Ideological Constructs and Discursive Strategies in Arab English-Language Online Newspapers: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Hikmet Khaleel Talib Al-Shibban
1
(
Department of English languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
)
Bahram Hadian
2
(
Department of English, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic AzadUniversity, Isfahan, Iran
)
Salih Mahdi Adai Al-Mamoory
3
(
Department of English Language, College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Babylon, Hilla, Iraq
)
Atefesadat Mirsaeedi
4
(
Department of English, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic AzadUniversity, Isfahan, Iran
)
الکلمات المفتاحية: Critical Discourse Analysis, Ideology, Discursive Strategies, Arab Media, Conflict Framing,
ملخص المقالة :
This study explores the ideological perspectives and discursive strategies employed by Arab English-language online newspapers in representing the Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Utilizing Fairclough's three-dimensional framework, the research analyzes media articles, highlighting their ideological underpinnings, framing mechanisms, and rhetorical devices. Key findings suggest diverse ideological stances shaped by historical, political, and cultural contexts. The analysis reveals a predominance of resistance narratives (30%) and victimization frames (22.5%) in the sampled articles, aligning with previous research on Arab media's emphasis on resilience. The study also identifies a significant use of war and conflict-related metaphors (37.5%), underscoring the media's focus on framing the situation in terms of urgency and high stakes. The research design employs a qualitative, exploratory approach with a focus on descriptive analysis. Using purposive sampling, the corpus consists of 50 English-language articles from five prominent Arab English-language online newspapers, representing diverse political perspectives. The coding framework, developed based on existing CDA research, examines the textual, discursive, and socio-cultural dimensions of the chosen corpus. The findings highlight the importance of balanced reporting, informed policymaking, and critical media consumption in fostering constructive dialogue on these conflicts. Implications of this research extendto media literacy, academic discourse, and practical applications in policy and education. By revealing ideological biases and strategic framings, the study serves as a tool for empowering audiences to engage more critically with conflict-related content in the digital age.
Abdullah, A. (2024). Multimedia elements in shaping audience perceptions of conflict. Journal of Media Studies, 45(3), 203-221.
Al-Mahmood, R., & Patel, F. (2023). Application of Fairclough's framework to digital genres: A critical perspective. Discourse & Communication, 19(2), 112-130.
Blommaert, J. (2021). Historical dimensions in critical discourse analysis: Methods and applications. Discourse Studies, 23(4), 375-395.
Chouliaraki, L. (2017). Emotions and media framing in shaping audience engagement. Media and Society Quarterly, 15(1), 67-84.
Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Ghanem, S. (2020). Influence of multimedia elements in shaping audience perceptions. Arab Media Review, 10(3), 154-172
Hasan, A. (2023). Social media platforms and ideological stances in Arab conflict reporting. Digital Media Journal, 7(5), 421-439.
Jones, M., & Jones, N. (2022). Cross-platform and longitudinal approaches to digital media discourses. International Journal of Digital Communication, 12(6), 505-522.
Khalil, A. (2018). Strategic lexical choices in Arab media: A critical perspective. Language and Power Studies, 9(2), 189-207.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2020). Multimodal critical discourse analysis: Theory and practice. Journal of Multimodal Discourse Analysis, 14(1), 32-49.
Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2023). Advanced digital tools in uncovering ideological constructs: Applications in media studies. Technology and Media, 11(4), 276-294
van Dijk, T. A. (2015). Cognitive approaches to ideology in language: A discourse analytical perspective. Critical Studies in Language, 13(2), 142-160.
van Dijk, T. A. (2020). Media discourse serving hegemonic interests: An analytical study. Journal of Critical Media Studies, 16(3), 214-232.
Wodak, R. (2022). Discourse-historical approaches and digital media platforms: new frontiers in CDA. CDA Advances, 20(5), 311-329
