英语新闻语篇中的元话语分析.docx

1、英语新闻语篇中的元话语分析编号 本科生毕业论文 英语新闻语篇中的元话语分析The Analysis of Metadiscourse in English News学 生 姓 名专 业学 号指 导 教 师分 院2013年 6 月 AbstractThe term metadiscourse was coined by Zellig Harris in 1959 to offer a way of understanding language in use, representing a writers or speakers attempts to guide a receivers perc

2、eption of a text. Then many scholars, such as Williams, Vande Kopple,Crismore, Hyland, proposed different definitions and classifications of metadiscourse. Crismore claims in 1989 that in any form of language communication, two levels of discourse are involved: the primary discourse level and the me

3、tadiscourse level. Metadiscourse is “discourse about discourse”. It does not add propositional meaning to the content, but refers to the aspects of a text which explicitly organize the discourse, express the writers attitude and engage the reader in the communicative interaction.There also have meta

4、discourse characteristics in English News.The metadiscourse play an important role in English News.This paper will research the classifications and functions of metadiscourse in English News. The paper hopes to help readers and language learners to have a better understanding of news reporting so th

5、at readers can appreciate English news more thoroughly. Meanwhile, it also provides a rich resource for future relative writing for those journalists.Key words：metadiscourse ；English News ；classifications ；functions摘 要 1959 年 Harris 提出“元话语”这个术语，指理解语言使用、表示作者或说话人引导受众理解语篇的一种方法。此后，Williams、Vande Kopple、

6、Crismore、Hyland等多名学者对元话语做出研究并对元话语的定义和分类提出不同的观点。1989 年 Crismore 提出话语包括两个层面，基本话语和元话语。元话语是关于话语的话语，它不是语篇的命题内容，而是指在语篇中用于组织语篇结构，表达作者态度并与读者进行交流的显性语言机制。 新闻语篇中也有元话语特征,元话语在新闻语篇中发挥着重要的作用。本文研究新闻语篇中的元话语的种类及功能。本文旨在帮助广大读者及语言学习者更好的理解英语新闻,欣赏其语言;同时,帮助新闻写作者提高写作水平并为今后的研究提供参考。关键词：元话语 英语新闻;分类；功能Contents1. Introduction .1

7、 2. English News.3 2.1 Definition of News.3 2.2 Features of News.3 2.2.1 Timeliness.3 2.2.2 Impact.4 2.2.3 Prominence.4 2.2.4 Proximity.4 2.2.5 Uniqueness.4 2.2.6 Interest.4 2.3 Classification of News.5 2.4 Previous Studies on English News.53. About metadiscourse.7 3.1 Definitions of metadiscourse.7

8、 3.2 Classifications of metadiscourse.8 3.2.1 Lautamattis classification.8 3.2.2 Vande Kopples classification.8 3.2.3 Hylands classifications.9 3.3 Previous Theoretical Studies on Metadiscourse.11 3.3.1 Communicative Approach.11 3.3.2 Sociolinguistic Approach.12 3.3.3 Psycholinguistic Approach.12 3.

9、3.4 Rhetorical Approach.13 3.3.5 Functional-Pragmatic Approach.13 3.4 Empirical Studies of Metadiscourse.144. Metadiscourse in English News.16 4.1 Transition Markers.16 4.2 Frame markers.17 4.3 Endophoric markers.17 4.4 Evidentials and code glosses.18 4.5 Attitude markers.18 4.6 Engagement markers.1

10、9 4.7 Sum up of the functions.205. Conclusion.23References.24Acknowledgements.25 1. IntroductionThe term metadiscourse was coined by Zellig Harris in 1959 to offer a way of understanding language in use, representing a writers or speakers attempts to guide a receivers perception of a text. The conce

11、pt was further developed by scholars such as Williams, Vande Kopple, Crimore and Hyland. In the view of linguists, metadiscourse is a persuasive device that can have important effect on the hearer or reader. Different scholars have different definitions and classifications of metadiscourse.Hyland em

12、ploys Thompson and Thetelas distinction between interactive and interactional resources to classify metadiscourse. He proposes an “interpersonal model of metadiscourse” which includes two major categories, the interactive metadiscourse and interactional metadiscourse. The interactive metadiscourse h

13、elps to guide the reader through the text, including transitions, frame markers, endophoric markers, evidential and code glosses, while the interactional metadiscourse involves the reader in the text, including hedges, boosters, attitude markers, self mentions and engagement markers. This paper is c

14、omposed of the following parts. At the very beginning of the paper, it tells the definition and the function of the metadiscourse, it also tells the classifications of metadiscourse . Secondly, it gives the brief introduction of English News. Next comes the forth part of the paper, which gives a det

15、ailed reveal of the use of metadiscourse in English news. In the fifth part of this paper, author will give a detailed conclusion about the functions of metadiscourse in English news. Then the next part would be the conclusion part of the whole paper.2. English News2.1 Definition of NewsWith regard

16、to the question what is news? countless scholars have seriously given many different answers to it. A specific definition by Bittner (1986) tells that the NEWS can be split into four letters, which stand for the four directions: North, East, West and South. It has shown clearly what is news, that is

17、, things springing up everywhere around the world. There is a well-known saying from B. Bogart, the director of New York Sun: Its not news when a dog bites a man, but absolutely news when you find a man bites a dog. This man-bites-dog definition seems to be absurd, but fully illustrates one of the w

18、idely accepted news values, that is, the unusual, bizarre nature of a recently happened event.Many Chinese scholars also provide their understanding of news. The generally accepted and most influential one is given by Lu Dingyi, who defines news as the report of what has happened recently. The defin

19、ition successfully points out the crucial of newsthe object of news is facts, which must have recently happened. Furthermore, by putting emphasis on the reporting, this definition also confines news to the scope of mass media (Xu, 2003).2.2 Features of NewsNews usually contains some basic elements w

20、hich function to make an event or incident valuable to be reported. In English news, there are some guides to determine what events are so unusual and what information is so necessary that the public should be informed of. These primary guides that determine news to be worth are called news values,

21、or say news features. And there are six features of news.2.2.1 TimelinessTimeliness means that news events must be immediate and recent. Events should be reported as quickly as possible because readers always want to know the latest happenings around them. The shorter the time interval between event

22、s happening and reporting is, the greater the news values are, and the fresher the news contents are. No matter how significant the event and how important the people involved, news value diminishes with time.2.2.2 ImpactImpact is also called importance or significance. It means that only if the events bear a close relation with the public, especially with