A systemic functional analysis of online news the unfolding of thematic structure

Abstract

As geopolitical tensions escalate with the onset of the conflict instigated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the global media's narrative unfolds in a strikingly diverse manner across different languages. This research seeks to delve into the thematic profile of online news regarding the conflict, focusing particularly on its portrayal in English and Brazilian Portuguese. The primary objectives of this research are threefold: (i) to examine the thematic construction of online news in both languages, (ii) to compare and contrast the construal of Theme in English and Brazilian Portuguese, and (iii) to delineate the Thematic behavior of the news in both languages. Leveraging Systemic-Functional Linguistics (SFL) as the theoretical and methodological framework, the analysis of Theme (HALLIDAY; MATTHIESSEN, 2004; 2014) is employed as an effective tool for comprehending how the flow of information is organized within the text. It provides insights into the linguistic manifestation of the discourse, a fact that warrants close observation for its construal. The research corpus consists of two English news articles from The New York Times and BBC, alongside two Portuguese articles from the Brazilian news websites UOL and G1. In both English newspapers, it was observed a Thematic construal pattern similar to the one observed in Brazilian Portuguese. Subtle differences emerged in how the Russia-Ukraine conflict is thematically constructed in English and Brazilian Portuguese online news articles. These differences may reflect broader cultural or journalistic trends, although further analysis is required to draw more definitive conclusions.