Phnom Penh Post - Cambodia in the Western Press: Whose Reality?
Cambodia in the Western Press: Whose Reality?
The Economist: How does it interpret a country like Cambodia?
resulted in how one perceived the world.
influences, if not determines, one's thoughts and perceptions.
language reporting of an Asian country such as Cambodia.
published on its 150th anniversary is titled The Pursuit of Reason).
years rests on the soundness of the pillars of democracy, rule of law and free markets.
finance and technology, all viewed through the ideological filter of its creed.
bound by the limitations of its own particular discourse of English?
included editorials, long and short reports.
each article is classified according to the principal topics of its content.
related to the UN/UNTAC or the Khmer Rouge.
primarily in terms of its creed of democracy, rule of law and free markets.
'promise', 'thank' or 'threaten' etc.).
projection in English has a more important role in meaning making than in other languages.
how Cambodia was being represented in them.
voices that different perspectives and different world views can be articulated.
grammatical structures and lexical selections).
terms, this practice draws The Economist's reports towards "commentary and opinion"
and away from news "reporting".
sources (such as the UN, other diplomats, and Western experts).
women cited and only once was a voice attributed to a "Khmer-in-the-street".
Let us now consider in more detail the voice projections of Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy.
how exactly does the magazine deploy linguistic resources to realize these meanings?
the representations of these two Cambodians.
from Khmer to English, or the reporter's euphemism for what was actually said.
comfortably into the habit of indirect reporting only.
all five articles in which his speech is reported.
A closer examination reveals the special treatment given to his speech.
introduced by reporting clauses such as "he said that...".
words; 23 words; and 4 words).
one but rather a more prototypical 'Western activist' one.
and freedom". This quote is particularly revealing in its use of the word "bread"
(a Western metaphor) rather than "rice" (the staple food in Cambodia).
to boast that"; and "ordered".
while Sam Rainsy is given 10 projections of which just one is shared.
also serve to distinguish these two adversaries.
(e.g. "see") to cognitive (e.g. "think") to desiderative (e.g.
and thereby humanize him more than Hun Sen.
well as its use of rational argument to back its world view.
opposite to Sam Rainsy's. So, why do these findings matter?
about democracy, the rule of law and free markets?
risks in discarding the familiar and real, in favor of the unfamiliar and abstract.
no matter how he may be perceived by foreigners (including The Economist).
the language resource through which The Economist creates and patterns its own discourse.
magazine's ideological creed, one alien to Cambodia's culture, tradition and values.
and phenomena, channels his reasoning, and builds the house of his consciousness."
of Cambodia in formulating their own sense of Cambodia's reality.