A Positive Discourse Analysis Of Voice Inspirational Speeches From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

VOICE,firstly produced by CCTV integrated channel in 2012,has exerted a deep influence on the society.A well-known person is invited in each episode to share his/her stories about life and give spiritual nourishment to Chinese young people.VOICE facilitates intimate and direct communication between youth and their icons.It is an effective channel for youth to remove their confusion and strengthen their confidence for the future.Scholars of various disciplines are attracted to study this programme from different perspectives.Studies on VOICE are mostly concerned with the program's style,innovation strategies and broadcast concept.In terms of previous studies on inspirational speeches,scholars study them from the perspectives of stylistics,pragmatics,Systemic Functional Grammar and the comparative studies between Chinese and English inspirational speeches were also widely conducted.In light of the previous studies,the author determined to conduct a positive discourse analysis on the inspirational speeches of VOICE.From the perspective of discourse analysis,VOICE inspirational speeches include rich appraisal resources.By applying various appraisal resources in their speeches,the speakers deliver positive energy to the young listeners at their constructive stage of social identity.Theses appraisal resources are worthy of a systemic analysis to discover their significant values.So the distributions and functions of appraisal resources in VOICE inspirational speeches are discussed in this thesis.Because of the common grounds between Appraisal Theory and Positive Discourse Analysis,Positive Discourse Analysis is adopted as the main perspective for this research to explore the harmonious interpersonal meaning of inspirational speeches.The three subsystems of AT provide an important orientation for the study of selected discourses,which makes the positive discourse analysis more rational and reliable.Ten VOICE inspirational speeches are chosen in the present study from CCTV official website.This authoritative channel can ensure the credibility and reliability of this research.Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are adopted in this study,aiming to find out the positive discourse meanings in VOICE inspirational speeches.First,all of the appraisal resources are identified at the level of words and phrases under the guidance of appraisal theory.Meanwhile,the general distribution of appraisal resources are presented in tables.Then,with specific examples,positive meanings realized the appraisal resources are summarized,which further help to explore the positive connotation of these inspirational speeches.All these qualitative and quantitative studies reveal how the speakers express evaluations and deliver positive energy.After the identification of appraisal resources in ten VOICE inspirational speeches,the results show that the distribution of attitude resources takes higher proportion than the engagement and graduation resources.In terms of attitudinal resources,affect occupies the highest frequency.It reveals that the listeners' emotion can be affected by the speaker,and the speaker's positive emotion can encourage the young listeners to take challenges with confidence.Through the analysis of engagement resources,it can be figured out that dialogic expansion resources are used more frequently than dialogic contraction resources.It reflects the speakers' intention to make their speeches more objective and credible.In the graduation system,it is obvious that force resources are used much more than focus resources.The speakers not only pay attention to the intensification and the persuasive effects of their speeches.They also praise the advantages of the young listeners and describe a bright future for them.The appraisal resources in VOICE inspirational speeches are analyzed in this thesis to reveal how the speakers present their individual values and stances.How the speakers build a harmonious relationship with the listeners and maintain the listener's confidence towards the speaker and their own future can be clearly shown through the positive discourse analysis.In summary,this research not only has an important theoretical meaning in discourse analysis,but also plays a significant role in making a successful and motivating speech.Most importantly,A positive discourse analysis of inspirational speeches is beneficial for young students to bravely face the social reality and various pressures.Therefore,to some degree,these speeches can has a prolonged influence on the construction of a harmonious society.