Transgender Identities in the Press: A Corpus-based Discourse Analysis

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Winner of the PROSE Award (2022) for Language & Linguistics For many people, newspapers are a key source of information on many topics, including issues related to gender and sexuality. Applying a broad range of corpus linguistic methods, Transgender Identities in the Press critically explores the linguistic cues and patterns used by the print media in their representation of trans people. Through close analysis of a corpus of articles collected from English-language newspapers from the UK and Canada, Angela Zottola focuses on the semantic categories of representation associated with transgender identities. Exploring a set of key terms, this book examines the semantic prosody and the language choices that each term is invested with, using Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate how the way the press represents this topic influences readers and their understanding of the major debates. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, Transgender Identities in the Press casts light on the complex picture of press language during a period of social change and increasing awareness. Highlighting both efforts to represent this community in an inclusive and non-discriminatory way and areas where there is need for improvement, this book illustrates a variety of issues from a critical and social perspective.

Reviews

A much-needed analysis of the ways these [media] discourses shape mainstream understandings of underprivileged minority groups ... Zottolas study introduces the reader to a large corpus of media data and offers a good overview of the representation of trans issues and trans individuals in the press. * Discourse & Society *
A thorough and engaging book which adds invaluable theoretical and methodological know-how to any researcher interested in representation, identity, or the media. ... Readers: Take note(s). * Journal of Language and Sexuality *
The book is a meticulous and informative study ... It is methodologically and theoretically inquisitive and provocative for the ongoing research in language and identities, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis. * Journal of Language and Politics *
This insightful book addresses an important and timely social issue - the ways that the press use language around trans people. It uses corpus linguistics methods in a comprehensive way in order to identify both broader and more specific patterns of language use. * Paul Baker, Professor of English Language, Lancaster University, UK *
Angela Zottola has written a thoughtful, detailed and insightful account of the way the press in Canada and the UK use language to represent transgender identities. Making innovative use of corpus-based discourse analysis, this exciting and timely contribution will be of interest to scholars of linguistics, gender studies and media studies. * Helen Sauntson, Professor of English Language and Linguistics, York St John University, UK *
A meticulous and well-informed study of representations of transgender identities in British and Canadian newspapers. Zottolas illuminating book provides empirically-grounded evidence of both positive and problematic media practices, and thus makes a valuable contribution towards equality and inclusivity. It will interest media practitioners and researchers in linguistics, gender studies and media studies. * Melissa Yoong, Assistant Professor of Sociolinguistics, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia *

Author Bio

Angela Zottola is Researcher in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Turin, Italy. She received her PhD in Mind, Gender & Language: Language, Linguistics and ESP from the University of Naples Federico II. Her research interests include (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Queer Linguistics and Ecolinguistics applied to the investigation of the media, including newspapers and social media platforms. She is interested in investigating the representation of identities in different contexts.