An Analysis Of English Science And Technology News Report From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

Appraisal Theory is a new development of Systemic Functional Linguistics. In1990s, James. R. Martin---the linguist of Sydney University in Australia put forwardthe theory framework of Appraisal Theory. In the process of the theory’s development,many scholars modified it continuously and applied it to analyze all kinds of texts, suchas advertisements, news, speeches, literatures, etc, in order to discover how it reflectsthe opinions, attitudes and standpoints of speakers/writers.The development of science and technology has made our life become morecolorful, and news is the key channel to provide us with information and keep usinformed of what is happening now. Science and technology news are rich in appraisalresources, but few studies have been made. The present thesis is a study of the scienceand technology news report from the perspective of Appraisal Theory. The aim of thestudy is to explore the appraisal distribution in science news report and then summarizethe appraisal features of science and technology news. It is hoped that the results of thepresent study will help second language learners understand this kind of news better. Inthe present thesis, the writer tries to find the answers to the following research questions:(1) What is the distribution of Appraisal resources in English science and technologynews?(2) What are the Appraisal features in English science and technology news?On the basis of Appraisal Theory, this research combines quantitative andqualitative research methods to explore the distribution of appraisal resources in the30texts the author selected randomly from the BBC news website and discover theappraisal features in these materials. Statistic analysis is conducted to obtain and explainthe distribution of various appraisal resources, and qualitative analysis is mainlyrealized by means of detailed examination of appraisal resources in those selected newsreports.After the analysis of the special distribution of science and technology news, theappraisal features of this kind of news are found:1. As for the three subsystems of Attitude resources, The Appreciation resourcesoccupy57%of total Attitude resources, and then the affect resources (33%), in all theAttitude resources, judgment resources take the least percentage of the total. As far asthe Attitude system is concerned, the reporters tend to use some positive words toexpress the impact of new inventions or the valuation of the inventions or the process of things with little psychology, feeling and emotions being presented.2.Engagement resources occur more than others in the samples. By employingthem, the reporter can avoid absolute subjectivity when expressing his opinions. Thereare more expand resources than contract resources in the samples for the reporter canimport external sources to open up dialogic space to negotiate with the readers. Thetable5.6shows that attribute resources occupy the largest percentage, with disclaim(23%), entertain (17%) and proclaim (14%).3Concerning the two subcategories of Graduation, Force sources obviouslyoutweigh Focus to a large extent. Besides, most of the graduation cases are concernedwith number, mass and extent of time or space. By employing them, the reader canaccess more scientific and convincing news. At the same time, the reader can get theconcrete impression of some new inventions. According to the results, quantificationresources occupy the biggest percentage in all graduation resources, intensificationtakes up47%of total graduation resources the author can only find7focus resources inthe30samples.It is of great importance to make a tentative study of the analysis of Englishscience and technology news from the perspective of Appraisal Theory. Studyingappraisal resources in English science and technology news texts plays an importantrole in further understanding the Appraisal framework and English science andtechnology news. The author also hoped that the current study could shed some light onthe cultivation of learners’ language awareness. This appraisal analysis of Englishscience and technology news will not only improve the applicability of the Appraisaltheory to discourse analysis, but also are beneficial to those who might do relevant workconcerning science and technology field. We could give a detailed description and basedon Appraisal System, which may make them get a better understanding of the mainfeatures of English science and technology news. At the same time, the thesis will alsoprovide some constructive suggestions for the reading, writing and teaching of Englishscience and technology news.