Meaning Generation in Chinese Official Media Discourse

Drawing on approaches from Linguistic Pragmatics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Social Actor Representation Theory, and Framing Theory, this book critically explores the various linguistic devices and pragmatic strategies that concern meaning generation in the context of Chinese official media discourse.

Lutgard Lams is a Professor of Media Discourse Analysis, Language Pragmatics, and Intercultural Communication at KU Leuven, Campus Brussels, Belgium. Her research focuses on the dynamics of language and ideology in institutional discourses, framing practices, media discourses in and about the Chinese region, and strategic narratives in political communication. Rui Zhang is an Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, China. Her main academic interests and recent work are in interpreted and translated Chinese political and media discourse, the role of interpreting and translation in China's international communication, and interpreting pedagogy. Emma Lupano is an Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Cagliari, Italy. Her research focuses on cultural and political aspects of contemporary China and their linguistic manifestations in the institutional and media discourses. Her works have investigated LSP in journalism, keywords in public discourse, and genres in news writing.

A return to basics: Language as the quintessential building block of meaning generation (Lutgard Lams, Rui Zhang, and Emma Lupano) Chapter 1. A public sphere of meaning negotiation: The interpreter-mediated Chinese Premier's Press Conferences (Rui Zhang) Chapter 2. Framing in Chinese and American media editorials about the Sino-US trade conflict (Lutgard Lams and Ying Xu) Chapter 3. 'Rough winds, big waves': Metaphors and legitimacy in the Renminwang news commentaries on the COVID-19 crisis (Emma Lupano) Chapter 4. Official framing of public health emergencies: Metaphor use in the Renmin Ribao during COVID-19 and SARS (Nian Liu) Chapter 5. Public interest and trust: Chinese official media discourse in an epidemic context (Bettina Mottura) Chapter 6. Justification for reforming Hong Kong's electoral system after the introduction of the National Security Law (Jennifer Eagleton) Chapter 7. Critical discourse analysis of the headlines about the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in the China Daily, The Jakarta Times, and The Straits Times (Damien Ng) Chapter 8. Like "Spring Breeze and Rain": Exploring legitimation in a Chinese official documentary on education (Chiara Bertulessi) (Un)changed melodies: Meaning generation as variations on a theme (Emma Lupano, Lutgard Lams, and Rui Zhang)