A critical discourse analysis of verbal expressions showing emotions in football commentaries Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán về cách thể hiện cảm xúc bằng ngôn

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A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF

VERBAL EXPRESSIONS SHOWING EMOTIONS IN
FOOTBALL COMMENTARIES IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE E-NEWSPAPERS

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A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF
VERBAL EXPRESSIONS SHOWING EMOTIONS IN
FOOTBALL COMMENTARIES IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE E-NEWSPAPERS

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Dr. Hunh Anh Tun






HANOI, 2014

i
DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis entitled A critical discourse analysis of verbal
expressions showing emotions in football commentaries in English and Vietnamese
 has been carried out at the University of Languages and International Studies
under the guidance of Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan. The work is original and has not ever been
submitted in part or full by me for any degree at another University.
I further declare that the material obtained from other sources has been duly
acknowledged in the thesis.



Ngo Viet Tuan
June 2014

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the process of doing the thesis, I have received a lot of precious lessons,
necessary support and timely encouragement from my teachers, family and friends.
First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Huynh
Anh Tuan, who has always been willing to give me valuable advices and suggestions so
that I can successfully complete the thesis.
My sincere thanks are also sent to all of the teachers at the University of Languages
and International Studies for their useful lessons during my two- year learning here.
Last but not least, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to my family and friends
for everything.

iii
ABSTRACT

Nowadays, football is undeniably the most favourite sport in the world. It is not

surprising that football commentaries in newspapers always interest readers. However, the
sportswriters‟ subjective ideas related to social inequalities displayed in these
commentaries are really problematic because of their great effects on reader‟s mind. This
research is carried out on some of the most viewed online newspapers in English and
Vietnamese. The collected data are analyzed on the basis of Fairclough‟s three-
dimensional framework for critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Systemic Functional
Grammar at the level of word and clause by Halliday. As a result, the research reveals the
existence of sexism and nationalism embedded in verbal expressions showing
sportswriter‟s emotions and shows certain differences of these demonstrations in English
and Vietnamese football commentaries. Moreover, the research discusses the reasons for
the presence of these social inequalities. Hopefully, it will be the firm ground for further
CDA research.















iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 2
3. Scope of the study 2
4. Methods of the study 2
5. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background&Literature Review 4
1.1. Overview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 4
1.1.1. The history of CDA 4
1.1.2. Definition of CDA 5
1.1.3. Aims of CDA 6
1.1.4. Differences between CDA and other approaches to Discourse Analysis (DA) 6
1.1.5. Key notions of CDA 7
1.1.6. Principles of CDA 9
1.1.7. Main approaches to CDA 9
1.1.8. Fairclough‟s analytical framework 11
1.1.9. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and CDA in connection 13
1.2. Review of literature 14
Chapter 2: Methodology 15
2.1. Research approach 15
2.2. Research method 15
2.3. Research questions 15
2.4. Data collection 16
2.5. Method of data analysis 16
2.5.1. Analytical framework 16

v
2.5.2. Analytical units 17
Chapter 3: Data analysis 18
3.1. Sexism 18
3.1.1. Underestimation and overestimation. 18
3.1.1.1. Underestimation 18
3.1.1.2. Overestimation. 21
3.1.1.3. Summary 24
3.1.2. Insult and worship. 24
3.1.2.1. Insult 24
3.1.2.2. Worship. 25
3.1.2.3. Summary 28
3.2. Nationalism 28
3.2.1. Happiness after win. 28
3.2.2. Sadness after loss. 32
3.2.3. Summary 36
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion 37
4.1. Findings 37
4.1.1. Sexism in football commentaries. 37
4.1.2. Nationalism in football commentaries 37
4.2. Discussion 38
4.2.1. Sexism in football commentaries. 38
4.2.2. Nationalism in football commentaries 39
PART C: CONCLUSION 40
1. Conclusions 40
2. Limitations of the research 41
3. Suggestions for the research 41
REFERENCES 42

1
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
It is undeniable that football (or soccer) is the most popular sport in the
world nowadays. It attracts billions of people of any age, gender, class,
religion, and nation. Football seems to form its own society in which
everyone can see the factors such as economy, politics, and culture; in which
the states of emotion can be demonstrated clearly and overtly: the crazy love
or the extreme hate, the outburst of happiness or the bottom of sorrow.
Possibly, football inventors never imagined it could become such a favourite
sport someday.
There are some reasons which can explain the popularity of football in
the world such as the easy rules, the great contribution to health and the
encouragement of team spirit. However, another important reason which is
not usually paid attention to is the remarkable support of the mass media.
Thanks to the live matches on TV or the emotional commentaries in the
newspapers, a lot of people from generation to generation have grown up with
the love and passion of football. This shows that mass media has such great
effects on the feeling and thought of football fans. Through the mass media,
football commentators can easily appeal for the entire nation‟s patriotism and
solidarity before every single football match of their national team. Also, they
can easily make football fans have biased views about some social problems
due to their emotionalistic commentaries. In order to illustrate how subjective
some of football commentaries nowadays are and how they badly affect
readers, I manage to do a thesis called “A critical discourse analysis of verbal
expressions showing emotions in football commentaries in English and
Vietnamese e-newspapers”.

2
2. Aims of the study
By analyzing football commentaries in English and Vietnamese
newspapers, this research aims at investigating the verbal expressions used by
English and Vietnamese sportswriters in order to find out whether there is
evidence of social inequalities in their perspectives. This aim of the research
is specified by the following two objectives:
- Clarifying and contrasting the way that social inequalities like sexism,
nationalism are legitimized in discourse of showing emotions in English and
Vietnamese football commentaries.
- Helping readers better understand the ideologies conveyed in the
commentaries and have an objective and tolerant outlook on social problems
such as sexism and nationalism when they read the football articles in English
and Vietnamese.
3. Scope of the study
In the framework of the research, I would like to focus only on the way
sportswriters showing their emotions in football commentaries in English and
Vietnamese e-newspapers. Then, how the two social inequalities namely
sexism and nationalism are produced through these emotion demonstrations
should be highlighted. Other issues in the realm of social inequalities such as
political, cultural, class inequalities are excluded from the scope of the study.
Details of the data sources are presented in the Methodology chapter.
4. Methods of the study
My research adopts the approach of Critical Discourse Analysis. The
qualitative method of data analysis is applied for the research. After the data
are collected from football commentaries in English and Vietnamese e-
newspapers, the analysis is exercised on the basis of Fairclough‟s three-
dimensional framework: Description-Interpretation-Explanation and

3
Systemic Functional Grammar at the level of word and clause by Halliday.
The analysis procedure is specified more in the Methodology chapter.
5. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts:
Part A, INTRODUCTION, outlines the background of the research. In this
chapter, a brief account of relevant information is provided about the rationale,
aims, scope, significance, methodology and design of the research.
Part B, DEVELOPMENT, includes four chapters:
Chapter 1, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND and LITERATURE REVIEW,
presents all related theoretical background that precedes and necessitates the
formation of the research. Meanwhile, it gives a slight overview of some
previous researches on the same subject.
Chapter 2, METHODOLOGY, refers to the sources of data as well as the
method to collect and analyze the data to facilitate the research process.
Chapter 3, DATA ANALYSIS, analyzes the data collected.
Chapter 4, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION, discusses the findings of the data
analysis.
Part C, CONCLUSION, draws important conclusions and makes
suggestions for further researches.






4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

AND LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, fundamental concepts of Critical Discourse Analysis
and the review of previous researches related to the research are provided.
1.1. Overview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
1.1.1 The history of CDA
Before the 1970s, linguistic research was focused on formal aspects of
language which constituted the linguistic competence of speakers and which
could theoretically be isolated from specific instances of language use
(Chomsky, 1957). Where the relation between language and context was
considered, as in pragmatics, with a focus on speakers‟ pragmatic or socio-
linguistic competence, sentences and components of sentences were still
regarded as basic units. Much socio-linguistic research at that time was aimed
at describing and explaining language variation, language change and the
structures of communicative interaction, with limited attention to issues of
social hierarchy and power. The 1970s saw the emergence of a form of
discourse and text analysis that recognized the role of language in structuring
power relations in society. It drew the attention of many linguists, typically
such as Kress, Hodge, Fowler, Van Dijk, Fairclough and Wodak. Their works
served to explain and illustrate the main assumptions, principles and
procedures of what then became known as Critical Linguistics (CL).
By the end of the 1980s, CL was able to describe its aims, research
interests, chosen perspective and methods of analysis more specifically and
rigidly. Wodak (1989) lists, explains and illustrates the most important
characteristics of critical linguistic research as they had become established in

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continued research.
By the 1990s, the label CDA was used commonly to describe this
particular approach to linguistic analysis and was recognized “as a distinct

theory of language, a radically different kind of linguistics” (Kress, 1990,
p.94).
1.1.2 Definition of CDA
Fairclough (1995, pp.132-3) defines CDA as follows: “By critical
discourse analysis, I mean discourse analysis which aims to systematically
explore often opaque relationships of casualty and determination between (a)
discursive practices, events, and texts (b) wider social and cultural structures,
relations and processes; to investigate how such practices, events and texts
arise out of and are ideologically shaped by relations of power and struggles
over power; and to explore how the opacity of these relationships between
discourse and society is itself a factor securing power and hegemony”.
In the opinion of Van Leeuwen (1993, p.193) “Critical discourse
analysis should be concerned or is concerned…with discourse as the
instrument of power and control, as well as with discourse as the instrument
of the social construction of reality”.
According to Van Dijk (2001, p.352), CDA is a type of discourse
analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse,
dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and
talk in the social and political context. With such dissident research, critical
discourse analysts take explicit position, and thus want to understand, expose,
and ultimately resist social inequality.
According to Wodak (1996, p.16), CDA highlights the substantively
linguistic and discursive nature of social relations of power in contemporary
societies. This is partly the matter of how power relations are exercised and

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negotiated in discourse. It is fruitful to look at both "power in discourse,"
"power of discourse" and "power over discourse" in these dynamic terms.
In summary, CDA can be defined as being fundamentally interested in
analyzing opaque as well as transparent structural relationships of dominance,

discrimination, power and control as manifested in language. Language, as
claimed by Habermas (1988, p.172), “is also a medium of domination and
social power. It serves to legitimate relations of organized force…language is
also ideological”. Through the definitions of CDA above, it is obvious to see
that the phenomena of discrimination or inequality such as sexism,
nationalism and how language contributes to legitimize these unequal
phenomena are really the supreme interests in CDA.
1.1.3. Aims of CDA
CDA examines patterns of access and control over contexts, genres,
text and talk, their properties, as well as the discursive strategies of mind
control. It studies discourse and its functions in society and the ways society,
and especially forms of inequality, are expressed, represented, legitimized or
reproduced in text and talk. For example, the absence of sexism or racism in
society gets more and more sophisticatedly in daily discourse and CDA aims
to find out this absence in discourse and show how it probably controls
listeners or readers‟ mind. Furthermore, CDA does so in opposition against
those groups and institutions who abuse their power, and in solidarity with
dominated groups, e.g., by discovering and denouncing discursive dominance,
and by cooperating in the empowerment of the dominated.
1.1.4. Differences between CDA and the other approaches to Discourse
Analysis (DA)
Rebecca Rogers (2004, p.2) claims that CDA distances itself from other
discourse analysis methods because it includes not only a description and

7
interpretation of discourse in context, but also offers an explanation of why
and how discourses work.
Adam Jaworski & Nikolas Coupland (1999, p.33) also see the
difference of CDA when comparing it to other traditions. They argue that
several approaches to discourse have mainly descriptive aims with an

intention of providing an exhaustive structural model of discourse
organization. CDA is much different. This critical approach to discourse
really sets itself away from descriptivism of this sort. It foregrounds its
concern with social constructionism and with the construction of ideology in
particular.
Ruth Wodak & Michael Meyer (2009, p.2) show that the significant
difference between other DA approaches and CDA lies in the constitutive
problem-oriented, interdisciplinary approach of the latter. CDA is therefore
not interested in investigating a linguistic unit by itself but in studying social
phenomena which are necessarily complex and thus require a
multidisciplinary and multi-methodical approach.
1.1.5. Key notions of CDA
For proper understanding of CDA as a new linguistic approach, it is
important that some key CDA notions should be considered.
Critical and the use of this term in CDA can be traced to the influence
of Marxist and later the “Critical Theory” of Frankfurt School. Critical means
not taking anything for granted or self-reflection of the research process.
Therefore, Critical does not imply the common sense of the word, i.e.
criticizing, or being negative and "positive", of course, is in no way to be
understood as the counterpart of critical research. Nowadays, this term is also
adopted more popularly in everyday language to mean the use of rational
thinking to question arguments or prevailing ideas.

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Power is another concept which is central for CDA. Max Weber (1947,
p.152) defining power as: “the probability that one actor within a social
relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance,
regardless of the basis on which this probability rests”. For CDA, language is
not powerful on its own – it gains power by the use powerful people make of
it. It explains why CDA researchers are interested in the way discourse

(re)produces social domination, that is, the power abuse of one group over
others, and how dominated groups may discursively resist such abuse. This
raises the question of how CDA researchers understand power and what
moral standards allow them to differentiate between power use and abuse.
Ideology is one of the most controversial and elusive academic
concepts. According to Simpson (1993, p.161), ideology is “a mosaic of
cultural assumptions, political beliefs and institutional practices”. Since
language is regarded as the physical form of ideology and language is thus an
indispensable part of any attempt to study ideology. Ideology, for CDA, is
seen as an important aspect of establishing and maintaining unequal power
relations. Fairclough (2003, p.218) considers “Ideologies are representations
of aspects of the world which contribute to establishing and maintaining
relations of power, domination and exploitation. They may be enacted in
ways of interaction (and therefore in genres) and inculcated in ways of being
identities (and therefore styles). Analysis of texts…is an important aspect of
ideological analysis and critique…”
Regarding the relationships of language, power and ideology,
Fairclough (1989, p.2) states that ideologies are closely linked to power
because the nature of ideological assumptions embedded in particular
conventions, and the nature of those conventions themselves, depend on the
power relations which underlie the conventions. Besides, ideologies are also

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closely linked to language, because using language is the commonest form of
social behavior where we rely most on „common sense‟ assumptions.
Whereas, language is entwined in social power in a number of ways: language
indexes power, expresses power, is involved where there is contention over
and a challenge to power. Power does not derive from language, but language
can be used to challenge power, to subvert it, to alter distributions of power in
the short and long term.

1.1.6. Principles of CDA
CDA‟s emergence was not long ago, yet it has received a lot of attention
and favors from linguists since then. Many researchers find themselves
interested in conducting CDA. Fairlough and Wodak (1997, pp.271-80)
summarize the main principles of CDA, acting as a guiding star for those who
expect to do CDA researches. The main principles are as follows:
 CDA addresses social problems
 Power relations are discursive
 Discourse constitutes society and culture
 Discourse does ideological work
 Discourse is historical
 The link between text and society is mediated
 Discourse analysis is interpretative and explanatory
 Discourse is a form of social action.
Of eight main principles above, the first principle that CDA addresses social
problems such as inequalities of gender, race, class, religion is the most
important and distinctive of CDA. Any CDA research must highlight this
principle.
1.1.7. Main approaches to CDA
Socio-cognitive Approach: Teun Van Dijk

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Teun Van Dijk is the leading figure in socio-cognitive approach to
CDA. This approach by Van Dijk is based on the assumptions that
“cognition” mediates between “society” and “discourse”. Van Dijk supposes
there is no direct relationship between social structures and discourse
structures and almost always they are connected to each other through
personal and social cognition. This cognition is the lost segment of many
critical linguistic studies and CDA; therefore he offers the triangle of society:
cognitive and society and discourse. Van Dijk‟s works mainly focus on the

issues of power, ideology and knowledge.
Discourse-Historical Approach: Ruth Wodak
This approach was developed by Ruth Wodak and other scholars in
Vienna working in the traditions of Bernsteinian sociolinguistics and the
Frankfurt School. This approach attempts to integrate systematically all
available background information in the analysis and interpretation of the
many layers of a written or spoken text, specifically taking into account four
layers of context (Wodak, 2001). Wodak (2001, pp.69-70) has put forward
some main features for the discourse-historical approach to CDA as follows:
- The approach is interdisciplinary.
- The approach is problem-oriented, rather than focused on specific linguistic
items.
- The approach is abductive: a constant movement back and forth between
theory and empirical data is necessary.
The primary issues in her CDA research mainly focused on sexism and
national identity. Her CDA works were appreciated such as Gender and
Discourse (1997), The Discursive Construction of National Identity (1999),
Discourse and Discrimination (2001).
Dialectical-Relational Approach: Norman Fairclough

11
Fairclough is one of the greatest CDA founders. Fairclough develops a
dialectical theory of discourse and a trans-disciplinary approach to social
change. His works focus upon social conflicts and try to detect their linguistic
manifestations in discourses, in particular elements of dominance, difference
and resistance. In his approach, every social practice has a semiotic element.
Productive activity, the means of production, social relations, social identities,
cultural values, consciousness and semiosis are dialectically related elements
of social practice. He understands CDA as the analysis of the dialectical
relationships between semiosis (including language) and other elements of

social practices. His approach draws upon a particular linguistic theory –
Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1985) – which analyses language
as shaped (even in its grammar) by the social functions it has come to serve.
1.1.   _an important background of
CDA
        
development of the analytical framework for studying discourse. Up to now,
many researchers have considered this framework as a useful tool to do CDA
studies. In fact, Fairclough gives
his opinion on the actual nature of
discourse and text analysis through
the three-dimensional framework in
Figure 1 below:
(Source: Locke, 2004, p. 42)
As shown in Figure 1,
Fairclough‟s analytical framework
includes three dimensions of discourse: the text, the discourse practice, and
the socio-cultural practice. Corresponding to these three dimensions of

12
discourse Fairclough identifies three dimensions, or stages, of CDA:
• Description is the stage which is concerned with formal properties of the
text. In this stage, the analysis of the language structures produced is
exercised. For the CDA practitioner‟s easy application of the framework
above to analysis, Fairclough suggests ten main questions (and some sub-
questions) in the stage of description. Of ten questions, the following eight
questions about vocabulary and grammar are really useful and necessary in
the scope of my CDA research:
A. Vocabulary
1. What experiential values do words have?

What classification schemes are drawn upon?
Are there words which are ideologically contested?
Is there rewording or overwording?
What ideologically significant meaning relations (synonymy, hyponymy,
antonymy) are there between words?
2. What relational values do words have?
Are there euphemistic expressions?
Are there markedly formal or informal words?
3. What expressive values do words have?
4. What metaphors are used?
B. Grammar
5. What experiential values do grammatical features have?
What types of process and participants predominate?
Is agency unclear?
Are processes what they seem?
Are normalizations used?
Are sentences active or passive?
Are sentences positive or negative?
6. What relational values do grammatical features have?

13
What modes (declarative, grammatical question, imperative) are used?
Are there important features of relational modality?
Are the pronouns we and you used and if so, how?
7. What expressive values do grammatical features have?
Are there important features of expressive modality?
8. How are (simple) sentences linked together?
What logical connectors are used?
Are complex sentences characterized by coordination or/ subordination?
What means are used for referring inside and outside the text?

• Interpretation is concerned with the relationship between text and
interaction - with seeing the text as the product of a process of production,
and as a resource in the process of interpretation.
• Explanation is concerned with the relationship between interaction and
social context - with the social determination of the processes of production
and interpretation, and their social effects. Naturally, the analysis in this stage
includes the exploration of the ways in which discourses operate in various
domains of society.
In short, according to Fairclough‟s analytical framework, CDA
researchers concentrate on not just analysing texts, nor just analysing
processes of production and interpretation, but analysing the relationship
between texts, processes, and their social conditions, both the immediate
conditions of the situational context and the more remote conditions of
institutional and social structures.
1.1.9. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and CDA in connection
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), which is developed mainly by
M.A.K. Halliday, is an approach to language that explores how language is
used in social contexts to achieve particular goals. Because it is concerned
with language use, SFL places higher importance on language function (what

14
it is used for) than on language structure (how it is composed). It is apparent
that the way SFL views language is closely appropriate to CDA. It is the
reason why SFL, especially Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), is usually
in favour with CDA practitioners and SFG is considered the main foundation
of text analysis in critical discourse studies. For instance, on the basis of SFG,
Fairclough sets up ten questions in the stage of description as mentioned
above and CDA practitioners have found them useful for their research so far.
1.2. Review of literature
There have been a lot of the researches on sexism and nationalism in

football in the world. However, the CDA researches on these issues are not
really plentiful. In term of sexism, the CDA research 
         by Jacqueline
McDowell and Spencer Schaffner concentrates on the analysis of gender
discourses in the Gender Bowl, a reality TV program featuring the football. In
term of nationalism, the CDA research Scoring a hat trick: Nation, football,
and critical discourse analysisby Mariza Georgalou referred to the analysis
of the Greek commentaries on Greece team‟s performances in Euro 2004.
Although these are really the interesting and useful researches, the restricted
source of data and the lack of contrast among the different languages are
partly considered as their limitations. Therefore, my CDA research tries to
overcome these limitations for a more comprehensive one.







15
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This chapter aims at firstly outlining the basic steps in the research
process such as the approach, method, questions as well as data collection,
and then describing the method of analysis in detail through the way how the
analytical framework are applied for data analysis.
2.1. Research approach
In order to highlight the relationship between the language in use and
the formation of social inequalities in the press, particularly soccer
commentaries, the approach of CDA is seen as a suitable option.

2.2. Research method
My research is carried out on the basis of analyzing football
commentaries in English and Vietnamese newspapers. Therefore, a
contrastive analysis to find out the differences in showing sportswriters‟
emotions in terms of social inequality in the two languages is necessary and it
makes the research more interesting.
2.3. Research questions
On the basis of the two objectives mentioned in the Introduction, two
research questions of the study are raised as follows:
- How are social inequalities in term of sexism and nationalism produced in
English and Vietnamese football commentaries?
In order to answer this question, the research would investigate the
words, phrases and clauses used to legitimize these social inequalities.
- How are readers affected by these commentaries?
For this question, the research would show readers‟ responses to these
commentaries. It is the best way to measure positive or negative effects on
readers.

16
Of course, all of my research is structured around these questions to
find out the reasonable answers at last.
2.4. Data collection
The data for the analysis in my research are the articles during the
period of 2001-2014 collected from some English e-newspapers such as The
BBC Sports, The Channel 4 News, The Daily Record, The Daily Mail, The
Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Bleacher Report and some Vietnamese e-
newspapers such as ng 

, T


 & 

, VnExpress, Vietnamnet.
These e-newspapers are chosen because they are popular and reliable sources
of information as well as they have great effects on reader‟s feeling and
thought, which is considered the important factor to infect readers with the
two social inequalities, namely sexism and nationalism. In term of sexism, the
concerned demonstrations of emotion are underestimation and insult to
women as well as overestimation and worship to men. In term of nationalism,
the demonstrations of emotion targeted are happiness after national team‟s
win and sadness after national team‟s loss. Since my research focuses on only
verbal expressions showing emotions in commentaries, the sentences of
showing sportswriter‟s emotions are selected and highlighted for the analysis.
2.5. Method of data analysis
Qualitative method is chosen for the data analysis. After gathered, the
sources of information are processed in the analytical framework of the
research.
2.5.1. Analytical framework
In my research, the analysis is implemented on the basis of
Fairclough‟s three-dimensional framework for studying discourse as stated in
Chapter 1. It means the data analysis in term of sexism and nationalism
follows three-stage process: Description, interpretation and explanation. In

17
the stage of description, I would like to particularly emphasize the
grammatical features used in each sentence of showing sportswriter‟s
emotions to legitimize the social inequalities above. In the stage of
interpretation, I would like to suggest how verbal expressions showing
sportswriter‟s emotions should be interpreted in the specific context of the
whole article and which of social inequality they display explicitly or

implicitly. In the stage of explanation, I would like to mention to socio-
cultural conditions such as situational, institutional affecting the way that
sportswriters show their emotions as well as what effects those commentaries
have on readers‟ mind.
2.5.2. Analytical units
As mentioned above, the stage of description in my research plays a
very important role in the correct interpretation of the text. Therefore, in this
stage, in order to clarify the grammatical features used, Systemic Functional
Grammar at the level of word and clause by Halliday is chosen for the
analysis. Specifically, words and kinds of clause such as exclamation,
imperative, rhetorical question, clause with modal particle in the sentences of
showing sportswriter‟s emotions are core units for the analysis. Besides, eight
useful questions about vocabulary and grammar suggested by Fairclough are
also considered as the facilitators of the analysis.








18
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the data collected from the newspapers presented in
chapter 2 will be analyzed to highlight the presence of the two social
equalities namely sexism and nationalism in verbal expressions showing
sportswriter‟s emotions.
3.1. SEXISM
In English football commentaries, sportswriters usually direct negative

demonstrations of emotion to women and positive demonstrations to men.
These negative demonstrations can be the underestimation or the insult to
women‟s football, female players, referees and fans; meanwhile, men‟s
football and male peers receive the sportswriters‟ favour such as
overestimation or the worship which is hardly granted to even great women.
Unlike the English football commentaries, the Vietnamese ones do not
show sexism at all. The fair estimation is always given to both women and
men. Actually, this is surprising because it has become common knowledge
that social prejudices to women in Vietnam are much more serious than those
in Western countries.
3.1.1. Underestimation and overestimation
3.1.1.1. Underestimation
In English football commentaries, the underestimation to women can
be exposed through words or phrases which have never been used for men‟s
football such as in the following example:
“It’s worth examining just why the SFA (Scottish Football Association)
and their partners spend £1.2 million each year to bankroll a ladies’ version
of a game played in men’s shorts.”
On February 26, 2013, Gordon Parks, a famous sportswriter of the
Daily Record and Sunday Mail, published an article entitled “Spending £1.2m