A Positive Discourse Analysis Of Accident Reports:An Appraisal Approach

Accident report discourse, as a kind of news report, is close to people’s common life. The readers can get much information about accidents from the language resources in the reports.Different from other kinds of news reports, accident reports pay more attention to the accidents themselves and the influences. The thesis selects 30 accident reports from Mail Online as research objects. The author applies the framework of Appraisal theory to positive discourse analysis of these accident reports. The writers of these accident reports convey positive attitudes and construct a harmonious society with the descriptions of these accident reports. Accident report discourse is different from political speeches, because of the weakness in political purposes and aims. With the positive expressions and language resources in these reports, the readers can make more proper and positive understandings of these accident reports.Based on the interpersonal meaning of Systemic Functional Linguistics, together with other linguists, Martin, J. R. and White, P. R. R. put forward Appraisal theory. Appraisal theory is used for analyzing attitudes, views and standpoints with the different evaluative resources in research objects. Appraisal theory concerns with the surface meaning and intrinsic meaning of the language resources. Appraisal theory is used to analyze speakers/listeners or writers/readers’ views and standpoints. The speakers/writers convey their feelings towards something or somebody to listeners/readers with the evaluative meanings in their words. The attitudes of the writers or media could be shown with lots of appraisal resources in these accident reports from different angles and degrees. Hence, we regard Appraisal theory as an ideal approach to analyze accident report discourse.Different from Critical Discourse Analysis, Positive Discourse Analysis plays an important role in providing proper understandings to readers and constructing a harmonious society.Positive Discourse Analysis, which analyzes texts and discourses from the construction perspective, is the complement and development of Critical Discourse Analysis. Different from political speeches or other kinds of news discourse, accident reports are not always concerned with political purposes and intentions. The writers of accident reports present more proper and positive understandings about accidents rather than promote political purposes and intents.Accident report discourse is a relatively new kind of research materials which are rarely analyzed from the perspective of Appraisal theory.This study analyzes the different kinds of positive appraisal resources in the selected accident reports with the qualitative and quantitative analytical approaches. From the analysis of the positive appraisal resources in these selected reports, we find out that the occurrences and distributions of the attitude, engagement and graduation resources are unbalanced. Thepercentage of attitude resources and engagement resources are much more than that of the graduation resources. Different kinds of appraisal resources convey the attitudes and evaluations of writers, and these appraisal resources are full of interpersonal meaning. Through analyzing positive language resources from affect, judgement and appreciation system, we can have a clear understanding about the positive attitudes and stances of writers. It is also easy for us to grasp the negotiations among the different attitudes and views from the analysis of engagement resources. With analyzing the different levels of attitude resources and engagement resources in the selected accident reports, we can recognize the degrees of positive attitudes and evaluations of writers. The readers can construct positive attitudes with the analysis of positive language resources in these accident reports. In this way, it plays great role in social stability and harmony.The thesis tries to apply the Appraisal theory to Positive Discourse Analysis in accident report discourse. Although it is not profound and complete, it aims at exploring the realization ways of the appraisal meaning and the methods of language usages in accident reports. It is hoped that this study will make a contribution to the readers to have correct and positive understandings of these accident reports.