Journal of Linguistics and Communication Studies

Legitimation and Leadership Communication During Crisis: A Case Study of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Political Speeches on the COVID-19 Pandemic

2025-03-14T07:01:43+00:00

The COVID-19 pandemic harmed millions of Kenyans and created a social and political crisis necessitating interventionist approaches by the government. This article examines the discursive strategies of legitimation embedded in Kenya’s public policy initiatives to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. This article examines the discursive strategies of legitimation in Kenya’s public policy initiatives to contain the spread of COVID-19. Using Van Leeuwen’s legitimation strategies and Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper examines the legitimation strategies in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s speeches on managing COVID-19, as well as the linguistic and rhetorical means through which such strategies were realized in discourse. Drawing on speeches made by Uhuru Kenyatta, this paper demonstrates how engagement strategies are linguistically and rhetorically constituted and fashioned to justify given policy proposals and actions for containing the spread of the Coronavirus. Moreover, the study uncovers how leaders use language to evoke historical memories and legitimize authority.

Linguistic Manipulation and Logical Fallacies: How Frank Underwood Constructs Verbal Traps to Influence Audience Perception in House of Cards

2025-03-14T07:03:37+00:00

Frank Underwood, the central figure in House of Cards, exemplifies the strategic use of linguistic manipulation to consolidate power, disarm adversaries, and influence public perception. This paper examines how Underwood constructs verbal traps using logical fallacies such as ad hominem attacks, false dilemmas, appeals to emotion, post hoc reasoning, and straw man arguments. By analyzing the frequency and contextual deployment of these fallacies in his monologues and dialogues, this study highlights how Underwood tailors his rhetorical approach depending on whether he is persuading the audience or coercing opponents. His monologues serve as narrative control mechanisms, using emotional appeals and causal distortions to justify his actions, while his dialogues function as battlefields of manipulation, where he employs character attacks, forced choices, and misrepresentations to dominate his rivals. Through a quantitative analysis of his speech patterns, this paper reveals the systematic nature of Underwood’s linguistic deception and its broader implications for political rhetoric. The study concludes by drawing parallels between Underwood’s strategies and real-world political discourse, emphasizing the dangers of uncritical acceptance of rhetorical persuasion in governance and media.

Effects of Interactive Feedback and Learning Proficiency on Chinese EFL Learners’ Affective Engagement

2025-03-14T07:04:57+00:00

Using Python semantic orientation analysis and SPSS 26.0 to analyze group discussion text of 72 non-English major graduate students, this study investigates the effects of interactive feedback and English learning proficiency on EFL learners’ affective engagement in English collaborative learning. The study found that: (1) Interactive feedback positively influenced affective engagement, while the experimental group elicited significantly higher affective engagement than the control group, with richer emotional experiences and enhanced interactivity. (2) Significant differences existed in the effects of English learning proficiency on learners’ affective engagement, with high-proficiency learners exhibiting greater engagement than low-proficiency peers. (3) Interactive feedback and English learning proficiency levels had a significant interaction effect on learners’ affective engagement. High-proficiency learners in AWE-teacher-peer feedback demonstrated the highest engagement, followed by high-proficiency learners in teacher-peer feedback, low-proficiency learners in AWE-teacher-peer feedback and low-proficiency learners in teacher-peer feedback. These findings offer valuable insights that can guide educators in providing appropriate affordance and emotional support to effectively stimulate learners’ affective engagement in English learning.

From Social Slang to Standard Lexicon: A Corpus-Based Analysis of the Mainstream Adoption of New Verbs in English

2025-04-10T23:34:48+00:00

Language is a dynamic system that continuously evolves to reflect social, technological, and cultural changes. One of the most intriguing aspects of linguistic evolution is the transition of slang verbs into standard English, a process shaped by multiple factors, including digital media, cultural relevance, grammatical adaptability, and institutional validation. This study employs a corpus-based linguistic analysis to examine how verbs originating in informal speech and online discourse become widely accepted in mainstream language. Through a detailed analysis of selected case studies—including to Google, to binge-watch, to ghost, and to unfriend—this research explores the mechanisms by which new verbs gain traction, shift from niche to general usage, and ultimately achieve formal recognition in dictionaries and academic discourse. Findings indicate that digital communication platforms accelerate lexical diffusion, while words that describe emerging behaviors are more likely to endure and become embedded in everyday speech. The study also highlights the role of grammatical integration in determining the success of slang verbs, as well as the influence of institutional endorsement in legitimizing linguistic change. By mapping the trajectory of slang verbs from informal origins to standardized lexicon, this research contributes to the broader understanding of language evolution in the digital age and provides a framework for analyzing future trends in lexical innovation and standardization.

Social Capital and Emotional Labor: The Dual Dynamics Mechanism of “Goods” Sharing in Online Communities Among Young Women

2025-04-10T23:36:42+00:00

This study, grounded in Bourdieu’s theory of social capital and Hochschild’s theory of emotional labor, explores the dual dynamics mechanism driving young women to continuously share “good finds” in online communities, using the Xiaohongshu platform as a case study. Through in-depth interviews and textual analysis, the research reveals two key findings: First, the accumulation of social capital (including bridging and bonding social capital) and emotional labor (such as emotional investment and labor monetization) are the core factors motivating young women to persistently share. Second, by sharing “good finds”, they not only expand their social networks and enhance their sense of social recognition but also maintain a sense of community belonging through emotional investment and achieve the reproduction of personal value. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the behavioral motivations and underlying psychological mechanisms of young women in online communities. The study offers a dual “structure-agency” perspective for understanding the digital practices of young women in the digital era and provides insights for optimizing platform governance mechanisms.

Development of a Reference Book for the HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test): A Study on the Development of the “HSK Pictophonetic Character Mnemonic Guide”

2025-04-10T23:38:14+00:00

This paper focuses on the development of the “HSK Pictophonetic Character Mnemonic Guide”. Based on an analysis of the current situation and problems of existing HSK Chinese character learning materials, this paper explains the significance of developing this guide, and details its writing ideas, including the innovative approach of using phonetic components to connect content, strictly defining levels, introducing words and sentences through characters, and incorporating images and bilingual comparisons. Additionally, the paper cons a comparative experiment on the application effect of the “HSK Pictophonetic Character Mnemonic Guide”, showing that it significantly enhances learning effectiveness for intermediate and advanced learners.

A Study on Game Localization Translation from the Perspective of Communicative Translation Theory: A Case Study of Black Myth: Wukong

2025-04-10T23:39:39+00:00

With China’s increasing cultural influence in the global market, video game localization has become essential in ensuring accessibility and cultural authenticity. As China’s first AAA single-player game, Black Myth: Wukong presents unique localization challenges due to its rich cultural and narrative elements. This study applies Communicative Translation Theory (CTT) to analyze its English localization, focusing on translating character names, in-game achievements, and dialogues. Using qualitative textual analysis, the research evaluates strategies such as adaptation, simplification, and idiomatic rendering. Findings reveal both effective localization techniques and areas to be improved, offering insights for refining Chinese video game localization strategies.

Mediating Global and National Narratives: A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Hong Kong’s City Image in China Daily’s Greater Bay Area Coverage

2025-04-10T23:41:04+00:00

As a globally strategic Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, Hong Kong occupies a critical juncture in regional economic integration and geopolitical narratives. Yet scholarly attention to its mediated city image remains limited. This study employs corpus-based critical discourse analysis (CB-CDA) to examine 35 articles from China Daily’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) coverage (April 24, 2023, and December 7, 2024), interrogating how Hong Kong’s identity is constructed through economic, administrative, and socio-political lenses. The analysis identifies five dominant thematic frameworks: Economic Hub, Governance and Administration, International Connectivity, Regional Cooperation, and Innovation Ecosystem. Through keyword and collocation networks, findings reveal Hong Kong’s dual discursive positioning as a global financial gateway and a synergistic partner in regional integration, underscored by its roles in offshore yuan markets, cross-border talent mobility, and technological innovation. By integrating critical discourse analysis (CDA) with corpus linguistics (CL), this research advances a nuanced understanding of media-driven city image formation, offering insights into the interplay between Hong Kong’s historical legacies, China’s national strategies, and global economic narratives. The study contributes to policymaking, cultural diplomacy, and sustainable urban development discourses in an era of escalating geopolitical complexity.

Cross-Cultural Attitude Analysis in Media Discourse of Trump’s Presidential Victory: A Comparative Study of British, American, and Indian Written Reports

2025-04-10T23:42:37+00:00

In today’s globalized media landscape, the representation of political events reflects significant cultural and ideological differences, shaping public perceptions across contexts. While Martin and White’s appraisal theory within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) has been extensively applied to spoken discourse, its use in analyzing written texts, particularly in cross-cultural comparisons, remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by employing the appraisal framework to analyze attitudinal resources in media reports on Donald Trump’s presidential victory. Using UAM CorpusTool, the analysis examines variations in attitude types (affect, judgment, appreciation), polarity, explicitness, appraiser, and appraised elements across reports from The Economist (UK), AP News (US), and Colombo Gazette (India). Attitude resources and chi-square tests reveal significant cross-cultural differences in evaluative strategies: The Economist adopts critical judgment reflecting European liberal values, Colombo Gazette emphasizes regional priorities with pragmatic optimism, and AP News maintains neutrality consistent with American journalistic norms. The findings contribute to understanding how cultural and ideological contexts shape media discourse, offering insights into the interplay of language, ideology, and political narratives.

Competition, or Cooperation? Ernie Bot — ChatGPT Relations Represented in China Daily’s Coverage of AIGC (2022-2024)

2025-04-10T23:44:03+00:00

This study combines Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and corpus linguistics to examine how China Daily communicated the development of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) technology to international audiences between 2022 and 2024. Adopting Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach as the theoretical framework, the study analyzes the representation of two key AIGC entities, ChatGPT and Ernie Bot, and investigates how their depiction reflects the broader dynamics of the China-US relationship in the context of AIGC development. The corpus consists of 120 news articles from China Daily, which were analyzed using keyword analysis, collocation analysis, and concordance analysis to identify linguistic patterns and discursive strategies. The findings reveal that China Daily strategically employs specific modalities and collocations to construct distinct representations of ChatGPT and Ernie Bot. ChatGPT is portrayed as a symbol of global AI advancement, while Ernie Bot is framed as a representative of China’s independent innovation and technological self-reliance. Through these representations, China Daily positions China as a nation emphasizing mutual understanding and cooperative development, in contrast to the United States, which is depicted as prioritizing competition despite limited collaboration in certain areas. Furthermore, the discourse highlights the importance of China-US cooperation in addressing global challenges, such as climate change and the alignment of advanced AI systems, even amidst tensions over high-performance computing chips and semiconductors. These findings underscore the alignment of China Daily’s discourse with China’s broader strategic goals, including promoting shared development in AIGC technology and advancing the vision of a community with a shared future in cyberspace. By grounding macro-level interpretations in micro-level linguistic analysis, this study demonstrates how discourse shapes perceptions of technological development and international relations, offering insights into the interplay between language, power, and ideology in media representations of AIGC.

Applications and Limitations of Corpus Linguistics: A Corpus-Based Study on Nuclear Wastewater Discharge Coverage in Asahi Shimbun

2025-04-10T23:45:33+00:00

This study investigates the strengths and Weaknesses of Corpus Linguistics (CL) in analyzing media discourse, using a case study of Asahi Shimbun’s coverage of Japan’s nuclear wastewater discharge from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The research objective is to evaluate CL’s effectiveness in uncovering linguistic strategies and ideological framing within Japanese media narratives. Employing keyword, collocation, and concordance analyses, the study analyzes a corpus of 34 articles published between August 22, 2023, and March 1, 2025, comprising 17,072 tokens. Key findings reveal a geopolitical emphasis, with “China” (177 occurrences) surpassing “Japan” (161 occurrences) in frequency, reflecting tensions exacerbated by China’s seafood import ban, and a strategic framing of “treated water” (73 occurrences) over “contaminated water” (16 occurrences) to suggest safety and control. CL demonstrates strengths in efficiently processing large datasets and providing objective, quantitative insights into linguistic patterns. However, it does not fully reflect emotional details or how social roles are represented, such as Japan being seen as responsible and China as a critic. To improve this, the study uses the Social Actors Framework (SAF) to analyze agency and hidden ideologies more effectively. By applying CL to non-English media, this research shows the need to combine quantitative and qualitative methods for a clearer understanding of media framing in complex environmental and geopolitical issues.