A Critical Discourse Analysis of News on The Russian- Ukrainian Crisis in CNN and RT English News Channels
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31272/ipj.54.25Keywords:
CDA, Russian-Ukrainian War, Dominance, Ideology, Fairclough's model of CDAAbstract
The recent conflict that erupted last year between Russia and Ukraine provided the foundation for this study's inspiration. Two news reports that were collected from the websites of the CNN and Russia Today(RT) English news channels were examined using Fairclough's (1992) three-level model as the primary model. Multiple models were employed at these levels to accomplish the objectives of this research, including : Searle (1979), Quirk et al. (1985), van Dijk (1991),Harris's (2013),and Halliday and Matthiessen (2014).
The following research questions have been raised as follows:
1.What are the syntactic, lexical, and rhetorical microstructures used by some CNN and RT with regard to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis?
- Which intersexual and speech acts are used as mesostructures to convey the ideology of CNN and RT ?
- What are the repeated themes that those channels introduced in terms of the macrostructures?
- What is the information provided by the micro-and microstructures of those news channels’ ideologies towards the Russian-Ukrainian crises?
The following conclusions have been reached:
- CNN and RT utilize multiple syntactic structures like activation and passivation with the activation having the highest frequency ; CNN and RT employ over wording and metaphor as the analysis reveals.
- CNN and RT utilize the direct and indirect manifest intertextuality the data under examination and mostly use speech acts’ representatives (assertive).
- The most repeatedly used theme in the collected data is manipulation.
- Anti- violence and the defence of human rights are the most commonly used repeated ideological notions that are used by the journalists of CNN and RT in the data under examination.
References
Fairclough, N. 1989. Language and Power. New York: Longman.
……… 1992. Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. & Matthiessen, C. 2014. An Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.). London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771
Reuters . 2022. "Timeline: The events leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine".March 1, 2022 .
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/events-leading-up-russias-invasion-ukraine-2022-02-28/ .
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/was-it-inevitable-a-short-history-of-russias-war-on-ukraine,http://countrymeters.info/en/Ukraine, http://www.indexmundi.com/ukraine/demographics_profile.html.
Kress, G. R. 1990. Linguistic Processes in Socio-Cultural Practice. Australia: Deakin University Press.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of English Language. London:Longman.
Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. 2001. Discourse and Discrimination. London: Routledge.
Searle, J. 1979. Expression and Meaning. Cambridge: Cambridge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511609213
van Dijk, T. A. 1985. Handbook of Discourse Analysis: Discourse Analysis in Society. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
………. 1991. Racism and the Press. London: Routledge.
Wodak, R. & Meyer, M .2009. Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis ( 2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Appendix
News report (no.1)
Zelensky says Russia waging war so Putin can stay in power ‘until the end of his life’
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/russia-ukraine-new-years-eve-strikes-intl/index.html
By Olga Voitovych, Yulia Kesaieva, Gul Tuysuz, Denis Lapin and Mariya Knight, CNN
Updated 5:00 AM EST, Sun January 1, 2023
CNN —
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “following the devil” and waging a war to ensure that its President Vladimir Putin remains in power “until the end of his life.”Zelensky switched to speaking Russian in his nightly address on Saturday to send a message to the Kremlin and Russian citizens, as Moscow launched a series of deadly strikes that swept several regions of Ukraine ahead of New Year.“All this war that you are waging, you – Russia, it is not the war with NATO, as your propagandists lie,” Zelensky said. “It is not for something historical. It’s for one person to remain in power until the end of his life.“And what will be with all of you, citizens of Russia, does not concern him,” he added.Zelensky said “Russian leader is hiding behind the troops, behind missiles, behind the walls of his residences and palaces” and behind his people. “He hides behind you and burns your country and your future. No one will ever forgive you for terror,” Zelensky emphasized.Zelensky said “most of the Russian missiles intercepted by air defense forces.”“If it were not for air defense, the number of casualties would have been different. Much bigger,” he stressed. “And this is yet another proof for the world that support for Ukraine must be increased.”Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal earlier said Moscow wants to cause darkness and leave the country “in the dark for the New Year.”Moscow intends to “intimidate, leave us in the dark for the new year, cause as much damage to civilian infrastructure as possible,” Shmyhal said on Telegram “There are attacks on civilian infrastructure in different regions of our country. Residential buildings, hotel, (a) shop, place for festivals were damaged. There are dead and injured,” he wrote.“Russians want to intimidate, leave us in the dark for the New Year, cause as much damage to civilian infrastructure as possible.”Russian shelling in recent weeks targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine has left much of the country without access to heat and power, amid a harsh winter season.Out of the 20 injured in the capital Kyiv, 14 were hospitalized, while six others were given medical care on the spot, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.Several school buildings in the capital suffered severe damage from the explosions, the mayor added.Air raid sirens were activated following the attacks in Kyiv, where air defenses later repelled 45 Iranian drones.“On the night of January 1, 2023, the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with Iranian-made kamikaze drones Shahed-131/136,” the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.“As a result of combat work by the air defense of the Air Force in cooperation with the anti-aircraft defense of other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, 45 attack UAVs were destroyed. 13 in 2022 and 32 in 2023.“They failed to spoil the holiday for the Ukrainians.”Emergency services were sent to the scene but according to preliminary information there were no casualties.Further east in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, Russian strikes killed at least six people.Three people died and three more were wounded in the Donetsk region, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram.One person was wounded in the Zaporizhzhia region. Two were killed and one wounded in the Kharkiv region. Two people were wounded in the Kherson region, while one died in the Chernihiv region.It came after Russia launched five missiles and 29 air strikes on Friday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Saturday.“26 of the enemy’s air strikes were on civilian infrastructure. In particular, the occupants used 10 Shahed-136 UAVs, but all of them were shot down. In addition, the enemy made 80 attacks from multiple rocket launchers, civilian settlements were also hit,” the General Staff said in its latest operational update.It said that Russia “continues to conduct offensive actions at the Lyman and Bakhmut directions and is trying to improve the tactical situation at the Kupiansk and Avdiivka directions.”Russian forces fired on several towns and villages, including in Lyman, in the direction of Bakhmut, in the areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
We will persevere’
Thirty percent of the capital was left without power due to emergency shutdowns, Klitschko said.“The municipal ‘life support system’ of the capital is operating normally. Currently, 30% of consumers are without electricity. Due to emergency shutdowns,” he said on Telegram.“Kyiv residents have water and heat,” he added.Klitschko also reported that the restrictions were applied to check the open section of the red metro line in the city “for the presence of remnants of missile debris.”“Specialists are on the way to that area,” he said. “We will inform you further about the resumption of traffic on the red line.”Locals in Kyiv told CNN how they planned to spend the New Year in the capital.“From 2023 I really want to win, and also to have more bright impressions and new emotions. I miss it very much. I also want to travel and open borders. And I also think about personal and professional growth, because one should not stand still. I have to develop and work for the benefit of the country,” said Alyona Bogulska, a 29-year-old financier.Medics and policemen worked next to houses which were partially destroyed by a Russian strike in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on New Year's Eve.“This year, it’s a symbol, not that it’s a small victory, but a symbol that we survived the year,” said Tatiana Tkachuk, a 43-year-old pharmacy employee.“And I want to thank everyone who helps Ukraine. We’ve made a lot of friends. And in order to understand that we have a lot of good things, unfortunately, we had to go through terrible things. But so many people are doing real miracles for Ukraine.”Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska said the country “will persevere,” following the strikes.“On New Year’s Eve, cities should be covered by wave of celebration, joy and hope. Ukrainian cities are again covered by missile wave from Russia,” Zelenska tweeted.“Ruining lives of others is a disgusting habit of our neighbors. But we will persevere and be even stronger – in spite of everything.”
News report (no.2)
Jan, 2023
RT:Lavrov reveals message from Blinken
The information contained no " serious proposals" , the Russian foreign minister said
US secretary of State Antony Blinken has conveyed a fresh message to Moscow on the ongoing conflict with Ukraine , although the statement offered nothing of value, according to Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov. Russia’s top diplomat made the remarks on Tuesday following talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.
While Moscow has been always ready to hear a " serious proposals" from Washington " aimed at resolving the current situation," the message from Blinkin contained no such information, Lavrov stated." Minster [Shoukry] said that he conveyed a certain message from Secretary of State Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I can confirm that , " Lavrov said. The Russian diplomat added that the message once again urged Moscow to " stop" and " leave" and "then everything will be fine".The real goals of the US and the collective West, however, have been articulated much more clearly by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Lavrov continued." in one of his speeches, he said that Russia must lose , Russia must be defeated , and the West cannot allow Ukraine to lose, because then the West will lose. And the whole world will lose , " Lavrov explained , referring to the NATO chief’s comments. " That is , he took it upon himself to speak not only on behalf of three- dozen NATO members, but also on behalf of all other countries of the world, [including] Asia,Africa and Latin America."Multiple senior US officials have repeatedly urged Moscow to end its military campaign n Ukraine, as well as to cede the former Ukrainian territories which were incorporated into Russia following refereddums. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland signaled last week that doing so might prompt Washington to consider easing anti-Russian sanctions.The proposal , however, was dismissed in Moscow." We still don’t see anything [new] in Madame Nuland’s wwords. We are absolutely not inclined to exaggerate their importance", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the time, adding that the remarks once again showed " the lack of flexibility in the position of the US".Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February,24 2022 citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, which were designed to give Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the agreement to buy time and "create powerful armed forces". The idea was confirmed by then-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and then-President of France Francois Hollande.
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