Analysis of Chinese Internet Catchphrases from the Perspective of Critical Disco

【Abstract】Utterance/discourse refers to a process whereby a social group disseminates its meaning in the society according to some regulations and principles so as to establish its social status and be identified by other groups. It is the manifestation of power. Internet catchphrases are special utterances/discourses that are produced by internet users. This thesis analyzes and interprets some Chinese internet catchphrases from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis and reveals the relationship between discourse， sense and society.

【Key words】internet catchphrases； critical discourse analysis

In recent years， due to the fast development of society and technological advances in media and information communication， all kinds of new things and new phenomena emerge. And there comes about a lot of new words. Almost all the new words are created by internet users. In modern society， internet users have formed a group of their own which plays an important role in dissemination of social information. And the voice of internets users imposes great influence upon social development and social stability. This voice is represented by internet catchphrases which are used frequently by netizens to express their ideas. A lot of studies have been made on Chinese internet catchphrases. But most of the researches are from the perspective of memetics， speech regulation theory， or news research. Little work is done from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis. Thus， this paper aims to analyze and interpret some Chinese internet catchphrases from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis so as to reveal the relationship between discourse， sense and society.

I. A Brief Account of Critical Discourse Analysis

According to Fairclough and Holes （1995）， Critical Discourse Analysis （CDA） is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice and focuses on the ways social and political domination are reproduced by text and talk. The approach draws from several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. And it is based on the assumption that language and power are entirely linked. Chouliaraki and Fairclough （1999） see discourse as a form of potential creative social practice. Discourse influence and creates social structure. And at the same time， it is constrained by the social structure it created. The existing social relations and social structures will inevitably be reflected in discourse， and discourse plays certain role in the reproduction of these social relations. Meantime， discourse is also a place of social struggle， where all kinds of social forces implement their power through discourse. That is， the change of discourse may cause the change of culture and society.