This book reflects the chronological changes in Chinese cultural values, social relations, economy and politics by critically analyzing the Chinese advertising discourse. The work is based on research into the ideological values portrayed in Chinese household appliance advertisements in the 1980s – 1990s. The analytical framework covers a variety of methods: critical discourse analysis, chronological analysis, visual and verbal analysis, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The findings suggest that ideological values consciously or unconsciously manifested by the visual and verbal devices in the Chinese advertisements moved in a pattern from simplicity to diversity, from being politically-oriented to being economically and profit-oriented, from conservatism to globalization and westernization, in keeping with the progression of the Chinese economic reform. The findings further indicate that the ideological values in the Chinese household appliance advertisements are embedded in the advertising language and illustrations. Lastly, the work reveals the reality of Chinese politics, economy and society at a time when China experienced the growth of the market economy and evolution of Chinese mainstream ideologies, and demonstrates the impacts of these changes on the ideological meanings in advertisements. This book will help readers discover the more profound meanings behind the superficial content of Chinese advertisements.

This book explores China’s currency wars with its trading partners in four Western newsmagazines: Time, The Economist, L’Express, and Der Spiegel. Based on both quantitative and qualitative approaches, the interdisciplinary approach adopted in the research draws on two analytical frameworks from the realm of critical discourse analysis – van Leeuwen’s socio-semantic inventory of social-actor representation, and van Dijk’s concepts of macro-rules – as the overarching approaches to understand the changing dynamics of international relations and the global economy through Western media. The sample in this study consists of 160 texts, half of which are focused on China and the other half on Japan, across a period of 12 months in 2010 (China) and in 1987 (Japan). Through the comparison of Western representation between China and Japan, the similarities and differences in their coverage have been revealed as even more striking with regards to global politics and the international economy. The findings obtained from the empirical research have revealed that China was not only reported more unfavourably than Japan in terms of depth, but also across a broader range of areas spanning economics, politics, and military affairs. It has also emerged that all the four Western newsmagazines tended to centre their coverage on the US and China in 2010, and the US and Japan in 1987, although they did not speak in one collective voice with regard to their coverage of China and Japan.

Decoding Ad Culture: Television Commercials and Broadcast Regulations in Bangladesh critically examines the pervasive influence of Western multinational companies in South Asia, focusing on Bangladesh. Harisur Rahman argues that these corporations exploit cultural differences to execute deceptive advertising in developing countries, a practice curtailed in more regulated developed nations. This book reveals a symbiotic relationship between local and multinational companies, media production houses, and television channels, which, Rahman posits, facilitates this exploitation. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this study delves into social backgrounds, cultural capital, and consumption habits in Bangladesh and utilizes multimodal critical discourse analysis and rhetorical analysis to evaluate television commercials (TVCs). These analyses reveal the propagation of racism, sexism, classism, and patriarchal values through this form, along with a disregard for ethical standards and social responsibilities. Highlighting the disillusionment among Bangladeshi audiences towards advertisers' unmet promises, Rahman contrasts TVC regulations in developing and developed countries. The book concludes with policy recommendations to foster ethical advertising practices against mindless propaganda in Bangladesh, underscoring the need for equity, equality, and inclusivity in advertising standards.

Discourse analysis considers how language, both spoken and written, enacts social and cultural perspectives and identities. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis examines the field and presents James Paul Gee’s unique integrated approach which incorporates both a theory of language-in-use and a method of research. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis can be used as a stand-alone textbook or ideally used in conjunction with the practical companion title How to do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit. Together they provide the complete resource for students studying discourse analysis. Updated throughout, the fourth edition of this seminal textbook also includes two new chapters: ‘What is Discourse?’ to further understanding of the topic, as well as a new concluding section. A new companion website www.routledge.com/cw/gee features a frequently asked questions section, additional tasks to support understanding, a glossary and free access to journal articles by James Paul Gee. Clearly structured and written in a highly accessible style, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis includes perspectives from a variety of approaches and disciplines, including applied linguistics, education, psychology, anthropology and communication to help students and scholars from a range of backgrounds to formulate their own views on discourse and engage in their own discourse analysis. This is an essential textbook for all advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of discourse analysis.

Advertising has traditionally communicated messages to consumers with strong local and national identities. However, increasingly, products, producers, advertising agencies and media are becoming internationalized. In the development of strategies that appeal to a large multinational consumer base, advertising language takes on new 'multilingual' features. The author explores the role of advertising language in this new globalized environment, from a communicative theory point of view, as well as from a close linguistic analysis of some major advertising campaigns within a multicultural and multilingual marketplace.