An Instantiation Analysis of English News Reports of Chinese Legal Cases
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摘要: 英语新闻报道是我国对外宣传法治理念以及司法进步的重要途径之一。以系统功能语言学中实例化框架为理论基础,通过实例化过程中耦合现象的语篇分析,可以对新媒体背景下我国的英语媒体如何利用语言策略报道国内重大法治事件有更深入的认识。本文以标志着我国法治进步的案件为研究对象进行分析,发现《中国日报》在案件新闻语篇的实例化过程中,通过法治新闻语境下人际意义与概念意义的耦合来表达态度与立场。其中语篇通过关系过程或物质过程与评价系统中的判断意义或者鉴赏意义的耦合,来构建司法机关的行动力和公信力,并通过行为过程或者心理过程与情感意义的耦合,来表现案件平反前后当事人及其家人客观生活以及主观情感的变化。由此,实例化过程中的耦合模式可以增强新闻语篇的说服力,提高我国英语媒体对外宣传的能力,让受众更好地理解中国的司法理念以及司法进步。Abstract: English news reports are one of the most important approaches to publicize Chinese legal ideology and progress globally. Based on the framework of instantiation in Systemic Functional Linguistics, the discourse analyses of ‘coupling’ along the process of instantiation lead to a deeper understanding of how Chinese media use linguistic strategies to report those important legal events in China. This paper takes the examples of redressing several wrongly convicted cases that symbolize the legal progresses in China as an object of the research. The results find out that under the context of legal news, China Daily employs the coupling of interpersonal and ideational meaning along the cline of instantiation to express attitudes and take the position. When it comes to the concrete analysis of ‘court’ and ‘wrongly convicted people and their family’, firstly, the discourse establishes the action and credibility of the judicial authority through the coupling of relational process or material process in transitivity system and judgment or appreciation in the appraisal system. Secondly, the wrongly convicted people and their family’s living conditions and emotional changes are demonstrated by coupling of behavioral process or mental process and affect. The use of the coupling model in instantiation intends to make the media discourse more convincing, in order to strengthen the ability of overseas publicity of Chinese media and to construct a better understanding of the legal ideology and judicial progress in China.
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Key words:
- legal cases /
- news reports /
- instantiation /
- coupling
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图 1 实例化过程图
图 2 “法院”一方实例化过程中的耦合模式图
图 3 “当事人及其家人”一方实例化过程中的耦合模式图
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