A Sociocognitive Analysis of News Texts in China Daily: Based on the Triangle Theory

Abstract

Applying Van Dijk’s Discourse-cognition-society Triangle as the theoretical framework, this paper analyzed two news texts published on the website of China Daily concerning the issue of cross-Strait relations. The purpose of analyzing and comparing these two texts from the sociocognitive perspective of the Triangle theory is to show the ideologies and attitudes behind the discourse and to reveal the interrelationship between discursive practice, cognition and society in relation to the cross-Strait issue. Analysis of the two texts from the three dimensions in the Triangle shows that discourse strategies such as lexical selection and semantic polarization in both texts carry implications about underlying beliefs shared by Chinese people in terms of the identity of Taiwan island, under the influence of which the authors of the two texts call for similar social acts (e.g. reunification) as solution to the cross-Strait issue. Comparison of the two texts which were published in different years reveals that the reunification ideology has remained unchanged over the years, which indicates social unity will always be insisted by China. Sociocognitive analysis of the two texts can serve as an example to manifest the problem-oriented goal and society-rectifying attempt of critical discourse studies.