Journal of Language and Politics - Volume 19, Issue 4, 2020

Abstract

This article examines the interactional functions of the so-prefaced answer, when used by interviewees in news and other political discussion broadcasts. Using the methods of conversation analysis, based on a data corpus of recent broadcasts from British mainstream television, the analysis shows that the so-preface functions in a cluster of related ways within the question-answer discourse structure of the political news interview. Specifically, it is used to reset or reframe the prior question from a standpoint of epistemic authority, enabling the interviewee to answer on their terms rather than the interviewer’s.

Abstract

This study adopts a discourse analytical approach to examine the contested identity of the Igbos of the southeast of Nigeria. It analyses the significance of the social and political discourses in the media and the Internet about their claim to the Jewish ancestry and as “Biafrans” rather than Nigerians. The study highlights the implications of these claims and their larger political implications for Nigeria. The study also shows that ideological construction of group identity by IPOB consistently portrays them as the victim and the marginalized. And their claim to Jewish ancestry is possibly a way of seeking foreign support.

Abstract

Politicians often quote opponents in political debates so as to highlight contradictions between the opponents’ prior statements and their current political actions, thus construing their political character negatively. From a dialogic perspective, reported speech, alternatively termed “extra-vocalisation”, can be defined as a tool used by speakers to deny alternative points of view and justify their own positions, while simultaneously positioning the audience in agreement with the speaker’s own views. Drawing on this notion of extra-vocalisation, the current study analyses a Japanese political debate to show how politicians use different types of voice to validate their own political ideologies and devalue opposing views. In doing so, the study also identifies the relevant linguistic resources of Japanese in order to show how dialogic positioning via extra-vocalisation is manifested in Japanese, and highlight the fact each language provides its own resources to convey such meanings.

Abstract

This paper examines the code choice and contestations on street name signs in China to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, Hanyu Pinyin and English compete for visibility on street signs, though only Pinyin is the legally-endorsed alphabetic form for place names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model is adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street name signs in Chinese cities. It shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as domestic standard fused with national interests in the official discourse, while English win the favour of the general public and some international-oriented cities due to its pragmatic value and the symbolic capital associated with it. The resilient approach taken by the top authority suggests that the traditional model of language management relying on political authority and ideological hegemony is hard to work its way out nowadays.

Abstract

The paper compares the representation of the November 2017 missile test in news reports by The New York Times and China Daily. The U.S. reports embody to some extent a Cold War mindset by tending to internationalize the issue and make itself appear as a victim of the crisis. Through the attribution of blame, the U.S. seeks to evade its responsibilities and maintain its hegemonic status. The Chinese reports intimate that the crisis is mainly a problem between the U.S. and the Korean Peninsula. These reports tend to present China as a responsible stakeholder seeking to help solve the issue through communication and dialogue. The analysis of these differences is informed theoretically by perceived differences in culture. The paper concludes that the discourse patterns of these reports index a rising China and a shift in the balance of power in international politics.

Abstract

As expressions without clear definition but with strong normative charging, empty signifiers play an important role in political discourse. Uniting diverse populations under a common banner and endowing political demands with self-evident legitimacy, they constitute a potent tool for rallying support for political action. Among empty signifiers, one particularly versatile construct are ‘the people’ as bearers of ultimate political legitimacy. In this paper, we investigate how ‘the people’ are constructed in propagandistic conflict narratives during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, imbuing the concept with different meanings in the pursuit of competing political ends. We show how ‘the people’ are constructed as democratic sovereign, enduring nation, moral humans or dispersed media publics, each time summoning different kinds of legitimacy and using different strategies to construct encompassing consensus and marginalize dissent. We discuss implications for the study of ideological discourse, populism and political communication.

Abstract

The article examines two key-speeches given by Greek PMs, at crucial junctures of the Greek crisis, both aiming to legitimize austerity programs to the Greek population. The speeches by Papandreou (Socialists) and Tsipras (Radical Left) represent critical moments of the crisis as the two PMs prepared to annul their pre-election promises for a cessation of austerity. Within a CDS framework, we combine Systemic-Functional and Cognitive-Linguistic perspectives to demonstrate that both speeches, contrary to depoliticized/technocratic (neoliberal) discourse, converge on the construction of a discourse that privileges ‘the people/nation’ while, contrary to left-populist discourse, obscure any references to ‘the-establishment’. We, thus, offer evidence of how left-wing discourses (of both established socialists and radical left) publicly (pro-)claim the reconfiguration of social-democracy while, in fact, capitulating to market demands for neoliberal austerity policies. Findings corroborate the view that real social-democracy has been neutered at the European level.

This article reviews Imagining the Peoples of Europe. Populist discourses across the political spectrum

This article reviews Cyprus and its Conflicts: Representations, Materialities and Cultures978-1-78533-724-6$135.00/£99.00978-1-78533-725-3$34.95/£21.80

This article reviews Migration and Media. Discourses about identities in crisis97890272024759789027262707

This article reviews Populist Discourse: International Perspectives978-3-319-97387-6€91.62

This article reviews Queering Language, Gender and Sexuality13 9781781794944£ 29.95