Quoting to persuade : A critical linguistic analysis of quoting in US, UK, and Australian newspaper opinion texts

Journal article


Cope, Jen. (2020). Quoting to persuade : A critical linguistic analysis of quoting in US, UK, and Australian newspaper opinion texts. AILA Review. 33(1), pp. 136-156. https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.00034.cop
AuthorsCope, Jen
Abstract

This paper examines how quotations are linguistically constructed by expert contributors in US, UK, and Australian opinion texts, vis-à-vis their form, function, and processes. Cope’s (2016) study found that authoritative expert contributors integrated a considerable number of quotations on blame and responsibility for the global financial crisis in single-authored US, UK, and Australian opinion texts. By examining the form, function, and processes of quoting in this paper, she found evidence that quoting is an intertextual form of positioning. Empirically grounded linguistic analyses investigate the language of quoting frames – how the quoted source is specified, the quoting verb used, e.g., strong meanings (demanded, thundered, promised) or neutral (said, told) – and evaluate the language of propositional content in quotations. Such analyses reveal authorial positions taken in quoting. A greater number of quotations incorporated by general newspaper opinion authors, than by specialized financial newspaper opinion authors, furthermore implies that quoting increases a writer’s authority in non-specialized media sources. The specially created integrated linguistic framework draws on Martin & White’s (2005) Appraisal system from systemic-functional linguistics, White’s (2012, 2015) attribution and endorsement, and Bazerman’s (2004) intertextuality techniques. Contextual factors in language use and quoting are evaluated throughout. This paper thus provides evidence of, and implications for, quoting in cross-cultural opinion texts, and contributes to knowledge on the increasingly mediatized practice of language recycling and to media literacy.

Keywordscommunication strategies; evaluative language; expert contributors; financial crisis; linguistic analyses; opinion texts; quotation
Year2020
JournalAILA Review
Journal citation33 (1), pp. 136-156
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
ISSN1461-0213
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.00034.cop
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85092569540
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range136-156
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online07 Oct 2020
Publication process dates
Deposited28 May 2021
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w1z3/quoting-to-persuade-a-critical-linguistic-analysis-of-quoting-in-us-uk-and-australian-newspaper-opinion-texts

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License: CC BY-NC 4.0
File access level: Open

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