Projection In News Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective

Projection, which covers but is not limited to "reported speech" in traditional terms, expresses a certain logico-semantic relationship in Systemic Functional Linguistics. This logico-semantic relationship is especially prominent in news discourse, exerting direct and far-reaching influence upon successful news propagation. However, heretofore, studies of projection in news discourse have been limited, mainly in the following aspects:i) the relationship among varying criteria for categorizing news sources is not made clear; ii) lexico-grammatical resources other than reporting verbs are given less attention; iii) what is reported does not receive as much attention as who/what does the reporting; iv) much more attention is paid to the forms rather than to the functions of reporting. In view of this, the present research sets out to systemically explore projection in news discourse, both theoretically and practically, based on the analysis of projection in the self-built corpus from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics, and sometimes with reference to relevant research on news discourse.Specifically, based on the review of relevant research and the observation of the corpus, the present research firstly puts forward the view that projection in news discourse can be structured as "the projecting element (the projecting source +the projecting process)+the projected element". Then, based on the current theory of projection and the qualitative analysis of projection in the corpus, each element within the proposed structure is discussed with the purpose of constructing its system network. It is found that the projecting source generally falls into two types, self and other. The former is realized by the first-person pronoun, while the latter may be either specifiable or non-specifiable. As for specifiable projecting sources, they are explored from two perspectives:in terms of specification, they are categorized into fully-specified, partly-specified and unspecified ones; in terms of consciousness, they may be conscious or non-conscious, with the former being further categorized into individual and non-individual types. Turning to the projecting process, there are both major and minor types:the major type consists of verbal, mental and relational projecting processes, and the minor type comprises projecting nominal groups, projecting prepositional phrases and projecting adverbial groups. Moving to the projected element, it may be projected as a locution, an idea or a fact according to its linguistic content; it may be in the form of a quote or a report, with the latter comprising both simple and complex types; and it may represent a proposition (statement or question) or a proposal (offer or command) based on the speech function of projection. In addition, it is also pointed out that projection may be recursive, in either a linear or an embedded way. Based on the discussion of the projecting source, the projecting process, the projected element and the recursiveness of projection, a projection model in news discourse is constructed.Applying the proposed model, a comparison of projection in the reportage of "Occupy Central" in China Daily and The New York Times, which is included in the corpus, is made so as to see how and why projections in them are realized similarly or differently. From the quantitative analysis of relevant data, major findings are as follows:for the projecting source, one similarity between these two newspapers is that there are many more projecting sources of the other type than the self type, for the latter is realized by the first-person pronoun which is explicitly subjective. Another is that specifiable projecting sources greatly outnumber non-specifiable ones, and fully-specified projecting sources account for the largest proportion of specifiable ones, both of which are related to the specifying function of nominal groups that realize projecting sources and the objectivity of news discourse. A third similarity is that projecting sources of the conscious type occur much more often than those of the non-conscious type, which is attributable to the fact that projections typically participate in processes of consciousness. However, there is an important difference in that most projecting sources in China Daily refer to the Chinese government or officials, while those in The New York Times frequently refer to the advocates of "Occupy Central". Such a difference is caused by the different contexts of culture in which the reportage of "Occupy Central" in these two newspapers is produced. Moving to the projecting process, the major type is used much more often than the minor type, for a minor projecting process is typically the metaphorical form of a major one. Of major projecting processes, those of the verbal type are more numerous than those of the mental and relational types. This can be ascribed to the fact that mental and relational types are more concerned with the inner experience of participants in the reportage of "Occupy Central" or that of news reporters, expressing a certain subjectivity. Of minor projecting processes, projecting nominal groups outnumber the other two types, for this type has the potential to be the metaphorical forms of different major projecting processes. Despite these similarities, projecting processes in China Daily and The New York Times are different in their collocation with projecting sources. More explicitly, projecting processes which are negative in affective meaning in China Daily are typically collocated with projecting sources referring to the advocates of "Occupy Central"; whereas those in The New York Times tend to collaborate with projecting sources referring to the Chinese government or officials. Such a difference can also be explained with reference to different contexts of culture. As for the projected element, there are many more locutions and ideas than facts, which is attributable to the fact that the reportage of "Occupy Central" relies largely on what relevant participants say or think about such a movement. In addition, quotes occur much less frequently than reports, for quotes are the representation of wording instead of meaning and require the news reporter to be maximally responsible for the validity of what is projected. Moreover, many more propositions than proposals are found, as might be expected from the nature of news discourse, dedicated as it is to offering rather than demanding information. And the major difference concerning the projected element lies in their experiential meaning:projected elements in China Daily express how illegal "Occupy Central" is, whereas those in The New York Times demonstrate how democratic it is. This is also closely related to the different contexts of culture. It is worth pointing out that the above-stated similarities are in fact common to projections in news discourse in general, and the differences are largely determined by different contexts of culture.Additionally, the present research explores the functions of projection in news discourse in general based on the construction and application of a projection model in news discourse. It points out that the projecting source not only specifies the attribution of what is projected, but also enables the news reporter to express a certain stance towards the news event. In addition, the projecting process signals projection; and it entails the news reporter’s evaluation. Moreover, the projected element has the dual function of setting the field of news discourse and embodying modality.On the whole, the present research focuses on both the construction of a projection model in news discourse and its application, as a result of which the theoretical value and applicability of the proposed model are illustrated. Theoretically, the present research enriches the current theory of projection in SFL; practically, it provides useful guidance for news writing.