A Multimodal Discourse Analysis Of Interactive Meanings Of Chinese Anti-COVID-19 Public Service Advertisements

With the high-speed development of science and technology,language is not the unique way to transmit information and construct meanings anymore.Other semiotic systems,including image,sound,color and so on have permeated into every aspects of people’s life.As a result,a brand-new form of Discourse Analysis--Multimodal Discourse Analysis(MDA)came up.MDA not only pays attention to the important role of language in discourse meaning construction,but also focuses on the part that other semiotic systems,such as image,sound,animation,etc.play in constructing meanings of discourse,which can make the understanding of discourse more comprehensive and precise than purely language analysis.2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease(COVID-19)is attracting the most attentions from all over the world nowadays.To convey the information of the development of anti-COVID-19 career and persuade the public to do correct and proper self-protection,a great number of anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements have been released in China.Since they are perfect integration of texts and images,MDA is chosen to be the most appropriate way to illustrate them.Therefore,this thesis focuses on studying interactive meanings of Chinese anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements through Multimodal Discourse Analysis.Three research questions are put forward: 1)What are the features of the texts in the anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements in terms of Interpersonal Metafunction? 2)What are the features of the images in the antiCOVID-19 public service advertisements in terms of Interactive Meaning? 3)How do texts and images interact to achieve the effect that anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements wish to convey?The major findings of study are listed as follows:1)As for the text,mood system,modality system and person system of the texts are efficiently used to achieve the aims of praising devotees and propagandizing public protection.2)In terms of the image,different aspects of contact,social distance,perspective and modality of image also contribute to glorify dedicators and advertise public protection.3)From the perspective of text-image interactive relation,both reinforcement of address and attitudinal congruence are achieved in most advertisements to enrich the interactive meanings,thereby the meanings that advertisements wish to convey are intensified effectively.4)A small quantity of attitudinal dissonance between texts and images in advertisements achieves a special effect: the beauty of disharmony,which leaves room for audience’s deep thinking,and arouse audience’s yearning for restoring the happy,healthy life.This thesis focuses on the hottest topic nowadays: COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of the Multimodal Discourse Analysis for the anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements discourse for the first time.It reveals how texts and images interact to construct interactive meanings and achieve the effect that anti-COVID-19 public service ads wish to convey,which can arouse and enhance audience’s and learners’ awareness and understanding of the related linguistic features and cultures embodied in the anti-COVID-19 public service advertisements.