Palmas manejadas y categorías de manejo en La comunidad La Ceiba

published by Postimees

376 426 381 597 1780

Number of analyzed articles

361 383 292 507 1543

4.2 FORMING DISCOURSES ON THE BASIS OF THE ARTICLES

As a pre-analysis phase each article was transferred from Postimees’ archive to a separate digital file. The articles were gathered into Year Specific folders each containing files for the each of the categories of writers, Staff Journalists, Political Elite, Cultural Elite and Readers. After the filing process, I printed out each article and read through it twice underlining the relevant parts and commenting on them (using keywords such as irony, expressions etc.). Finally,

43 The difference in these figures was caused by the decision to discard the mixed group of ‘Others’

(see Section 3.2) from the process of analysis.

I translated the relevant parts into English and transferred them to a digital storage file.

The analysis started from the linguistic properties extant in the process of forming discourses. For example, naming, metaphors, metonymy, presuppositions, usage of active and passive voice and nominalization were used in the initial categorization (see Richardson 2007, 51-63). During this phase, the articles were also divided into initial categories (such as Image, Estonia as Special etc.) that emerged from the data. The categories arising from the texts indicated the substantial means (the axes of friendliness/hostility and equality/inequality) that were dealt with in the Chapter 3 of this thesis (see also Fairclough [1992]2003, 2 and Raik 2003, 35).

The process, however, was two dimensional, since the theoretical framework was developed hand-in hand with the empirical research (see also Raik 2003, 30-31). As a result, instead of ‘picking-up’ discourses they were formed by the researcher in the interaction process with both theoretical background and empirical data. The theoretical basis has also enabled me to depict the wider and more abstract systems of meanings and avoid ‘tennis discourses’ (Valtonen 1998, 98) formed on the basis of the topics dealt with in the articles (like ‘language discourse’ or ‘culture discourse’ while talking about language and culture accordingly). Forming the discourses did not void the texts from other analysis as other combinations of the properties of the text and of the interpreter (social positioning, knowledge, values) were equally valid (Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999, 67). Thus, by choosing some other theoretical basis for the analysis, different discourses could be found within the same empirical data (see also Raik 2003, 30-31).

In the second phase of the analysis, the usage of substantial and linguistic means started to diverge with an emphasis of substantial means over the linguistic ones. On the basis of the analysis grounded on the substantial means (friendliness/hostility and equality-inequality of Estonia-EU relationship), three discourses emerged rather clearly from the empirical data. The first of these discourses was European Estonia which sees the EU as an authority for Estonia, the second was Independent Estonia, which views Estonia and the EU as equal partners and the third was Humble Estonia, which sees the EU as an authoritarian actor and Estonia as a humble small country without any influence.

However, even though the overall structure of the discourses is formed on the substantial basis, linguistic means have given a basis to the struggle inside each discourse as a cleavage between what Estonia is and what it is not/should be/become in relation to the EU. The cleavage could be found in the articles of all years and of all above mentioned categories of authors. In terms of discourses Fairclough (1995, 55) language use can be constitutive in conventional ways (reproducing and maintaining existing social identities, relations and systems of knowledge) as well as creative ways (help to transform them). The current analysis shows both usages.

In the context of forming the discourses, the issue about their beginning and end in the media text as a unit of analysis deserves an explanation. The logic of having one entire article displaying a discourse was to be less the rule and rather more the exception. A discourse limited to a paragraph was more common. In some cases, a discourse continued through several paragraphs (with a potential interruption in between), in others the discourses changed within a particular paragraph. An example of the last one can be found from the article of Postimees referring to the ideas of Mart Laar (Estonian Prime Minister at the time)⁴⁴:

Laar closes his article with a positive message: the whole of Europe should be changed into “new”. Here is Estonia’s real chance: to bear ethical values and knock continuously on the conscience of the big countries. Only of course when these things are in order at home.⁴⁵

PM, 20.02.2003

The example starts with an assumption that Estonia as an independent actor can contribute to the EU. The discourse, however, ends before the last sentence where Estonia’s ability to be a role model for the whole EU is no more taken for granted.

Another example of the movement of discourse to the formative moment, can be found in an editorial of Postimees published in the end of the accession process. A Staff journalist writes that the progress reports of the European Commission have created a fruitful ground for finishing the accession negotiations, and as the candidate countries have done their homework well, now it is left to wait for the answer from the member countries of the European Union. Postimees continues that time for the enlargement is more mature than ever before (PM, 10.10.2002). The first part of the text refers to the feedback given by the European Commission to the candidate countries as recognition given by the EU. The last sentence, however, moves to the formative moment as a special time. Instead of Estonia or the EU, here the time is seen to have the main agency: enlargement is taking place due to the proper time, not the action of the candidate countries or the EU.

The finding that the same article, paragraph or even sentence could contain a variety of discourses also enabled me to ignore the question ‘what does the writer really mean’ usually asked when contradictory attitudes appear in the same text. If the notion of discourse analysis is employed contradictory attitudes can be analyzed as examples of separate discourses present in the same article.

44 Similar examples can be found also from Political Elite articles (PM, 28.08.1997 and PM, 13.09.1997).

45 Laar lõpetab artikli positiivse sõnumiga - kogu Euroopa tuleb «uueks» muuta. Siin peitubki tegelikult Eesti shanss - olla eetiliste väärtuste kandjaks ja koputada pidevalt suurriikide südametunnistusele. Seda muidugi eeldusel, et ka kodus on need asjad korras.