A Multimodal Discourse Analysis Of English Tourism Websites As A Destination Branding Medium:A Case Study Of London And Beijing

In the Internet age,tourism industry attaches greater importance to the construction of websites,which are used as an important way of providing potential visitors with information and promoting tourism attractions and services.The role of tourism websites in attracting international tourists is worth exploring.This thesis,taking the official tourism websites of London and Beijing as the research objects,analyzes how the two websites brand the destinations with linguistic devices and images,and then discusses their destination marketing strategies.Firstly,based on Hyland's interactional metadiscourse analysis framework(2005b),the frequency and distribution of stance and engagement markers on the two websites are explored.Secondly,images are analyzed with the interactive meaning framework based on Kress & van Leeuwen's visual grammar theory(2006).Similarities and differences between the two websites are compared and contrasted,and branding strategies employed by the website designers are discussed.The analysis yields the following findings.In terms of linguistic devices,stance and engagement markers are substantially employed by the two websites and the former outnumbers the latter.However,the frequency of stance markers on London website is higher than that on Beijing website,suggesting that London writers are more inclined to project themselves into the texts.In addition,London website prefers to adopt more reader pronouns,directives and questions than Beijing website,demonstrating a stronger sense of tourism branding of London website.In terms of images,London website prefers images that bring the viewer and participant closer.Comparatively,Beijing website uses fewer images and the images lack direct eyecontact.The use of metadiscourse markers and images suggests the different branding strategies employed by the two websites in two different cultures.With the influence of Western culture,London website tries to promote the city by inviting readers into the discourse and create an emotional resonance with them.In contrast,influenced by traditional Chinese culture,Beijing website tends to promote the city by conveying objective and authoritative information.Finally,this thesis provides some suggestions for online tourism promotion in aspects of linguistic devices and images.