· Appreciation: for having done tremendous work; What we fought was a people's war against the outbreak.; made tremendous sacrifices.; We must comprehensively step up international cooperation; Countries need to...prevent the world economy from falling into recession; Together, we can send a strong signal; (6 units total)

Engagement

· Conv. space contraction: Such expressions of friendship will always be remembered; This is a virus that respects no borders.; It is imperative that countries pool their strengths; I am convinced that through solidarity and mutual assistance…; (5 units total)

· Conv. space expansion:

Graduation

· Force (increase/decrease): begin by expressing my sincere appreciation; formidable task.; What we fought was a people's war against the outbreak.; made tremendous sacrifices.; The COVID-19 outbreak is posing enormous threat to life and health; we need to be resolute in fighting an all-out global war against the COVID-19 outbreak; Together, we can send a strong signal; (7 units total)

· Prototypicality (aligned/removed):

Evaluative vocabulary

Euphemisms:

Dysphemisms:

Similes:

Epithets: as we took on this formidable task.; bringing formidable challenge; made tremendous sacrifices; (3 units total)

Conceptual Metaphors: Facing the COVID-19 outbreak; caught us all by surprise; We have acted according to the overall principle of shoring up confidence; What we fought was a people's war against the outbreak.; Yet, there is no way we will lower our guard or relax control.; We must comprehensively step up international cooperation and foster greater synergy;

we need to be resolute in fighting an all-out global war against the COVID-19 outbreak; This is a virus that respects no borders.; we are battling is our common enemy; It is imperative that countries pool their strengths; For China, we will be happy to join other countries and scale up support; Countries need to...prevent the world economy from falling into recession; The G20 needs to draw up an action plan; a time for us to rise up to challenge; (19 units total)

Nicknames:

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Remarks - Various Topics & Dates

Scene +Axiological alignment	Participants: The Chinese authorities (good, in-group), The US authorities (bad, out-group). Actions: invective, agenda setting.
Script selection	Affect - Enjoyment, possibly anger
Script adjustment (appraisal)	Attitude · Affect: · Judgement: China has been acting on the spirit of the telephone conversation between the two presidents; he Chinese people are going all out to fight against the pneumonia outbreak; In sharp contrast, certain US officials' words and actions are neither factual nor appropriate; the resolute leadership of the CPC; the Chinese government and people are sparing no efforts; we have taken decisive and effective measures to rein in its spread; (6 units total) · Appreciation: A friend in need is a friend indeed; (1 unit total) Engagement · Conv. space contraction: Only by working together can we defeat it.; Certainly not a gesture of goodwill.; We have every confidence that with the resolute leadership of the CPC; will definitely win the battle against the outbreak; We are fully confident and capable of winning the hard battle; (5 units total) · Conv. space expansion: Graduation · Force (increase/decrease): the Chinese people are going all out to fight against the pneumonia outbreak; Currently, the pandemic continues to escalate in the US.; the enormous strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics; to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.; (4 units total) · Prototypicality (aligned/removed):
Evaluative vocabulary	Euphemisms:
	Dysphemisms:
	Similes:
	Epithets: the resolute leadership of the CPC; the enormous strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics; (2 units total)
	Conceptual Metaphors: Currently, the pandemic continues to escalate in the US.; get rid of noises and disruptions; so as to move forward China-US relations on the right track.; Certainly not a gesture of goodwill.; Adversity makes one stronger just as polishing makes jade finer; the Chinese people, fighting with one heart and mind,; will definitely win the battle against the outbreak; to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.; We have taken decisive and effective measures to rein in its spread; We are fully confident and capable of winning the hard battle; (11 units total)
	Nicknames:

In summation, Chinese agents exhibit the following peculiarities when partaking in an English-mediated political discourse: in a similar fashion to their Western counterparts, they have particularly frequent recourse to conceptual metaphors (48 units). Other tropes have only fractional use: similes and nicknames were absent altogether, while dysphemisms and epithets having comparable incidence of 7 units each. Euphemisms appear to have been disregarded as well, with only 2 discerned instances for the entirety of our sample. As far as control over the conversation space is concerned, contraction strategies have a markedly high incidence (31 units) and seem to coincide with two basic strategies of solidifying one's credibility through use of unambiguous terms and scaling up the magnitude of the opponents' failures and mischances. Both agendas rely heavily on means of graduation (37 units) aimed at amplifying the intensity of an utterance. Chinese agents also avail themselves a plethora of judgement-driven appraisals which, as was discussed above, appeals to notions of credibility, aptitude and adeptness, resolve, observance of social, moral and ethical conventions (32 units). Expressions of affect and appreciation exhibit moderate degree of occurrence with a total of 11 and 18 units identified, respectively. Presumably, such distribution of attitudinal markers presupposes a strategy of preserving an appearance of level-headed, calculated and methodical approach to an event capable of eliciting strong emotional reaction, which indicates strength and reliability, enhancing one's image and prestige on the political arena. This, combined with their determined efforts at controlling the conversational space, is indicative of CCP's default modus operandi that entails positive affection, reassurance and unwavering espousal to in-group members that accentuates positive accomplishments, and resolute discredit and disconsideration to out-group members that revolves around ridicule and exposure of one's ineptness while refuting own shortcomings.



Conclusions

Summarizing the aforenamed peculiarities, we may conclude that the English-based political discourse around the ongoing pandemic bespeaks several noteworthy properties, namely preeminence of conceptual metaphors, strategies for manipulation of conversational space, judgement-based appraisals and recurring scripts like invective, refutations and accusations, all of which is liable to variation depending on scene composition with regards to the script's participants and their axiological alignment, which appears to be dictated by the party initiating the communication of information. Generally speaking, these devices are called upon to conceive an image designed to resonate with in-group audience and challenge out-group naysayers, building up one's credibility and political prestige. As for specifics, the Western sources appeared to adhere emphatically to the notion of plausible deniability as evidenced by the prominence of conversation expansion strategies, whereas Chinese outlets weigh in on confidence and indisputability, showing resolve in utilizing strong, evocative language in conjunction with conversational space contraction strategies.

Though these findings appear consistent, one must remain cognizant of the limited scope of this study, as well as its' incomplete account of all the variables involved in constructing the appraisal framework. We suppose that certain variables may be subject to change with respect to the subject being discussed and parties involved, as well as other parameters not mentioned here. A larger and more thoroughly acquired sample may see our conclusions revised and augmented. With that in mind, we may reconcile these findings as preliminary guidelines which may serve as a benchmark for further investigation of the subject matter in the similar, appraisal-based vein.



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