National Image Construction in Speech from Perspective of a Systemic Functional Linguistics

Abstract

This paper takes the speech (the English version) at the opening ceremony of the 2021 CIIE as data, uses the corpus tool to retrieve the discourse keywords and combines the three meta-functions of Systemic Functional Linguistic. It aims to reveal the national image construction in speech translation from four aspects of transitivity in Ideational function, mood and modality in Interpersonal function, and theme in Textual function. Through the analysis, it is found that in the English version of this speech, China is created as a sharer of economic achievements, a promoter of global openness and cooperation, and a contributor to the world economic development from four aspects: material and relational process, declarative and imperative moods, and median and high modality, and theme.