3.5 Summary
4.1.2 News body markers
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a
tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
neither connectives nor topic shift fillers are used. What is more, an abrupt comment
unexpectedly shows up in IU 1. Even so, the audiences are still able to recognize the
shift of news items because of the presence of the anchor. The evaluative comment
huaishi zhendeshi bunengzuo 壞事真的是不能做 ‘one had better not commit
wrongdoings’ may be seen as a technique to arouse the audience’s curiosity about why
the anchor made such an introductory comment and therefore keep their focus on the
upcoming news.
4.1.2 News body markers
Another group of global boundary markers marks the beginning of news bodies.
In our data, thirteen news bodies begin with event scene presentations while the other
twelve directly present the main news events18. Any marker appearing at the beginning
of a news body, whether it marks an event scene presentation or main news event, is
categorized as Level 1 markers. Table 4 shows the amount and types of markers of a
news body.
18 The twelve news bodies beginning with event scene presentations are news: #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #8, #9,
‧
Table 4 The boundary markers of a news body (Level 1 boundary marker)
Boundary markers N %
1. Doubly marked:
(1) Referential forms A. modified NP
(2) Temporal + shot shift and speaker shift (3) Locative phrase + shot shift and speaker shift
7
As Table 4 reveals, the amount of markers and combinations are quite simply outlined.
Up to 80% of this section is doubly marked and 20% singly marked by shot shift and
speaker shift. The combinations of double marking include referential forms plus shot
shift and speaker shift, temporals plus shot shift and speaker shift, and locative phrases
plus shot shift and speaker shift. Of the linguistic markers, referential forms and
temporals serve as the major linguistic indicators to mark this section. The variants of
referential forms include eight modified NPs and one full NP. The following three
modified NPs mark the beginning event scene presentation: zheme yidatai shashiche
這麼一大台砂石車 ‘such a huge truck,’ sizhe yong huongbi xiexia de chongman
henyi de neirong 死者用紅筆寫下的充滿恨意的內容 ‘the bitter contents written by
the dead with a red pen,’ and zhaoshi de zixiaokeche 肇事的自小客車 ‘the car
caused the accident.’ Then, the other four modified NPs are the beginning markers of
main news events presented at the onset of news bodies: tou dai anchuanmao shenchuan xizhong de nanzi 頭戴安全帽身穿西裝的男子 ‘a man in a helmet and
B. full NP + shot shift and speaker shift
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a
tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
輩子的75 歲黃姓老婦人 ‘Mrs. Huang, 75, who has run a boutique her whole life,’
chuanzhe heibai tiaowen de xianfang 穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯 ‘the criminal in a black
and white striped T-shirt,’ and yiming ershao 一名惡少 ‘a vagrant.’ The only full NP
is haixun danwei 海巡單位 ‘coast guard administration,’ and it marks the beginning
of the main news events.
In addition to referential forms, there are nine temporals. The following two
temporals mark the time of event scene presentation: zaoshang 早上 ‘this morning’
and diyishijian 第一時間 ‘immediately.’ The other seven temporals mark the
beginning time of main news events: zhongwu shierdianban 中午 12 點半 ‘12:30 at
moon,’ lingchen liandian 凌晨兩點 ‘two a.m.,’ xiawu liangdian wushi fen 下午兩點
五十分 ‘2:50 p.m.,’ yiwai fasheng qian 意外發生前 ‘before the accident,’ ershihao
qingchen sidian 二十號清晨四點 ‘4 a.m. on the 20th,’ bahao wanjian 八號晚間 ‘on
the evening on the 8th,’and ershiyi ri shangwu 21 日上午 ‘on the morning of the 21st.’
The locative phrases in the combination of locative phrase plus shot shift and
speaker shift are anfaxianchang 案發現場 ‘at the event scene’ and haishang 海上‘on
the sea,’ both of which signal the location of the event scenes. The shifts of shot and
speaker include the abrupt audio presentation of an old woman’s sobs over her son’s
death, two women’s crying for their relatives’ deaths, a banging sound made by the
firefighter while rescuing some victims, voices of firefighters in rescue action, and
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a
tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
voices of paramedics trying to lift the wounded.
We shall begin with the two variants of referential forms: modified NPs and full
NPs. They both refer to the referents being shown on the screen. For example, when
the journalist mentioned chuanzhe heibai tiaowen de xianfan 穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯
‘the suspect in a black and white striped T-shirt’ a man in such a T-shirt can be seen on
the screen, when mentioning jiashu 家屬 ‘family members,’ the family members of
the dead appear on the screen. Basically speaking, the journalists are actually
describing what appears on the screen. The choice of modified NPs and full NPs may
be determined by whether the participants are central or peripheral. The journalists
tend to provide more information to modify the central characters so that the audiences
can successfully identify the referents. The additional coding materials may be
presented in relative clauses or adjectives, and are usually correlated to what is seen on
the screen. The following excerpt is an action of a drug dealer being arrested.
(11)
9. Reporter: ..>穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯穿著黑白條紋的嫌犯,_
10. ..就站在麵攤的門口,_
11. ..警覺性很高,_
12. ..連跟監的員警都不敢大意.\
Reporter: The suspect in a black and white striped T-shirt is standing in front of the stand.
He is so alert of his surroundings that the police officers need to be very careful.
(#22, TTV) In the excerpt, the main participant xianfan 嫌犯 ‘suspect,’ is introduced to the
Main news events Level 1 marker
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a
tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
on the screen: one in a black coat, the other in a red turtleneck sweater, and another in
a black and white striped T-shirt. In order to help the audiences correctly identify the
referent, the journalist describes the feature of the participant via describing his outfit.
By doing so, the journalist aids the audience to distinguish the main character and to
obtain more information about him.
The second frequently seen combination of markers for this section is temporals
plus shot shift and speaker shifts. In fact, the majority of the boundaries marked by this
combination are the main news events presented at the onset of the news body. In other
words, if the event scene presentation is missing, the news body tends to be marked by
temporals plus shot shift and speaker shifts. These temporals always signal the time
when the events in this section take/took place, whether the events occur in the event
scene or the main news events. They are usually absolute calendar times, such as
zhongwu shier dian ban 中午12 點半 ‘12:30 at noon’ and lingchen liandian 凌晨兩點
‘two a.m.’19 After the time frame is established, the events can be narrated in a
canonical manner.
Besides, locative phrases can also be found. They always set the spatial
background for the event scene presentation and bring the audience to the news field
where the events in the section take place. Here is an instance beginning with a
19 In fact, no matter where the main news events are placed (i.e., at the beginning of the news body or
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a
tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
locative phrase.
(12)
13. Anchor: ..見不到母親最後一面,_
14. ..也是難過得痛哭.\
15. Reporter: ..>案發現場案發現場案發現場案發現場拉起了封鎖線,_
16. ..死者身中七刀,_
17. ..失血過多沒有生命跡象,_
18. ..>老母親趕到沒能夠見女兒最後一面,_
19. ..難過得痛哭.\
Anchor: The old woman cried sadly because she could never see her daughter anymore.
Reporter: The accident scene is cordoned off. The dead woman has seven wounds on her body and no sign of life due to blood loss. Her mother hurried to the scene and cried because she would never her daughter again.
(# 4, CTI) In the above example, the locative phrase anfaxianchang 案發現場 ‘the accident
scene’ initiates the event scene presentation section. Its main function is to establish
the background against which the events in the section take place. For example, both
events, the death being due to blood loss (IUs 16-17) and the old lady crying bitterly
(IUs 18-19) take place at anfaxianchang 案發現場 ‘the accident scene.’
Aside from linguistic markers, 20% of the news bodies are marked by only shot
shift and speaker shift. The abrupt shift is a strong indicator of discourse discontinuity.
In the following example, the news body is initiated by a video clip in which an old
lady cried because of her son’s death.
The end of news kernel
Event scene presentation Level 1 marker
‧
Anchor: It becomes an important clue to solving the case.
Old lady: How can I live?
Reporter: The old lady leaned on the sofa and cried bitterly.
(# 3 ET-Today) In the excerpt, IUs 5-6 are the end of the news kernel and IUs 7-9 are the beginning of
the news body. The news body begins with a shot shift and a speaker shift. The
presentation of an old lady crying lasts for about six seconds. With such a conspicuous
change of speaker and shot, the audience will notice the beginning of a new unit.