The Construction Of Discourse Identities In Zhu Rongji's Answers To Journalists' Questions: A Pragmatic Approach

The present study focuses on a pragmatic approach to the construction of discourse identities in Zhu Rongji's answers to journalists' questions. Specifically, it aims to dig out the deep causes for the construction of discourse identities, as well as its functions in a specific socio-cultural context. After this systematic analysis within the pragmatic analytical framework, the process of discourse identity construction becomes transparent.According to Scollon's (1996) interpretation of discourse identity and his analysis of the structure of discourse identity, it fulfills double roles: production roles and reception roles. In the present study, discourse identities in Zhu Rongji's answers to journalists' questions have been classified into national identity and self-identity. We find that there exists an inter-transportable relationship between national identity and self-identity.In the third chapter we propose our analytical framework by combining Grice's (1975) Cooperative Principle and Verschueren's (1999) Linguistic Adaptation Theory. As a language producer, Zhu Rongji makes some linguistic choices, including language forms and strategies so as to achieve certain communicative goals when he is in the verbal interactions with journalists. The choice of violating the Cooperative Principle is a kind of linguistic strategy, which is not in a stable situation but an outcome of a set of dynamic negotiation. Discourse identities would be constructed through the violation of Cooperative Principle as an adaptation to variables of the situated contexts. Furthermore, functions of discourse identities have been explored in the present study.It is found that constructions of discourse identities are very obvious in Zhu Rongji's answers to journalists' questions. In fact, they also frequently appear in other politician discourses. On the one hand, the construction of discourse identity can be employed to set up good images of the nations and the individuals, and on the other, it is to meet the needs of the general public. It is hoped that the present study can shed some light on the understanding of political leaders' discourses and thus increase readers' critical awareness.