Dear Reader: A textual analysis of magazine editorials

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the conventions and differences that exist across the genre of the editorial column in magazines, which included investigating how the form of editorials is related to their functions and how ideology is conveyed implicitly and explicitly. The research draws on various levels of discourse analysis advocated by different theorists, ranging from the surface grammatical level to the deeper, more socio-cultural perspectives, which is what Bhatia (1993) recommends as part of his “thicker description”. Through an analysis of selected magazine editorials, it was evident that while there were similarities in the form of the editorials, certain linguistic choices played a significant role in increasing solidarity between editor and reader and in transmitting implicit ideologies.

(S/ern Af Linguistics & Applied Language Stud: 2002 20(1&2): 105-118)