A Comparative Analysis Of The Intertextuality Of American And Chinese Reports On Trump's State Visit To China

Intertextuality,a crucial notion in Critical Discourse Analysis,was put forward by Kristeva in the 1960s and it means that every text is an absorption and transformation of other texts.Since then,it has attracted long-lasting attention in the field of literary study and discourse analysis.American president Trump paid a 3-day state visit to China in November,2017,which,as the first trip to China since he took office,has aroused interests all over the world,especially in China and the U.S.Owing to the different cultures and ideologies of the two countries,there must be interesting differences as well as similarities between the news reports of the two countries.This thesis collects 20 reports of president Trump's state visit from China Daily,People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency,New York Times and Washington Post to make a comparative analysis of the specific and generic intertextuality in these reports.The analysis of specific intertextuality focuses on quotations and references while that of generic intertextuality concerns the intermingling of genres in these reports.The study shows that both types of intertextuality are employed frequently in the reports of two countries.Quotations,which appear with high frequency,are from specified and unspecified sources and the study summarizes diverse sources in the reports as follows:authorities that include experts and government officials,leaders,news media as well as the public.Reporters in both countries tend to quote from specified sources within their own countries.When it comes to quotation modes,Chinese reporters are inclined to use indirect quotations while direct quotations are employed more in American reports.With respect to references,previous events,thoughts and people that play an important role in the event are referred to in both countries.Besides,significant documents between the two countries and idioms in ancient China have been mentioned in Chinese reports.As regards generic intertextuality,the intermingling of narrative,hortatory and expository texts is found in the reports.Disparities and similarities of the use of intertextuality can be found in these reports though the purposes are similar:to increase the objectivity and professionality of the reports for one thing and for another to convey the values or even ideologies of their countries.In a nutshell,the thesis has theoretical as well as practical significance in that through intertextual analysis and discovery of the similarities and differences in the reports in China and America,the thesis is conducive to reveal the respective ideologies in both countries and thus it can increase the readers' awareness of critical thinking skills and strengthen their capability to judge the reports.