A Linguistic Study of Editorials in English Newspapers

Abstract

The present study scrutinizes two editorial letters from English newspapers. However, investigating English editorials from a linguistic perspective has not been conducted yet. Thus, this paper attempts to bridge this gap by analyzing editorials as linguistic structures. The study aims at identifying the linguistic strategies that are used in the selected editorial letters to achieve their functions. In collaboration with the aims, the study sets out three hypotheses: (1) On the linguistic level, Biber’s (1988, 1989) linguistic strategies are useful devices for the analysis of linguistic structures of the editorials from the selected English newspapers. (2) In newspaper editorials, the editor uses certain linguistic patterns to influence the target readers. (3) The most frequent linguistic pattern used in the selected editorials is the ‘Repetition and Intensifiers’ (R&Is), whereas the least frequent one is the Necessity Modals (NMs). To achieve the aims and verify these hypotheses, the study adopts a linguistic model that is based on Biber’s linguistic strategies (1988, 1989). Based on these findings, the study encompasses certain conclusions, among them: (1) Biber’s (1988, 1989) linguistic strategies is useful for the analysis of the linguistic structures of the selected English editorials. (2) All linguistic patterns are used except Rhetorical Questions (RQs), in one way or another are employed in this study. (3) The most frequent linguistic pattern is the Repetition and Intensifiers (R&Is).