DSpace at VNU: A Critical Discourse Analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI am greatly indebted to my teachers, colleagues, friends, and family for their support and help in the preparation and completion of this paper.First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof., Dr. Trần Hữu Mạnh for his expert advice, critical and constructive comments, invaluable suggestions and enthusiastic guidance without which the thesis would not have been successfully completed. I also wish to thank all my lecturers at Postgraduate Department, College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their concern, lessons and support.My special thanks go to my colleagues and friends for their helpful comments and useful materials.I would like to express my gratefulness to my parents, my husband and my son whose encouragement, expectation, and assistance helped me overcome all the difficulties in fulfilling this paper.i LIST OF TABLESTable 1. Names for US-Japan coalition and North Korea in VOATable 2. Names for US-Japan coalition and North Korea in Nhan DanTable 3. Negativization of North Korea’s activities in VOATable 4. Positivization of the US- Japan coalition’s activities in VOATable 5. Lexicalization of North Korea’s activities in Nhan DanTable 6. Lexicalization of the US-Japan coalition’s activities in Nhan DanTable 7. Over-lexicalization of the North Korea’s missile launches in VOATable 8. Over-lexicalization of the North Korea’s missile launches in Nhan DanTable 9. Quotation patterns of news reports in VOATable 10. Quotation patterns of news reports in Nhan Danii TABLE OF CONTENTSAcknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………iList of Tables …………………………………………………………………………… iiINTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………….11. Rationale ………………………………………………………………………… 12. Scope of the research …………………………………………………………… .23. Aims of the research and research questions …………………………………… .24. Methodology ………………………………………………………………………35. Background information ………………………………………………………… 46. Design of the research …………………………………………………………… 5CHAPTER 1 – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ………………………………… .61.1. The history of Critical Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis …………… 61.2. Theories on Critical Discourse Analysis …………………………………………81.2.1.What is Critical Discourse Analysis …………………………………………… 91.2.2.Key notions of CDA …………………………………………………………… 91.2.3.Methodology of CDA ……………………………………………………………111.2.4.Principles of CDA ……………………………………………………………….121.3. Systemic Functional Linguistics and its role in CDA ………………………… .131.4. CDA in relation with Cultural Studies ………………………………………… .13CHAPTER 2 – METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………….152.1. Data …………………………………………………………………………… .152.1.1. Data sources …………………………………………………………………… 152.1.1.1. Voice Of America ……………………………………………………………….152.1.1.2. Nhan Dan ……………………………………………………………………… 16iii 2.1.2. Data selection VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng Hanoi, 2016 ` DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A critical discourse analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Hanoi, 2016 Phạm Thị Tuấn i ` ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng for helping me complete this study This paper would not have been accomplished without his expert, constant and valuable guidance and encouragement His patience and helpful criticism helped me confidently express my ideas into this paper I also wish to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical background as well as practical knowledge My special thanks also go to my friends and colleagues for their enthusiastic help and support with my teaching schedule at school which gave me precious time to deal with my thesis Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my family who gave me time and encouragement to overcome all obstacles during the completion of this study ii ` ABSTRACT This study attempts to discover the relationship between power, ideology and discourse embraced in two speeches delivered by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013, using the CDA framework suggested by Norman Fairclough (2001) The analysis is carried out in three separated phases namely Description, Interpretation, and Explanation Major aspects selected for analysis include vocabulary, grammar, and macro-structures Due to the limited time, the study focuses on analysis of lexical choice, voice, pronouns, and large-scale structures The findings show that ideology and power are expressed in a number of ways, and there is not much difference between two speeches The biggest difference lies on the situational context that exerts influences on exhibiting power and ideology While 1995 speech centers on depicting the reality of harsh treatment on women, 2013 speech offers a review of achievements and remains in fights for women advancement In general, both speeches serve as Clinton’s calls for actions on women rights violations iii ` LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA:Critical Discourse Analysis S: Sentence M: Macro - statement iv ` LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Page Table 1: Frequency of pronoun “I” and “We” in 1995 and 2013 Speech 21 Table 2: Frequency of active and passive voice in 1993 and 1995 Speech 24 Figures Figure 1: Interpretation (Fairclough, 2001: 119) 11 Figure 2: Explanation (Fairclough, 2001: 136) 12 v ` TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION I Rationale I Aims of the study and Research Questions II 2.1 Aims of the study II 2.2 Research questions .II Scope of the study .II Design of the study III Significance of the study III PART B: DEVELOPMENT Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW Error! Bookmark not defined An overview of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1 The development of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Definitions of CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3 Some main directions in CDA Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.1 Van Dijk’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.2 Wodak’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3 Fairclough’s Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.1 Description of the text Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.2 Interpretation of the text Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3.3 Explanation of the text Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOG Y OF THE STUDYError! ...INTRODUCTION1. RationaleAmong the various inventions that mankind has ever made, language is one of the greatest. Different societies or different groups of people are featured with different languages, different cultures, different political and economic power. The strong correlation between these “features” can obviously be seen throughout human history. If the marvelous development of ancient Chinese culture was attributed to the rapid expansion of Chinese language in the old days, in contemporary society the domination of English implies the superpower of the United States and Western nations. When a nation’s power grows, more and more people try to learn its language, and when less and less people speak a certain language, that means a race is facing extinction. The connection between language and power also exists inside any community where different groups of people possess different political and economic power. The difference in power will inevitably result in different social attitudes and different value standards. Thus, from the Critical Discourse Analysis (henceforth CDA) perspective, these different groups of people do not actually use the same “language”. It means that language can be manipulated to gain power, selective texts and talks can be employed to achieve a particular purpose, just as Fairclough put it “exercise of power is increasingly achieved through ideology, particularly through the workings of language” (Fairclough, 2000). In that sense, discourse has been seen as not only social practice but also reflection of ideology, thus CDA can help revealing the hidden effects of language embodied in various types of discourse. With the aim of dealing with social problems by means of language, CDA defined as discourse analysis ‘with an attitude’ is a useful tool in language use analysis contributing positively to the process of struggling for power equality. Having been used successfully in discerning the relationship between language, power and ideology in a wide range of contexts, CDA is attracting growing interest of a number of worldwide language researchers. It is so much hoped that this study may bring an illustration of the CDA concepts, helping 1 clarify them by analyzing some news reports on North Korea missile launches - one of the hottest issues these days. The news reports are chosen to be analyzed on the assumption that politics is the field where a struggle of power and ideology always exists in one way or another. In analyzing the news reports, we are trying to reveal what is coded in the language use, thus raising Chapter 3DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION As we have mentioned, the research is carried out in two stages: the analysis of headlines and the analysis of full-text news reports. In the first stage, we will make a detailed description of the representation of the US- Japan coalition and North Korea in the headlines from VOA and Nhan Dan. The second stage of analysis will examine and discuss the use of the most prominent discursive strategies practiced by the two sources of news in representing the two groups of actors in order to provide supports for what is found in the first stage.3.1. Analysis of Headlines This part aims at answering the following questions:i. What are the most prominent processes attributed to the US- Japan coalition and North Korea by VOA and Nhan Dan?ii. What are the most prominent roles assigned to these groups of actors by VOA and Nhan Dan?iii. Why are the US- Japan coalition and North Korea involved in such processes and roles in VOA and Nhan Dan?The news under analysis was reported in the period of time after North Korea missile test on July 5th 2006. It should be noted here that there have been six-party nuclear talks which aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. There has been a series of meetings with six participating states: the People's Republic of China; the Republic of Korea (South Korea); the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea); the United States of America; the Russian Federation; and Japan. These talks were a result of North Korea withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003. Five rounds of talks from 2003 to 2006 produced little net progress because of the different goals and interests of the six nations. After the missile test on July 5, the US and Japan strongly criticized North Korea and tried to persuade the 21 United Nations to give sanctions against North Korea. Meanwhile, Russia and China - two veto-wielding Council members - opposed strong punitive actions against North Korea and they expressed concerns that punitive measures would inflame tensions in the region.3.1.1. Voice Of AmericaHaving a quick look at the headlines from VOA (Appendix 1), we can see that most of the articles (88.9%) were released before July 15- the day when the UN made its resolution in response to the missile test. This well served the US and Japan’s intention of putting pressure on the Security Council to produce a resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea. Another thing is that the articles which directly represent the viewpoint of Russia and China are very few (23.1%) compared to those of the US and Japan (76.9%), which partly proves VOA’s priority to the latter.The transitivity analysis of headlines shows that VOA positively represents the US and Japan. We can see that a majority of processes are attributed to the US and Japan (76.9%) and all these processes are either verbal (60%) or material (40%). The US and Japan play the role of actor and sayer in APPENDICESAPPENDIX 1Headlines from VOAVOA1 White House confirms North Korea launches five missiles, one long-range 04 July 2006VOA2* North Korea defends missile tests as 'Sovereign Right' 05 July 2006VOA3* US, Asian neighbors weigh responses to N. Korea missile launch 05 July 2006VOA4* North Korea tests seventh missile despite international condemnation 05 July 2006VOA5 Russia calls North Korean missile launches regrettable 05 July 2006VOA6* N. Korean missile launches provoke international criticism 05 July 2006VOA7* Pentagon: North Korea missiles were not threat to US 05 July 2006VOA8 Rice: Pyongyang's missile tests do not scuttle six-party talks 05 July 2006VOA9* Japan urges UN sanctions against North Korea 05 July 2006VOA10* North Korea vows more missile launches 06 July 2006VOA11 Pyongyang remains defiant after missile launches 06 July 2006VOA12 Bush seeks unified stance on North Korea 06 July 2006VOA13 N. Korea says Japanese sanctions will bring 'disastrous' response 07 July 2006VOA14 US Intelligence Chief vows to protect American civil liberties 10 July 2006VOA15 Diplomacy continues over response to N. Korean missile tests 11 July 2006VOA16* North Korea ignores South Korean criticism 12 July 2006VOA17* Can China influence North Korea? 21 July 2006VOA18 Japan, China, South Korea, ASEAN urge North Korea to talk 26 July 2006I APPENDIX 2Headlines from Nhan DanND1* Triều Tiên thử tên lửa, Mỹ và Nhật Bản đe dọa trừng phạt 05/07/2006ND2* Trung Quốc quan tâm, Nhật Bản tiếp VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* PHẠM THỊ TUẤN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TWO SPEECHES ON WOMEN BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 1995 AND 2013 Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán hai phát biểu phụ nữ Hillary Clinton vào năm 1995 2013 M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng Hanoi, 2016 ` DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A critical discourse analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Hanoi, 2016 Phạm Thị Tuấn i ` ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng for helping me complete this study This paper would not have been accomplished without his expert, constant and valuable guidance and encouragement His patience and helpful criticism helped me confidently express my ideas into this paper I also wish to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical background as well as practical knowledge My special thanks also go to my friends and colleagues for their enthusiastic help and support with my teaching schedule at school which gave me precious time to deal with my thesis Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my family who gave me time and encouragement to overcome all obstacles during the completion of this study ii ` ABSTRACT This study attempts to discover the relationship between power, ideology and discourse embraced in two speeches delivered by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013, using the CDA framework suggested by Norman Fairclough (2001) The analysis is carried out in three separated phases namely Description, Interpretation, and Explanation Major aspects selected for analysis include vocabulary, grammar, and macro-structures Due to the limited time, the study focuses on analysis of lexical choice, voice, pronouns, and large-scale structures The findings show that ideology and power are expressed in a number of ways, and there is not much difference between two speeches The biggest difference lies on the situational context that exerts influences on exhibiting power and ideology While 1995 speech centers on depicting the reality of harsh treatment on women, 2013 speech offers a review of achievements and remains in fights for women advancement In general, both speeches serve as Clinton’s calls for actions on women rights violations iii ` LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA:Critical Discourse Analysis S: Sentence M: Macro - statement iv ` LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Page Table 1: Frequency of pronoun “I” and “We” in 1995 and 2013 Speech 21 Table 2: Frequency of active and passive voice in 1993 and 1995 Speech 24 Figures Figure 1: Interpretation (Fairclough, 2001: 119) 11 Figure 2: Explanation (Fairclough, 2001: 136) 12 v ` TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION I Rationale I Aims of the ... viewpoint of CDA Aims of the study and Research Questions 2.1 Aims of the study The study aims to: - Provide a critical analysis of two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton in 1995 and 2013 based on. .. the investigation of two speeches at the same time All reasons mentioned above lead me to the choice of these two speeches on women by Hillary Clinton as the data of the study for analysis from... and remains in fights for women advancement In general, both speeches serve as Clinton s calls for actions on women rights violations iii ` LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA :Critical Discourse Analysis