Language and Ideology in Texts on Globalization: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

A contentious question in critical language studies has been whether and how ideology is embedded in discourse. This question has attracted attention from scholars within the humanities and social sciences. A number of scholars argue that there is a dialectical relationship between language and ideology. Discourse internalizes and is internalized. By applying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a transdisciplinary research approach, this paper (re)examines the ideological construction of globalization in two types of genres: newspaper Opinion-Editorial articles and political economic speeches. The paper discusses how discourse and ideology are interconnected in texts on globalization, especially the global economy. As a result of the textual and sociological analysis, the paper identifies two central interrelated ideologies in the discourse of globalization: new capitalism and neoliberalism. These political economic ideologies are construed linguistically through vocabulary and socially through universalization. From a macro sociological perspective, the analysis implies that social-Darwinist survival of the fittest is inevitable in global economic affairs.