SLS1997v27 2-10min
SLS1997v27 2-10min
SLS1997v27 2-10min
Volume
27,
Number
2 (Fall 1997)
s-min@students.uiuc.edu
This study examines the linguistic structures used for propagat-
newspaper
South Korea
amine the
New
used to ex-
is
in
language
in general,
in particular,
and
in
Introduction
Approaches
ships
among
to critical linguistics
o\'
relation-
uncovering the role of language in constructing social identities, relationships, isand events. Its central concern has been to examine the socio-political na-
sues,
investigate
how
social reality
power through
is
constituted and
Fowler 1987).
&
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
news
it
represents,
news
and so inevitably
social world.
148
Studies
in
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
in
South Korea'
in
terms of
in
critical
linguistics.
In this study
will
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
critical
1.
The
theoretical
framework of
this
linguistics (van Dijk 1988a, 1988b, 1993, 1994; Fairclough 1989, 1992;
Thompson
&
form without
its
reveal the
critical
Fowler
guage study
(Thompson
is
means of understanding
the
and to
manner
in
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
in this
paper because
it
in society.
tual analysis
ful class is
adopted
in this study to
Thus
critical
language study
is
dominant ideologies.
uncover
The
context.
second and
first stage,
is
between
first,
text
de-
and
social
149
The
and interpretive
method of analysis employed in this study will be the interacEven though Fairclough presents the stages
of analyses
done
to
how
in the
New
all
the ideological
in
and
is
political interests
York Times.
framework
course.
works
is
From
is
schema con-
tions, all
its
and con-
tained in linguistic items, and the identity membership that underlies the well
known
'us vs.
them' categorization
is
found
in
many
Thus, the fact that attitudes form such a central part in the internal structure of
news
this
approach,
strikes in
New
it
New
relevant group
the
embedded
reports and accentuates the need to identify and study them. Following
members.
It is
argued
attitude'
in this
'us vs.
that
is
coherently shared by
in
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
study
is
Times
to
discursive
framework
is
is
attitudes.
attitude
embodied
New
York
New
in the
in this
the
because
on the reader of
in
South Korea.
150
2.
Studies
in
Data
This study
is
in
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
A critical
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.
3.
3.1
Headlines
As
the first step in the textual analysis of 'the massive labor strikes in South
the
lead,
the
news
or thematic structure
tioning as an
initial
is
Ko-
its
summary of
macrostructure
the
this
...
report,
which
macrostructure
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
et
al.
(e.g.,
1974; van
report'
Topics are
(van Dijk
1988a: 170), and therefore, are the most important information expressed by a
strikes,
Dijk
in a subject.
news
is
text.
mounting
in
in
Seoul
to
mark democratic
The
topics,
quences to a macroproposition
tions describe the gist of the
at
a higher level.
news
map
proposition se-
macropropositions
the
texts, the
is
show
macropropositions or topics
all
The
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
December 1996
to
January 1997.
Macropropositions
Total
Number
Labor
Labor
economic
loss
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
the
nor the workers are able to negotiate because of a lack of democratic tradition.
152
Studies
However,
in
Korean government
the South
is
way and
is
Lexicalization
It
is
can define
important
how we
in
message
that the
producer of
the text intended readers to receive. Lexical items construct particular ideological
through lexicalization
is
by ideologies.
Where an unusually
lated terms that are near
synonyms, occurs,
this
overwording or overlexicalization
that
gives certain
Worker
(6 September),
is
killed in
Korea: Koreans
August), Clashes
350,000 on
strike in
By taxonomic
strictly
ideological
effects.
lence;
153
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'
The analysis of
in
which
made
how
encode
text producers
is
that
it
in
how meaning
is
in
reality.
Halliday
consists of "goings-on".
in
the
semantic system of the language and expressed through the grammar of the
clause' (101).
Two
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.
The
them
esses:
rean
Korean
South
agents/doers
in the
New
government
companies
and
is
are
Seoul
in switch,
company agrees
moves
to resolve
constructed
to
as
classifiers
after-
readers
company
which represent
Workers
the state
affected participants,
i.e.,
in the
i.e.,
and as
and as receivers of ver-
as actors, speakers
to'
bal processes.
Workers
Workers
seize
Hyundai plants
154
Studies
in
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
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
participants
Workers
to'. Through
backgrounded or omitagent and affected participant at the same time:
i.e.,
being 'done
as
cluded:
where agency
Worker
is
is
is
killed in South
As
passive conis
in-
the death of
South Korean
strikes
to
labor unions (7
January).
part of the
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-
Korean
dichotomized
government and capitalist corporations
positive self-representation and workers in 'their' negative represen-
according to the
are in 'our'
tation.
Thematization
is
the clause.
It
The
155
what
in-
formation the writer considers would catch the eye, but also gives insight into
common
reality.
in
grip (29
its
December).
Workers and
leftist
among
(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
number of workers
mind of readers
On
government
in
common
the
ing workers.
and national
losses,
evoke
in
strikes' re-
strik-
Korean
ment suggest
in-
in strikes,
manage-
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
as a mediator
force
through linguistic
for
national
mind of
in the
3.2
readers.
The news
The following
texts
news
in
South Korea
to
New
show how
and
to inter-
pret the textual pattern at the socio-political level. This part of textual analysis fo-
and quotations.
esses,
that
156
Studies
backgrounding through
in
not,
The representations of
however, so prominent as
the par-
in the headlines,
1997.
The negative
achieved
representations
at the level
of workers
involved
in
labor
news
texts
strikes
are
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
The negative
so that positive actions or intentions to form unions freely by workers are put side
The
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
The representations of
by
transitivity
Headlines are
initial
57
news
texts are
guided by
news texts. In
news value of objectivity'
downgrading of workers is not
'the journalistic
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,
state-
ment-makers.
Table 2 shows that the South Korean government and corporations are
leaders,
in
how
quoted.
Table 2
Number
of quotations in the
Quotations
158
Studies
in
and
make martyr
used for
are often
'said'
worker
is
de-
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
do with
us," he insisted.'
following information
lost a lost
of money...
It
in the
ments,
go on
indefinitely,'
Park
Moon
Jin,
a leader of
ner after giving a speech to workers. She had been roundly applauded
all
the
members
were
Ji
Won,
striking
down
Kim
the
Chung
should smash
part.
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
who
carried a banner at a
la-
bor rally today. 'There's physical oppression, as there was before, and
now
well.
So
it
is
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
Workers
New
York Times.
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-
page
is
labor leader
in
159
who
Kil
against President
But
Kwon Young
the
radical.'
December, 1996);
'overthrow the
'Striking South
to paralyze Seoul',
it
was acceptable
The
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
But a spokesman
leader,
Kim Jong
for the
Phil, also
still
'huge gap between the ruling and opposition parties' and that the
President 'was not sincere at
somewhat
cautious. During
all.'
...
much
way
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,
160
Studies
in
late deliveries
government
officials are
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
participants
Korea,
a
if
western
businessman
is
quoted
saying
as
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
Korea', demonstrates
how
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'
interests into
presupposed national
The news
interests,
workers, class conflict into cultural pluralistic consensus, and power into neutral
to
an
'us'
sphere
manage-
create
The
rights
and
an institutional forum to articulate and press for their human, not just worker,
wages and
terests. Better
in-
an en-
during solution to the labor unrest. These complex sets of political reasons are totally
ignored
New
in the
Korea
'the
to
At the textual
level, linguistic
at-
stories
By
old-fashioned management'
and rhe-
social reality.
the journalistic
cannon of
in the
New
objectivity, balance,
mask
its
York Times
and
is
seemingly guided by
neutrality, while
seeming arhe-
representations of events.
show
that there
day social
5.
life is
Korea
news media make us believe,
frames through which the reality of every-
is
constituted (Hall et
al.,
Implications
This study
is
language
in the
news
framework
the category of critical language study: a language study that 'places a broad
at
the
core of language
study'
(Fairclough 1989:13).
This study links ideology and social practice. In her recent book, Hasan
it'.
a host of social
newspaper
is
is
a fixed automatic
most evident
in the
general access to
modes of
make
it
possible for
162
Studies
in
assume 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-
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
which
critical linguistics
would be
new meth-
odological input.
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65
APPENDIX
The
1.
New
Strikes
mounting
in
4.
Seoul, in switch,
moves
August)
6.
January)
ary)
27. South
28.
To
Korean workers
mollify labor groups. South Korean leader yields a bit (22 January)