Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations

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    A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Representation of Migrants on Twitter: The Case of #SaudiArabiaForTheSaudis
    (Lancaster University, 2024) Almoussa, Arwa; Unger, Johann
    This research examines anti-migrant discourse on Twitter. I carry out a qualitative analysis of tweets with the hashtag #SaudiArabiaForTheSaudis السعودية_ للسعوديين# from a discourse-historical perspective (see Reisigl & Wodak, 2016). The main aim of this thesis is to explore the discursive construction of the main social actors involved and to examine topoi as a key part of argumentation schemes employed to justify and downplay the exclusionary discourses within this hashtag. The study sample consisted of 836 tweets with the hashtag #SaudiArabiaForTheSaudis posted between the years 2016 and 2020. A two-level analysis was carried out to investigate the representation and argumentation strategies. The first level focuses on mapping out the content of the tweets, that is the discourse topics within the tweets with the #SaudiArabiaForTheSaudis hashtag, and the semiotic resources which are often employed in the data set as forms of legitimation. The second level is an in-depth analysis of the discursive construction of ‘migrants’ in Saudi and their ‘allies’ as social actors where particular attention is paid to nominative and predicative strategies, followed by an analysis of a sample of the most salient argumentative shortcuts (topoi) exploited in the tweets to legitimise the self and delegitimise the other (see Reisigl and Wodak 2001). Given that Twitter provides its users with various meaning-making resources, they rely partially or solely on multimodal resources to construct the other or to advance an argument, the in-depth analysis inevitably draws on multimodal analysis (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2006) combined with the DHA approach. The first stage of analysis revealed that of the codes related to social processes, those that belong to the category unemployment were the most prevalent codes in the data set. Institutional favouritism was the most frequent code in the data set followed by Saudization issues. On the other hand, thematic hashtags were the most frequent code among the semiotic resources identified in the data set. Taking advantage of people’s frustrations with unemployment and fears of losing their identity has led to the scapegoating of migrants, naturalised Saudis, and those who defend them. In the second stage of analysis which focused on the representational and argumentation strategies present in the data set, Arab migrants were the most negatively constructed group of migrants. They were portrayed as the ungrateful, ill-intentioned other who look down upon Saudi as just an uncivilised desert Bedouin society. Ethnonyms or nationyms are usually used in conjunction with other strategies such as criminalisation and problematisation that evoke stereotyped images of all migrants but particularly Arabs. The presumed lack of belonging of naturalised citizens led to their exclusion, and both naturalised Saudis and other Saudis who defend migrants were portrayed as traitors with ulterior motives. The argumentation schemes that are typical of antimigrant discourse were identified using Reisigl & Wodak's (2001) list of topoi. The topos of threat, which is a common topos in populist discourses was the most dominant topos identified in the data set. It is often employed textually and visually to legitimise the self and delegitimise the other. Migrants were constructed as a threat to Saudi Arabia's culture, national security, but most primarily to Saudis’ employment and wages. Other topoi such as the topos of responsibility, abuse and culture were also present in the data set. This thesis aims to contribute to the body of knowledge about anti-migrant discourse online by examining Saudi Arabia, a largely understudied context. It focuses on how discriminatory ideologies within tweets with the hashtag #SaudiArabiaForTheSaudis are constructed and propagated. The analysis shows that the affordances of Twitter facilitated this negative construction of ‘migrants’ and their ‘allies’ in the data set and thereby paved the way for the legitimation of discriminatory ideologies in relation to migration.
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    Risk, Corpora, and Discourse: The Construction of Risks to Life in News Media
    (Lancaster University, 2024-03-28) Alibri, Rakan; Baker, Paul
    This thesis investigates the language of risk reporting, more precisely how ten British newspapers use language to discursively construct four “risks to life”: terror attacks, earthquakes, road accidents, and heart attacks. The media do not allot space to these risks equally or in accordance with risk level (i.e., based on number of deaths and likelihood of occurrence). In addition to the media, public perception of risk in the second half of the 20th century was noteworthy for accepting serious everyday risks (i.e., those causing a high number of deaths) while rejecting new low-level technological risks (Zinn & Taylor-Gooby, 2006). The approach of this thesis comprises theories and methodologies from Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and corpus linguistics. The interdisciplinarity nature of CDS facilitates drawing upon theoretical frameworks from media and risk studies. News values, which play a role in news story selection, identify the newsworthiness of the risks, while risk characteristics, qualities found to influence public risk perception by the psychometric paradigm, enhance the interpretation of risk construction and how that might influence the public perception. The data comprise approximately 14 million tokens of news articles distributed unevenly between four corpora but from identical sources and timeframes (January 2017 to January 2020). The analysis focuses on three aspects: risks to life (events), related social actors, and consequences (i.e., death). It also identifies news values and risk characteristics around these aspects. The findings highlight discursive strategies in risk reporting: dramatisation and naturalisation, (im)personalisation, blame / responsibility, and risk management. These contribute differently to the construction of the risks to life and can potentially be linked to how media amplify or attenuate risks in society, a consequence of media language use. I conclude with their manifestation in reporting the risks to life and how they might be linguistically and discursively realised.
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    Critical and Comparative Analysis of the Legal Ruling Verses (Āyāt al-Āḥkām) in the English Translations of the Qur'ān
    (University of Exeter, 2024-04-08) Adnan, Abdulkareem; Bolduc, Michelle; Baig, Mustafa
    Qur’ānic translation is an area on which scholars focus their interrogation due to the book’s relevance to the Muslims. Another interesting area is the influence of religious ideology on the rendering of the translation. This study aims to examine how Qur’ān translators transferred the language of the legal ruling verses into English. It also explores how the religious ideologies of specific translators are embedded in their Qur’ānic translations and how that might have influenced the meaning of the ruling verses that these verses contain. This study adopts a descriptive comparative approach, using critical discourse analysis, to examine the legal ruling verses of the Qur'ān and demonstrate how the religious ideologies of the translators have implications on the selected Qur'ānic translations. The research engages two analytical levels: the textual level, for which an analytical comparison was applied to the lexical and semantic choices and employed Ivir's (1987) translations strategies. At the paratextual level, the critical discourse analysis was limited to the translator’s footnotes. The research was conducted to analyse the verses according to the standard beliefs of Islam that are based on a wide range of references such as Qur’ānic dictionaries, Qur’ānic exegeses, and the opinion of jurists and scholars. Due to the word limit, this study only analyses the Qur’ānic legal ruling verses related to Marital law and Punishment. The three selected Qur’ān translators are Ünal (2006), Yüksel (2007), and Nasr et al. (2015). The research conducted on Qur’ān translation reveals fascinating insights. Each translator had their own distinct purpose and ambition, which is evident from their footnotes. The research reveals the differences in reformist’s and traditionalist’s approaches to Qur’ān translation. The research also highlighted how translators used different strategies to translate words with legal connotations that were influenced by their cultural and religious ideologies. These findings have significant implications for comprehending legal ruling verses in the Qur’ān, as the translators' ideologies may be unconsciously or consciously reflected in their translations. This thesis draws attention to the fact that translators' ideologies must be taken into account while reading translations of legal terms. It also emphasises the vital role played by Qur’ān translators in translating legal ruling verses and lays the foundation for future research in this area.
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    The Role of English in Implementing the Saudi Vision 2030: A Critical Discourse Analysis
    (University of Birmingham, 2024-02-01) Alqahtani, Nazim; Schoofs , Petra; Carrol, Gareth
    This study was conducted to examine the role of English in implementing the Saudi 2030 Vision (SV2030) programme through an analysis of two texts in the Saudi context: 1) the SV2030 document, an overview of the strategic framework set forth by the Saudi government, and 2) a set of statements about SV2030 from the English language departments of Saudi universities. The SV2030 document does not explicitly mention English language, instead focusing on the need to uphold Arabic language, but some English departments indicate in their departmental statements that they see an important role for English in achieving the aims of SV2030. Therefore, the role of English in attaining SV2030 was investigated in two phases. In phase one, a content analysis was conducted on the relevant textsto identify SV2030 settings in which English can play a role. In phase two, a critical discourse analysis (CDA) was performed to investigate the implicit role of English specifically in the international and educational SV2030 settings identified through the content analysis. Through CDA, an educational function for English in attaining SV2030 was established. Both texts shed light on the knowledge and skills highlighted in the SV2030 and departmental discourses in education and English education, respectively. As such, lowering the age at which primary students begin to study English as a subject to first grade is a socioeconomic development aligned with the objectives of SV2030. English is the global language for SV2030, in which the SV2030 document producer chose English as the language in which the foreign version intended for an international readership would be published. Additionally, the study highlighted the significance of English in the context of international summits and events relevant to SV2030. Finally, the study identified the potential economic role that English may play in the implementation of SV2030 through the cultivation of a knowledge-based economy. As SV2030 is a national programme, the SV2030 document writer may have refrained from promoting English explicitly for national and socio-political purposes. Nevertheless, the findings of this study provide insights into the role of English in achieving SV2030 and the potential implications for language policy in Saudi Arabia.
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    Argumentation and Persuasion in Saudi TEDx Talks: A Political Discourse Analysis Approach
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2023-09-19) Alnasser, Aljawhara; Davies, Bethan
    TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a platform for individuals to persuade a wider audience with their ideas. While several studies have investigated the persuasive elements of TEDx talks in different languages, the research on persuasion in Arabic TEDx talks is scarce. This dissertation integrates argumentation theory, framing theory, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), using the Political Discourse Analysis (PDA) approach (I. Fairclough and N. Fairclough, 2011, 2012) on ten Saudi TEDx talks. The analysis is supported by an open-ended questionnaire that explores the audience’s perception of persuasion in these talks. This study strengthens the PDA model by including Aristotelian approaches to rhetoric (epideictic and forensic rhetoric; logos, ethos, and pathos), adapting the critical questions to focus more on the ‘rational acceptability’ rather than on ‘truth’, and analysing how other rhetorical strategies are used to frame arguments. This is complemented by audience evaluations, which provide additional evidence for analyses. Together, this provides an in-depth and less subjective analysis of how language in persuasive discourse shapes and is shaped by ideological assumptions and power relations. The findings reveal that speakers in Saudi TEDx talks exert power of persuasion by sharing personal stories to convince the audience of the logicality of their argument. These stories shape and are shaped by ideological assumptions that align with Saudi social norms, such as the importance of family, passion, success, God, perseverance, objectivity, and career, which are overtly expressed. However, ideologies that contradict prevailing social norms, such as prioritising skills over formal education, are conveyed in a more implicit manner. Moreover, the study suggests that the speakers also promote ideologies of personal development and making a change in the world, which are consistent with the aims of Saudi 2030 Vision, which seeks to empower individuals and promote a sense of entrepreneurship and innovation.
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    Deconstruction of Cultural Knowledge and Ideologies in Saudi Arabia Secondary School English Language Textbook Series
    (Saudi Digital Library, 2023) Alshehri, Asma; Lee, Isaac
    School textbooks are expected to reflect a country's culture, history, and values. In the Saudi Arabian context, international publishers are assigned to produce English language textbooks, which may have adverse consequences. Thus, this research aims to examine how dominant cultural, political, economic, and social interests might be promoted or neglected in two international textbook series, Traveller and Mega Goal. Utilising methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, the findings of this research reveal that the Traveller textbooks emphasise tourism discourse while the Mega Goal textbooks promote entrepreneurship. In addition, both textbooks disseminate environmental issues without sufficient representation of Saudi culture and values
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    Saudi Female Social Media Influencers and Their Advertising Discourses: A Critical Discourse Analysis Perspective
    (2023) Banjar, Halah Mohammed; Adams, Karen
    The vast research in advertising discourse has extensively explored commercials on traditional media such as TV and printed magazines. However, less is known about the advertising discourse on social media platforms, especially across these platforms internationally. The social contemporary phenomenon of advertising via social media platforms is increasing rapidly because of their popularity among millions of users in Saudi Arabia. This dissertation represents a first attempt to cover the existing gap in previous research in terms of media platforms and international scope. It examines advertising discourse by three Saudi female social media influencers on Snapchat. The study uses mixed methods in data collection and analysis. The data include a survey identifying three outstanding media influencers in terms of their popularity and selfpresentation as well as a total of 33 advertisements. The analytical framework employs Critical Discourse Analysis following Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework. It draws upon multimodality analysis and identity construction analysis. Findings reveal noteworthy similarities and differences among the influencers’ advertisements including linguistic features, visual aspects, and identity representation. The influencers all construct a powerful relationship with their audiences which is reflected in their informal spoken and written texts through the frequent use of Arabic pronouns (e.g., we, you, and yours) and address terms like “girls”. The results further show that the influencers display power through using different discursive strategies to persuade the audience of the value of advertised products. This dissertation’s new insights contribute in important ways to the field of advertising discourse. The researcher claims that these new findings demonstrate the value of research associated with advertising through different social media platforms in their global context. Thus, future studies should examine commercials on online media by individuals regardless of their nationality with access to the media and the skills needed to create a product line and an audience moved by their promotion styles.
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