VIEWS OF AMERICA’S WAR ON TERRORISM in VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPERS a CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

The implication that readers can easily get from this number is that America and its allies are the causer of the war as well as of all the sufferings and damages that Iraqi people are b

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Transitivity is a key analytic component of the Ideational Metafunction The principle

of transitivity was expressed by Iwamoto (1995) in terms of “who does what to whom, when, where and how” Put it in other words, this system concerns the Processes, Participants and Circumstances described in the text Transitivity provides

us with the potential to group the infinite variety of occurrences into a finite set of process types, namely Material, Mental, Relational, Behavioral, Verbal and Existential Process (see table 1)

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Even a quick glance at the headlines and leads presented in the above table can tell the negativity of Iraq war suggested by the lexical choices used in the headlines First it is the opposition to the war, manifested by a series of words showing disagreement L ? " h i" b Bo p " U This word choice, combined with the use of collective nouns ( E % < " E G "

O l ; Y " R J Z % E " R J b N " [ \ % < ;" V % Q

J e N : T: a 2M" ; Y ) lead readers to the impression that the majority of the world is object to America’s war on terrorism Besides, words showing the negativity of the war also contribute to the association of Iraq war with

“ loss” and “failure” (See Table 5 for illustration) The opposite ideologies were much more intensified with the choice of intensifiers like h i" b E" A

A " D : " ^ U " U The below table is a summary of vocbaulary choice analysis in the headlines:

Table 5: Choice of vocabulary in headlines/leads

s chán n n và tuy t v ng c a

nh ng ng i lính M -Anh ã lên t i

!nh i m Cho n bây

gi

n nh tr t t v n ch a th khôi ph c

Ng i dân Iraq liên ti p ph i i m"t

Hi n t #ng này ch a t ng #c bi t n Iraq

tr c khi nhà c m quy n M

-Anh

khai chi n t n c này

Theo th ng kê c a chính ph M

các v ánh bom li u ch t Iraq ã làm h n 660 ng i thi t m ng

$y v y mà v a qua ông Bush v n ngh% mình có th

Trong n m qua r t nhi u l n n c M

Ng i dân M luôn ph i s ng trong s lo s# Không ch riêng

M

các n c ng minh c(ng ã ph i tr giá

V dánh bom m máu do m ng l i Al-Qaeda

là m t ví d i n hình

Ngay sau khi giành c th ng

l i trong cu c t ng tuy n c

lãnh t ) ng xã h i R Xa-pa-tê-rô kh*ng nh l i cam k t ông a ra trong cu c b u c+ r,ng s- rút 1.300 binh s%

M t n m qua “Chi n d ch Iraq t do”

Nh ng âm m u và toan tính tham lam

ã làm d y lên phong troà ph d i chi n tranh lan r ng ngay trong lòng

c a nhà c m quy n

M

các n c ch chi n và trên toàn th

gi i Chi n l #c “ ánh

òn ph u” c a các th l c hi u chi n M ,

b ông o nhân dân ti n b trên

[Material]

c b u tr i

M t n m [Actor] trôi qua [Material]

liên quân Anh-M

[Actor]

phát ng[Material] cu c chi n Iraq

M [Actor] bi n [Material] t n c c a nh ng câu chuy n

th n tho i

có [Relational] m t k ho ch nào cho th i h u chi n

là [Relational] nh ng quy t nh sai l m c a nhà

c m quy n P Bremer tình hình xã h i Iraq

[Carrier]

tr nên [Relational] r i lo n [Attribute]

ng i dân Iraq [Actor] trút (m i c m gi n) vào lính liên quân

là [Relational] ng i dân a ph ng [Value]

ông Bush [Senser] ngh$ [Mental] mình có th “m t tay che c b u

di t hàng lo t

Cu c chi n tranh t i

Iraq [Actor]

'y [Material] M và ng minh vào cái vòng

lu'n qu'n không l i thoát [Goal]

M [Behaver] t hào [Relational] ã xoá s Vc nhà n c c a

Hussein

i phó [Material] v i k( thù nhi u n i trên th gi i

N c M [Carrier] (không) còn[Relational] an toàn [Attribute]

Ng i dân M [Actor] s ng [Material] trong s lo s! tr c nh ng v

kh ng b

các n c ng minh

[Actor]

( ã ph i) tr giá [Material]

cam k t ông a ra tr c b u c, [Verbiage]

phong trào ph n i chi n tranh [Range]

ông o nhân dân ti n b trên

th gi i [Actor]

up to 10 have the America-related Actor (M , Liên quân M -Anh, lính M , nh ng

âm m u c a nhà c m quy n M , etc ) The implication that readers can easily get from this number is that America and its allies are the causer of the war as well

as of all the sufferings and damages that Iraqi people are bearing It also means that,

as the main agentive of these happenings, America must be responsible for the bad outcomes of the war it provoked

• Relational

The second mostly-used process type is Relational (9 out of 35), of which the Token /Carrier are only about America (6) and Iraq (3) This choice of process type helps to depict the situation in Iraq as well as America one year after the war was triggered Only with 5 sentences using relational process, America was portrayed in quite a comprehensive picture (M không có m t k ho ch nào cho th i h u chi n, con s binh lính M và ng minh b thi t h i t n c này cao h n nhi u, s chán n n và tuy t v ng c a nh ng ng i lính M -Anh lên t i nh i m, n c

M không còn an toàn) A similar picture was drawn about Iraq: tình hình xã h i Iraq tr nên r i lo n, n n nhân ch y u là ng i dân a ph ng, v ánh bom

m máu là m t ví d i n hình

• Mental

The Mental process, which is only 2 out of 36, brings remarkable impression, especially with one in which the Senser is Bush (ông Bush ngh$ mình có th “m t tay che c b u tr i”) This sentence creates an ironical thinking in readers and has a negative implication By stating “Bush thinks he can with one hand”, the writer leaves it open for readers to think “But actually he can’t” Transparently enough, if

we chip off the linguistic cover of the sentence, the meaning underlying will dawn

on

• Verbal

Another type of process, which take up 4 out of 36, is Verbal Interestingly enough,

2 of them have Bush as the Sayer, one has another political figure (lãnh t * ng xã

h i) and one has the majority of people in the world (nhân dân ti n b trên th gi i) All the sayers are those who either have power or represent the majority This kind

of participant choice for Verbal Process is characteristic of newspaper reporting It

is easy to understand that quoting a person of power or representative of the majority makes the texts sound more convincing than reporting an ordinary man

To sum up, the transitivity analysis of the selected text has made it clear about the causer/agentive of the war, the situation in Iraq and the status of America one year after the war, the attitudes of America towards the war in contrast to that of Iraqi people Besides, it also reveals the ironical side of what Bush is trying to do, creating some rhetorical effect in stating what Bush thinks he can do Furthermore,

it is outspoken that the war was strongly criticized by the majority of progressive people in the world Thus, merely by looking at the transitivity of the text, readers can grasp the broad view of the war concerning who is to blame, who suffers and how the rest of the world think about this war

3.2.2.3 Lexical cohesion

Cohesion is the linguistic device that helps to make a text sound coherent It

sequence Lexical cohesion is considered the single most important cohesive tie in a text, therefore provides the discourse analyst with a key to unravel the potential ideological construction that underlies a text (Teo, 2000)

Table 12: Lexical cohesion 1 – The war as a misdeed

S N The war as a misdeed

1 M t n m ã trôi qua k t ngày liên quân M -Anh phát ng cu c chi n tranh Iraq v i “s m nh cao c ” là “mang l i t do cho Iraq”

2 Cùng ó là nh ng quy t nh sai l m c a nhà c m quy n P Bremer,

12 Th t là n c c i

14 Nh ng t t c không che y #c vi c M và ng minh c tình th i

ph ng Iraq có v( khí hu di t hàng lo t bi n minh cho vi c xâm l c

t n c Trung )ông này

18 Ng i dân M luôn ph i s ng trong s lo s tr c nh ng v kh ng b có

th d n b t c lúc nào

22 .“Chi n d ch Iraq t do”

23 Nh ng âm m u và toan tính tham lam c a nhà c m quy n M trong cu c chi n tranh Iraq ã làm d y lên phong trào ph n i chi n tranh lan r ng

24 Chi n l #c “ ánh òn ph u” c a các th l c hi u chi n M , vi c dùng v( l c t n công m t qu c gia c l p, có ch quy n c a M b ông o nhân dân ti n b trên th gi i k ch li t lên án

Table 13: Lexical cohesion 2 - The bad effects of the war

SN The bad effects of the war

1 M ã bi n t n c c a nh ng câu chuy n th n tho i này r i vào tình

6 con s binh lính c a M và ng minh b thi t h i t n c này còn cao

h n nhi u so v i thi t h i trong th i gian 6 tu n sau chi n tranh

7 Hàng ngày ph i i m t v i nh ng nguy hi m luôn rình r p, s chán

n n và tuy t v!ng c a nh ng ng i lính M -Anh

8 n nh tr t t v n ch a th khôi ph c

9 Ng i dân Iraq liên ti p ph i i m t v i nh ng v ánh bom li"u ch t

10 các v ánh bom li"u ch t ã làm cho h n 660 ng i thi t m ng, mà

an aggressive America, which is trying to carry out a war objected by the rest of the war (âm m u và toan tính tham lam, che y !c vi c M và ng minh c tình

th i ph ng Iraq có v% khí hu& di t hàng lo t bi n minh cho vi c xâm l !c, sai

l m ) Some words carrying positive meanings are used but in quotation mark (‘s

m nh cao c ’, ‘chi n d ch Iraq t do’), which brings the reverse effects, making the words negative in ironical way The other group of lexis is focussed on the bad outcomes of the war which Iraq and America are facing (r i vào tình tr ng r i lo n hoàn toàn, hàng tri u ng i dân Iraq th t nghi p, i s ng càng khó kh n g p b i, các n c ng minh c%ng ã ph i tr giá, Cu c chi n tranh t i Iraq ã 'y M và

ng minh vào cái vòng lu'n qu'n không l i thoát, )

Lexis is not only a static element embedded within the lexico-grammar of a text expressing a fixed and stable meaning Instead, if the lexical items are related collocationally or even just baldly repeated, another layer of meaning may take place the meaning of words in isolation In this way, lexical cohesion does not only stop at being textual linkers but also plays a role in the ideational function of language, re-shaping and re-conceptualizing meaning and experience This view of lexical cohesion has to do with metaphors, which can have the effects of re-structuring our thinking, causing us to perceive ‘reality’ in a new light (Teo, 2000)

To conclude, the analysis of a sample text has focussed on three aspects: transitivity, thematization and lexical cohesion The transitivity and theme-rheme analysis reveals the active role of America in the war on terrorism It also shows the objection to this war by people around the world The choice of vocabulary in the discourse guided readers to the realization of the evilness of the war and its devastating consequencesin Iraq and America

of the cases bears negative meanings Table 14 presents irony in the selected news discourse

Table 14: Ironical expressions

1 liên quân M - Anh phát ng cu c

chi n tranh Iraq v i “s m nh cao c ” là

“mang l i t do cho Iraq”

It is not a sublime mission and the mission is not to bring peace to Iraq

6 T ng th ng M G Bu-s tuyên b

“ch m d t các chi n d ch quân s chính”

Even though Bush declared

to stop main military campaigns, the situation was still worsening

11 khi ông hùng h n tuyên b “cu c chi n t i

Iraq mà ông phát ng cách ây m t n m

ã giúp th gi i tr nên an toàn h n”

The war actually did not make the world safer

13 M và ng minh ã b t gi r t nhi u c ng

s thân c n c a ông X Hút-xen, huyênh hoang vui s ng khi b t #c X Hút-xen,

They should not have shown satisfaction that early

quotation mark was used, creating an impression that this is what America claimed about their mission in Iraq, not what the rest of the world believe it to be

Towards the details of the news reporting, another quoting expression was utilised for irony: K t# ngày T ng th ng M G Bu-s tuyên b “ch m d t các chi n d ch quân s chính”, con s binh lính c a M va ng minh b thi t h i t n c này con cao h n nhi u so v i thi t h i trong 6 tu n chi n tranh What readers may infer from this sentence is after Bush had claimed to stop main military campaigns, the number of fatality even got higher Thus, the irony in the sentence led to doubtful thoughts about whether or not what Bush said is worth trusting

In the coming sentences, Bush was once more quoted with irony: ông hùng h n tuyên b “cu c chi n t i Iraq mà ông phát ng cách ây h n m t n m ã giúp th

gi i tr nên an toàn h n” The question that may arise among readers is “Does this war help to make the world really a safer place?” Similarly, the ironical effects can

be found in other sentences towards to end of the discourse: huyênh hoang vui

s ng, M t hào These descriptions of America’s attitude carry the criticism by the writer in an indirect way They led readers to doubts about the role of America

in the war as well as the appropriateness of America’s attitude

In one word, irony in this discourse has succesfully helped to convey the criticism

of America’s war on terrorism in an indirect way It creates an impression that what Bush said is not trust-worthy and the war is not as good as it was claimed to be

To conclude, upon reading the text, readers can realize the ideologies behind the lines The disapproval and criticism of America’s war on terrorism is common in all the selected articles of the two state-run newspapers Taking into account the fact that most news institutions in Vietnam are under control of the government and the Communist Party, the expression of objection the Iraq war by the two newspapers must have been approved Thus, the ideologies controlling the news discourse can

be understood as not only of the news writers or news publishers but also of those who run the news agencies, i.e those who have power: the government Besides, if

we consider the fact that these are two of the most popular newspapers, it may be

deducible that they attract readers by writing what readers want to read or share opinions In this respect, the ideologies underlying the text can be shared by the public, in other words it is also the ideologies of the public

4.1 Summary of the findings

In this paper, I have so far been trying to do a quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of news discourse under the light of CDA The two types of analyses are to ensure a thorough examination into news discourse from both macro and micro level

• The quantitative analysis for characteristic generalization of newspaper

The analysis of a number of articles from two state-run newspapers serves to explore the characteristic generalization of newspapers, which involves the headline and lead construction in terms of vocabulary and syntax, the over-lexicalization and negativization throughout the discourse

°°°° Headlines/Leads

∗ The topic

The headlines/leads of news reporting often provides readers the general idea of the whole discourse Table 15 is a summary of the main ideas of the headlines/leads: Even though the articles are about different aspects of the war, the general ideas readers may grasp from the headlines/leads is the same: Disapproval of America’s war on terrorism, considering it as an act of human right violation and the difficult situation that the U.S has led itself as well as Iraq to Obviously, ideologies can be