Newspaper editorials from 'The New York Times', 'El Pais', and 'El Universal': A comparative applied genre analysis.

摘要

The study of cross-cultural rhetorical patterns in written texts has been an area of growing interest over the last three decades. Although many of these CR (Contrastive Rhetoric) studies have provided useful insights to understanding the forms, contents, and contexts that shape various types of texts across different cultures, little attempt has been made to investigate genres that are useful for teaching reading or to study regional differences that reflect the diversity of cultures using the same language, in particular, the Spanish-speaking cultures. The dissertation attempts to demonstrate cross-cultural rhetorical differences and similarities shown in newspaper editorials (1) between language groups (i.e., English vs. Spanish); and (2) between Spanish and Mexican editorials, a genre that is embedded in local political culture and therefore a useful set of texts for illuminating current perspectives on international relations, business, and political issues.;This study is based on a total sample of ninety recent editorials from quality newspapers from three cultures: thirty editorials each from The New York Times, El Pais (Spain), and El Universal (Mexico). A number of structural, stylistic, and linguistic features such as the placement and articulation of the main thesis statement, the language of recommendation, the use of attribution to source, and lexical variations when referring to an individual are examined. The results of the study suggest that although the two Spanish-speaking cultures share certain features that set them apart from the American editorials (e.g., implicit vs. explicit style), there are also significant rhetorical and linguistic differences between the Mexican and Spanish editorials. When compared to El Pais, the Mexican editorials reflected a more distanced approach to evaluating political situations and exhibited a more elaborate and formal style. Drawing on interview data elicited from the subdirector of the opinion page of each newspaper, the study contextualizes the results of the discourse analysis by discussing the functions, readerships, and composition processes of newspaper editorials in the three cultures. Finally, potential pedagogical implications for reading enhancement for advanced language students are discussed.