Critical Discourse Analysis On Chinese And Australian News Reports Of Doctor-patient Relationship From The Perspective Of Intercultural Study

Based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional Model of discourse analysis,this thesis selects 50 reports on doctor-patient relationship from China Daily and The Sydney Morning Herald in recent 5 years to conduct critical discourse analysis.The marketization of modern medical treatment has brought a significant impact on the traditional doctor-patient relationship.As a tool to convey truth and guide public opinion,media are an important factor to construct,reshape and maintain doctor-patient relationship.From the perspectives of text,discursive practice and social practice,this study analyzes the differences between Chinese and Australian doctor-patient relationship reports,their causes,and the gains and losses of the media in the construction of doctor-patient relationship between the two countries.At the textual level,the thesis adopts Halliday’s Systemic-Functional Grammar and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory to study the theme and collocative verbs in news headlines,and analyzes transitive process,modality and phrasing characteristics in news texts.In terms of discursive practice,the modes of reported speech and news sources are discussed and analyzed.From the perspective of social practice,the economic,political,legal and cultural roots of the differences in doctor-patient reports between Chinese and Australian media in terms of institution,society and situation are analyzed.The main findings include the following three aspects:(1)By placing doctors in the center of the topic,praising their professionalism and dedication,and complaining about the harms and injuries doctors suffered in the violent incidents caused by medical disputes,the Chinese medium ascribed the main contradictions of the doctor-patient disputes to the patients.The Australian medium has created a negative image of many doctors,such as unprofessional,immortal,and criticized the loopholes in the medical system for causing difficulties for patients and exacerbating the tension between doctors and patients(2)The Australian medium tend to employ more indirect speech.By combining the reported verb of negative emotional tendency with the indirect speech,the news writers express the negative attitude towards doctors and hospitals.The proportion of the words reported by the Chinese medium come from the doctors is much higher than that from the patients,reflecting the tendency of Chinese medium reports speaks for doctors and silences the voice of patients.(3)A major cause of the difference in doctor-patient relationship reported by Chinese and Australian media attributes to the institution.The unconformity between the medical system and the social status quo presents in the three aspects of economy,politics and law leads to the tension between doctors and patients.In terms of culture,due to the special situation of medical treatment,the cultural value shown in the media reports of the two countries is not completely consistent with the common sense.Nevertheless,the concepts and intentions of the media reports reflect the cultural diversities between the two countries.Australia is a country with small power distance and individualist value priorities.Behind the tension between doctors and patients,what the media reveal is the actual dilemma brought by the defects of the medical system to patients and doctors.China is a collectivist country with large power distance.The Chinese medium,in constructing and shaping doctor-patient relationship,pay more attention to setting up the image of doctors so as to guide positive public opinion which may left a lack of attention to the patient population.