The Power of Language and the Media

Media matters to politicians, celebrities, advertisers, teachers, and to anyone who depends on media for information, or finds themselves affected by their representations and images. A detailed linguistic analysis of media enriches our understanding of the power of language and informs readers how they are positioned by such linguistic representations. This book is concerned with the analysis of language in various media and textual examples from talk-back television chat shows, advertisements, editorials and news stories are used to provide a critical awareness of language in the media. The linguistic elements examined encompass rhetorical structures, semiotics, back channeling cues, and sequencing. Readers will have a better understanding of media language analysis and the theories that underpin it. Some of the papers were originally presented at an International Conference on Language and Communication in the Media and held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from April 27-29, 2004. Other papers have been solicited.