Critical Discourse Analysis of Dana Nuccitellis Writing on Global Warming in 2017

Ever wondered what it is about those writers who can make someone sneak a book into class and read it all through that arithmetic class? Or a book chapter that sends someone banging the book on the wall only to pick it up again and continue reading it? Or blogging sites that gets one hooked up to every article posted? What of those speeches that tend to move the masses to the intended direction? Well, critical discourse analysis is just the right antidote to these mind-boggling questions. Critical discourse analyzes a branch of linguistics that, through grammar, helps us analyze and understand the hidden ideologies that influence readers views and opinion about the world around them. Prominently used to analyze media texts, CDA deploys the use of stylistic features to bring out the meaning and poetic effects in literary texts. This essay, therefore, seeks to analyze Dana Nuccitellis writing on global warming using the CDA toolkit.

Dana Nuccitelli is an environmental blogger for The Guardian in the United Kingdom. His articles major on the dynamic environment and nature. His recent article on global warming, Nuccitelli expresses the allure in his title- 2017 has been the second hottest year in the annals of climate change ever documented. This not only leaves his readers, in shock about the reality of living in such an endangered time but also pokes the interest of his readers by making his audience wonder which year was the hottest then if 2017 is the second-hottest. Level of language and tone: although scientifically oriented, this article is vocabulary friendly and uses simple sentences with a few scientific facts to back up the report. A mature language for an intellect mind, this article features some covet humor amidst the report. In retrospect, Dana brings up the recent Senate committee meeting where Americas energy secretary purported that global warming arises from natural occurrences. No Rick Perry, the oceans arent to blame features as a subheading with a video showing Rick Perry. The hidden motive of this has humor sandwiched onto scientific reports. He also states thats a clear hypothesis to test while referencing to Ricks sentiments. In short, Dana implicitly points out on the lack of knowledge that an energy secretary state (rick precisely) displays ignorantly publicly. Metaphorically, he compares the temperature differences between several different years to bring out the desired outcome- global warming is serious. The language he aptly uses is appropriate for any audience and bears no discriminatory or bias utterances (Nuccitelli). Repetition is also a widely used style in this piece. Dana occasionally uses the words extinction and high temperatures to emphasize on the effects of this gory climatic change.

Context and intention of utterance: the article focuses on the drastic climatic changes that have been keeping Nasa scientists and the human species in befuddlement on their fate as a result of global warming. The article aims to stir joint effort from readers in combating globalization caused by the human species. Explained in-depth, Danas use of comparative and superlative adverbs to highlight the effects of globalization, for the audience of course. In one section of his writings, Dana deploys statistical records together with emphasis to grab the readers attention on the seriousness of the matter. Written, the earths temperature is rising twenty times faster than the natural temperature. Also, he states that if carbon pollution is not rate goes uncontrolled, temperatures could rise 50 times than the earths natural temperature. This although true (in scientific terms) aims to galvanize or exaggerate (hyperbole at its best) his readers with the reality of the pending doom that awaits them if pollution goes unstopped. The context in this piece is climate change. He speaks of the detrimental effects of global warming on the earth, humans and other living organisms. He aims to debunk myths lurking about this phenomenon. He uses his writing to bring out the context of human encroachment on the once pure earth. Man in Danas writing is regarded as the culprit for increasing the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. He intends to drive the message home that no other organism in the entire universe is to blame for the absurdly high temperatures. Another context Dana uses to propel or illustrate humanitys Damnation is the way he expresses doom and offers solutions for hope. Todays remarkably high temperatures, he states, are a sure sign of what is to inflict the human species. He further asserts this doom by explaining that no place on the earths surface can escape this tragedy. He then offers an ember of hope by illustrating that although humanity is faced with a tragic, life-threatening phenomena; cutting down the use of carbon seems to escape route for our salvation (Fairclough)

Notions of the audience: Dana is well aware of his target audience and just serves the proper recipe for his audience. His audience being the anti-global proponents who argue that global warming shouldnt be an alarming issue, Dana directs his contradictions to them. His audience could be the ordinary man going about his daily activities oblivious to the looming danger that climatic changes. He also targets the energy department in the United States for misleading the public on global information. Further, the journalist uses naming as a technique in his writing. Climate deniers is a word he uses to refer to the anti-global warming movement. This not only implies that this group of people deny the truth about global warming but also implicitly suggests that this mentioned group refutes/ denies scientific findings. We all know how denial in a situation, lets say a bad break up, is depicted. It lends credence to a false sense belief. And this is exactly what this writer uses to convince its readers that climate change is an imminent danger and should not be ignored as climate deniers proclaim. Who then, would listen or read news by a bunch of people living in denial?

Dana also uses graphs and other related drawings to emphasize on global warming rates. On the graphs, an emphasis is laid on the dotted part of 2017 to show just how intense the situation at hand is. Highlighted by circling and in red, Dana does not only grab his readers attention; he instills fears into his audience to elicit a change of heart from humanity. Critical discourse analysis not only helps understand meanings, but this linguistic toolbox also helps learners detect hidden language and strategies in texts or writing.

Works cited

Fairclough, Norman. "Critical discourse analysis." (2013): xx-xxiii.

Fairclough, Norman. Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Routledge, 2013.

Nuccitelli, Dana, et al. "Comment on Ocean heat content and Earths radiation imbalance. II. Relation to climate shifts." Physics Letters A 376.45 (2012): 3466-3468.