Immigration Within the Framework of "fear" in English, Macedonian and Turkish Journalistic Discourse
Keywords:
frame, fear, implicite features, journalistic discourse, linguistic features, critical analysisAbstract
In this paper, we analyze the way the problem of immigration is embedded in English, Macedonian and Turkish journalistic discourse in the framework of "fear". The goal of our investigation is to discover the language strategies employed in the journalistic discourse that exert a negative influence on readers towards immigrants. To reveal the implicit properties of the discourse structures that direct and shape readers’ opinion, first we apply the method of critical discourse analysis. Then, using a comparative method, we establish the similarities and differences in the representation of immigrants in these three discourses taking into consideration that their treatment takes place in different cultural environments. The analysis focuses on identification and comparison of those specially selected lexical devices used in structuring the journalistic text that influence public opinion against immigrants while creating panic and fear among readers. By investigating the language strategies in the text we shed light on the manipulative power of lexical devices used for influencing the reader to take a negative attitude towards the problem of immigration.
The language strategies used in media discourse increase intolerance towards immigrants and draw a boundary between "us" and the "others." Based on the framework of "fear" the analysis shows that the three journalistic discourses use similar linguistic strategies in representation of immigration problems. The results of the analysis should raise readers' awareness of the manipulative power of media and help readers create a defense mechanism against becoming its victim. Knowledge of how to decode the ways in which media construct their reality will help readers recognize and resist the discourse of fear that encourages xenophobia and racism.
References
N. Fairclough. Language and Power. Harlow, Essex: Longman Ltd., 1989.
E. Hollander, McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory London: Sage, 2000 0-7619-7242-0. 2002.
R. Wodak and B. Busch. (2004). Approaches to media texts. The Sage handbook of media studies. J. H. Downing Ed. London: Sage, pp. 105-123 [On-line] Available: http://users.auth.gr/tsokalid/files/wodak.pdf [March 7, 2023].
T. A. van Dijk, News analysis: case studies of international and national news in the press. L. Erlbaum, 1988.
D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, and H. E. Hamilton (eds.). The handbook of discourse analysis. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2001.
J. Charteris-Black, Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor. Springer, 2011.
J. Debiec and J. LeDoux, “Fear and the brain,” Social research, pp. 807–818, 2004.
R. Wodak, “Crisis communication and crisis management during COVID-19,” Global Discourse, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 329–353, 2021.
R. M. Entman, “Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm,” Journal of communication, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 51–58, 1993. [On-line] Available: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x
D. Marko, “Fear control in media discourse,” Southeastern Europe, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 200–219, 2013.
D. L. Altheide, “The news media, the problem frame, and the production of fear,” The sociological quarterly, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 647–668, 1997.
D. L. Altheide and R. S. Michalowski, “Fear in the news: A discourse of control,” Sociological Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 475–503, 1999.
N. Fairclough, Critical language awareness. Routledge, 2014.
G. Weiss and R. Wodak, “Introduction: Theory, interdisciplinarity and critical discourse analysis,” Critical discourse analysis: Theory and interdisciplinarity, pp. 1–32, 2003.
T. A. Van Dijk, Discourse and power. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
A. Mayr and D. Machin, “How to do critical discourse analysis: A multimodal introduction,” How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis, pp. 1–240, 2012.
T. A. Van Dijk, “Ideology: A multidisciplinary approach,” Ideology, pp. 1–384, 1998.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit papers with this journal agree to the following terms.
