An Ecological Discourse Analysis Of Commentaries In The Documentary A Mammoth Task From The Perspective Of Engagement System

The importance of the ecological environment is self-evident.It is not only an important condition for human survival and development but also the foundation for realizing sustainable development.Ecological documentaries record biological species and natural environment changes in nature.They showcase the charm and beauty of nature in various ways,allowing people to better understand the natural world and the rules of nature,thereby protecting the natural environment more effectively.Ecological documentaries also raise awareness about nature conservation,leading more people to pay attention to environmental protection and work together to protect mother Earth.A Mammoth Task is a documentary that explores the relationship between humans and animals,stimulating ecological reflections among its audience.This thesis,guided by Huang Guowen’s ecosophy of “harmonious discourse analysis” in the Chinese context,analyzes the ecological discourse of the commentaries in the documentary from the engagement system perspective.It explores the impact of the extensive use of engagement resources in the documentary’s language on the audience’s ecological concept and subsequently evaluates the ecological thoughts to be constructed.Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods,the focus of this thesis is to decode the ecological considerations underlying the commentaries(including narration and simultaneous voice)by investigating the two research questions: First,what are the distribution and features of engagement resources in the commentaries of the documentary A Mammoth Task? Second,what ecological thoughts are constructed by engagement resources in these commentaries?The results of the thesis show the following findings.First,in terms of the distribution of engagement resources,the commentaries rely on the use of heterogloss resources,hence the proportion of heterogloss is higher than that of monogloss.Specifically,for heterogloss resources,the commentaries tend to favor the usage of contract resources to authoritatively emphasize over expand resources.Regarding the features of the commentaries,the commentaries use both more heterogloss and contract resources,especially deny and counter resources,to authoritatively emphasize the correctness of one’s point of view,to construct the fact that China is committed to ecological construction in harmony with nature.The use of engagement resources enhances the credibility of the information,making it more persuasive to the audience.Additionally,the commentaries suitably use expand resources,especially entertain resources,to acknowledge other possible perspectives,to avoid the arbitrariness of one’s viewpoint position,and to reflect affinity.Thus,audiences are more receptive to personal attitudes and reflections on the harmony between humans and nature.Second,the commentaries of A Mammoth Task utilize numerous effective engagement resources to convey positive ecological thoughts to the public: putting people first,maintaining biodiversity,respecting animals,caring for them,and living in harmony with them.In conclusion,this thesis has analyzed the ecological nature of the engagement resources in the commentaries of A Mammoth Task.It provides a deeper interpretation of the documentary,explores its discourse characteristics,and offers reasonable suggestions for constructing future commentaries in ecological documentaries.Ecological documentaries should focus on conveying positive ecological meanings,raising viewers’ ecological awareness at the linguistic level,promoting the sustainable development of humans and nature,and providing lessons on achieving national cultural communication in the new era of documentaries.This thesis will afford the audience of A Mammoth Task more perspectives to interpret the ecological thoughts underlying its commentaries so that they can better cultivate a healthy ecological consciousness.