Translation Of The Modal Verbs In China’s Diplomatic Discourse And The Construction Of National Image

General Secretary Xi Jinping has clearly pointed out that “the national image of our country should be highlighted”.More than 70 years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China witness the fact that,with the continuous improvement of its comprehensive strength and economic status,the construction of an excellent national image and the enhancement of the international community’s sense of identification with China are of great strategic significance to this developing country.Diplomatic discourse is an important channel for constructing a country’s national image,and it can accurately,truthfully,and comprehensively convey China’s voice to the international community.As an indispensable part of diplomatic discourse,modal verbs can represent the opinion of the speaker on the validity of the proposal and express his personal wishes in the content.It can also require the audience to undertake associated responsibilities.Hence,it is crucial for deciphering interpersonal meaning and identifying social shifts.Nevertheless,in the existing research,few scholars have studied the construction of national image through the translation of modal verbs in diplomatic discourse,and the research case combining with corpus is even rarer.In view of this,the present study takes Xi Jinping’s diplomatic discourse as the data,and utilizes the corpus approach to analyze the translation of modal verbs and the construction of national image from the perspective of critical discourse analysis.First and foremost,this thesis provides an analytical framework for evaluating the whole text based on the synthesis of Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach and Halliday’s view of the modality system.Then,applying this analytical framework and corpus analysis approach,through taking President Xi’s diplomatic discourse from2013 to 2019 as data,it investigates the discursive strategies employed in the discourse,the characteristics of the modal verbs,and their effects on the construction of China’s national image.The following three research questions are addressed in this thesis: 1.What discursive strategies are applied in the translation of modal verbs in China’s diplomatic discourse? 2.How do modal verbs and their translation function in the diplomatic discourse of China? 3.Why can modal verbs and their translation in diplomatic discourse be applied to construct the Chinese national image?The findings reveal that a number of discursive strategies are used in the translation of modal verbs in China’s diplomatic discourse,including the strategy of predication,the strategy of argumentation,the strategy of perspectivization,and the strategy of intensification or mitigation,which have positive impacts on the construction of national image.Secondly,through the Chi-Square test,it is further observed that there exist significant differences in the use of modal verbs in China’s diplomatic discourse and its translation,and a variety of active strategies have been adopted in the translation of modal verbs in China’s diplomatic discourse.Finally,the process of national image construction through modal verbs is an indirect and chain reaction,in which many factors need to be considered;the translation of modal verbs is mainly based on three principles,namely accuracy,readability,and politicization.Through the translation of modal verbs in diplomatic discourse,a solid and positive national image is constructed.From an interdisciplinary standpoint,this thesis investigates the modal verbs in China’s diplomatic discourse by adopting the perception of critical discourse analysis and the approach of corpus tools,which has a specific leading significance for translation practice and the construction of national image.It is hoped that this thesis will contribute to the analysis of diplomatic discourse and the translation of modal verbs,and provide a new perspective and approach for the construction of the national image.