Association and dissociation

Table 2.15 shows that the Chinese actors are dissociated at 30%, compared to the American, European, Indian, Japanese, and the world participants that are dissociated at 10%, 5%, 5%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. The Chinese and the world actors are associated with each other at a frequency of 5% each, while all the other actors are associated at a rate of 0%.

The following two examples illustrate the dissociation between the Chinese and American actors:

• 1. China, America and the yuan: Over to you, China B7C
• 2. China and USA: Not exactly eve to eve B9C

In B7C, for instance, the dissociation of the social actors is realised through parataxis, i.e. the placing of clauses one after another, without words to

58 Damien Ng

Table 2.15 Association/dissociation in frequency and percentage (The Economist)

indicate coordination or subordination. The phrase ‘China, America and the yuan’ in the first clause introduces the key actors in the discourse, followed by ‘over to you, China’ in the second clause. This has the effect of foregrounding the American expectation that it is time for China to do something about its currency. The use of parataxis to realise the dissociation between China and the United States is also evident in B9C, where the first clause ‘China and USA’ brings both countries to the attention of the readers for the first time, followed by the phrase ‘not exactly eye to eye’ in the second clause. Derived from the antonym of the phrase ‘see eye to eye’, which means to be in full agreement, the China-US bilateral relations are depicted to be antagonistic since both countries do not share the same opinion with each other. Here are the examples of the dissociation between the Chinese and European/Indian/ Japanese actors:

• 1. Europe and an inscrutable China B3C
• 2. China and India: Contest of the century B12C
• 3. Japan as number three: Watching China whizz bv B13C

In B3C, for instance, China is depicted to be dissociated from Europe through the use of the adjective ‘inscrutable’, which comes from the root word ‘to scrutinise’, that describes a China that is impossible for Europe to fathom and to understand. B12C and B13C show that China is dissociated from India and Japan through the portrayal of a China engaged in competition with India to attain a position of power and Japan for economic dominance, respectively. Particularly for В13C, the use of the number ‘three’ to denote Japan’s new hierarchy in comparison to China in the global economy shifts the focus onto China’s economic outperformance vis-a-vis Japan. As Van Dijk (2006, p. 738) explains, numbers can be used to enhance credibility and emphasise objectivity. In addition to China’s dissociation with the four major global players - the United States, Europe, India, Japan - portrayed in the five headlines listed above, the following example shows a combination of association and dissociation - within the same headline - between the Chinese and world participants at 5% each:

1. China’s place in the world: Friends, or else B20C

Parataxis is used to achieve association/dissociation, where ‘China’s place in the world’ in the first clause prepares the readers for what is to come: China and its position, role or even hierarchy in the world. This is followed by the phrase ‘friends, or else’ in the second clause, which serves as a warning or threat for those who are portrayed not to accept China’s role in the new world order (dissociation), and an offer of friendship to those who are depicted as accepting China’s role (association). This is in line with Van Dijk’s (1995, p. 156) explanation that warning is one of the discursive strategies employed to emphasise possible threats and terror created by the Others.