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Studies in the Linguistic Sciences

Volume

27,

Number

2 (Fall 1997)

CONSTRUCTING IDEOLOGY: A CRITICAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS


Su Jung Min
University of Illinois at Urbana-Charripaign

s-min@students.uiuc.edu
This study examines the linguistic structures used for propagat-

newspaper

ing specific ideologies through which discourses of a U.S.

construct ideological representations of political events and situations


in

South Korea

amine the

New

to the readers. Critical linguistic analysis

used to ex-

is

York Times coverage of 'the massive labor strikes'

in

South Korea. The analysis contributes to the understanding of the


ideological role of language within news discourse in constructing
representations of the social world. Such research has important implications for teaching awareness of the constructive and functional nature of

language

in general,

and news discourse

in particular,

and

in

out of a school setting.


0.

Introduction

Approaches
ships

among

to critical linguistics

have identified several dimensions

o\'

relation-

language, ideology, and power. Critical linguistic analysis aims at

uncovering the role of language in constructing social identities, relationships, isand events. Its central concern has been to examine the socio-political na-

sues,

ture of the texts

investigate

how

and discourses through which


these discourses maintain

erties (Fairclough 1989;

social reality

power through

is

constituted and

their ideological prop-

Fowler 1987).

An increasing number of studies from various disciplines (Caldas-Coulthard


Coulthard 1996; Chilton 1982; Curran 1977; van Dijk 1988a, 1988b, 1991,
1993; Fairclough 1989; Fowler 1991; Hall 1985; Hartley 1982; Hartmann et al.,
1974; Tuchman 1978) has demonstrated that, due to the nature of news itself,
news cannot be a totally value-free reflection of facts. News-producing processes

&

comprise selection,

interpretation,

and

presentation

of events

to

audiences,

thereby constructing reality in a manner corresponding to the underlying ideologies of the presenters and their intended audience. Anything that is said or written about the world

is

articulated from a particular ideological position.

report imposes a structure of values on whatever

news

it

represents,

news

and so inevitably

reports produce meanings that construct ideological representations of the

social world.

Recent studies on media discourse from the perspective of critical discourse


Bruck 1989; Clayman 1990; Dunmire 1997; van Leeuwen 1995; Wodak 1991; Wodak & Matouschek 1993) have demonstrated how
the Western news media linguistically construct ideological representations of different groups of people and different countries, and how these representations
analysis (Brookes 1995;

148

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

exercise a great deal of power in shaping our interpretation of the world. But

news

little

Such an analysis
is important for the further understanding of how discourses of U.S. news reports
construct ideological representations of socio-political events in South Korea to
the readers and how these representations contribute to the shaping of common
beliefs and value systems in readers. It is the claim of this study that the ideological representations of a picture of events in South Korea can be discerned by
attention has been paid to U.S.

analyzing the

New

South Korea called

reports about South Korea.

York Times coverage of a particular socio-political issue


'the

massive labor strikes

in

South Korea'

in

terms of

in

critical

linguistics.

In this study

will

examine the ideological representation of

South Korea' through a

labor

'the

New

York
Times reports. I will argue that news reports by the capitalist news media construct an ideological representation that is pro-government and pro-corporation,
which consequently is anti-labor. This representation is achieved through linguistic structures and processes at various levels. It is hoped that studies like this one
will create an awareness of the constructive and functional nature of language
strikes in

linguistic analysis of the

critical

within news discourse.

Theoretical and analytical framework

1.

The

theoretical

framework of

this

study comes from the perspectives of

linguistics (van Dijk 1988a, 1988b, 1993, 1994; Fairclough 1989, 1992;

1991; Halliday 1985; Halliday

Thompson

&

Hasan 1989; Hodge & Kress 1988; Kress 1989;


whose aim is to study only linguistic

1984). Unlike formal linguistics,

form without

its

social function, the aims of critical linguistics are to explore the

social function of language, to describe linguistic processes in social terms,

reveal the

critical

Fowler

'ideological and political investments'

guage study

(Thompson

is

means of understanding

the

and to

(Fairclough 1992:315). Lan-

manner

in

which society works

1994). Uncovering the social function of language entails interpreting

language and meaning within a social context: Language can be explained only
as the realization of meanings that are inherent in the social system (Halliday

1985). One aspect of meaning worth studying is what is called 'ideology' or 'the
ways in which meaning serves to sustain asymmetrical relations of power'
(Thompson 1984:4). 'The workings of ideology' thus can be discerned through
linguistic anlaysis. This

concept of ideology

is

adopted

provides a more explicit link to the position of language

in this

paper because

it

in society.

Consistent with the above conceptualization, the method of systematic tex-

uncover the way in which discourses oper- |


ate in society comes from the unified discursive framework proposed in Fairclough 1989, 1992. As Fairclough (1989:129) suggests, an ideology of the power-

tual analysis

ful class is

adopted

in this study to

turned into a universal belief through the process of 'naturalization'

and the media plays an important

Thus

critical

language study

is

underlying power relationships

role in naturalizing these

dominant ideologies.
uncover

a proper approach in language studies to


in the

use of language that are normally hidden.

A critical linguistic analysis

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:

Fairclough 1989 identifies three stages of

critical linguistic analysis:

scription of the text; second, interpretation of the relationship


interaction; third, explanation of the relationship

The

context.

second and

first stage,

description of the text,

is

between

first,

text

between interaction and

de-

and

social

the level of textual analysis.

third stages are the integration of contextual analysis

analysis. Thus, the

149

The

and interpretive

method of analysis employed in this study will be the interacEven though Fairclough presents the stages

tion of these three levels of analysis.

of analyses

of discursive analysis, social analysis,

in a linear fashion, the stages

and interpretation and explanation are often simultaneous processes. Therefore,


the analysis to be presented in this paper will integrate

done

achieve a unified analysis of

to

how

underlying accounts of the massive labor strikes


constructed

in the

New

all

the ideological
in

three stages. This

and

is

political interests

South Korea are linguistically

York Times.

Simultaneously with the above sociological approach, the socio-cognitive

framework
course.

works

is

From

necessary to examine the ideological construction within news dis-

conceived as 'basic frame-

the socio-cognitive angle, ideologies are

that organize social representations in the

(van Dijk 1994:1). Ideology

is

minds of social group members'

therefore conceptualized as a mental

schema con-

sisting of various categories such as identity/membership, task, goal, norms, posi-

of which define and shape the ideology of a group. In these cognitive

tions, all

structures of ideology and

its

social manifestation the role of attitudes plays a

central part. Attitudes are manifested in discourse via values accorded

and con-

tained in linguistic items, and the identity membership that underlies the well

known

'us vs.

them' categorization

is

found

in

many

attitudes (van Dijk 1994).

Thus, the fact that attitudes form such a central part in the internal structure of

ideology emphasizes the intensity of attitudinal orientation and values


in

news

this

approach,

strikes in

New

it

can be argued that the

New

South Korea create the 'fixed

relevant group
the

embedded

reports and accentuates the need to identify and study them. Following

members.

It is

argued

York Times reports about the labor

attitude'

in this

York Times coverage of the labor strikes

and negative values by the

'us vs.

that

is

coherently shared by

paper that the ideology embedded


in

in

South Korea ascribes positive

them' dichotomy via linguistic choices that

create and sustain positive attitudes toward the 'us' category while creating con-

sequent negative attitudes towards the 'them' category. Therefore, the approach
of socio-cognitive analysis (van Dijk 1994)
it

establishes the link

examine the inherent ideological

study

is

Times

reports, the cognitive

to

discursive

framework

is

also adopted in this study

is

between ideology and

attitudes.

attitude

embodied

New

York

framework provided by Fairclough.

The model adopted

New

in the

very important along with the detailed

in this

study, in short, synthesizes the external manifes-

tation of ideology in discourse with the internal cognitive effects

the

because

Since the purpose of this

York Times news reports about the massive labor strikes

on the reader of
in

South Korea.

150
2.

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

Data

This study

is

based on the analysis of data from the

age of 'the massive labor strikes

in

New York Times news coverNew York Times was se-

South Korea'. The

lected because of its status as a national newspaper in the United States. Four
months' (August and September 1994, December 1996, and January 1997) coverage of the relevant events was surveyed. The period of coverage selected covers roughly the peak of the duration of the issue. The data comprise every news
item (a total of 29 articles) from the New York Times. In collecting data, coverage

by outside sources

AP, UP, Reuters News Agency was excluded.

data analyzed in this study are written by the correspondents of the


Times.

A critical

news stories discusses


show how they underpin

discourse analysis of the

All of the

New

York

specific textual

news to
the ideological
meanings of text, and shows how specific linguistic structures and styles are employed to construct political interests underlying news accounts and to show the
'us' vs. 'them' dichotomy in operation.

patterns in the presentation of

3.

Critical discourse analysis

3.1

Headlines

As

the first step in the textual analysis of 'the massive labor strikes in South

rea', the headlines of all articles are analyzed.

and relevant information of


main event of the story and
gether with the

the

lead,

the

news

discourse. Headlines simply abstract the

are therefore entirely derivable from the story. To-

headline forms the

'strategically serves as the expression of

or thematic structure
tioning as an

initial

is

Ko-

Headlines show the most prominent

its

summary of

macrostructure

best recalled by readers'

the
this

...

report,

which

macrostructure

(van Dijk 1988b:226). Func-

summary, headlines define the situation reported

in the press

and provide preferred reading and interpretation for news text to readers (see Bell
1991; van Dijk 1988; van Dijk & Kintsch 1983). Since readers often read and recall only headlines and the leads, they construct not only preferred meanings for
the news texts for the readers but also the most prominent ideological view of the
texts. In order to investigate the most prominent and specific ideological frameworks in news discourse on 'the massive labor strikes in South Korea', therefore,
the headlines are examined. The headlines of all articles on the massive labor
strikes in South Korea in the New York Times of August and September 1987, and
December 1996 to January 1997 are given in the Appendix, and are analyzed
below.

Macroproposition

A general
shown by

ideological picture of 'the massive labor strikes in South Korea'

the topic analysis of

news items (Hartmann

1988a). Unlike the subject denoted by a single concept


strikes in

South Korea), topics are propositions contained

'routinely expressed in the ideal headline of a single

et

al.

(e.g.,

1974; van

report'

Topics are
(van Dijk

1988a: 170), and therefore, are the most important information expressed by a

For instance, under the subject of the massive labor

strikes,

Dijk

the massive labor

in a subject.

news

is

text.

both headlines Strikes

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:

mounting

in

A critical linguistic analysis

South Korea and Thousands gather

in

Seoul

to

mark democratic

gain are topics.


for at an overall, more global
and sentence connections; they
should be identified at the level of 'semantic macrostructure' which makes explicit the overall topics. Thus, macropropositions are derived by macrorules of

The

topics,

however, should be accounted

level than the microlevel of words, sentences,

generalization, selection, and construction that semantically

quences to a macroproposition
tions describe the gist of the

at

a higher level.

news

map

proposition se-

Because semantic macroproposi-

reports, the analysis of

macropropositions

crucial for understanding the properties of headlines. Therefore, in order to

most prominent meanings of the news

the

texts, the

is

show

macropropositions or topics

shows the macropropositions of the


29 headlines are analyzed. Table
headlines of the New York Times for 'the massive labor strikes in South Korea'.
of

all

The

analysis of macropropositions of the headlines reveals the following scripts

and situation models (van Dijk 1988b) associated with the reports of the massive
labor strikes in South Korea.

Table
Macropropositions of headlines

massive labor

strikes in

New

in the

York Times coverage of the

South Korea. August and September of 1987,

December 1996

to

January 1997.

Macropropositions

Total

Number

Striking workers are violent and uncontrolable

Labor
Labor

strikes cause national

economic

loss

strikes cause social unrest

Government backs democratic process


Workers are motivated by self-interest
Management is cooperative

Strikes are controlled by leftist students

Workers are not justified


Koreans (both government and strikers) cannot negotiate
Labor strikes are a labor-management dispute
South Korean government and strikers are not democratic

2
1
1

According to the New York Times reports, the labor strikes in South Korea
labor-management dispute, not a political issue related to labor law and the
freedom of labor activities. The labor strikes cause huge economic losses, which

are a

because the companies involved in labor strikes represent


economic development of the nation. The labor strikes also cause social unrest. The striking workers are violent, uncontrollable, and motivated by selfinterest (higher wages). They are controlled by leftist students and dissident
groups, and consequently run counter to democracy, thus their action cannot be
justified. As a counterpart of workers in the conflicts, corporate management
shows an effort to resolve the problem. Neither the South Korean government
result in national losses

the

nor the workers are able to negotiate because of a lack of democratic tradition.

152

Studies

However,

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

Korean government

the South

is

attempting to be democratic as a me-

diator trying to solve the labor-management dispute in a democratic

way and

is

credited for that role.

Lexicalization

The choice of words


preting events.

It

is

can define

important

how we

providing readers with cues for inter-

in

perceive the actions and the intentions of

the participants in events, and thereby convey the

message

that the

producer of

the text intended readers to receive. Lexical items construct particular ideological

representations of experiences or events. Apart from this experiential function,

vocabulary has expressive value implying the producer's negative or positive


evaluation of actions, participants, and events. Therefore, the structure of vocabulary can be regarded as ideologically based. The selection of word-meanings

through lexicalization

is

one of the major dimensions of news discourse fashioned

by ideologies.

Where an unusually
lated terms that are near

high degree of wording, often involving clusters of re-

synonyms, occurs,

this

overwording or overlexicalization

often indicates a key concept or particular preoccupation

that

gives certain

meanings the producer of texts intends to convey (Fairclough 1989; Fowler


1991). Overwording around the concept of violence, through the repetition of
words such as 'strikes mounting', 'violence', 'pressing', 'protest', 'crisis', 'unrest', 'grip', and 'clashes' and the use of interrelated terms such as 'killed',
'death', 'paralyze', 'exports off, point to an area of intense preoccupation with

violence and social unrest caused by labor strikes in South

warned on labor violence


test (23

Worker

(6 September),

is

killed in

Korea: Koreans

South Korea pro-

in Seoul as strike widens its grip (29 December),


South Korea as unrest spreads (28 December): Workers

August), Clashes

350,000 on

strike in

pressing for higher wages (12 August).

By taxonomic

organization of vocabulary, lexical structure also has a cate-

gorizing function, sorting concepts into

strictly

defined categorial relationships

between classes of concepts. The vocabulary dichotomizes social processes into


two groups, 'democratic' on the one hand and 'anti-democratic' on the other.
The sort of structural opposition of words such as 'violence', 'threaten', 'paralyze' on the one hand, 'democratic gain', 'democratic process', 'democratic give
and take' on the other has an effect of the reproduction of ideology: Labor
strikes are violent

and threatening, therefore go against the times of democracy:

Koreans warned on labor violence (6 September), Strikers threaten to paralyze


Seoul (30 December), Government backs union: crisis tests commitment to
democratic process (18 August), South Korea's... Kim and strikers unschooled
in democratic give and take (30 December).

The reformulation of events through

the relexicalization of terms has inter-

These include the naturalized reformulation of


'Hyundai' as 'Korean Symbol' which gives an impression that the Hyundai company represents South Korean industry, thus labor strikes cause heavy national
esting

ideological

effects.

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:


losses:

lence;

A critical linguistic analysis

153

Hyundai Korean symbol (20 August), and Koreans warned on labor


Car exports off sharply (6 September).

vio-

The choice of verbs has established expressive value. Verbs are used to eior invalidate the participants. The concrete processes 'seize',
endorse
ther
'threaten' are used to signal the actions of workers: Workers seize Hyundai
plants in South Korea (18 August), Strikers threaten to paralyze Seoul (30 December). The negative evaluation of the writers is implicit in these verbs. On the
contrary, the material or verbal processes 'backs', 'agrees', 'mollify', and 'yields'

Korean government and


company: Government backs union: Crisis tests commitment to democratic
process (18 August), South Korean company agrees to recognize union (20
August), To mollify labor groups, South Korean leader yields a bit (22 January),
are used to signal actions or statements of the South

where these verbs give

relatively positive evaluation.

Participants and processes

The analysis of

participants and processes has to

do with the ways

in

which

choices between different grammatical processes and participant types are


to

made

be ideologically significant. The particular selections are from the system of

transitivity. Transitivity refers to

how

encode

text producers

1985 explains transitivity


of reality

is

that

it

in

how meaning

is

represented in the clause by

language their mental picture of

in

reality.

Halliday

terms of processes: 'Our most powerful conception

consists of "goings-on".

These goings-on are sorted out

in

the

semantic system of the language and expressed through the grammar of the
clause' (101).

Two

main components of the semantic processes expressed by

itself and participants involved in the process. Sebetween process types has an effect of highlighting or backgrounding
agency, and such choices are ideological because the motivated obfuscation of
agency results in leaving attributions of causality and responsibility unclear.

clauses are the verbal process


lection

The
them
esses:

rean

Korean

South

agents/doers

in the

New

government

companies

and

York Times. This

is

are

as participants functioning as actors or speakers of material

Seoul

in switch,

company agrees

moves

to resolve

constructed

and verbal proc-

a labor dispute (19 August), South Ko-

recognize union (20 August), Seoul seeks calm

to

worker's death (24 August); or as

as

achieved grammatically by placing

classifiers

after-

within the nominalized processes:

Hyundai Korean symbol (20 August), where

readers

draw upon the socio-

cognitive representation to interpret the roles of the government and

company

economy: They are agents and actors endeavoring to


resolve the disputes in a democratic way and taking a firm stand against violence
caused by workers. In this way, the South Korean government and companies are
represented as agent/actor and workers as patient/receiver.

which represent

Workers

the state

are grammatically put both as agents,

affected participants,

i.e.,

in the

i.e.,

sense of being 'done

and as
and as receivers of ver-

as actors, speakers

to'

bal processes.

Workers

are grammatically structured as actors

esses such as violence:

Workers

seize

and direct agents of procin South Korea (18

Hyundai plants

154

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

August), Shipyard strike nears end in Korea: Workers who mourn the death of
a laborer, must accept a pact (27 August), Strikers threaten to paralyze Seoul
(30 December), or as classifiers in the nominal group where processes have been
,

nominalized: Workers pressing for higher wages (12 August), Kim and strikers
unschooled in democratic give and take (30 December), South Korean workers
to limit their strike to once a

week (19 January), 350,000 on

strike in

South Ko-

rea as unrest spreads (28 December), where strikers are represented as motivated
by self-interest and not being able to behave in a democratic way. In the last ex-

ample, the rhetoric of numbers is used to achieve credibility with the reader. This
has an effect of stressing the preciseness and truthfulness of the text.

When

talks, the agency of worker


backgrounded by attenuation or omission. The effect of attenuation is prominent where the relational verb is omitted and the circumstantial elements, which are normally grammatically subordinate in status to the process, are
included: Talks on draft constitution intensifying in Seoul (25 August).

participants

describing processes of negotiation and


is

Workers

to'. Through
backgrounded or omitagent and affected participant at the same time:

also appear as affected participants,

i.e.,

being 'done

the use of middle clauses where causality and agency


ted,

workers are construed

Workers who mourn


,

as

the death of a laborer, must accept a pact (27 August).

affected participants, workers are put


struction

cluded:

where agency

Worker

is

is

is

in the subject position in a

omitted and, instead, the circumstantial element

killed in South

Korea protest (23 August), where

As

passive conis

in-

the death of

the worker appears to be engendered by the workers' protest, attributing responsibility to

them. Workers are receivers of verbal processes by the government:

South Korean

strikes

expand as president delivers appeal

to

labor unions (7

January).

For the question about what important

part of the

message the grammatical

construction constitutes for the participants, and what ideological and social

meanings result, the above analysis suggests that the role of the South Korean
government and corporations is primarily a positive one. The South Korean government and corporations participate predominantly as actors involving actions
and decisions regarding the labor dispute and the behavior of workers. They are
represented as protecting democracy from the violent strikers who cause social
unrest and national losses. The role of workers, on the other hand, suggests they
are passive participants in the labor disputes; they are misled by the

vated by

self-interest, and,

left,

moti-

consequently, cause national economic losses. They

are represented as actors involved in actions of violence, causing unrest in South

Korean

dichotomized
government and capitalist corporations
positive self-representation and workers in 'their' negative represen-

society. Therefore, the representations of participants are

according to the
are in 'our'

capitalist relations: the

tation.

Thematization

The theme is what a text


most important information in

is

about and, apart from the focus of the clause, the

the clause.

It

appears in the fust part of the clause.

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:

The

A critical linguistic analysis

155
what

analysis of the thematic patterns of the headlines not only reveals

in-

formation the writer considers would catch the eye, but also gives insight into

common

assumptions taken for granted about social

reality.

The thematic patterns in the headlines are oriented either to participants:


Workers seize Hyundai plants in South Korea (18 August), or to processes in the
reduced form of nominalization: Clashes

Seoul as strike widens

in

grip (29

its

December).

Workers and

leftist

students occupy the highest proportion of thematic po-

among

29). They are predominantly presented in relation


and violence, or they are thematized as passive participants, though less often. The South Korean government and police are the nextmost thematized participants (21%, 6 among 29). References to the South Korean
government are in relation to its role of mediator and its commitment to the demo-

(59%,

sitions

that

17

is,

to processes of clashes

and references to police are in relation to control. Corporate management occupies a relatively small proportion of thematic positions (7%, 2
among 29). However, it is thematized as the symbol of economic development in
South Korea and in relation to its effort to solve the labor disputes.

cratic process,

The consistent thematic positioning of workers,


volved

the

number of workers

the violent nature of strikes. These thematic foregroundings of workers


the

mind of readers

On

government

in

common

the

sulting in social unrest

ing workers.

assumptions and beliefs about labor

and national

losses,

evoke

in

strikes' re-

and negative impressions about

the contrary, the frequent foregrounding of the South

strik-

Korean

thematic position in relation to processes involving legitimate me-

diation and democratic problem-solving, and thematization of corporate

ment suggest

in-

and nominalizations involving clashes and violence foreground

in strikes,

manage-

a preoccupation with their positive roles in contrast to the violence

of strikes as a direct threat to the nation. The themes thereby contribute to the
naturalization of the workers' role as violent strikers causing national losses, the

government
motivating

and guardian of democracy, and corporations as the


development. This naturalization is achieved
transformations because it is the most effective way of drawing

as a mediator

force

through linguistic

for

national

the picture of social reality

mind of

in the

3.2

readers.

The news

The following

texts

are the discourse analyses of the

massive labor strikes


the

news

pro-government and pro-corporation/anti-labor

in

South Korea

to

New

show how

York Times reports about the


specific textural structures in

texts are used to generate particular ideological meanings,

and

to inter-

pret the textual pattern at the socio-political level. This part of textual analysis fo-

cuses on two significant features: the representations of participants and proc-

and quotations.

esses,

Participants and processes


I

have already shown

that

an analysis of participants and processes through

a transitivity system expresses certain

meanings by foregrounding and others by

156

Studies

backgrounding through

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

linguistic structures. Analysis reveals similar representa-

tions of the roles of participants in the headlines.


ticipants' roles

and processes are

not,

The representations of

however, so prominent as

the par-

in the headlines,

news texts of the labor strikes in December 1996 and January


The massive labor strikes in December 1996 were set off by the new labor
laws that made it easier for companies to lay off workers and delayed for three
years the authorization of labor unions. The strikes differed from the previous labor unrest represented in the news; the news reports made them appear to be
more about making gains in wages and working conditions. Therefore, while
particularly in the

1997.

maintaining the positive representations of the government and corporate man-

agement and downgrading workers as revealed in


seem to moderate the dichotomous representations.

The negative
achieved

representations

at the level

of workers

the headlines, the

involved

in

labor

news

texts

strikes

are

of global schematic structure by the strategic positioning,

descriptions, background information, explanation, and evaluation, as well as the

negative lexical choices for a participant's action. For examples, workers are
foregrounded not only through occupying thematic position at the level of the
clause but by appearing in the lead paragraph (in 18 among 29 issues). Along
with the headlines, the lead is a summary and focusing act with the headlines.
Thus, the lead foregrounds the roles of workers that the text producer regards as
most relevant. All references to workers in the leads are in relation to processes
involving social unrest, violence, clashes, demands for higher wages, and death of
the worker killed in protest. This systemic foregrounding in the lead positions

them

as central players in labor disputes centered around violence.

The negative

representations of workers are also achieved through the rhetoric of juxtaposition

so that positive actions or intentions to form unions freely by workers are put side

by side with the descriptions of violence and

social unrest. Therefore, positive

pictures of workers are apparently downgraded.

The

positive representations of the South Korean

government and corporaby the strategic

tions are also achieved at the level of global schematic structure

positioning, descriptions, as well as positive lexical choices for a participant's ac-

For example, the South Korean government and corporations are foregrounded not only by occupying the thematic position at the level of the clause,
but by appearing in the lead paragraph (10 and 2, each) and by the evaluation of
events at the key points in the text. Their statements are credited as evaluating
and confirming events. And the rhetoric of violence defines workers negatively
tion.

as in '...wide spread labor unrest helped to persuade the military to step in' (12

August), but makes a positive representation of South Korean government and


corporations in 'Waiting patiently', 'the government had acted so far with admi-

new labor law unfavorable to


workers and sticking to the anti-union policy, the South Korean government is
credited for economic development and changing policies.
rable restraint' (12 August). While passing the

The representations of

the participants' roles and processes

by

transitivity

structures of the sentence are not, however, so prominent as in the headlines.

Headlines are

initial

summaries of news texts and therefore foreground what the

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:

A critical linguistic analysis

57

producer considers relevant. Headlines construct therefore the most prominent


ideological view of the texts as well as preferred meanings for the
contrast, the

news

texts are

guided by

news texts. In
news value of objectivity'
downgrading of workers is not

'the journalistic

(Brooks 1995:482) and consequently the

total

appropriate.

Quotations

An analysis of quotations (direct and indirect) in the news texts shows that
South Korean government officials, business leaders, and a western diplomat are
represented as important and reliable. In terms of dichotomous source usage, a
wider variety of participants are quoted as sources and evaluate events:
estimates, the Korean Labor Minister, anonymous analysts, business

official

leaders,

spokespersons, a western diplomat, and western businessmen. Workers, labor


leaders, international labor groups,

and opposition party leaders are merely

state-

ment-makers.

There is some difference in the number of quotations (direct and indirect)


between participants for the government and corporations on the one hand,
workers and labor leaders on the other. While participants for the government
and corporations appear as news sources, explain and evaluate events 97 times in
whole issues, workers and labor representatives are quoted 41 times and 37 times,
respectively. Table 2 shows the number of quotations for each side. The number
of quotations are divided into two groups, pro-government and corporation vs.
pro-workers.

Table 2 shows that the South Korean government and corporations are

quoted more than workers and labor


marked. The difference, however, is

leaders,
in

how

even though the difference is not


the two sets of participants are

quoted.

Table 2

Number

of quotations in the

New York Times

coverage of the massive

labor strikes in South Korea.

Quotations

158

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997

However, the more


workers and labor leaders.
'insist'.

The statements of workers


e.g., in the text

and

neutral words, 'say'

are used to discredit the actions of other workers,

make martyr

of 29 August following the headline Koreans fail to

of worker, a family member of

used for

are often

'said'

worker

killed in a clash with the police

is

de-

who had led the


words for the way work-

scribed as discrediting the workers' action: 'Mr. Lee's uncle,

family's fight for a private burial, had nothing but bitter

handled the funeral. "It's definitely against the moral tradition of the people
and the nation," he said, "It's definitely against humanism,'" which appears at
the end of the news texts and consequently has an effect of totally discrediting
the actions of workers. Another example is in the news texts of 17 January, 1997,
following the headline Thriving, South Koreans strike to keep it that way, where
ers

'"Now

several workers are quoted to discredit labor unions:

union. During the strikes,


to

do with

us," he insisted.'

following information

lost a lost

of money...

It

dislike the labor

(labor law issue) has nothing

The statements of workers are also discredited by the


news texts, which undermines the workers' state-

in the

e.g., in the news texts of 29 December, 1996, following the headline


Clashes in Seoul as strike widens its grip, a worker's voice is undermined by the
following information and the statements of a government official:

ments,

'This strike will

go on

indefinitely,'

Park

Moon

Jin,

a leader of

the Democratic Federation, said today, pausing on a Seoul street cor-

ner after giving a speech to workers. She had been roundly applauded

when she shouted into a bullhorn, 'We


Young Sam regime at once!'
Not

all

the

members

were

Ji

Won,

striking

down

Kim

the

of the union alliances are on strike, and there

are huge variations in estimates of the

Chung

should smash

number of workers taking

part.

a Labor Ministry official, said today that about 120,000

and

that the

number was

declining.

Another example is in the news text of 30 December, 1996, following the headline South Korea's immovable objects, where the statements of a worker who
complains about the government's undemocratic repression are negatively evaluated by the reporter:
...

said

Cho

Chul, 36, a hotel cook

who

carried a banner at a

la-

bor rally today. 'There's physical oppression, as there was before, and

now

in addition there's legal

and economic repression as

well.

So

it

is

tougher than before.'


racy
that

Such assertions seem vastly overstated. There is far more democthan there was under the dictators, and the best evidence for
is that people like Mr. Cho cheerfully give their names to a re-

now

porter.

This

is

the most frequent form of discrediting workers in the

Workers

are also discredited by quoting

New

York Times.

previous statements and actions that

contradict their present statements and actions, e.g., in the text of 8 January, 1997,

following the headline South Korea labor leader manages strike and awaits ar-

Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:


rest, the

page

is

labor leader

in

159

who

coordinated the largest work stopMonday, Mr. Kwon screamed invectives


anger of the crowd with his sharp rhetoric.

Kil

reported as saying 'At a rally on

Kim and worked

against President

But

Kwon Young

A critical linguistic analysis

the

an interview today he was soft-spoken and affable, hardly the image of a

radical.'

Statements of workers and labor leaders include unreasonable, violent, and


emotional expressions: 'She had been roundly applauded when she shouted into
a bullhorn, "we should smash down the Kin Young Sam regime at once!"' (29

December, 1996);
'overthrow the

'Striking South

Kim Young Sam

for the opposition to use

Korean workers threatened

to paralyze Seoul',

government!', 'she added that

it

was acceptable

undemocratic steps because the governing party had

gained a majority only by manipulating' (30 December^ 1996). These statements


are often quoted in the reports of violent strikes and agitation by workers.

The

leaders of the opposition party are less prominent, but

usually

are

quoted as credible sources. While they are usually dissatisfied with the government, they sometimes give a positive evaluation of the government and events.
When they became too extreme against the government, their statements are
sometimes undermined by information on their previous actions in the news texts,
e.g., in the

news

text of

22 January, 1997, following the headline To mollify labor


bit, the statement of the leader of an oppo-

groups. South Korean leader yields a


sition party is discredited

by information on previous actions of opposition lead-

ers that contradict the current ones:

But a spokesman
leader,

Kim Jong

second largest opposition party, whose

for the

Phil, also

attended the meeting, said there was

still

'huge gap between the ruling and opposition parties' and that the
President 'was not sincere at

somewhat

cautious. During

all.'

...

much

Opposition parties have also been

of the strike the parties declined to

on the new labor law, waiting to see which


wind was blowing and happy to see President Kim stew in his
juice. Only recently, as public opinion became clearer, did opposition
leaders step up their campaign against the labor law and seek to
clearly state their opinions

way

the

strengthen ties with labor leaders.

The major function of statements of various participants on the side of the


government and corporation is not only to describe and give information, but also
to confirm and evaluate events in terms of the losses of companies and the whole
South Korean economy caused by

strikes, e.g., in the

news

text of 12 August,

1987, following the headline Strikes mounting in South Korea, South Korea's
Labor Minister is quoted warning strikers of the economic losses: 'Korea's Labor

warned today that the Government might move in if the unand he estimated that the disputes had already cost $125 million in lost production opportunities and $55 million in exports,' where the statement is represented as a fact without verification and consequently gets credit for
judging strikers. Following this, business leaders are quoted in the same text to
show their concern about national losses: 'Business leaders have expressed conMinister, Lee

Hun

Ki,

rest did not subside,

160

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

cern that plant shutdowns and

own comThe statements of

could hurt not only their

late deliveries

panies, but also South Korea's image as a powerful exporter.'


the

government

officials are

quoted to justify their actions against

define strikes as inter-organizational conflicts,

1987, following the headline South Korean

e.g., in the

news

company agrees

to

and to
20 August,

strikers

text of

recognize union,

Deputy Labor Minister is quoted as saying 'Mr. Han told reporters this afternoon that Hyundai's labor dispute was an internal affair ... but when social disorder occurs, the Government will step in and mediate fairly.' These statements
are not re-interpreted by the news report. Therefore, there is no clear boundary
between the voice of the news reports and spokespersons of the government and
the

corporation.

The statements of
issues), e.g., in the

mounting

in

news

South

on the side of the South Korean government


news text as credible and overall evaluation (in 7

participants

are often quoted at the end of a

text of 12 August, 1987, following the headline Strikes

Korea,

'Businesses are not really hurt

a
if

western

businessman

is

quoted

saying

as

things are settled in a short time, because they

have enough excess capacity and inventory to make it up', he said. 'In the long
run, company expenses will go up, but that's the price you pay for democracy.'
Another example is in the news text of 30 December, 1996, following the headline South Korea's immovable objects, where a government official is quoted as
saying 'This government is fully committed to reform,' the official said. 'But
sometimes you find that reform is more difficult than revolution.' Their statements
give an overall evaluation of the events: while striking workers cause national
losses, the government is doing its best to resolve the issues because that is the
cost for democracy. These evaluations are not re-interpreted by the news reports,
consequently they are transformed into seemingly objective accounts that merely
reflect social reality.

4.

Conclusion

The models of

combine an analysis of the socio-political connews events in order to deduce the


ideological framework of news media. An examination of the New York Times
news reports on a socio-political issue, called 'the massive labor strikes in South
critical linguistics

texts with an analysis of the coverage of

Korea', demonstrates

how

the political and ideological interests underlying the

newspaper reports are naturalized through linguistic constructions as presupposed sensible accounts of social reality. An analysis of the news reports on the
labor strikes in South Korea by capitalist mass media manifests capitalist ideologies that are pro-government and pro-corporation, and reveals the 'us vs. them'

news framework
talists'

in representing the events.

interests into

presupposed national

The news

reports transform the capi-

interests,

marginalizing the rights of

workers, class conflict into cultural pluralistic consensus, and power into neutral

The government and corporate management belong


and workers are put in the 'them' sphere.
authority.

The New York Times pays attention to


ment and foregrounds the government's role

to

an

'us'

the interests of corporate

sphere

manage-

as a neutral authority struggling to

Su Jung Mjn: Constructing ideology:

democracy and having

create

A critical linguistic analysis

the capacity to solve the issue within the existing

system, and minimizes the history of violent repression of labor.

demands of workers are undermined, the nature of


bor-management dispute, their political perspectives

The

rights

and

strikes are routinized as a la-

are minimized even when the


government's new labor law, and the violent nature of
strikes is highlighted. Although they are the largest group in society, Korean
workers have never had any political representation. Workers have human needs
and wants beyond higher wages and agreeable working conditions. They need
strikes are against the

an institutional forum to articulate and press for their human, not just worker,

wages and

terests. Better

limited unionization, therefore, will not provide

in-

an en-

during solution to the labor unrest. These complex sets of political reasons are totally

ignored

New

in the

York Times coverage.

Cultural translation of the labor strikes are ideologically important.

Korea

tributing the labor strikes in South

'the

to

and against cultural traditions such as Confucian morality, the news


minimize the political significance of the underlying issues.
style

At the textual

level, linguistic

at-

stories

analysis of participant roles and processes in

transitivity structure, thematic patterns, macroproposition, lexicalization,


torical

By

old-fashioned management'

and rhe-

devices reveals a transformation of ideological and political interests into

social reality.

The news discourse

the journalistic

cannon of

in the

New

objectivity, balance,

torical linguistic structures

mask

its

York Times

and

is

seemingly guided by

neutrality, while

seeming arhe-

persuasive rhetorical function constructing

representations of events.

The New York Times

show

that there

but views within narrow ideological

day social
5.

life is

Korea
news media make us believe,
frames through which the reality of every-

reports of the massive labor strikes in South

not a wide range of views that

is

constituted (Hall et

al.,

1978; Kress 1996).

Implications

This study

is

a contribution to the area of critical sociolinguistic research in that

the theoretical and methodological

language

in the

news

framework

have adopted reveals the role of


it belongs in

reports in sustaining relations of power. Thus,

the category of critical language study: a language study that 'places a broad

conception of the social study of language

at

the

core of language

study'

(Fairclough 1989:13).
This study links ideology and social practice. In her recent book, Hasan

common everyday actions


actors who are far from thinking

(1996:1 13) argues that 'ideologies live through the

both verbal and non-verbal of


consciously about

it'.

a host of social

Considering that reading newspapers

part of our daily routine, the pervasive role of ideology

newspaper

is

is

a fixed automatic

most evident

in the

that this study deals with.

Another implication of this study is that, as Fairclough (1989:235) points


media has hardly ever been attempted due to the lack of a

out, 'critique of the

general access to

modes of

analysis.' This study attempts to

make

it

possible for

162

Studies

in

the Linguistic Sciences 27:2 (Fall 1997)

the marginalized parties to

assume the

right to reply to those represented in the

newspapers.
This study has implications for teaching language awareness to adults as
well as students in and out of a school setting, and opens

new

directions of re-

search that would devise strategies and methods of achieving

critical

language

awareness. Newspaper readers cannot easily read through a newspaper disinterestedly, and be aware of what is biased. What we really need is an educational

program

in critical reading within

which

critical linguistics

would be

new meth-

odological input.

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Su Jung Min: Constructing ideology:

A critical linguistic analysis

65

APPENDIX
The

1.

New

York Times headlines of 'the massive labor strikes in South Korea'


August and September 1987, December 1996 to January 1997.

Strikes

mounting

in

South Korea; Workers pressing for higher wages: Together

with the right to form unions (12 August)

Thousands gather in Seoul to mark democratic gain (16 August)


Workers seize Hyundai plants in South Korea: 40,000 return to work: Government backs union Crisis tests commitment to democratic process ( 8 August)
2.
3.

4.

Seoul, in switch,

moves

to resolve a labor dispute (19

August)

Hyundai Korean symbol (20 August)


South Korean company agrees to recognize union (20 August)
7. Worker is killed in South Korea protest (23 August)
8. Seoul seeks calm after worker's death (24 August)
9. Talks on draft constitution intensifying in Seoul (25 August)
10. 6 South Korean students held on political charges (26 August)
11. Shipyard strike nears end in Korea: workers, who mourn the death of a laborer, must accept a pact (27 August)
12. Koreans fail to make martyr of worker (29 August)
13. In Seoul, colleges are open and students protests begin (2 September)
14. 20,000 workers in South Korea resume strike against Hyundai (2 September)
15. South Korean police seize 200 strikers (5 September)
16. Koreans warned on labor violence: car exports off sharply (6 September)
17. 350,000 on strike in South Korea as unrest spreads (28 December)
18. Clashes in Seoul as strikes widens its grip (29 December)
19. South Korea's immovable objects: Kim and strikers unschooled in democratic
give and take (30 December)
20. Strikers threaten to paralyze Seoul (30 December)
21. In South Korea, the strikers take a break for New Year's (31 December)
22. South Korean strikes expand as president delivers appeal to labor unions (7
5.

6.

January)

Korea labor leader manages strike and awaits arrest (8 January)


Korean police search union offices (10 January)
25. Thriving, South Koreans strike to keep it that way (17 January)
26. Thriving, yet insecure, South Koreans strike to hold onto their gains (17 Janu23. South

24. In battle over strikes. South

ary)

27. South
28.

To

Korean workers

to limit their strike to

once a week (19 January)

mollify labor groups. South Korean leader yields a bit (22 January)

29. Seoul leader fails to halt labor strife (23 January)

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