| In the information age, one of the most important ways for people to have access to information is through news. Subjectivity has always been considered as one of the most critical rules for journalism. However, the objectivity that journalists claim is impossible to reach. In the language of news discourse we can often find the existence of subjectivity, which can have a subtle influence on the readers’ thought, feelings, etc.Under the guidance of Systemic Functional Grammar, this thesis selects news on the latest events from different countries. According to the ideational, interpersonal and textual meta-functions of language, the author makes analysis of subjectivity in news discourse from the perspectives of transitivity, voice, Theme-Rheme structure, as well as attitude, engagement, and graduation in the Appraisal System.Apart from introduction and conclusion, this thesis can be divided into three parts. The first part, focusing on news discourse and subjectivity, discusses the definition and classification of news as well as the linguistic features of news discourse, followed by the definition, reason and necessity of subjectivity in news discourse. In addition, reviews of the previous studies of subjectivity in news discourse are also given in this part. The second part is the theoretical basis of this thesis, where the author introduces Systemic Functional Grammar and the Appraisal System. The next part is the major focus of this thesis, where the author makes detailed analysis of subjectivity in selected news discourses from different perspectives. The author finds out that subjectivity does exist in news discourse to serve certain purposes, or it simply comes along with the reporter’s attitude. Therefore, we should have a better sensibility in language, try to keep a critical mind while reading news, and get as much information as possible in order to get the true facts.The innovation of this thesis lies in the following aspects: firstly, this thesis adopts a relatively extensive model trying to make comprehensive analyses; secondly, the author argues that one should not judge the existence of subjectivity in news but learn to make better use of the information; and at last, the author also provides some advice for the readers and translators of news reports, which can be helpful for them to identify the subjectivity hidden in news discourse. |
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