LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:7 July 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Educational Advertisement for
Two Leading Universities Inside and Outside China:
An Appraisal Theory Perspective

Cong Li, M.A. ELT

Abstract

This study is focusing on the persuasion process of two universities educational advertisements for multimodal appraisal resources. There are 3418 words for verbal corpus and 31 minutes for non-verbal corpus in total. The mixed methods were adopted to four objectives. 1) To identify the different verbal resources used in A and B university educational advertisement to construct meaning. 2) To identify the different non-verbal resources used in A and B university educational advertisements to construct meaning.3) To explore how persuasion is realized in A and B university educational advertisements. 4) To explore differences between A and B university educational advertisements’ realization of persuasive devices.

The findings indicated that ATTITUDE resources were most effective way to affects the audience with 41.8% and 73.6% for verbal and non-verbal. Different appraisal elements affected the listener or audience’s opinions by individual comments, questions, quotes, eye contact, body position or social distance. B university out of China involved many universities’ environment, construction or students’ life and learning sense had more emotional texts or images to persuade the audience compared A university.

Keywords: Appraisal Resources, Persuasion, Multimodal Discourse, Educational Advertisement

Introduction

With the great development of network media and electronic technology, educational advertisement (EA) shows all sorts of types and characteristics of the university and considers one of the most effective means to promote the university which combines images, music, lexical, etc., as typical multimodal discourses that the information can be expressed in various ways. The meaning is communicated through images as well as language usages (Hodge & Kress, 1988; Kress & Leeuwen, 1996; Kress, 2010). This visualization is considered visual communication and provides a better understanding of language (Hart, 2016). As a cultural product, EA combines all aspects of the colleges and universities which is closely related to image shaping, cultural building, publicity improving and an excellent way to attract students. Critical discourse analysis CDA) as a systematic approach that connects language, power and ideology which are hidden from people (Fairclough, 1989). CDA is a good way to research how power relations were exercised and negotiated through language and semiotic resources and brings social science and linguistics together that will be able to set up a dialogue between producer and viewer (Chouliarak & Fairclough, 1999, p.6).

The purpose of EA is to persuade viewers to accept their ideas and come to that university. Thus, EA content analysis is focusing on how the university expresses its attitude, evaluations, feelings, judgments and impresses the audience in a short period. Appraisal theory provides a theoretical framework to understand implied meanings using the three main systems attitude, engagement, and graduation (Foley, 2011; Martin &White, 2005). university tends to force or focus on the texts. This research analyzes how those semiotic elements are used to express attitudes, evaluations, feelings, judgments of others and appreciation of entities, and finally aligns viewers with ‘community of feeling’. Then it is easy to find how EA producer appropriately persuades the audience to attend this university and the features of those successful EA.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Cong Li, M.A. ELT
Department of English, Graduate School of Human Sciences
Assumption University, Thailand
Echolee94@163.com
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