Evaluation As A Reflection Of Ideology In American News Reports On China

This study approaches news discourse from the interpersonal perspective, which examines what we might think of as the rhetorical power of language. In particular, it emphasizes the role that evaluation plays in reflecting ideology in American news reports. The important theory ~ the Appraisal system and its subsystems, namely, Attitude, Engagement, and Gradation, developed by Martin, are employed to explore the relationships between the evaluative language and the ideology embedded in the language choices. The Appraisal system extends the SFL model of the interpersonal meanings by developing models of these language resources by which news reporters express positive or negative evaluations, lower their commitments to their evaluations, taking into account other voices and alternative points of view, and adjust the force of their evaluations. Based on this relatively new theory, the present study first tentatively analyzes the linguistic realizations of evaluative language in American news reports on China and then explores the social-cultural function of the use of evaluation-laden language in the selected news reports, especially the way how evaluative language choices reflect ideology.The author focuses on the news coverage of China's economic practices, especially China's adjustment of its currency in selected American news reports, in which five authentic American news reports on China are chosen for analysis. All of them are collected from three influential and authoritative American newsmagazines or newspapers - U.S. News & World Reports, The Washington Post, and The Associated Press. The comprehensive map of the Appraisal system will be deployed systematically in the analysis of news reports, with a view to understanding the rhetorical effects of evaluative language as news reports unfold. The evaluative language in news reports is the best embodiment of the reporter'sspecific ideology. As the evaluative meaning is closely related to the ideological position and culture, the significance of this study is twofold. On the one hand, it attempts to gain some insight into the intricate resources of evaluative language in American news reports on China and the ideologies imbedded in them. On the other hand, it explores the applicability of the Appraisal system in the analysis of American news reports on China and sheds light on the understanding of this kind of news reports.