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Article published In:
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication
Vol. 27:1 (2017) ► pp.1–21

Globalism and cultural tensions

Discursive constructions of the English language in China’s print media

| Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro
| Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro
Based on a corpus of 200 articles from the People’s Daily and the People’s Daily Overseas Edition collected from 2010 to 2012, we examined the representation of English, applying framing theory (Chong & Druckman, 2007). The results indicate four dominant frames shared by both newspapers: exclusion/oppression, warfare/protection, yardstick/benchmark, and bridge/needs. Both papers perceive the English language as a resource while constructing a Chinese identity fundamentally in competition with a Western identity reinforced by the English language. However, while both papers project the image of China as a unified, benign country proud of its linguistic and cultural heritage, the Overseas Edition seems more conscious in representing China as a motherland in need of protection from the threatening socio-cultural force of English. The article seeks to contribute to the growing body of research on language and identity in China, English and globalization, and the perception of English in the expanding circle.
Keywords: English in China, construction of English, language ideology, Expanding Circle English, newspaper discourse, framing, People’s Daily
Article outline
  • 1.Background
  • 2.Methodology and analytical framework
    • 2.1Methodology
    • 2.2Analytical framework
  • 3.Results and discussion
    • 3.1Exclusion/Oppression
      • 3.1.1 People’s Daily
      • 3.1.2 People’s Daily Overseas Edition
    • 3.2Warfare/Protection
      • 3.2.1 People’s Daily
      • 3.2.2 People’s Daily Overseas Edition
    • 3.3Yardstick/Benchmark
      • 3.3.1 People’s Daily
      • 3.3.2 People’s Daily Overseas Edition
    • 3.4Bridge/Needs
      • 3.4.1 People’s Daily
      • 3.4.2 People’s Daily Overseas Edition
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References


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Published online: 23 May 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.27.1.01li
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