A Critical Discourse Analysis Of "The Belt And Road Initiative" News Reports In Chinese And American Newspapers

Since it was proposed in 2013 by Xi Jinping,“the Belt and Road Initiative” has attracted media attention both at home and abroad.Originated in the late 1970 s,Critical Discourse Analysis(CDA)has been widely applied in news discourse analysis to reveal ideology behind discourse,which often is combined with corpus tools at present.By exploiting a corpus of 23 English news reports(13,789 running words)from China Daily and Beijing Review and a corpus of 14(13,889 running words)from Newsweek and Washington Post,this study aims to reveal,based on Faiclough’s Three-dimensional Model,the discursive and ideological differences between the two groups of news texts with the help of corpus tools.This study attempts to answer the following three questions: 1)What are the similarities or differences between Chinese and American newspapers in terms of modality and transitivity at the description stage? 2)What are the similarities or differences between Chinese and American newspapers in terms of intertextuality(reporting mode and news source)at the interpretation stage? 3)What factors exert influence on the two countries’ news reports of the BRI from the perspective of sociocultural context?Through analysis,this study finds that: 1)At the description stage,the United States holds negative attitude toward China and is bold in casting scathing remarks on the BRI,while China fights back in a confident and mild tone.In terms of modality,low value and median value modal verbs are mainly used in American newspapers to express doubts of the BRI,while median value modal verbs are the most widely distributed ones in Chinese newspapers to present the benefits of the BRI in order to reassure the wary and avoid being over-assertive.In terms of transitivity,material process,relational process and verbal process are the first three most frequently used transitivity process type.China mainly reports the process,the positive influence and other countries’ attitudes towards the BRI,while the U.S.questions the intention of the Initiative.2)At the interpretation stage,doubts towards the BRI are deepened and a high-handed and fearful image of China is presented in American newspapers,while China employs these news sources and reporting modes to build a positive and responsible image.In terms of reporting mode,American newspapers and Chinese newspapers attempt to be objective and convincing for the use of direct speech andindirect speech is of high frequency.American newspapers quote or paraphrase influential people or institutions’ words to depict the BRI as a strategic move of China,while Chinese newspapers restore the truth that the BRI is an opportunity for common prosperity and is welcomed by participating countries through the mouth of other parties.In terms of news source,specific sources occupy an overwhelming position in Chinese newspapers,thus credibility of reports is enhanced.In American newspapers,although the specific sources account for the majority to strengthen passive results the BRI brings,semi-specific sources,together with unspecific sources are also take a large portion,which lessens the power of persuasion in their reports.3)At the explanation stage,the discursive and ideological differences between China and the United States are explained from the perspective of economic,political and cultural context.It is hoped that the findings revealed will enrich CDA researches combined with corpus tools,assist Chinese government in understanding the other side better and promoting the BRI in an effective way,and also help readers to cultivate critical reading ability.