Explanations Of Nominalization From Critical Linguistic Perspective

Many linguists study nominalization based on different linguistic theories and great contributions have been made to the perception of this linguistic phenomenon. This thesis attempts to explain nominalization from critical linguistic perspective systematically. Critical linguistics holds that language in public discourses is not as objective as it seems to be and it conveys implicit ideology in certain contexts. Nominalization is one of the language forms which are appropriate for expressing ideology implicitly. Contextual factors must be taken into consideration in order to reveal the implicit ideology conveyed by nominalization.In this thesis, nominalization is analyzed from four aspects to prove that it is more suitable for conveying ideology implicitly in public discourses. Firstly, it can be used as a type of impersonalisation strategy, through which the agent of a process or an action can be mystified to some extent. Secondly, nominalization can delete the time limitation to a past event, as a result, a time-delimited event becomes a long-lasting state and certain ideologies are conveyed. Thirdly, nominalization can change the information focus of clauses through the interaction of thematic structure and information structure. Finally, nominalization can serve as a presupposition trigger to entice readers into accepting some controversial or even untrue information.The relationship between language forms and ideology is...