Intertextual Analysis Of Reported Speeches In Chinese & English News Texts On "Shenzhou V"

Intertextuality, according to Fairclough (1992:84), is basically the property texts have of being full of snatches of other texts, which may be explicitly demarcated or merged in, and which the text may assimilate, contradict, ironically echo and so forth. Though long been recognized and employed by literary critics, intertextuality remains new, both in concept and in application, in the field of linguistics.Actually, intertextuality plays an important role in non-fictional text organization. It not only contributes to texture creation but also camouflages or indicates the relationship among language, power and ideology, often unperceived by the general public. This thesis, relating intertextuality to a form of non-fictional text news report, exams and compares the intertextual patterns of two news reports on "Shenzhou V". The comparison shows different intertextual pattern choices on reporting the same event—the Chinese report selected shows a pattern of echo, indicating approval and celebration; the English one, a pattern of conflict, indicating doubts and disagreement. On the other hand, it is found that both reports, also through intertextual devices such as news sources, reporting modes and reporting verbs, try to absolve direct evaluation and maintain a surface balance.As a result of the current research, the writer concluded that news reports tend to attribute a neutral and popularizing stance on the surface through intertextual devices. However, this superficial objectivity is the camouflage of real subjectivity. On reporting the same event, different intertextual pattern distribution proved any report the product of ideology of its reporter and the institutional organization behind him/her. Different intertextual patterns derive from the influence of different ideologies on news texts.