Volume 29, Issue 1
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.201
Social Media Perspective on National Image: A Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis
Abstract
Constructing a positive national image is increasingly important for China with its rising status in the global arena. Up to now, images of the China have been largely explored as the Other, rather than as the Self. This paper examines national image shaped in social media and its communication route. It focuses on a discourse analysis of Weibo posted by the China’s Ministry of National Defense. The study adopts corpus based critical discourse analysis as a methodology by combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2947 microblogs 170818 words collected from Python web-crawling. The analysis, at micro level examines the national image in the light of image theory, and lexical collocations constructing the image. This study reveals that a confident, peaceful and affable national image is conveyed by MND Weibo and social media is a new platform for prompt and direct interaction between the public and government department. The new mode of communication has changed the traditional form of propaganda, and has further enabled a wider range of national images to be disseminated and expressed in a more three-dimensional manner.
Keywords
corpus linguistics, CDA, national image, social media, image theory, MND