Research On The Identity Construction Of Chinese Doctors From The Perspective Of Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Based on the concept of social construction,scholars have used discourse analysis methods to explore the identity construction features of different discourse practices.However,there are few investigations and analyses on the influence of doctors’ discourse features on their identity construction.Based on the 6-hour and4-hour documentary series “Chinese Doctors” and “Chinese Doctors Battle Edition”to be broadcasted by Akiyay in 2019 and 2020,respectively,this study investigates the multimodal discourse features,multidimensional identity construction,and multidimensional identity construction of Chinese doctors from the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis under the concept of “social identity multiplicity and its linguistic construction”.The result of this study manifests that:(1)In terms of verbal modality features:Chinese doctors use non-affirmative volitive auxiliaries more frequently than affirmative volitive auxiliaries;doctors’ metadiscourse as the sender is used more frequently than doctors’ discourse as the recipient.;doctors use many relational metadiscourse markers in the whole documentary series;in addition,Chinese doctors’ repetitive discourse features are evident.The verbal features construct the following identities: discreet and conservative practitioner identity,authoritative and friendly identity,and confused and helpless identity.(2)Non-verbal features of Chinese doctors in documentaries:(a)in terms of visual modality: during the visit with patients,the rich facial expression features of the doctors are most prominent;in addition the doctor visits the patient’s family presenting rich body language features.They are featured by the following identities: the hope builders and the humane comforter.(b)In terms of auditory features,the doctor’s words are featured by sobs and pauses under the stress of the Covid-19,and by an emphatic tone of voice that conveys confidence and a sense of security to the patients as the doctor provides explanations.The identity is constructed as follows: that of a protector of the public and a beacon of guidance(3)The social construction of doctors’ multidimensional identity is caused by the following factors: doctor’ profession development,socia-environment changes,and ideological structure factor.There are realistic implications of the social construction of doctors’ identity: it not only shapes doctors’ personal values and enhances their personal reputation,but also alleviates the tense doctor-patient relationship and promotes the harmonious development of society.Based on the analysis of the features of doctors’ multimodal discourse in the two documentaries,this study attempts to reveal the dynamic inter-configurability of doctors’ multimodal discourse features and multidimensional identity construction in different contexts and relevant causes of its social construction.The study argues that a multidimensional presentation of the discourse of Chinese doctors and their identity constructions can enhance the public’s identification with the group of doctors.