in news media studies. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 1(3), 229-259. Liu, M., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Discursive constructions of scientific (Un) certainty about the health risks of China’s air pollution: A corpus-assisted discourse study. Language & Communication, 60, 1-10. Mayr, A. (2008). Introduction: Power, discourse and institutions. In Mayr, A. (Ed.), Language and Power: An Introduction to Institutional Discourse (pp. 1-25). London: Continuum. McEnery, T., & Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus Linguistics: Method, Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nesler, M. S., Aguinis, H., Quigley, B. M., & Tedeschi, J. T. (1993). The effect of credibility on perceived power. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23(17), 1407-1425. Omotola, J. S. (2009). Nigerian parties and political ideology. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 1(3), 612-634. Sinclair, J. (1991). Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sinclair, J. (2004). Current issues in corpus linguistics. In J. Sinclair & Carter, R. (Eds.), Trust the Text: Language, Corpus and Discourse (pp. 185-193). London: Routledge. Stevenson, A. (Ed.). (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tognini-Bonelli, E. (2001). Corpus Linguistics at Work. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Trask, R. L. (1993). A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics. London: Routledge. van Dijk, T. A. (2013). News Analysis: Case Studies of International and National News in the Press. New York: Routledge. Wang, Q., & Liu, J. (2016). A Chang’e-4 mission concept and vision of future Chinese lunar exploration activities. Acta Astronautica, 127, 678-683. Yu, H., Lu, H., & Hu, J. (2021). A corpus-based critical discourse analysis of news reports on the COVID-19 pandemic in China and the UK. International Journal of English Linguistics, 11(2), 36-45. Zheng, Y., Ouyang, Z., Li, C., Liu, J., & Zou, Y. (2008). China’s lunar exploration program: Present and future. Planetary and Space Science, 56(7), 881-886. |
The Authors |
| Rong Lu is a PhD candidate at Cross Department, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia. She is also working as a Lecturer in Tianshui Normal University, China. She got her master’s degree in linguistics and applied linguistics in Shanghai Maritime University, China. She was also appointed as a visiting scholar in Wuhan University, China from 2015 to 2016. Her research areas include consecutive interpreting, tourism translation, and corpus linguistics.
Xue Xie is a MA student at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research interest lies in corpus linguistics and translation studies. Jiashuang Qi is a MA student at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research interest lies in TESOL. Afida Mohamad Ali is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research areas include Corpus Linguistics, English/Languages for Specific Purposes/Language for the Professions, Applied Linguistics, Text Linguistics, Written Discourse/Genre Analysis. Jie Zhao is a Lecturer in the Department of Foreign Languages at Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Gansu Province, China. She received her master’s degree in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics from Lanzhou Jiaotong University. Her research interests lie in the fields of applied linguistics, discourse analysis and language for specific purpose |
The Authors’ Addresses |
| First Author Rong Lu 1. Lecturer School of Foreign Languages Tianshui Normal University South Xihe Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, 741000, CHINA 2. PhD Student Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang, 43400 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, MALAYSIA E-mail: GS59350@student.upm.edu.my Corresponding Author Co-authors Afida Mohamad Ali Jie Zhao  DOI QR Code |
