Journal of Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
The Journal of Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (ISSN: 2755-3426 ) is a double-blind peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development. It provides a forum for bringing together a wide range of research in pragmatics, discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. All research articles published in this journal undergo a rigorous peer-review process, based on initial editor screening and anonymised refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. The journal provides free and open access to all of its content on our website.
Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development
From Description to Assessment: An RST-Based Framework for Measuring Discourse Coherence
Since Thirty-nine years of its publication in 1987, Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) by Mann and Thompson has established itself as one of the most influential frameworks for describing the rhetorical organization of discourse. However, the practical application of this theory has not gone beyond the qualitative analysis of discourse structure without providing a standardized framework for the evaluation of discourse organization quality. To address this gap and advance the theory, the present study proposes a practical RST- based framework for measuring and assessing discourse organization in written texts. This framework draws upon both the four principles of rhetorical structure theory, namely completedness, connectedness, uniqueness and adjacency along with the discourse coherence principles of Elementary Discourse Unit segmentation. Accordingly, the present article aims at bridging the gap between discourse description and discourse assessment, showing how RST cannot serve only as a descriptive theory of discourse organization but also as a foundation for evaluating its quality.
Rhetorical Structure Theory, discourse coherence, writing assessment, discourse organization
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Positive Discourse Analysis of News Reports on “2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit” on China Daily
Based on the attitude system of Appraisal Theory, this study analyzes the news reports on the “2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit” on China Daily. Through the self-built corpus, the distribution characteristics of Attitude System are studied, and the discourse meaning of their construction is discussed. The results show that the proportion of judgement resources is the highest, showing a positive image of China-Africa cooperation; appreciation resources emphasize the importance and value of the summit; affect resources reflect the positive attitudes of the Chinese and African peoples. Positive words account for much more than negative words. The use of these Attitude System has realized the positive discourse meaning of the construction of harmonious social relations, and fully affirmed the important value of the “2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit”.
Appraisal Theory; attitude system; positive discourse analysis; “2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
Manufacturing Institutional Non-Decision: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the United States Gaza Discourse at the United Nations Security Council
This study is an application of qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to the discourse of United States (US) representatives in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Gaza’s ceaseless crisis that erupted in 2023. Drawing on Fairclough (1995), Van Dijk (1998, 2006), and Van Leeuwen (2008), and grounding the analysis in a corpus that comprises six UNSC records that includes the justifications of vetoes delivered by US representatives across the six Gaza-related resolutions between October 2023 and September 2025, the study investigates how US representatives put into use three discursive mechanisms, namely, euphemism, lexical absence, and agent deletion jointly to shape the linguistic construction of violence and institutional responsibility regarding Gaza conflict. It shows how US representatives softened killing and engineered starvation into a neutral vocabulary of “loss” and “humanitarian needs”, how they kept salient categories such as occupation, collective punishment, and genocide out of the operative frame, and how they removed Israel from the grammatical position of agent of harm while installing Hamas as the transitive cause of the catastrophe. Further, by tracing these mechanisms across the full sequence of vetoes, the study shows that this discursive architecture persists while its surface forms strengthen as the factual and legal pressure on the US grows, moving from the suppression of the ceasefire demand to the delegitimisation of the very instruments that establish atrocity. This paper argues that the institutional lack of decision and non-action is produced and legitimised through the usage of multiple discursive mechanisms which function as discursive enablers, diffusing agency and lowering political and moral costs of institutional inaction. By doing so, the study offers a fresh viewpoint on international relations and discourse studies, explaining how language is used not to justify intervention, but to legitimise deadlock and render institutional failure structurally unavoidable.
Critical discourse analysis; euphemism; agent deletion; lexical absence; UN Security Council; institutional non-decision; legitimisation.
A Comparison of Jordanian and Syrian EFL Students' Politeness Strategies in Agreement Speech
This paper examines positive politeness agreement strategies among Jordanian and Syrian EFL students. It examines how cultural norms in Jordan and Syria influence these strategies in academic settings, aiming to identify and analyze the strategies employed to understand face-saving and relational harmony in their interactions. It adopts one of the politeness theories to analyze the politeness strategies employed by participants in their interactions. Using qualitative methods, data will be collected through note-taking and semi-structured interviews with English and translation students at Jerash University. Note-Taking will be gathered through interactions of students in and out of their classes. After sorting the notes, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 10 students from each group to delve into the vital reasons for using some of the politeness strategies in their agreements. The central hypothesis posits that both participants employ various positive politeness strategies to maintain their 'saving face' and acknowledge others in interactions. The findings will highlight prevalent strategies for both groups and their sociolinguistic implications, contributing to knowledge in cross-cultural communication and EFL education in similar contexts. This study recommends that future researchers conduct more comparative studies between these two groups and other Arabic societies to identify similarities and differences in the agreement strategies used in their interactions.
Agreement, Politeness Strategies, Syrian EFL Students, Jordanian EFL Students, Sociolinguistics, Qualitative Research
Linguistic Landscapes and Signages in Focus: A Synthesized Self-Review of Multi Context Research (2021-2025)
This systematic review (SR) synthesizes empirical research conducted by the author between 2021 and 2025 on linguistic landscapes (LLs) in Saudi Arabia and selected international contexts, with a focus on the linguistic, translational, semiotic, and sociocultural dimensions of commercial and public signage. Drawing on four thematic clusters, morphosyntactic and orthographic issues, cross linguistic errors by human translators and AI, globalization and English hegemony, and sociocultural identities in naming practices, the corpus demonstrates that Arabic shop names, product names, and bilingual LLs frequently contain semantic, syntactic, and orthographic anomalies, and that transliteration remains the dominant strategy even when translation is possible or preferable. English and other foreign languages exert a strong presence in commercial naming, reflecting globalization as well as local perceptions of prestige, modernity, and marketability. Cultural identity is deeply embedded in naming practices, particularly in hotel names in Makkah and Madinah, where religious, historical, and spiritually connoted references are especially prominent. The corpus further reveals that AI systems fail to translate culturally embedded naming patterns such as Abu brand names, often producing literal or culturally inappropriate equivalents that highlight the limitations of AI translation in LL contexts. The findings also show that LLs are not random or superficial but are shaped by systemic, cultural, and ideological forces that influence how languages coexist in public space. Transliteration errors and structural anomalies indicate gaps in linguistic awareness among shop owners, manufacturers, and transliterators, while translation errors reflect inconsistent practices, lack of standardization, and reliance on literal strategies, particularly in bottom up signage. The AI related findings demonstrate that current AI tools frequently misinterpret culturally bound names, underscoring the need for culturally informed computational models in LL translation. The dominance of English emerges as a sociolinguistic response to globalization, where English is associated with prestige, internationalism, and consumer appeal, even as hotel names in Makkah and Madinah illustrate how LLs can simultaneously reinforce local identity and heritage. Overall, this SR highlights the importance of commercial and public signage as a site of linguistic inquiry and offers recommendations for transliteration standardization, translation quality control, balanced language policy, and expanded cross national LL research.
Systematic self-review, Al-Jarf research program, Saudi linguistic landscapes, English hegemony, bilingual commercial signage, linguistic anomalies, signage translation errors, semiotic analysis, AI brand name translation, AI translation limitations
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A Conceptual Comparative Socio-Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness in Food Invitations Produced by the Societies of Jordan and Oman
Food invitation discourse is a well-known custom practiced in daily interactions around the world. As a result, comparing the use of this discourse across societies helps us understand how to communicate more effectively. This study examined the similarities and differences in politeness strategies employed in food invitations by Jordanian and Omani societies. Observation and semi-structured interviews were the methods used to collect data. Brown and Levenson’s politeness theory (1987) was adopted to analyze the politeness strategies utilized by both groups. Researchers can better comprehend Jordanian and Omani polite strategies when they want to accept or reject food invitations. Additionally, they can use it as a reference to compare Jordanian and other societies’ food invitations to draw attention to their cultural differences.
socio-pragmatics, politeness, Jordan, Oman, food invitation
Ideological Loss and Pragmatic Dilution in Political Interpreting: A SAT–CDA Analysis of English Interpretations of Abbas’s UN Speeches
This study investigates the interpretation of 50 Palestinian colloquial expressions used by President Mahmoud Abbas in his speeches at the United Nations General Assembly (2022–2025), examining the extent to which their pragmatic force and ideological significance were preserved or altered in the English simultaneous interpretations. By applying Speech Act Theory (SAT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study identifies a high frequency of omissions (50%) and modulation (32%), which contribute to rhetorical weakening and ideological dilution. The analysis shows that these interpretive strategies tended to silence expressions of defiance, frustration, and resistance that are central to the speaker’s political message. In addition, the findings demonstrate that omission and semantic flattening led to the non-performance or distortion of key illocutionary acts, while discursive sanitization turned politically loaded language into forms more acceptable within the institutional framework of neutrality. They also highlight how interpreter choices, shaped by real-time cognitive constraints and cultural unfamiliarity, mediate political meaning and reconfigure the speaker’s identity positioning. This study adds to the growing body of research on political interpreting by highlighting how interpreting strategies shape the transmission of emotionally and ideologically loaded content in sensitive diplomatic settings like the UN General Assembly. It emphasizes the need to incorporate pragmatic and cultural competence in interpreter training and to put forward targeted recommendations for improving interpretive accuracy in international contexts. This research encourages conducting comparative studies on how colloquial expressions are interpreted across various political contexts and language pairs.
Critical Discourse Analysis, colloquial expressions, ideological framing, omission, political pragmatic loss, UN speeches
Cohesion and Coherence in AI-generated Narrative Texts: ChatGPT vs Grok
The rapid advancement of large language models has raised questions about their ability to produce cohesive and coherent texts. Our exploratory study examines and compares referential and temporal cohesion in 20 narrative texts, approximately 500 words each, generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Grok (x.AI). Coh-Metrix 3.0 was used as an automatic tool for text analysis. 8 Coh-Metrix referential cohesion indices (Local and global noun, argument, stem and content word overlap) and two temporal cohesion indices (incidence of temporal connectives and semantic temporal overlap /tense aspect consistency) relevant for the study were selected. Given the small sample size, a series of Mann Whitney U tests along with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction were applied. The results revealed large similarity between local and global referential cohesion across models, with a small to moderate advantages for Grok in global noun and stem overlap (all FDR-adjusted p>.05). In contract, temporal cohesion showed a clear divergence between the two models: ChatGPT exhibited considerably higher use of explicit temporal connectives (CNCTemp, rank bi-serial r=0.73, large effect; FDR-adjusted p=.010), whereas Grok demonstrated stronger implicit temporal consistency (SMTEMP, r=.044, moderate-to-large effect). The latter difference, however, did not remain statistically significant after FDR correction (FDR-adjusted p=.245). Overall, these findings suggest that the two models espouse two distinct strategies to achieve text coherence in narrative texts with explicit cue reliance from ChatGPT versus deeper situational model coherence from Grok.
Discursive Construction of the Climate-Poverty Relationship in the World Bank’s CCDRs
Abstract: Climate change and poverty represent intertwined challenges disproportionately affecting Least Developed Countries (LDCs), yet how global institutions discursively construct their nexus to legitimize policy remains underexplored. Drawing on critical policy discourse analysis (CPDA), this study investigates how the World Bank Group frames the climate change-poverty relationship in its Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) for LDCs, and the legitimation strategies embedded in these constructions. Findings reveal two dominant discursive frames: the vulnerability frame, which constructs poor groups as passive victims of climate impacts and deploys moral evaluation to legitimize adaptation policies; and the causality frame, which positions climate change as an active driver of poverty and uses scientific rationalization to legitimize mitigation policies. These frames collectively shape a hybrid policy agenda that balances ethically imperatives with technocratic efficiency, reflecting the Bank’s attempt to legitimize its influence on LDC climate-development policies. This research contributes to understanding discourse in global climate governance, equipping stakeholders to critically engage with international policy advice and fostering more context-sensitive strategies for LDCs.
Climate change; Poverty; Critical policy discourse analysis; World Bank; CCDRs; Least Developed Countries; Policy legitimation
What can a combined Transitive and Appraisal analysis of Japanese government materials reveal about underlying attitudes towards Assistant Language Teachers?
English education in Japanese schools is often delivered in a team-teaching approach with one Japanese teacher and one non-Japanese Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), many of which are recruited through the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme. Whether implicitly or explicitly, there are different roles and expectations assigned to each of these jobs from the students, schools, and wider policy makers within the Japanese Department of Education (MEXT). This combined Transitive and Appraisal analysis of the text of two training videos targeted at new JET teachers entering Japan reveals a lot of positive language being employed however there are some more concerning trends that appear as well, including an expectation for the JET teacher to always follow the lead of their Japanese partner teacher, an emphasis on the presence of the JET teacher over any actual action, and subjects them to some negative presumptions. Academics frequently call greater cooperation in how language teaching is delivered, therefore understanding the root of problem as reflected in the discourse used can be a useful first step towards achieving a more effective relationship for all parties involved.
A Contrastive Critical Discourse Analysis of Pseudo-Ignorance in two English and Arabic Politicians' Speeches
The justification for ambiguity and hedging is known as pseudo-ignorance strategy; speakers may pretend not to know something, but they may subtly imply that they do, making assertions that do not require supporting evidence. These kinds of seeming knowledge are usually seen in disclaimers, like “I don't know, but...” which, in spite of the ignorance claimed, affirms the truth of the but-clause, which is also a tactic used in impression management. This study tries to be an attempt to contrast the political employment of the strategy pseudo-ignorance between two English and Arabic political speeches, drawing on investigating the four syntactic, semantic, lexical, and pragmatic levels of Van Dijk (1995) and James (1980) for analyzing the data contrastively. The study opines to choose speeches of two American and Iraqi politicians, Donald Trump and Ayad Allawi to be investigated and contrasted. The study concludes that pseudo-ignorance is the political strategy that is used by both politicians Trump and Ayad Allawi in order to achieve their personal and political purposes.
Contrastive Linguistics, CDA, Pseudo-Ignorance Strategy, James (1980) Model of CA, Van Dijk (1995) Model of CDA
Analysis of English Refusal and Request Strategies by Native Speakers and Bahrainis in the Workplace
This study compares the request and refusal strategies used by native English speakers and Bahraini employees. Politeness was examined with reference to Brown and Levinson (1987) and Matsumoto (1989), and formality was assessed following Li et al. (2015), Ernestus et al. (2015), and Jassim and Nimehchisalem (2016). Data were collected through a modified Discourse Completion Test comprising request and refusal scenarios across four workplace status relations: equal, higher, lower and unfamiliar. Participants included 13 Bahraini and 11 native-speaker employees. Findings show that native speakers employed more directness and politeness in requests when holding a higher status, while Bahrainis were more direct and less formal with unfamiliar colleagues. In refusals, native speakers used higher levels of directness, politeness and formality across most status contexts. Overall, the results highlight significant cross-cultural differences, particularly in the role of hierarchy. The study recommends integrating explicit instruction on speech acts—especially requests and refusals—into English training for Bahraini employees.
Speech acts, politeness, formality, directness, indirectness
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Discourse Analysis of the Nigerian Supreme Court Judgements on Gubernatorial Election Petitions in Southwestern Nigeria between 1999 and 2023
With the return of civilian rule in 1999 to the Nigerian democratic landscape, electoral litigation has become an integral part of Nigerian history. The advent of Electoral litigation has become a defining feature of Nigeria's democratic landscape since the return to civilian rule in 1999. This study investigates the generic structure potential of Nigerian Supreme Court judgements on gubernatorial election petitions from Southwestern Nigeria between 1999 and 2023. With systemic functional linguistics as theoretical framework, this study analysed ten Supreme Court judgements in this context to arrive at ten distinct elements. These elements are divided into the obligatory elements, namely: Case Overview, Review of Court of Appeal Proceedings, Reference to Law, Application of Law, and Appeal Verdict, and the optional elements, namely: Production of Issues, Grounds of Appeal, Assessment of Preliminary Objection, Analysis of Cross Appeal Issues, and Summary and Conclusion. The elements formed the generic structure potential formula as: [CO^ RCAP^ (PI) ● (GA)^ (APO)^ {RL^ AL}^ AV^ {(ACAI)^ (SC)}]. This study contributes to legal literacy by bridging a communication gap by crafting a road map for individuals outside the legal profession to understand these judgements and contribute to democratic conversation.
From Device to Deed: A Framework for Mapping Rhetorical Moves to Illocutionary Effects in Political Speech
This paper proposes a unified framework—Device–Act–Felicity–Effect (DAFE)—linking rhetorical criticism and speech-act pragmatics to explain how political speakers transform linguistic form into performative action. It addresses the gap between rhetorical form and pragmatic function, offering a systematic model for mapping rhetorical devices to illocutionary force, felicity cues, and audience uptake. Building on Austin and Searle’s speech-act theory and contemporary rhetorical analysis, the framework formalises rhetorical devices as felicity scaffolds that make speech acts recognisable and legitimate. It employs a four-layer annotation system: (A) Rhetorical Device, (B) Illocutionary Force, (C) Felicity Signal, and (D) Perlocutionary Intent. Procedures for coder training, reliability testing (κ, α), and optional NLP support ensure replicability and scalability. Applications to Nelson Mandela’s Statement from the Dock (1964) and Yasser Arafat’s UN Address (1974) show that rhetorical devices perform essential felicity functions under contested authority. Repetition heightens commissive sincerity; metaphor and antithesis enact recognition; ethos substitutes for institutional legitimacy. These patterns reveal rhetoric as a mechanism through which political actors constitute moral and performative authority. Value: The DAFE framework establishes a reproducible bridge between rhetoric and pragmatics, turning interpretive insights into structured, comparable data. Practical Implications: It supports cross-cultural and computational analyses of political oratory, diplomacy, and protest discourse, providing an open, field-building method for cumulative research on performative legitimacy in global communication.
Rhetoric; Speech Acts; Felicity; Political Discourse; Performativity; Pragmatics; Rhetorical–Pragmatic Framework
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
A Stylistic Analysis of President Mahama’s 2024 Electoral Victory Acceptance Speech
An acceptance speech acts as an opportunity for speakers to relate, share their journey and express gratitude to others. Speakers utilize these speeches to show appreciation, personal reflection, motivational elements, and resonate with the audience while celebrating their achievements. For politicians, their vision, ideology, and relationship with the electorate are encapsulated in their pivotal political acceptance speeches. Due to the multi-purpose nature of this speech, writers employ several stylistic devices aimed at portraying their unique idiosyncrasies while also persuading the audience. They use implied language as a means of expressing ideas, emotions, and desires. This study analyses the language and stylistic elements found in President-elect Mahama’s acceptance speech following the 2024 electoral victory. It examines how the speaker's idiosyncratic nature and particularity are reflected in his language use. The analysis employs the analytical frameworks mainly in a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) fashion with other related frameworks serving as associations. (Fairclough 1992, 1993, Halliday 1978, Wodak, 2002,1999). The data reveals the use of stylistic devices such as over-wording, cohesion and coherence, logical connectors, repetition, pronouns, and the use of active sentences in conveying the themes of hope, unity, progress, and confidence. The president-elect skillfully applies these techniques to enhance the effectiveness of his message and relate to his listeners on both intellectual and emotional levels. This creates a narrative of optimism, resilience, and inclusiveness, qualities needed by the speaker as he sets out on his journey of resetting the country.
Acceptance Speech, Discourse Analysis, Stylistic Analysis, Political Discourse
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Critical Discourse Analysis of COVID-19 BBC News on X Platform
This study critically examines the BBC's COVID-19 discourse on the social media platform X (previously Twitter) to explore how media language shaped public attitudes and health behaviors during the pandemic. The research investigates the BBC tweets posted between January 2020 and May 2023 using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework. By analyzing the inclusive pronoun, metaphor, and modality, the study reveals how the BBC crafted messages of collective responsibility, urgency, and empathy to promote public compliance with health guidelines. The methodology follows Fairclough's three-dimensional model which includes textual analysis of linguistic features, discursive practice of intertextuality and framing, and social practice analysis of societal contexts. Tweets were purposively sampled based on engagement metrics and relevance, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the evolving discourse throughout the pandemic's progression. This comprehensive approach highlights how BBC discourse aligned with authoritative sources (including government policies and scientific findings) to reinforce credibility and influence public understanding. Key findings demonstrate the BBC's role in framing health behaviors through emotive storytelling which humanized the pandemic's impact and fostered empathy. Repetition of key slogans strengthened public commitment to collective responsibility and compliance with health measures. The study also uncovers underlying power dynamics and social inequalities reflected in the discourse, emphasizing the media's influence in shaping public responses during the crises. This research contributes to understanding the intersection of language, power, and ideology in pandemic reporting. It underscores the need for ethical media practices and enhanced public media literacy to navigate health emergencies effectively.
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), English Media, Covid-19
Discursive Construction of Power and Resistance: A Pragmatic Analysis of the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla Coverage in Al Jazeera and The New York Times
This study looks at the discursive construction of power and resistance in the coverage of the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla by Al Jazeera and The New York Times. The study examines how the linguistic, pragmatic, and visual components correlate to create ideological narratives using a qualitative methodology based on Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995, 2003), Speech Act Theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969), and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006). Twelve articles, half from each news organisation, that were published between June and October 2025, when the flotilla was receiving the most international media attention, make up the corpus. The study explores how each media organisation establishes legitimacy, accountability, and humanitarian identity in conflicting geopolitical contexts by looking at lexical selection, modality, evidentiality, and illocutionary act. The findings show that Al Jazeera regularly uses emotive lexis, expressive and commissive speech acts, and solidarity framing to humanise activists and highlight moral agency in opposition to structural violence. On the other hand, The New York Times favours aggressive and investigative actions, hedging strategies, and procedural methods that maintain the appearance of journalistic objectivity while subtly endorsing state power. Visual framing also reinforces these discursive tendencies: The New York Times favours procedural, distant images that emphasise institutional order, while Al Jazeera uses emotive images of suffering and resistance. According to the comparative reading, empathy and neutrality are two different but ideologically influenced types of journalistic discourse. Lastly, by demonstrating how international news media mediate humanitarian discourse and reconstruct or subvert power relations through linguistic and multimodal selection, this study contributes to critical media and discourse studies. The study confirms that to obtain a comprehensive understanding of media representation in geopolitical conflict, it is essential to combine CDA and pragmatics.
Critical Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Global Sumud Flotilla, Media Ideology, Humanitarian Discourse
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
Words that do things: Rhetorical Strategies and speech-acts pragmatics in Arafat (1974) and Mandela (1964)
This paper investigates how rhetorical devices and speech-act pragmatics combine to produce political effects in two emblematic freedom-fighter speeches: Yasser Arafat’s 13 November 1974 address to the United Nations General Assembly and Nelson Mandela’s 20 April 1964 Statement from the Dock (Rivonia Trial). Using a mixed-methods protocol that pairs fine-grained close reading with a reproducible sentence-level annotation scheme, we coded rhetorical devices (metaphor, anaphora, antithesis, narrative, ethos, etc.), primary illocutionary force (Searle’s taxonomy), perlocutionary intent, and a binary felicity indicator for each sentence (Arafat N ≈ 123; Mandela N = 62). Quantitative analyses include device–act contingency tables, χ² tests with Cramér’s V (χ² = 42.8, df = 16, p < .001; V = .38), bootstrap confidence intervals, and robustness checks after collapsing rare categories; inter-coder reliability exceeded κ = .90 for primary layers after codebook refinement. Results show systematic device→act mappings: Arafat’s rhetoric clusters metaphor and antithesis with declaratives and assertives, facilitating institutional uptake in a diplomatic forum; Mandela’s rhetoric clusters anaphora, narrative, and pathos with commissives and assertives, producing moral authority in a courtroom setting. We introduce the concept of rhetorical felicity scaffolds—formal devices that help satisfy illocutionary felicity conditions—and offer a comparative model in which institutional venue shapes device→act repertoires and distinct perlocutionary payoffs. The study contributes a transparent, replicable method for linking rhetorical form to pragmatic force and advances theory on how oratory performs political legitimation.
Rhetorical Devices; Speech Acts; Felicity Conditions; Arafat 1974; Mandela 1964; Political Oratory; Performativity; Content Analysis
Beauty Ideology: Critical Discourse Analysis of Online Filipino Beauty Product Advertisements
This study investigates the linguistic and discursive features of collected online Filipino beauty advertisements from 2016 to 2025, with the aim of uncovering how these texts construct and reinforce prevailing beauty ideologies. Grounded in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research applies Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model to examine the textual structures, discursive practices, and social practices that shape these online advertisements. The findings reveal that advertisers use a strategic blend of emotive language, pseudo-scientific terminology, and personalized messaging to create persuasive narratives around beauty. These advertisements often frame beauty as both an attainable goal and a personal responsibility, closely tied to consumption and self-improvement. Distributed across everyday platforms like social media and product packaging, the ads promote a neoliberal view of beauty as a marker of empowerment, success, and social acceptance. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how language and discourse in beauty advertising play a powerful role in shaping cultural ideals, reinforcing gender norms, and influencing consumer behavior and self-perception.
Critical Discourse Analysis, Beauty Advertisements, Discursive Strategies, Filipino Media, Beauty Ideology
Staging Marrakech: Theatricality, Exoticism and the Colonial Gaze
This article critically examines how orientalist discourse informs the representation and promotion of Marrakech in travel guides. Through selective language, Marrakech is staged as a site of mystery and exoticism, a portrayal which is inextricably linked to the commodification of culture. By approaching promotional discourse as a discursive medium, the study reveals how cultural otherness is not only represented but also objectified and commercialized within the tourism industry.
When Modesty Meets Self-Promotion: A Discourse Analysis of Humble-Bragging on Social Media
Humble-bragging, or self-promotion hidden behind acts of modesty or discontent, has become a popular communication tactic in the age of social media, when users are always juggling likeability with self-enhancement. Despite the fact that earlier study has concentrated on the psychological effects of humble-bragging and the responses of audiences to it, linguistic studies that systematically examine the discursive mechanisms behind this behaviour are conspicuously lacking. This study aims to bridge this gap by analysing the rhetorical, pragmatic, and structural elements of humble-bragging on social media through discourse analysis. The data came from a purposeful sample of 500 public posts from a variety of sites, such as Instagram, Twitter (X), and LinkedIn, and represented a range of demographic backgrounds. Through an analysis of stance-taking, linguistic cues, and the relationship between self-praise and self-deprecation, the study situates humble-bragging within broader patterns of online self-presentation. The results show that humble-bragging often employs a hybrid discourse structure that intentionally employs conversational implicature to quietly express accomplishment and mixes evaluative language with mitigated self-reference. This discreet self-promotion allows speakers to navigate the tension between the cultural norms of humility and the performative demands of digital identity formation. The linguistic and interactional features of humble-bragging are highlighted in this study, which contributes to our understanding of online discourse practices and offers insights into the evolving norms of self-presentation in mediated spaces.
humble-bragging, discourse analysis, social media
Censoring Affection: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Rainbow Rowell’s Scattered Showers in the Context of Malaysian Book Bans
This study critically analyses the censorship of Rainbow Rowell's collection of young adult short tales, Scattered Showers (2022), which was outlawed in Malaysia in 2024 on the grounds that it supposedly promoted LGBTQ+ beliefs that went against regional cultures. Using a qualitative technique and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the article analyses the ideological narratives found in government pronouncements, media reporting, and public reader responses in addition to the book's textual methods. The study aims to explore how the novel itself linguistically challenges heteronormative frameworks through narrative voice, emotive language, and character agency, as well as how institutional discourses depict LGBTQ+ representation as morally aberrant. The Malaysian government perpetuates the division between "Western immorality" and "local values" by portraying the text as a danger from foreign ideology, according to research employing Fairclough's three-dimensional CDA model. In contrast, Rowell's works undermine dominant discourses by normalising LGBT affection and emotional closeness through everydayness and inclusion rather than confrontation. The study concludes that censorship produces ideological meaning and strengthens social boundaries even when the material is not stated directly. This essay contributes to conversations concerning teenage literature, censorship politics, and the societal impact of literary discourse.
censorship, LGBTQ+, Critical Discourse Analysis, young adult fiction, Scattered Showers, Rainbow Rowell, Malaysia, ideology
Navigating Conflict and Dialogue: A Conceptual Exploration of Power, Politeness, and Pragmatics in Student-Professor Disagreements in Jordan
Disagreement is intrinsic to human interaction, particularly within academic environments where diverse perspectives often arise between students and professors. The expression of disagreement is significantly influenced by cultural, social, and institutional contexts. This study investigates disagreement strategies employed by Jordanian students and their professors during classroom interactions at Jerash University in Jordan. Employing a qualitative research design, this study combines direct observation and semi-structured interviews to explore the strategies used by both students and professors. The participants include English and translation students and their professors, selected to represent varied academic experiences. Two primary hypotheses are tested: first, that students and professors share common disagreement strategies; and second, that professors, due to their higher status, employ different strategies compared to students. This research aims to identify these strategies and uncover the motivations behind their use. The findings are expected to provide insights into how power dynamics, cultural norms, and social roles influence disagreement management in the academic environment. The study's results could significantly enhance the understanding of communication practices in Jordanian higher education, offering practical applications for improving classroom dynamics and fostering more effective communication. Furthermore, the findings may serve as a basis for future research on politeness strategies and their implications in cross-cultural academic settings.
Disagreement Strategies, Classroom Interaction, Jordanian Students/Professors, Power Dynamics, Cultural Norms
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Anthony Albanese’s Opening Remarks at the 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit
This study examines Anthony Albanese's opening remarks at the 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit from the analysis of three stages of description, interpretation, and explanation of Fairclough's 1989 three-dimensional framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The study is carried out by employing both quantitative and qualitative and methods to reveal the linguistic devices which contribute to ideologies and political intentions in Albanese’s speech. The study finds that Albanese makes use of first, the frequency of words; second, metaphors; and third, pronouns. These linguistic devices are applied to promote Albanese’s ideology of “a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.” The study unveils the political intentions of Albanese, through such linguistic devices, including: (i) affirming the value of Quad to Australia, (ii) reinforcing relationships of the United States, Japan, India and (iii) approaching and addressing difficulties in the Indo-Pacific region. The study highlights how Albanese navigates the socio-political context of the summit, presenting Australia as a promotional factor of the Quad and an engaged partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
Fairclough's 1989 three-dimensional framework
Manufacturing Disinformation and Deceptive Narratives in Algerian News Coverage of the Moroccan Sahara
This study critically analyses disinformation in journalistic discourse, investigating the Algerian government–media nexus, with a particular focus on how this relationship is strategically used to disseminate conspiracy theories, disinformation, and propaganda. This research forms part of a broader doctoral thesis project investigating disinformation discourse within Algerian media, with a primary focus on coverage related to Moroccan issues, and a particular emphasis on the national cause of the Moroccan Sahara as represented in various Algerian news outlets. Against this backdrop, and given the ongoing scholarly debate and lack of consensus over the definition of fake news, this paper adopts the terms disinformation and fake news interchangeably to refer to any news that is deliberately false or misleading—whether entirely fabricated or biased—and produced with the intent to deceive and cause harm. Detecting such falsehoods becomes significantly more challenging when disinformation is spread through official news outlets that project legitimacy and authority, thereby blurring the line between factual reporting and propaganda. Forensic linguistics expands this inquiry by exploring how language can be used as a tool to commit crimes. While most crimes involve a physical act with intent, many unlawful acts are committed solely through speech or writing. Disinformation—including threats, extortion, defamation, and perjury—can be seen as a form of language crimes, where language is the primary means of deception and harm. In the context of the Moroccan Sahara issue—where misleading signifiers are manipulated to distort facts and events—Algerian media systematically omit or distort information regarding the true motivations behind Algeria’s involvement and interference in Moroccan affairs, constructing narratives steeped in conspiracy and disinformation discourse. This study focuses not on what journalists write, but on how journalistic discourse is constructed—how texts function, how arguments are formed, and how they are persuasively supported. It examines the role of news discourse in agenda-setting, offering an in-depth analysis of how the Algerian government–media nexus operates—not only to influence domestic public opinion but also to project Algeria’s foreign policy on the international stage. In doing so, it frequently frames contentious issues through disinformation and propaganda, targeting Moroccan sovereignty and its core institutions, while promoting pro-separatist and secessionist narratives.
Moroccan Sahara- Algerian Government–media nexus – Language Crimes - Disinformation - Propaganda - Media narratives - Separatism
Ideological Accommodation in Electoral Discourse: How Liberalism and Populism Reconciled in American Elections 2024?
The study investigates the use of accommodation strategies that candidates use in electoral discourse to approximate and converge to the Other’s ideology. The context is the American elections in 2024, held between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The two candidates represent the two prominent ideologies that predominate the American political context—Populism and Liberalism. The analysis focused on the topics of freedom, abortion and sexual identities. The analysis of the accommodation strategies in the discourse of the two candidates showed salient evidence that the two candidates employed approximation strategies to adjust their ideologies to appeal to the largest section of voters either by evading extreme ideological views or adopting some counter-ideology views.
Politeness Strategies in Political Discourse: A Study through the Lens of Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory
This study explores politeness strategies in the political discourse of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., using Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory (1987) as a framework. A descriptive-qualitative approach analyzed three speeches from February 2025, revealing a sophisticated blend of strategies. The findings demonstrate the strategic use of Bald On-Record, Negative Politeness, Positive Politeness, and Off-Record strategies, showcasing a calculated balance between assertiveness and respect to achieve various communicative goals (persuasion, rapport-building, and image management). The research highlights the importance of considering context in analyzing politeness strategies, extending existing literature by demonstrating the complex relationship of these strategies in contemporary political communication and offering avenues for future research into cross-cultural variations and audience reception.
Politeness strategies, political discourse, Brown and Levinson, Philippine politics
The Jeepney Culture of Politeness: A Structural Functionalist Perspective
The jeepney, tagged as ‘king of the road’ is an intriguing exhibit of Filipino culture. The study aims to explain the systems of action within the jeepney context. Through the lens of Parsons' systemic functionalist perspective, the study examines the driver-passenger interactions to understand how politeness (Lakoff, 1975) is negotiated inside the jeepney. Three specific research questions guided this investigation. First, it explored the linguistic choices Filipino jeepney riders employ to fulfill two main functions of their utterances: paying the fare and getting on/off the jeepney. Second, it examined the mechanisms riders use to negotiate politeness within the jeepney. Finally, it analyzed what these linguistic choices reveal about the cultural practices of the riders. Employing a qualitative-complete observation method, the study's findings reveal a distinct culture of politeness unique to the jeepney environment.
structural functionalism, politeness principle, collectivity, personality system, cultural system, social system
Donald Trump's Satirical Remarks toward Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during the 2024 Presidential Debates: A Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
This study investigates the satirical remarks uttered by President Donald Trump towards former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 Presidential election utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), applying Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model. The study addresses two essential questions: (1) What are the hidden implications of President Trump’s remarks toward former President Biden and former Vice President Harris? and (2) How do these remarks contribute to weakening the public image of Biden and Harris? A qualitative analysis of Trump's language reveals that satire played a crucial role in Trump’s discourse, with repeated mockery as a strategic instrument to undermine the political image of the opponents. The analysis shows how Trump’s satirical remarks shaped public views, effectively deteriorating the credibility of Biden and Harris as perceived by their advocates and potential voters. The study addresses the implications for future investigation, encouraging a more nuanced exploration of the linguistic strategies utilized by Biden and Harris as a counter to Trump's discourse. Future studies could benefit from incorporating alternative theoretical frameworks, such as Foucault’s views on discourse and power, to expand the comprehension of political language in presidential campaigns.
Satire, presidential election, Trump, debate, Harris, Biden, CDA
Analysis of Persuasion Strategies in President Biden's Speech at the Climate Change Conference (UN COP27)
In recent years, climate change speeches have become increasingly significant, especially in high-profile international summits like the Conference of Parties (COP). This study aims to analyze US President Joe Biden's persuasion strategies that were utilized in his speech at COP27. Cialdini's model (2009) of persuasion is adopted to analyze the persuasion strategies overwhelmingly. Qualitatively, observation and memo methods are used to collect the data from Joe Bidin speech which was uploaded on the White House website (White House, 2022). The objectives of this study are expected to be achieved in two sections. Firstly, identifying the types of persuasion strategies that were used by President Joe Biden. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of persuasion strategies will be conducted to find out the preferred persuasion strategy that he utilized.
Climate change, conference of parties (cop), Cialdini’s persuasion strategies, political discourse, Joe Biden