Cover not available

Article published In: Terminology, Ideology and Discourse
Edited by Katia Peruzzo and Paola Catenaccio
[Terminology 30:1] 2024
► pp. 58–80

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Terminology, popularisation and ideology in contemporary China

The ‘Scientific & Technical Term of the Day’ column

 | University of Milan
Published online: 18 July 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/term.00077.ber
Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between terminology, the popularisation of scientific and technical knowledge and ideology in the People’s Republic of China. Specifically, it presents a study that focuses on an online daily column entitled ‘Scientific & Technical Term of the Day’ (每日科技名词), a terminology popularisation project promoted by China’s contemporary political leadership and implemented through the digital institutional platform Xuexi qiangguo 学习强国.
Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of critical discourse studies and legitimation in discourse, as well as frame analysis and frame semantics, the paper presents an analysis of expository texts designed to complement the knowledge provided by terminographic definitions of the terms published in the daily column. The focus is on the framing of China and the Party-state in these texts, which, it is argued, can also be interpreted as legitimation strategies.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background, framework and scope
    • 2.1Popularisation discourse and terminology
    • 2.2Theoretical and analytical framework
    • 2.3Research aims and questions
  • 3.Data and methods
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Mechanical engineering: Success and progress
    • 4.2Water-related technologies and environmental protection: Responsibility and commitment
  • 5.Discussion and concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
References (58)
References
Archibald, James, Paola Catenaccio, and Giuliana Garzone. 2020. “Debating Evolutions in Science, Technology and Society: Ethical and Ideological Perspectives.” Lingue e Linguaggi 341: 5–13.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bandurski, David. 2022. “Mixing Science and Politics.” China Media Project. Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Burgers, Christian, Elly A. Konijn, and Gerard J. Steen. 2016. “Figurative Framing: Shaping Public Discourse Through Metaphor, Hyperbole, and Irony.” Communication Theory 26 (4): 410–430. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bartel, Lee. 2010. “Discursive Frame”. In Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. Vol. 1, ed. by Albert J. Mills, Gabrielle Durepos, and Elden Wiebe, 310–312. London: SAGE.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boland, Alana. 1998. “The Three Gorges Debate and Scientific Decision-Making in China.” China Information 13 (1): 25–42. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cabré, Maria Teresa. 1999. Terminology: Theory, Methods, and Applications. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Calsamiglia, Helena. 2003. “Popularization Discourse.” Discourse Studies 5 (2): 139–146. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Calsamiglia, Helena, and Teun A. van Dijk. 2004. “Popularization Discourse and Knowledge about the Genome”. Discourse & Society 15 (4): 369–389. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
CC and SC (CPC Central Committee and State Council). 2022. “中共中央办公厅 国务院办公厅印发《关于新时代进一步加强科学技术普及工作的意见》 [The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on further strengthening the popularisation of science and technology in the new era].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Chen, Titus C. 2022. The Making of a Neo-propaganda State: China’s Social Media Under Xi Jinping. Leiden, Boston: Brill. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
CNTERM/全国科学技术名词审定委员会 (China National Committee for Terminology in Science and Technology). “委员会简介 [About the Committee].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
. 2019. “‘学习强国每日科技名词’编辑委员会成立 [Establishment of the Committee for the compilation of the Xuexi qiangguo Scientific & Technical Term of the Day column].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Creemers, Roger. 2017. “Cyber China: Upgrading Propaganda, Public Opinion Work and Social Management for the Twenty-first Century.” Journal of Contemporary China 26 (103): 85–100. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Vreese, Claes H. 2005. “News Framing: Theory and Typology.” Information Design Journal+ Document Design 13 (1): 51–62. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Xiaoshan 董潇珊. 2021. “从 ‘学习强国’平台看主流意识形态传播的有效性 [On the effectiveness of the dissemination of the mainstream ideology based on Xuexi qiangguo].” Journal of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Social Sciences) 南京航空航天大学学报：社会科学版, 23 (1): 22–26.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Entman, Robert M. 1993. “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.” Journal of Communication 43 (4): 51–58. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feng, Zhiwei. 2021. “Introduction. The History and Development of Chinese Terminology.” In Terminology Translation in Chinese Contexts: Theory and Practice, ed. by Saihong Li, and William Hope, 42–46. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fillmore, Charles J. 1976. “Frame Semantics and the Nature of Language.” In Origins and Evolution of Language and Speech, Vol. 2801, ed. by Stevan R. Harnad, Horst D. Steklis, and Jane Lancaster, 20–32. Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2006. “Frame Semantics.” In Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings, ed. by Dirk Geeraerts, 373–400. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gotti, Maurizio. 2014. “Reformulation and Recontextualization in Popularization Discourse.” Ibérica 271: 15–34.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kilgarriff, Adam, Vít Baisa, Jan Bušta, Miloš Jakubíček, Vojtěch Kovář, Jan Michelfeit, Pavel Rychlý, and Vít Suchomel. 2014. “The Sketch Engine: Ten Years on.” Lexicography 11: 7–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Xingchang 李兴昌. 2019. 科技汉语：语法·修辞·逻辑 [Scientific-technical Chinese: grammar, rhetoric, logic]. Beijing: Qinghua daxue chubanshe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Tao, and Yifan Zhu. 2020. “How Does China Appraise Self and Others? A Corpus-Based Analysis of Chinese Political Discourse.” Discourse & Society 31 (2): 153–171. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Saihong, and William Hope. 2021a. “Introduction. The Role of Terminology Translation in China’s Contemporary Identities and Cultures.” In Terminology Translation in Chinese Contexts: Theory and Practice, ed. by Saihong Li, and William Hope, 1–17. London, New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2021b. “Introduction. A Historical Overview of Terminology Management and Scholarship.” In Terminology Translation in Chinese Contexts: Theory and Practice, ed. by Saihong Li, and William Hope, 123–128. London, New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (eds), 2021, Terminology Translation in Chinese Contexts: Theory and Practice. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Zhaohui, and Fujun Ren. 2021. “Science Popularisation Infrastructure.” In Science Communication Practice in China, ed. by Fujun Ren, Yin Lin, and Gauhar Raza, 197–218. Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liang, Fujun 梁福军. 2018. 科技语体语法与修辞 [Grammar and Rhetoric of Language Style for Science and Technology]. Beijing: Qinghua daxue chubanshe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liang, Fan, Yuchen Chen, and Fangwei Zhao. 2021. “The Platformization of Propaganda: How Xuexi Qiangguo Expands Persuasion and Assesses Citizens in China.” International Journal of Communication 151: 1855–1874.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Linström, Margaret, and Willemien Marais. 2012. “Qualitative news frame analysis: A methodology.” Communitas 171: 21–38.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pan, Zhongdang, and Gerald M. Kosicki. 1993. “Framing Analysis: An Approach to News Discourse.” Political Communication 10 (1): 55–75. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reese, Stephen. 2001. “Framing Public Life: A Bridging Model for Media Research.” In Framing Public Life, ed. by Stephen Reese, Oscar H. Gandy Jr., and August E. Grant, 7–31. Mahwah NJ, London: Erlbaum. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ren, Fujun. 2013. “The Connotation and Goal of Science Popularisation in Modern China.” Journal of Scientific Temper 11: 29–45.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2021. “Development of Science Popularisation Workforce”. In Science Communication Practice in China, ed. by Fujun Ren, Lin Yin, and Gauhar Raza, 219–244. Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ren, Fujun, and Lin Yin. 2021. “Science Popularisation Policies and Regulations in China.” In Science Communication Practice in China, ed. by Fujun Ren, Lin Yin, and Gauhar Raza, 1–28. Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reyes, Antonio. 2011. “Strategies of Legitimization in Political Discourse: From Words to Actions.” Discourse & Society 22 (6): 781–807. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sager, Juan C. 1990. A Practical Course in Terminology Processing. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salazar, Joanna Gail. 2000. “Damming the Child of the Ocean: The Three Gorges Project.” The Journal of Environment & Development 9 (2): 160–174. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schoenhals, Michael. 1992. Doing Things with Words in Chinese Politics. Five Studies. Berkley: University of California at Berkeley.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schneider, Florian, and Yih-Jye Hwang. 2014. “The Sichuan Earthquake and the Heavenly Mandate: Legitimizing Chinese Rule through Disaster Discourse.” Journal of Contemporary China 23 (88): 636–656. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shambaugh, David. 2017. “China’s Propaganda System: Institutions, Processes and Efficacy.” In Critical Readings on the Chinese Communist Party, ed. by Kjeld Erik Brodsgaard, 713–751. Leiden: Brill. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sorace, Christian. 2017. Shaken Authority. China’s Communist Party and the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Ithaca, London: Cornell University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
State Council. 2021. “国务院关于印发全民科学素质行动规划纲要（2021—2035年）的通知 [Notice of the State Council on the issuance of the Outline of the action plan for public scientific literacy 2021–2035].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Termonline/术语在线. “About”. Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
van Leeuwen, Theo. 1996. “The Representation of Social Actors”. In Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. by Carmen Rosa Caldas-Coulthard, and Malcolm Coulthard, 32–70. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. “Legitimation in Discourse and Communication”. Discourse & Communication 1 (1): 91–112. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Guofeng. 2020. “Legitimization Strategies in China’s Official Media: The 2018 Vaccine Scandal in China.” Social Semiotics 30 (5): 685–698. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xi, Jinping 习近平. 2016. “为建设世界科技强国而奋斗 [Striving to build a global scientific and technological powerhouse].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Xinhuawang 新华网. 2019. “‘学习强国’学习平台上线仪式在京举行 王沪宁出席仪式并宣布平台启动 [Ceremony for the launch of the learning platform Xuexi qiangguo was held in Beijing. Wang Huning attended the ceremony and announced the launch of the platform].” Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Xu, Bin. 2018. “Commemorating a Difficult Disaster: Naturalizing and Denaturalizing the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China.” Memory Studies 11 (4): 483–497. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xuexi qiangguo 学习强国. 科普知识 [Science popularisation]. Accessed 15 December 2023. [URL]
Yin, Jian. 2021. “Chinese Terminology Studies.” Chinese Semiotic Studies 17 (1): 71–88. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yin, Lin, and Honglin Li. 2020. “China: Science Popularization on the Road Forever.” In Communicating Science: A Global Perspective, ed. by Toss Gascoigne, Bernard Schiele, Joan Leach, Michelle Riedlinger, Bruce V. Lewenstein, Luisa Massarani, and Peter Broks, 205–227. Acton: Australian National University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zappone, Tanina. 2022. “‘China is…’ China’s International Positioning and Self-Identity Definition in Xi Jinping’s Speeches”. In China’s International Communication and Relationship Building, ed. by Xiaoling Zhang and Corey Schultz, 248–262. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, Huizhu 张晖著. 2021. 汉语术语学引论 [Introduction to Chinese terminology studies]. Beijing: Kexue chubanshe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, Xiao 张啸. 2021. “新媒体时代思想政治教育的载体创新——以学习强国平台为例 [Innovation in the carriers for ideological-political education in the new era. The case of Xuexi qiangguo].” Journal of Hubei Open Vocational College 湖北开放职业学院学报 34 (24): 19–20.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, Joy Y. 2015. “The ‘Credibility Paradox’ in China’s Science Communication: Views from Scientific Practitioners.” Public Understanding of Science 24 (8): 913–927. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue