A Study On Discourse Construction Of National Image In The 19^th NCCPC Report From The Perspective Of Systemic Functional Grammar

The national image is an important intangible asset of the country,which is mainly constructed by two ways:self-shaping and other-shaping.Under the background of globalization,national image has become the focus of attention.Previous researches are done mainly from the perspective of critical discourse analysis,appraisal theory,and external-propaganda translation theory to analyze and deconstruct the distorted image of China in Western media,but few studies have been done on discourse construction of self-shaping national image.Discourse is the most basic and important medium to construct national image.Therefore,exploring the discourse construction of national image from the perspective of systemic functional grammar will help to construct the discourse expression of Chinese image and make the construction of national image come true.The 19^th NCCPC report is the political declaration,programme of action and important document of the Communist Party of China.It is the most important political discourse to show the image of China.From the perspective of systemic functional grammar,this study combines quantitative statistics with qualitative analysis to study the discourse construction of the self-shaping national image in the19^th NCCPC report.Through the analysis of the data,we find that the 19^th NCCPC report of mainly constructs the discourse system of self-shaping national image in the following three ways.Firstly,the discourse system of the self-shaping national image is constructed by using the minor clauses which represent the material process and the mental process.On one hand,the discourse of national image of a real China is constructed through the minor clauses representing material process.The 19^th NCCPC report can be divided into 1819 minor clauses,of which material processes account for the largest proportion-74%.It objectively describes the country's achievements,current situation and vision for the future,and shows national image of a real China.Material process is represented by action verbs and actors.Most of action verbs in the report are words like“develop”,“build”,“strengthen”,“achieve”and other constructive and upbeat verbs,which show the government's determination to change the status quo,and reflect the image of the country's progress.And most of the actors are“we”,which narrow down the distance with people,and show the national image of a people-oriented China.On the other hand,the discourse of national image of China safeguarding the people's interests is constructed through the mental process.Mental process is manifested by the perceiver and the mental verb together.In most cases,the words“whole Party”in the report are used as a representative of China to perceive the world,which has enhanced the perceiver's authority.Most of cognitive mental verbs are words like“persist”,“approve”and“oppose”,which reflect the national image of a people-centered China.Secondly,the discourse system of the self-shaping national image is constructed by using the mood system and modality system.On one hand,the discourse of national image of China's pursuit of equality is constructed through the mood system.The discourse of the whole report isn't expressed in command mood,but most of the minor clauses are in declarative mood,which occupy 95.5%of the whole report,and provide objective information to readers or listeners.The vocative expression“Comrades!”is used in imperative mood,which appears at the end of each chapter in the report to call on people to work together for a better life.On the other hand,the discourse of national image of a responsible China is constructed through the modality mood.Most of the high-value modal verbs are words like“must”,“need”and modal adjunct word like“most”are widely used in the report,which reflect the national image of a confident and responsible China in its future development.Thirdly,the discourse system of the self-shaping national image is constructed by choosing themes and cohesion devices carefully.On one hand,the discourse of national image of a responsible big country that always maintains the people's principal position is constructed through choiced themes.A large number of topical themes referring to the Chinese Dream,economic construction and other universal concepts,as well as modal interpersonal themes such as“to strengthen”,and“to be aware of”are used in the report,which show that China is firmly developing its national economy and improving people's life.On the other hand,cohesion devices can help people understand and accept the self-shaping national image of China in the report.And the discourse cohesion and grammatical cohesion can make the language concise and powerful.Meanwhile,the lexical collocation and repetition can help people deepen their impression on the national image of China.This study employs systemic functional grammar to analyze the discourse construction of national image of China.It broadens the perspective of studying the national image,and provides some reference for the study of constructing national image through discourse analysis.