CHOVANEC, Jan. The Role of Nationality Contrasts in the Discursive Construction of an Ingroup Member: the Woodward Case in the Telegraph. Brno Studies in English. Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně, vol. 33, -, p. 27-44. ISSN 0524-6881. 2007.
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Basic information
Original name The Role of Nationality Contrasts in the Discursive Construction of an Ingroup Member: the Woodward Case in the Telegraph
Name in Czech Role národnostních kontrastů v diskurzivní konstrukci příslušníka vlastní skupiny: Případ Louise Woodwardové v Telegrafu
Authors CHOVANEC, Jan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
Edition Brno Studies in English, Brno, Masarykova univerzita v Brně, 2007, 0524-6881.
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Article in a journal
Field of Study 60200 6.2 Languages and Literature
Country of publisher Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
WWW Digitální knihovna FF MU
RIV identification code RIV/00216224:14210/07:00020558
Organization unit Faculty of Arts
Keywords (in Czech) sociální kategorizace; komunikační strategie; kritická analýza diskurzu; mediální diskurz
Keywords in English ingroup; ideological square; social categorisation; referential strategy; predicative strategy; Louise Woodward; discourse analysis; media discourse; bias
Tags bias, Discourse Analysis, ideological square, ingroup, Louise Woodward, media discourse, predicative strategy, referential strategy, social categorisation
Tags International impact, Reviewed
Changed by Changed by: Mgr. Vendula Hromádková, učo 108933. Changed: 10/4/2016 11:51.
Abstract
Social categorisation, as a process in which individuals are assigned certain values and qualities, is a context-dependent activity in which discourse (as a means of purposeful and goal-oriented communication through language) draws on various referential and predicational strategies. This process often involves the discursive construction of two mutually opposed groups - the ingroup and the outgroup, which are subject to affective treatment: typically positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation. This article documents the gradual positive presentation of an ingroup member charged with a criminal act in a foreign country, as identified in continued reporting of the case in the Electronic Telegraph. From a potentially deviant individual, and thus a possible representative of an outgroup comprising negatively perceived 'criminals' (be they convicted or suspected), the English au-pair Louise Woodward was re-constructed into a non-deviant member of the ingroup and assigned positive values. This was a gradual process, in which a heavy use was made of nationality contrasts underlying the polarisation into the contrasting groups of 'us' vs 'them'. As regards the utilization of the nationality contrasts, they provided the initial impetus for covering the story thanks to its newsworthiness. Then they were exploited in order to point out the alleged mistreatment of an ingroup member by the outgroup and, eventually were combined with several positive stereotypes about the ingroup. In their aggregate, these strategies resulted in a redefinition of the issue: the seeming reversal of blame and the tendency to present the main news actor as a multiple victim of numerous other agents and circumstances.
Abstract (in Czech)
Tento článek se zabývá lingvistickou kategorizací, tj. procesem, kdy jsou jedincům připisovány hodnoty a vlastnosti jako výsledek různých referenčních a predikačních strategií. Tento proces často spočívá v diskurzivní konstrukci dvou vzájemně prokladných skupin MY vs. ONI. Článek ilustruje dynamickou roli médií v konstrukci jednotlivců na případě Louise Woodwardové, která byla původně kategorizována jako příslušník skupiny ONI (hlavně z titulu osoby podezřelé ze spáchání trestného činu), ovšem postupem času začala být její konstrukce měněna do podoby nedeviantního člena skupiny MY s tím, že začala být věnována pozornost pozitivním stránkám jejího případu. V důsledku diskurzivních strategií užitých masmédii dochází k přesunu viny a prezentaci Woodwardové jako vícenásobné oběti nejrůznějších osob a okolností.
Links
GA405/07/0652, research and development projectName: Integrace v jazycích - jazyky v integraci
Investor: Czech Science Foundation, Integration in Languages - Languages in integration
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