The “meta-frame” of discourse frames: Reflections based on “New Speech Act Analysis”

ZHANG Hongqian & HU Fanzhu

Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice ›› 2025, Vol. 196 ›› Issue (4) : 1.

Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice ›› 2025, Vol. 196 ›› Issue (4) : 1.

The “meta-frame” of discourse frames: Reflections based on “New Speech Act Analysis”

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Abstract

The so-called “discourse frame” is a kind of inner meaning structure constructed by “discourse events”, and it is the “overall meaning” embedded either within texts or across intertextual spaces. While individual “discourse events” presents a series of different specific “discourse frames”, is there a “meta-frame”behind it—a fundamental framework that all “discourse events” inevitably engage with? Based on the theory of “New Speech Act Analysis”, this paper proposes an analytical pathway to examine discursive “meta-frame ”  through the dynamic interplay of Subject - Context - Intention - Text - Rules. Building upon this “meta-frame”, we may construct analytical frameworks emphasizing respectively “speech subjects”, “contextual parameters”, “intention typologies”, “textual processes”, “rule systems”; we may construct analytical frameworks primarily focused on dyadic relationships such as“subject-context”, “subject-intention”, “subject-text”, “subject-rules” and so on; we also may construct analytical frameworks integrating triadic interactions including “subject-context-intention”, “subject-text-intention” and so on. Furthermore, discourse frame analysis should neither rigidly adhere to any specific research approach, nor neglect the need to construct an awareness of “meta-frame”.

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framing theory / discourse frames / discursive meta-frames / New Speech Act Analysis

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ZHANG Hongqian & HU Fanzhu. The “meta-frame” of discourse frames: Reflections based on “New Speech Act Analysis”[J]. Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice. 2025, 196(4): 1

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