This study analyses 100 news reports (50 in Arabic and 50 in English) collected from eleven Arabic and English online news sources, namely Teshreen/Syria Times, SANA, Syria News, NBN, Al-Manar, Al-Jazeera, Alarab, BBC, Reuters, AFP and CNN. Table 4.1 presents the selected news media and the numbers of Arabic and English news reports collected from each one.
News Media English Reports Arabic Reports
Teshreen/Syria Times 2 2 SANA 4 4 Syria news 3 3 NBN 4 4 Al-Manar 4 4 Al-Jazeera 5 5 Alarab 5 5 BBC 5 5 Reuters 6 6 AFP 6 6 CNN 6 6 Totals 50 50
Table 4.1 The Selected News Media and the Numbers of English and Arabic News Reports
The Arabic news sources include five local online media, from Syria and Lebanon, and two international news media143. The Arabic local news media from Syria are Teshreen/Syria Times, SANA and Syria News. Teshreen is a Syrian daily newspaper issued in Damascus and controlled by the Ministry of Information. It presents news in Arabic and appears in the form of an e-paper144. Teshreen Press also publishes a daily English-language newspaper, the Syria Times. The Syria Times publishes articles which are sometimes translated from Teshreen and also appears as an e-paper145. Both newspapers are controlled by the Syrian Government. Four news reports (two in Arabic and two in English) have been collected from Teshreen/Syria Times newspapers, as shown in Table 4.1. SANA is a state-run Syrian Arab News agency which was created in 1965 and is centred in Damascus. According to its website, SANA‟s main goals are gathering news and distributing it to individuals and media institutions and providing
143
International news media refer to those which attract the mass audience and usually have more than one base around the world, such as the BBC and Al-Jazeera.
144
http://www.tishreen.info. 145
news, analyses, and daily reports on Syria and the Middle East. Its website is available in Arabic, English and French146. Eight news reports (four in Arabic and four in English) have been collected from SANA as shown in Table 4.1. Syria News is an independent internet-based media which features daily news and analyses on Syria, in particular, and the Middle East, in general. Many of the news articles reflect social problems and relate to everyday life in Syria. According to a Syria News contact, the intended audiences of the news reports are mainly Syrian readers inside and outside Syria. The Syria News website provides Arabic- and English-language news reports and aims at presenting authentic local news from Syrian sources and correspondents147. Six news reports (three in Arabic and three in English) have been collected from Syria news website, as shown in Table 4.1.
The Arabic local news media from Lebanon are the NBN and Al-Manar. NBN (National Broadcasting Network) is a news television station owned by Nabih Berri, a Speaker of Parliament and Amal‟s Movement leader in Lebanon148
. NBN is a private company, founded in 1996. It offers the latest news together with a variety of live debates on political, social and cultural issues and programs on topics such as business, sports, documentaries, and tourism. Throughout the years, NBN has been popular among Lebanese and Arab audiences, ranging from 25 to 50 years of age and above. It aims at presenting credible information sources. Eight news reports (four in Arabic and four in English) have been collected from NBN website, as shown in Table 4.1. Al- Manar Television, or sometimes called Hezbollah Television, is a Lebanese television station. Al-Manar addresses Arabs and Muslims, in particular, all over the world. It claims objectivity and aims at participating in building a better future for the Arab and Muslim generations by focusing on the tolerant values of Islam and promoting the culture of dialogue149. Al-Manar Television, which is considered to be the official media source for Hezbollah and its leader Hasan Nasrallah, are considered by some as a terrorist group and are banned from broadcasting in many countries including North America and France. Al-Manar has gained a huge amount of popularity among Arabs and non-Arabs especially after the latest war between Lebanon and Israel. Its website provides regional and worldwide news in both Arabic and English150. Eight news 146 http://www.sana.org. 147 http://www.syria-news.com. 148
Nabih Berri is considered a close ally to the Syrian government. NBN delivered online news until the year 2007.
149
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/AboutUs.aspx?language=en. 150
reports (four in Arabic and four in English) have been collected from Al-Manar news website (see Table 4.1 above).
The selected international Arab news media are Al-Jazeera and the Alarab newspaper. Al-Jazeera, which is an independent corporation, is the most internationally recognized Arab news network based in Doha, Qatar. Al-Jazeera also has a broadcasting centre in London which broadcasts news in English. Its website provides news on political and cultural issues in the Middle East and the world in the form of Arabic- and English- language news reports151. Ten news reports (five in Arabic and five in English) have been collected from Al-Jazeera, as shown in Table 4.1 above. Alarab is an Arabic- language and English-language daily newspaper which also appears as an e-paper152. It is issued in London and mainly interested in the issues of the Middle East. Alarab has a world-wide distribution and popularity among Arabs and Arabic speaking readers. Ten news reports (five in Arabic and their equivalent in English) have been collected from Alarab newspaper, as shown in Table 4.1 above.
The selected international English news media are the BBC, Reuters, AFP and CNN. The BBC is the largest British broadcasting body and although government-funded strongly declares itself independent in its reporting. The BBC provides online services and news from all over the world153. Its news is translated into many languages including Arabic154. Twelve news reports (six in Arabic and their equivalent in English) have been collected from the BBC website, as shown in Table 4.1. Reuters155 is the largest international multi-media news agency based in London. It reports extensively from around the world including the Middle East on topics ranging from financial markets to general and political news. Reuters claims to present news reports that are independent and free from bias. Reuters also provides general and political news in 18 languages including Arabic156. Reuters Arabic claims to deliver fast, accurate, impartial and comprehensive coverage and analysis of all the key domestic and international news for Arabic readers around the world. Twelve news reports (six in Arabic and their equivalent in English) have been collected from Reuters, as shown in Table 4.1 above. AFP (Agence France-Presse) or the French news agency is the world‟s oldest 151 http://english.aljazeera.net. 152 http://www.alarab.co.uk. 153 http://news.bbc.co.uk. 154 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news. 155 http://uk.reuters.com. 156 http://ara.today.reuters.com.
established news agency and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. AFP provides readers all over the world with extensive and comprehensive news coverage on events around the world, including the Middle East. It has ten bureaus in the Middle East, one of which is located in Damascus and one in Beirut. The news on its website157 is available in six main languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. Twelve news reports (six in Arabic and their equivalent in English) have been collected from AFP, as shown in Table 5.1 above. CNN (Cable News Network)158 is a major cable television network which aims at covering the most important international stories for its diverse global audience, inside and outside the United States. CNN has been accused of being slanted toward US interests when reporting on world conflicts and wars159, especially in the Middle East. CNN presents international news in many languages including Arabic. CNN Arabic160, which is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, aims at presenting Arabic readers with national and international news from an Arab perspective. Twelve news reports (six in Arabic and their equivalent in English) have been collected from the CNN, as shown in Table 4.1 above.
The total 100 English and Arabic news reports constitute a corpus of 51,973 words, as shown in Table 4.2. The corpus, which reports the tension between Syria and Lebanon between the years 2005 and 2007, is divided into five main groups, or strata of sampling. The first group reports the assassination of Gibran Tueni, who was killed in a car bomb explosion on 12 December 2005. The second group reports the new leads in Hariri‟s murder which appeared on the news media websites around 26 September, 2006. The third group reports Syria‟s implication in the series of assassinations in Lebanon and its cooperation, or lack of cooperation, with the UN investigation team into these killings. The news reports in the third group appeared on the news media websites around 2 November 2006. The fourth group reports the assassination of the Lebanese Minister of Industry, Pierre Gemayel, who was shot dead on 21 November 2006. The fifth group reports the murder of Lebanese MP Walid Eido, who was killed in an explosion on 12 June 2007. These five groups are ordered according to the dates on which these news incidents took place. Table 4.2 shows the categorization of the
157 http://www.afp.com. 158 http://edition.cnn.com. 159
See http://www.cnnexposed.com/story.php?story=10 accessed on 15 November 2007. 160
corpus in terms of these five groups, the topics of the news, dates, numbers of the news reports selected from each group and the word count in each group.
Group Topics Dates Numbers of Reports Word count
1 Tueni‟s assassination 12/12/2005 20 11547 2 Hariri‟s murder 26/09/2006 14 4010 3 Syria‟s implication 02/11/2006 20 9990 4 Gemayel‟s assassination 21/11/2006 24 13639 5 Eido‟s killing 12/06/2007 22 12787 100 51973
Table 4.2 The Topics, Dates and Size of Each Group in the Selected Corpus
The news reports in each group were collected on the same dates these stories appeared on the news media websites. In other words, the publication dates of the selected news reports are same as the dates on which these reports have been collected for the study. Table 4.3 gives an example of the news reports selected in group 1. Table 4.3 shows the number given to each report, headlines, word count of each report, the dates on which they appeared online and the news media from which they were collected. There are 20 news reports in group 1 consisting of 11,547 words reporting on Tueni‟s assassination. The headlines of the English news reports are presented first in Table 4.2 followed by the Arabic headlines. The translations of the Arabic news headlines are provided in the same table.
The Title of the News Report Word Count Source, Date
1 Syria condemns east Beirut blast, lashes out at slander campaign
317 Syria Times,
13/12/2005
2 Gibran Tueni assassinated by car bomb 574 NBN,
13/12/2005 3 Lebanon blast kills anti-Syrian lawmaker 832 Al-Jazeera,
12/12/2005
4 Beirut car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP 776 Alarab,
12/12/2005
5 Beirut Bomb kills anti-Syrian MP 700 BBC News ,
12/12/2005 6 Lebanon mourns slain anti-Syria newspaper
magnate
770 Reuters, 13/12/2005 7 Christian MP Tueni targeted in Beirut blast 72 AFP 1,
12/12/2005 8 Anti-Syrian MP slain in Beirut car bombing 758 AFP 2,
12/12/2005 9 Lebanon seeks international probe into killings 912 CNN 1,
13/12/2005
10 Beirut blast kills anti-Syria MP 675 CNN 2,
11 ْٜظ٣ ٖٓ :٢ٓلاػا سذظٓ..٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ ٍخ٤ظؿح شػدخك ٖ٣ذط خ٣سٞع ٕخؼٓا ٞٛ غؼزُح ٖػ سذط خٓ ٝ ٖ٤ٓشـُٔح َٔػ ٌَٔ٣ خ٣سٞع
ش٣سٞغُح شهلاؼُح ش٤طٞظر -
ش٤ٗخ٘زُِح
Syria condemns the assassination of Gibran Tueni. Those who accuse Syria are completing the works of the criminals and what has been said by some increases the tension in the Syrian-Lebanese relationship.
927 Teshreen,
13/12/2005
12 "سخُٜ٘ح" شل٤لط سسحدا ظِـٓ ظ٤ثس ٢ٗخ٘زُِح ذثخُ٘ح دخٜشظعح ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ The martyrdom of the Lebanese MP and Editor-in- Chief of an-Nahar newspaper, Gibran Tueni.
320 NBN,
12/12/2005
13 ٢٘٣ٞط ٍخ٤ظؿح ٢ك نولط ش٤ُٝد شٌٔلٔر ش٤ٗخ٘زُ ذُخطٓ Lebanon demands international court to investigate the assassination of Tueni.
476 Al-Jazeera, 12/12/2005
14 شٔ٣شـُح ض٤هٞط ٢ك يٌشط ٝ ٖ٣ذط نشٓد
Damascus condemns and doubts the timing of the crime.
677 Alarab,
12/12/2005 15 صٝش٤ر ٢ك ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ عسخؼُٔح ذثخُِ٘ ذشخك غ٤شط
Massive funeral procession of opposing MP Gibran Tueni in Beirut.
512 BBC Arabic, 12/12/2005 16 خ٣سٞع ٕٜٞٔظ٣ ٖ٤٤ٗخ٘زُِح غؼر ٝ ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ ٢ؼ٘٣ ٕخ٘زُ
Lebanon mourns Gibran Tueni and some accuse Syria.
556 Reuters, 13/12/2005 17 ءحذظػح ٢ك ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ ٢ٗخ٘زُِح ذثخُ٘ح َظوٓ
Killing of Lebanese MP Gibran Tueni in an attack.
213 AFP 1,
12/12/2005 18 شخخلٓ سسخ٤ع سخـلٗح ٢ك ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ ٢ٗخ٘زُِح ذثخُ٘ح ٍخ٤ظؿح
The assassination of Lebanese MP Gibran Tueni in car bomb explosion.
578 AFP 2,
12/12/2005 19 صلاخ٤ظؿلاح ٢ك ٢ُٝد ن٤ولظر ذُخطظع ش٤ٗخ٘زُِح شٌٓٞلُح
Lebanese government will demand international investigation into the assassinations.
536 CNN 1,
13/12/2005 20 صٝش٤ر ٢كحٞؼر سخـلٗخر ٢٘٣ٞط ٕحشزؿ ٢ٓلاػلإحٝ ذثخُ٘ح َظوٓ
Killing of MP and journalist Gibran Tueni in Beirut explosion.
391 CNN 2,
11/01/2006 Table 4.3 The Description of the Selected News Reports on Tueni‟s Assassination
Descriptions of the other four groups will be provided in the appendices. In some cases, the Arabic and English news reports collected from the same news source, or media, have the same headlines or wording in the report. The similarities in terms of subject and content of the Arabic and English news reports suggest that these reports could be translated from one language into the other. Many efforts were made to contact the chosen news media and their translation centres in order to investigate this particular issue. However, responses, if any, were unsatisfactory. Most of the contacted sources claim to provide both original and translated news texts without mentioning which are the translations and which are the originals. Given the nature of the corpus and the lack
of communication with contacts in the news media, it was difficult to identify the source (original) texts from the target (translated) texts, i.e. whether the original (source) text is written in Arabic or English, or even to detect signs of translations in English-language and Arabic-language news reports. This has been explained by a Syria News contact as follows: firstly, the production of news reports relies on many news sources and agencies, which may sometimes differ in the production of the Arabic and English texts. This is observed in the study of the selected news media and news reports of the corpus. The presentation of the Arabic news on Al-Jazeera, for example, is different from the English news. Secondly, the editing processes of news reports may result in presenting different news texts for different readers. Being unable to resolve this difficulty and to identify translated and original news reports in the selected corpus, the Arabic and English news reports are viewed as separate and independent news texts rather than in terms of translations.
Halliday‟s approach has been identified as the model adopted in this study to analyse Theme and Rheme structures in the English and Arabic news reports (section 3.7). However, Halliday‟s approach has not yet been attempted nor applied to Arabic. The application of Halliday‟s approach to Arabic-language news reports, especially in terms of the analysis of Verbal and Nominal clauses, is the subject of the next discussion.
4.3 Applying Halliday‟s Model to Arabic-Language News Reports