An Ecological Discourse Analysis Of Environmental Reports On COVID-19 From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

Ecolinguistics is an interdiscipline formed by the combination of ecology and linguistics.Its task is to reveal the interaction between language and ecology by studying the ecological factors of language and the relationship between language and ecology.Hallidayan approach is one of the predominant research paradigms in ecolinguistics which focuses on the ecology-oriented analysis of discourse and studies the role of language in the ecosystem.It is a common approach in ecolinguistics to employ Appraisal Theory as the theoretical framework for the research of ecological discourse analysis.Appraisal can represent a relatively fixed positive or negative description of things in a discourse,which has a great influence on how readers view a certain object.Employing Appraisal Theory in ecological discourse analysis can reveal the ecological orientation and consciousness hidden behind languages,unconsciously influence people’s ecological behaviors through the power of language,as well as further promote the harmonious development of the relationship between humans and nature.The research employs Appraisal Theory as the theoretical framework,selects 10 environmental reports on the theme of COVID-19 published in The Economist in 2020 as the linguistic data,and conducts annotations,frequency calculating,and descriptive analysis of the appraisal resources in the selected reports.The research,by adopting the research method of discourse analysis,intends to analyze the ecological functions and significance of the appraisal resources in the reports,to illustrate how ecological discourse constructs the relationship between humans and the ecosystem,and to reveal the ecological view and consciousness behind the reports.The research aims to answer the following three questions:(1)What types of appraisal resources are employed in the selected environmental reports on COVID-19?(2)How are the appraisal resources distributed in the selected environmental reports on COVID-19?(3)How do the selected environmental reports on COVID-19 manage to convey specific ecological awareness and ideologies through the employment of appraisal resources,and what ideologies have been conveyed in the reports?The results show that: Firstly,1782 appraisal resources are employed in the reports,and the frequency and proportion of attitude resources are both the highest.Employing different types of appraisal resources can present the different evaluations of ecology.Secondly,employing attitude resources can help directly express the attitude towards ecology and nature,and is beneficial to the presentation of the ecological orientation of the reports.The use of specific attitude resources indicates the opposing attitude toward ecological destruction and shows the care and respect for the environment.Thirdly,employing engagement resources,on the one hand,may help directly present the viewpoints that the environmental reports expect to convey,and on the other hand,may further decline the subjectivity as well as enhance the legitimacy of the reports by referring to multiple voices.The use of specific engagement resources shows the anxiety and worry about environmental pollution through the use of multiple voices and includes the high concern for ecology.Fourthly,employing graduation resources may further brighten the attitudes and standpoints in the reports,and help fuzz up or highlight a specific viewpoint to centralize or divert readers’ attention.The use of specific graduation resources helps emphasize the damage that ecology has suffered and includes the reprimand of the threat to the ecological system caused by human beings as well as the concern and care for ecology and the environment.Based on Appraisal Theory,the research conducts an ecological discourse analysis on the theme of COVID-19,describes the distribution of appraisal resources,analyzes the ecological orientation of appraisal resources,and reveals the ecological consciousness embedded in the discourse and how it affects people’s ecological behaviors.The research can enrich the field of ecological discourse analysis based on Appraisal Theory to a certain extent,arouse people’s attention to ecological issues,and provoke discussions on how to continuously promote ecological conservation and maintain a positive human-ecological relationship during the time of the epidemic outbreak.