| Appraisal Theory is an assignment system concerning interpersonal meaning via evaluative lexico-grammatical resources to share various kinds of attitudes and affects so as to coordinate social relations.The present study is expected to employ Appraisal Theory for Positive Discourse Analysis,which targets the construction process of appraiser’s positive attitudes in Hunan Image news reports,in an attempt to deconstruct Hunan Image presented by China Daily in international publicity.This research obtained 365 news reports regarding the Hunan Image from the official website of China Daily with a total word amount of roughly 196,795,from June 2016 to June 2021.Then these news articles are classified into three subjects: political and economic,social and cultural,and ecological and environmental news reports.By means of data tagging and analysis application UAM 3.3v,it undertakes a quantitative and qualitative examination of distributed attitudinal resources concerning the Hunan Image,intending to answer the three questions below:(1)What are the characteristics of the use of attitudinal resources in the three subjects in Hunan Image news reports?(2)What are the characteristics of the use of engagement resources in Hunan Image news reports?(3)What are the characteristics of the use of graduation resources in Hunan Image news reports?Hunan’s positive image is significant in the resources distribution of Hunan Image news reports.Major findings are as follows:(1)Positive resources account for94.4% in terms of attitudinal resources,with positive appreciation resources used the most,followed by positive judgment resources.Hunan is more frequently construed as “satisfying” and “reliable” in political and economic,social and cultural respects,while more frequently represented as “safe” and “reliable” in ecological and environmental respect.Moreover,valuation resources abound in appreciation resources among the three subjects,high-frequency attitudinal words underlining Hunan’s uniqueness and social value,which is a recognition for Hunan Image.(2)The proportion of expansion resources in the engagement system is substantially larger than that of contraction resources,with 87.5% of expansion resources.The highest proportion of the expansion resources,98.5%,is attributed to attribute strategy.The use of a large number of quotations provides a wide space for negotiation,thus increasing the objectivity and credibility of the news discourse.(3)In the graduation system,both force resources and focus resource are given prominence to strong resources with the previous one accounting for 85.2% and the latter one for 67.9%,which highlights the appraiser’s firm and strong position and attitude.The present research has both theoretical and practical significance.Its theoretical significance stems from the integration of quantitative and qualitative research,which broadens the research perspective of news discourse and widens the applied study of Positive Discourse Analysis employing appraisal resources.The practical significance lies in restoring the real Hunan Image presented in the discourse construction of China Daily’s official media,in an effort to provide a valuable reference for the benign construction of the provincial image. |
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