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Article published In: Language, Context and Text
Vol. 3:2 (2021) ► pp.302–334

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Prosody and ideology

A case study of one news report on the 2003 invasion of Iraq

ORCiD logo with link | Macquarie University, Australia
ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de La Pampa, Argentina
Published online: 15 October 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/langct.20006.luk
Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the role choices in phonological systems (. 1997. The communicative value of intonation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Halliday, Michael A. K. & William S. Greaves 2008. Intonation in the grammar of English. London and New York: Equinox.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) play in the ideological work of a text. Using an instance of news reporting of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, we show how prosodic choices – both those shared with other texts in this register, and those specific to this instance – contribute to the ideological force of the text. The ideological effects of prosodic choices in this text, we argue, include projecting a very particular interpretation of the invasion as if distant and objective, and giving prominence to claims that the invasion was measured and targeted, and by implication in accordance with international law.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The cultural context of news
  • 3.Reading the news
  • 4.Prosodic choice and text structure
  • 5.Prosody in the service of “newsworthiness” and “impartiality”
  • 6.The role of prosody in constructing a narrative
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (50)
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