PRESS IN THE TIME OF DUTERTE: POLITICAL PARTISANSHIP
IN THE LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF SELECTED ONLINE NEWS
INTRODUCTION:
Ideology is defined by Storey (2013) as “a systematic body of ideas articulated by a particular
group of people.” For Kress (1985), “ideologies...find their clearest articulation in language.”
Therefore, linguistic texts are ideological in nature as humans who create them, subconsciously or
intentionally, implant their ideas in them. Henceforth, the notion of ideology also suggests distortion
and manipulation of the truth in pursuit of specific interests (Fairclough, 1995).
For Jalbert (1983), the media play an important role in the production of ideology. The
ideological nature of media shows, according to Corner (1983), in the construction of news texts and
determines their contents to a large extent. Van Dijk (1988) supports this claim by suggesting that
news articles inevitably contain only a point of view or angle. Fowler (1987) argued against the
possibility for a neutral representation of reality as ideological state apparatuses like the media
mediate reality. The principle of objectivity in journalism is thus an illusion as news is always
politically biased in nature. News should no longer be seen as a mirror a reality but a construction of
reality (Tuchman, 1978). Opinions permeate news articles, though not explicitly but rhetorically,
through the use of what Hayakawa (1978) called as slanting or the one-sided selection of details.
In the current Philippine setting, it is posited that the Duterte administration has made
political partisanship apparent particularly in online news platforms that dramatically changed news
consumption for their instantaneity, multimodality, interactivity, and hypertextuality (Kammer,
2013).According to its website, Rappler is “a social network where stories inspire community
engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change.” It is founded by Maria Ressa who was
targeted by the government for lawsuit and arrest, and is presently an outspoken critic of the
Duterte government, particularly in fact-checking as a fight against fake news (Ellis-Petersen, 2019).
On the other hand, in a news report by CNN (dated June 7, 2017), the National Union of Journalists
of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) listed fake
news websites which include Asian Policy and Pinoy Trending News (PTN). These aforementioned
websites, Rappler, Asian Policy, and PTN were chosen by the analyst to represent political
partisanship in news articles. Two articles were selected from Rappler. One is written by Cepeda
(published September 3, 2018) and is about Vice President LeniRobredo of the oppositionist Liberal
Party’s argument not “rape exists because of rapists.” The other is authored by Ranada (published
March 15, 2019) and is about Duterte’s orders to Manila Water and Maynilad to “release water”
from Angat Dam in response to the Metro Manila water shortage. On the other hand, Asian Policy
has a version of the first news topic (undated and with anonymous author) while PTN has its spin
on the second (dated March 15, 2019 with anonymous author). It is interesting to know the
differences of these websites in presenting information.
Generally, the aim is to analyzehow lexico-grammatical forms of online news carry loaded
meanings to perform their function of conveying political subjectivities. Specifically, the analyst is
interested to:
 Explain how online news unify form, meaning, and ideological function in their
subsentential level
 Discuss how grammatical features of online news make sense and achieve ideological
purpose in the sentential level
 Examine the stylistic intricacies of online news in the suprasentential level
SUBSENTENTIAL LEVEL
1. Number of Words in Headline
Van Dijk (1988) talked about the significance of headline in providing a clear understanding
of what the article is all about. However, the aspect of clarity is now joined by the element of human
interest as another consideration in headline writing. Chen, Conroy, and Rubin (2015) noted how a
headline can lure readers into opening the article, such headline known as a click-bait
(Blom&Haisen, 2015).
Clarity and human interest are both contingent on headline length. 7-12 words is generally
the averagenumber of words in a headline (Mardh, 1980; Worrell, 2016; Kuiken et al., 2018). Rappler
complies with this rule as seen in the following headlines:
Duterte orders Manila Water, Maynilad to 'release water' from Angat Dam
Robredo: Rape exists because of rapists, not beautiful women (9 words)
Compare these headlines to the respective headlines of PTN and Asian Policy:
(11 words)
PRRD gives ultimatum, tells MWSS to demand water utilities to release water at noon today,
or hold them accountable
(PTN) (19 words)
Leni's impeccable logic! Robredo to Duterte: Rape exists because of rapists
(Asian Policy)
(11 words)
PTN violates the headline length (to the extent that it is a four-line headline in its layout in
the site). It is overloaded with numerous verbs (“gives ultimatum”, “demand”, “release” and “hold
them accountable”) in its attempt to establish the logical result (the releasing of water) of PRRD’s
demand and toconvey as well in a redundant manner the strong will of the president in these
multiple active verbs. Asian Policy has 11 words also in its headline yet it can be culled by removing
the sarcastic and unnecessary adjective phrase, “Leni’s impeccable logic.”
2. Use of Loaded Words
Loaded words are terms that has emotional connotation or value judgment which
manipulate one’s thinking without being conscious of it (Greetham, 2013). In cases of news articles,
adverbs, adjectives, highly specific active verbs, and associated nouns are loaded words. These
loaded words can be found in every sampled article in this analysis as seen below:
Lexicon/Word Choice
Meaning
“...President has issued an ultimatum...”
Final demand
“...to demand the water companies...”
To insistently request
“...to release water by noon...”
Set free
“...hold the public official accountable...”
Consider for blame and/or repercussions for being
answerable to a fault
“...hold
MWSS,
Mayniladliable...”
Manila
Water,
and
Consider for blame and/or repercussions for being
answerable to a fault
“...Duterteordered Manila Water and
Commanded
Maynilad...”
“...Chief Executive’s directive...”
Official and/or authoritative instruction
“...failure to comply with his order”
Follow or meet specific standards
These loaded words that demonstrate the subjection of object to threatening force of
authority/positional power of the active agent which is President Duterte. Moreover, loaded words
are specifically chosen and used to evoke emotions as observed below:
Lexicon/Word Choice
Meaning
“...netizens who showered
Denotation:
PRRD with praises and
sprayed
Function
rained,
- “showered” through its denotation
functions as thematic link to news
thank yous.”
about water shortage and through its
Connotation:
give
an
abundance of (as evoked
through
imagery
connotation serve purpose of saying
the plethora of supporters of PRRD
of
“raindrops”
Redundant
expression
of
warm
approval, also expression of support
Expressions
of
warm
approval
and
indebtedness,
“thank
yous”
instead of “thanks” as more intimate
and appealing
“...
can
be
released
to
Afflicted
affected residents of Metro
Evocation of pity due to the ceasing
of people’s regular business
Manila and Rizal...”
“...made
another
controversial joke...”
“Leni’simpeccable logic!”
“...women should not be
Likely to give rise to
Evocation of recency and curiosity on
public disagreement
what the joke is
Perfect
Sexual assault; forced sex
Sarcastic, an insult to Leni’s logic
Recurring in the articles and not even
blamed for being raped...”
replaced by the term “abused” which
is more generic; writer wants to
maintain specific kind of abuse which
evokes images and arouses cathartic
emotions of pity, fear, and anger
Word choices are not arbitrary. They are purposive to attain a certain desired effect of
heightened emotion through appealing to the emotional values of the target reader.
3. Speech Verbs
As already mentioned earlier, word choices are purposive. This includes the usage of
reporting/speech verbs that indicate the manner in which an utterance is expressed in replacement
with the common and neutral “said” (Bell, 1991). Such speech verbs function to amplify the
message and establish power relations.
Lexicon/Word Choice
Meaning
Function
“Panelo had raised the possibility that
Suggested,
Evocation of a probable idea, in this
the water shortage is “artificial,”....”
speculated
case, an accusation
“... Paneloannounced the Chief
Broadcasted,
Evocation of mass awareness that
Executive's directive...”
publicized
also calls forth public need
“Robredo, however, stressed that the
emphasized
Evocation of full conviction
“Robredo reminds President Rodrigo
Refreshes, makes
As transitive verbs, they emphasize
Duterte...”
one remember
the expert power of subject over
issue...”
object
“...Robredocorrected President...”
Put right by
marking errors
“...condemned statements that pin
Shows strong
Indicates strong disapproval; note
the blame on women...”
disapproval
that one who condemns is powerful
“...congratulate the rapist...”
Praise for
Indicates strong approval; note that
achievement
the object of congratulation is
treated as heroic
Generally, these speech verbs elicit emotional response, and in a more in-depth perspective
grant a degree of power to the person to whom these action words are associated.
4. Attribution to Presidency
The analyst was able as well to observe the repetitive attribution to presidency for purpose
of emphasizing the position occupied by Duterte, another form of evoking his authority. The words
“PRRD” (which means President Rodrigo RoaDuterte, one of the terms used by the supporters
which noticeably contains the full name of their respected president) and the generic “The
President” are used. Nonetheless, the subsequent screenshots from PTN prove the point of paying
too much homage to the president:
In this case, the term “President” is mentioned thrice in just a single paragraph instead of
using pronouns. Repetition of a word is unusual in a journalistic paragraph for journalism as an
exposition takes pride in economy of words possible to replace a single word. This repetition can be
argued to originate from Panelo’s actual statement below which avoids the use of pronouns to
prevent confusion (though the article is questionable in redundantly juxtaposing both the actual
statement of Panelo and a reported speech of Panelo’s statement).
All of these attributions to Duterte are in contrast to Rappler’s more often usageof
“Duterte” and pronouns” as shown below:
“Duterte said he would personally hold MWSS, Manila Water, and Maynilad liable for
failure to comply with his order.”
“...if Duterte is aware of the situation or if he does not believe...”
“...Duterte defended his recent rape remark...”
“Duterte said he frowned...”
One possible theory on the constant use of “Duterte” by Rappler instead of titles is to
humanize the president, Duterte as a person and not a president. The presidential title is
downplayed. This appears probable since Rappler is an outspoken critic of the president.
Rappler’s references to “presidency” of Duterte are (1) necessarily found only in the lead and
(2) with relation to Malacañang which collocates better with “President” than a mere “Duterte” as
exemplified below:
“Malacañang sees no problem with the President's off-color remarks...”
4. Modifiers
One can notice the case of the noun phrase, “water shortage in Metro Manila” from
PTNvsRappler’s noun adjunct “Metro Manila and Rizal water shortage.” Although both indicate
location, the latter captures the greater scale/scope and gravity of the water shortage. Water shortage
is not just located but is defined by the geography.
PTN: Water shortage where? in Metro Manila (can be in selected areas only)
Rappler: What’s in [whole] Metro Manila and Rizal? Water shortage.
This discussion evokes the lesson on attributive vs predicative adjectives. Dunton and Kerr
(2005) stated that attributive adjectives are stronger than predicative adjectives as they provide a
notion of inherence to the modified noun. Quirk and Greenbaum (1973) agreed by noting how
attributive adjectives are amplifiers that have a general heightening effect, scaling upwards from an
assumed norm; in this case, “Metro Manila and Rizal water shortage” means it is not an ordinary
water shortage, not a barangay level but a more extreme one.
Aside from placement of adjectives, the choice of adjectives is also an issue in news writing.
Asian Policy and Pinoy Trending News have a plethora of adjectives and adverbs, some unclear and
can be omitted, that obviously function to express positive opinions on Duterte. Note that these
modifiers are not found in direct quotes thus calling attention to the news reporter himself/herself
in the way he/she wrote the article. They are listed below along some parenthetical notes:
“Whether this is deliberate or not...”
“But one thing is certain...”
“...showed the public once again...” (to denote consistency of greatness)
“...a decisive President who knows exactly...”
(mentioned thrice in the entire article)
“...he was again misunderstood (to denote consistency of victimization)
“...announced just today...”
(to connote decisiveness)
“...release water by noon today...”
“...past noon today, they already...”
“...action...has been well appreciated...”
“...President is...aware and concerned...”
“A few days ago...”
(unclear and not specific)
“...impeccable logic!”
Rappler’s articles have adjectives and adverbs too but:
(1) they are quantifiable and specific (“...effective noontime, March 15...”, “...water level is
low...”, “critical point”)
(2) they are from statements of interviewees (“artificial” from Panelo’s statement and
“many beautiful women there” and “apparently in the hands...” from Duterte),
(3) they are collocated not with Duterte (“responsible officers”, “affected areas”,
“sufficient water”, “serious matter”), and
(4) they are used sparingly (In an apparent bid...”, “...not clear if Duterte is aware...”,
“merely exercising”).
5. Verb Tenses
Verb tenses are manipulated by the sampled articles to present a specific angle.
Form
“Manila Water is trying to tap...”
(Rappler)- present progressive
Meaning
Action still in progress
Function
Functions in defense of
Manila Water
“...Manila Water and Mayniladhave
been
releasing...”
Action still in progress
(Rappler)–
Functions in defense of two
water companies
present perfect progress
“...Dutertehas
issued...
(PTN)-
Action already happened in
Conveying
the past but is emphasized
accomplishment
in the present
decisive action
“...decisive action...has been well
Action already happened in
Conveying
appreciated...”
the past but is emphasized
accomplishment
in the present
decisive action
present perfect tense
(PTN)-
present
perfect tense
a
a
sense
of
for
a
sense
of
for
a
6. Informality
PTN’s informality is conspicuous in its usage of first person pronoun (we) to involve reader
with writer’s viewpoints (“we have a decisive president”) and figures of speech (“used as a weapon,”
“crack his whip,” “put in bad light,” and “showered”) to animate news in favour of someone. These
informal nuances are observed usually in literary writing, not in journalistic reporting.
7. A Case of Different Versions
One direct speech about Robredo’s claim on rape has two versions.
“It should not be used to disrespect each Filipino,” Robredo said. (Asian Policy)
(...it should not be used to disrespect Filipinas.) (Rappler)
The latter is more accurate than the former. The issue of rape is deemed by the writer to be
‘more sensitive’ for Filipinas than each Filipino who has different sensibilities.
8. Inter-sentence Connectors
Inter-sentence connectors also reveal through their function the structured argumentation of
a news writer. Look at the following excerpts:
“...we have a decisive President who knows exactly when to crack his whip to get
results for the general welfare of the people.
In fact, Malacañang spokesman...” (PTN)
In fact is used to reinforce something to what has been previously said. In this case, In fact
is used to introduce the evidence of Duterte’s ‘decisiveness.’
...Duterte has issued an ultimatum...Otherwise, the President will personally give
them a visit.”
Otherwise is used to show contrast, yet in this case the contrast occurs through a
deliberative rhetoric, between the present and the future– the consequence of not complying with
the president’s order in the present. This creates a sense of foreboding threat to MWSS.
“Duterte said he would personally hold MWSS, Manila Water, and Maynilad liable
for failure to comply with his order.
However, Manila Water and Maynilad have been releasing...”
In this excerpt, the writer defends the two water companies by stating what Duterte is not
aware of.
"Hindi konamansinabingrinapelahat 'yan (I didn't say all of them were raped).... And this
is democracy. Freedom of expression," said the President.
But for Robredo, freedom of speech should not be used to disrespect women.
(Rappler)
“ ”...For as long as there are many beautiful women, there are plenty of rape cases as
well,” Duterte said...
Robredo, however, stressed...” (Asian Policy)
In the above excerpts, the writers refuteDuterte’s claim using Robredo’s.
SENTENTIAL LEVEL
1. Direct and Indirect Speeches
Quotations and indirect speeches endow credibility to a news article by signalling
truthfulness; the reader also somewhat appreciates the professional data gathering effort of the
journalist through these specific elements of a news article. Furthermore, Pajumen (2008) also said
that they make a news article livelier, more colorful, more varied, and most importantly, more
authentic. Furthermore, Pajumen (ibid) added that the use of quotations and indirect speech is a
practical way of showing neutrality and impersonality. It is assumed that the reporter gathered data
via interview thus the words in his/her article is not purely his/hers.
Ambivalently, the decisions in using direct and/or indirect speeches are purposive and
flawed with the issue of manipulating truth. These speeches allow, according to Pajumen, the
reporter to include opinions yet still appear objective as he is simply reporting what someone else
said. Jukanen (1995) states that the use of quotations is a way of relieving the reporter from
responsibility.
Fairclough (1995) suggested that there is uncertainty in indirect speech as to whose words,
the reporter’s or the source’s, are represented.Indirect speeches, one has to recall, are already
wordings and translations of the reporter. In indirect speeches, the readers are already just receiving
a constructed version of reality.
This does not make however a direct speech more credible since Tuchman (1972) noted that
direct speeches are purposively selected to have other people say what the reporter actually thinks.
Caldas-Coulthard (1994) also thought that reporters only quote or include those which they deem as
significant and which serve their ideological aims. Selectivity in quoting is thus a dialectic of
inclusion and exclusion, of giving and silencing voices.
Examples from the sampled text are provided below:
“To borrow Maria Ressa’s words, the water shortage in Metro Manila has been
effectively used as a weapon to put the Duterte government in a bad light.” (PTN)
One has to doubt: where are the exact words of Ressa? Note: the analyst attempted to find a
statement of Ressa that resonates the same idea, but found nothing.
“Duterte said he frowned upon child rape but joked that if the victim happened to
be "Miss Universe," he would even congratulate the rapist for committing the crime
knowing he would "die," apparently in the hands of a lynch mob.” (Rappler)
Here, two indirect speeches are purposefully juxtaposed by the writer to contradict each
other and interpretatively convict Duterte as a ‘hypocrite.’ They are both indirect speeches, and not
direct speeches, since they are mere backgrounding to Duterte’s current statements on rape and
since the original are written in the native tongue and are thus too sensitive. Direct speeches/original
quotations are typically imitated, so Rappler opted to use indirect speech so that imitability is
rendered impossible.
“It's not clear if Duterte is aware of the situation or if he does not believe that Angat
Dam's water level is low. The other day, Panelo had raised the possibility that the
water shortage is "artificial," after receiving information that while Angat Dam is
currently at a low level, it has not yet reached the critical point.” (Rappler)
Only one exact word from Panelo’s statement is maintained—”artificial.” This method of
emphasizing via quote a word, a phrase, or a clause to connote the “so-called” is known as scare
quoting. Pajumen (2008) noted that the effect of this scare quote is to put into scrutiny, question,
and undermine the enclosed word/clause since it is taken out of its broader linguistic
context/source. Emphasis is put into this term. Panelo’s doubt on the low level of Angat Dam is
highlighted in cohesion with its preceded sentence, and Rappler thus interrogates why Panelo
conceives the water shortage as “artificial.”
2. Embedded Clauses
Van Dijk (1988) noted that sentences in news text tend to contain embedded clauses with of
course different functions. Argumentation is given not only through direct quoting but also in these
embedded clauses in reported speeches.
For instance, modal phrases for obligation permeate the sentences of news articles about
Duterte’s rape joke.
“Robredo...stressed that the issue should be taken seriously as women should not be blamed
for being raped.”(Asian Policy)
Notice how the sentence could end in that already opinionated, italicized, and independent
clause yet another opinionated clause is inserted by making it appear that Robredo’s statement
consists of two opinions. Opinions, signalled by modals, also appear in the article of Rappler about
Leni’s stand against rape.
“...Robredo reminds...Duterte that rape is a serious matter and victims should not be
blamed.” (Rappler)
“...for Robredo, freedom of speech should not be used to disrespect women.” (Rappler)
Embedding of nominal clauses, relative clauses, and prepositional phrases fulfill
completeness of details, gives logical sequence of information and provide a backgrounding.
One sentence from the PTN news article can be reduced into this: “Crisis showed public a
President.” Yet it extended by filling details that answer the following unnecessary questions: “Crisis
showed public (what thing?) a President (what kind of President?)”. The whole sentence is now this:
“But one thing is certain, crisis like this showed the public once again that we have a decisive President
who knows exactly when to crack his whip to get results for the general welfare of the people.” Through embedded
clauses and phrases, the publicly is insignificantly given positive descriptions of the president.
The same verbosity is observable in this sentence: “In fact, Malacañang spokesman Sec.
Salvador Panelo announced just today that President Duterte has issued an ultimatum to the MWSS,
to demand the water companies to release water by noon today for 150 days.”
Through the use of the prepositional phrases, relationship among the pieces of information
was established. One understands the hierarchy through the organizational flow of the sentence:
from Duterte to MWSS to water companies. Duterte ordered MWSS to order water companies. The
compression of these facts into one sentence overwhelms a reader like a warning notice with the last
two prepositional phrases (by noon today for 150 days) as conditions. No new sentences are created to
divide this complex sentence. All information are important to be in one sentence to create a
wholeness of meaning: submission to authority.
3. Power Dynamics in Theme and Rheme
Word order, done through theme and rheme (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999),
reveals interesting power dynamics in the news articles.
Responding to...Duterte’s recent rape remark, Vice President LeniRobredo
stressed...” (Asian Policy)
It is noteworthy to mention that although the subject of the sentence is Robredo, she
remains as a rheme being subjected to interpretation by the theme that uses a participial phrases and
features Duterte. Robredo is therefore cast by the writer as ‘inferior’ since she is merely reacting to
Duterte.
“...Duterte’s decisive action...has been well appreciated by netizens...” (PTN)
Robredo’s constructed ‘inferiority’ in the previous example is inversely related to this
excerpted statement above. Although Duterte is an object in this passive voice sentence, the
president’s positioning in the theme is deliberate in making him a recipient of something positive, in
this case, praise. If one will use the active voice,“netizens” becomes the theme and agent who acts
upon Duterte. In this case, it is better to underscore Duterte as a recipient than the netizens being
the givers since the article is about support to Duterte.
4. Active and Passive Voice
The choice of sentential voice also reveals interesting power relations. Active voice
constructions situate subjects as more powerful agents than objects, in this case, Robredo over
Duterte. Examples are given below:
“...Robredo corrected...Duterte...”
“Robredo reminds...Duterte...”
“Leni stressed that the issue...”
Passive constructions, however, conceal an unidentified subject(Celce-Murcia & LarsenFreeman, 1999), and stages a narrative of a ‘victim’ for evoking pity.
“...the water shortage in Metro Manila has been effectively used as a weapon to put
the government in a bad light.”
“...he was again misunderstood...”
The following questions can be raised in the abovementioned passive constructions: Who is
using the water shortage in Metro Manila to put the government in a bad light?
Who is
misunderstanding Duterte? The constructions are dubious. It cannot pinpoint someone who is
accountable for the aforesaid faults.
SUPRASENTENTIAL LEVELS
1. Backgrounding
Backgrounding is done through relative clauses, prepositional phrases, and participial
phrases. Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999) noted how backgrounding supports a foreground
or a main storyline. The background provides interpretative context to which understanding the
foregrounding becomes possible.
“...Duterte made another controversial joke in light of the reported rise in rape
cases in his hometown, Davao City.” (Asian Policy)
“In an apparent bid to resolve the Metro Manila and Rizal water shortage,
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered...” (Rappler)
Responding to...Duterte’s recent rape remark, Vice President LeniRobredo
stressed...” (Asian Policy)
Such minor clauses clarify how to interpret the major clause. In the first, one can infer that
there are already previous news articles on rape cases in Davao City thus implying that the current
article is part of this narrative that readers follow. The term “another” also means that Duterte
already made similar jokes on rape. The second example is related with the notion of theme-rheme
in which the theme, the point of departure of the message provides interpretative framework for
what follows or the rheme (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999). The article of Rappler is
therefore about the reaction of Duterte on the water shortage, a textual continuation of the narrative
of water shortage. The third excerpt also applies the notion of theme and rheme more clearly,
Robredo responding to Duterte.
Backgrounding is one way also of rendering ethos (credibility) to the character/person in a
news article, done either by the use of noun phrase or relative clause.
“....said Robredo, an advocate for women empowerment...” (Rappler)
“The Vice President, who was a human rights lawyer before joining politics,...”
These intervening clauses modify the subject of the sentence thus proving credentials for
Robredo to react about rape jokes.
2. Composition
As mentioned earlier, selectivity in quoting is a process of inclusion and exclusion, of giving
and silencing voices. Thus, the composition of a news article in terms of quotes tells whose story is
being told or defended.
For example, PTN’s article is bombarded by the redundancy of direct and indirect speech
for Panelo and Facebook comments but not a statement from MWSS who can explain their side as
seen in Rappler’s report. On the other hand, in both Rappler’sand Asian Policy’s article about the
president’s rape joke, Robredo has more statements than Duterte.
3. Omissions and Decontextualizations
Each pair of articles that deals with the same topic exhibits different particularly in omissions
and decontextualizations.
Panelo’s statement in PTN that “the President is aware and concerned of the sufferance of
the residents...” is omitted in Rappler’s report. PTN appeals to emotion using the said omitted
sentence, so that the people are going to take side with the president.Rappler prevented this pathos
for obvious reasons.
In Asian Policy, the quote from Robredo, “We have to protest. We know that’s not right.” is
decontextualized from the longer interview where it came from. One confused reader might ask,
protest from/for what? What is not right? This is different from Rappler’s clear and complete
statement:
“Speaking not just as a woman but as a human being, I think any statement blaming
a woman for getting raped is not funny. We have to protest against it.”
Similarly and recently, memes picking only Robredo’s “rape exists because of rapists” from
the interviewcirculated in the Internet as a click-bait and gained sarcastic comments and ridicules
due to its perceived redundancy. Readers of the said meme would not react in the same way if they
read the complete statement: “Rape exists because of rapists, not beautiful women.”
4. Narrative Structure
The structures of the selected online news were also scrutinized. PTN’s flow is of causation.
It jumped from Panelo’s statement on Duterte’s ultimatum to praises for how the president
heroically ‘saved the day.’ The causation is reductionist as it does not tell what the MWSS did, if they
really followed immediately Duterte’s order. Rappler’s version of news on the water shortage, flowed
from Panelo’s statement on Duterte’s ultimatum to excuses of MWSS to the reassuring future
actions of the water companies, mimicking that of an argumentative paper’s accusationcounterargument structure.
Asian Policy’s reportthough seemingly equal in presenting the sides ofRobredovsDuterte on
rapeis biased for the latter. Although it is about Robredo’s rebuke, it ended with Duterte’sdefense.
The article is supposed to be about the response of Robredo to Duterte. When Robredo already
said that Duterte exceeded his freedom of expression, Duterte at the last paragraph still defends
himself. Rappler’s articlewhich also presents two sides of the story onRobredovsDuterte on rape
remarksstarted with the former’s reaction to the latter, followed by Duterte’sdefense, then
historicizing Duterte’s rape remarks, and ended with a greater contextual battle with Malacañang’s
usual last resort (Duterte’s inherent manners) and the majority of Filipinos enjoyment of such
humor. The ending departs from the Robredo-Duterte debate and opens a new discussion for the
readers on the acceptability of Duterte’shumor.
4. Register and Mode
Based on observations on the lexicogrammatical and stylistic decisions they made, online
news writers purposefully produced politicized content to politicized readers in this age of highly
politically polarized nation.Reader stratification based on political partisanship and the great speed of
sharing content to be affiliated with the political partisan are very apparent in social media/online
and these determinants are where online news platforms capitalize. In its register, the online news
articles, most notably with PTN’s, manifest their appearance in social media through intertextuality
and use of informal language.
CONCLUSION:
In this highly polarized political landscape and digital age, it is significant to understand how
online news purposively and subconsciously manipulates its readers to reinforce existing and held
ideologies. In order to do this, one has to unravel how online news grammatically operate—that is
form, meaning, and function— in the subsentential, sentential, and suprasentential levels. Only then
that more informed news consumers will not be consumed by the news themselves.
Designing a Resignation Letter: A Lexicogrammatical Analysis
INTRODUCTION:
A negative letter delivers news that the audience does not want to hear, read, or receive.
Delivering negative news is never easy. Some people prefer their bad news to be direct and concise.
Others may prefer a less direct approach. However, thejob of delivering unwanted news remains
despite any approach used. Salerno (1987) pointed out that what makes both the delivery and
acceptance of negative news is the receiver’s (perceived) inability to separate the personal and the
professional. Therefore, most writers compose negative letters with a degree of extra caution.
Furthermore, what also affects the acceptance of negative message is whether the receiver
comes from a low-context culture or a high-context one. Klagge (2012) distinguishes the two. A
low-context culture is one that decodes messages from the words used to encode the message.
People from this culture are individualistic and fact-based. In other words those hailing from a lowcontext culture focus on “direct” communication as they do not value much relations and emotions.
A high-context culture is one that decodes messages from non-verbal and environmental clues.
Those who are part of this culture are collectivistic, relations-oriented, and value-based. In other
words people from a high-context culture prefer “indirect” communication as they are sensitive and
interested to establish and maintain relations. The creation of direct and indirect approaches stem
from this dichotomy.
VanBaren (2019) made a list of the 8C’s that should be present in a business letter: clarity,
conciseness, consideration, courteousness, concreteness, correctness, character, and cheerfulness.
(Some materials add “coherence” and “completeness.”) In terms of writing a negative business
letter, clarity and character clash. One would like get his/her negative message across, but is cautious
of losing face and hurting the receiver. On the other hand, keeping a good character through
sensitivity can even compromise clarity.
A resignation letter is an example of a negative letter. It is a bottom-up document which means
it is something than employee sends to his/her superior, thus making a resignation letter
considerably challenging. The analyst decided to examine two resignation letters based on the threedimensional grammatical framework proposed byCelce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999). It is
deduced that the samples are similar in their subsentential and sentential level but are different in
their suprasentential level, one using a direct approach and the other an indirect plan.
SUBSENTENTIAL LEVEL
1. Clarity and Completeness
Clarity and completeness are both observed by the two resignation letters in two ways. First,
both letters mentioned the date of effectivity of the writers’ resignation: “effective today, January 25,
2019” and “effective on 29 July 2017.”
Specificity of the date for the resignation’s effectivity is important for the receiver. First, the
date serves the mere purpose of keeping a record for the said resignation. Second, the date of
effectivity is needed to avoid confusion as the date of submitting the letter and the effectivity may be
different as seen in one of the samples. The third reason pertains to practicality; the superior uses
this date as a monitor for transitioning in which the resigning employee turns over all work
requisites he/she has to submit and in which a replacement is found, oriented, and trained.
Clarity is also established by observance of the resignation’s formality as seen in and “to
officially notify you” and“formal notice of my resignation.” Such phrases connote finality and
certainty of the person resigning.
2. Use of Present Perfect Tense
The two resignations letters are observed to use present perfect tense in some of their
sentences. Enumerated below are the instances of using the said verb tense:
It has been a genuine pleasure
The work has been challenging and productive, and I have thoroughly enjoyed
My experience with the company has been rewarding
“...has been my first full-time job and has been a venue for acquiring new skills”
...I have spent here...”
I have been persuaded
“...experiences I have acquired during these several months...”
According to Perfect English Grammar, present perfect tense is used to connect the past
and the present. One particular function is expressing finished actions. One finished action can be
of something immediate, sudden, or recent as exemplified by “I have been persuaded” (can be
conjugated into “I have just been persuaded”)to create a mood of gravitas to the excuse/situation of the
resigning employee. Furthermore, “have been” also means that acquaintances are convincing the
writer for a long time, and it is just recently that the writers succumbed to their opinion.
Furthermore, it is also stated that the finished action can be of life experience which means
actions or events that happened sometime during a person's life. One does not say when the
experience actually happened, and the person needs to be alive now. This proves true in expressions
such as “...I have spent here...”, “...experiences Ihave acquired...”, “...has been my first full-time job and has been a
venue for acquiring new skills”, “The work has been challenging and productive, and I have thoroughly enjoyed”,“It
has been a genuine pleasure” and “My experience with the company has been rewarding” in which the writer
recalls the distant past in relation to the present that is still going on, the past producing a lasting
result in the present, the past overlapping with the present. Such creates a sentimental effect to the
receiver that the writer values the past in this present condition/period and is currently thankful for
the past experiences.
3. Positive Words for the Company
Establishing character in business communicate on means being sensitive to the reader and
maintaining goodwill with him/her despite the negativity of the message that one transmits. One
way of adhering with this ‘rule’ is to perfume the letter with positive expressions towards the
company and the experiences with it.
For instance, the two writers felt “genuine pleasure,” “[are] exceedingly grateful,” and “thoroughly
enjoyed” in the company they are leaving, “appreciate” and “will value the time [they] spent [there],” “will miss
[their] associations,” and “wish the best” and “continued success” for the company. This set of words
pertains to the positive emotions the resigning writers had from the company. Apparently, one
cannot say something negative to the company; one cannot bite that feeds him/her, recalls an old
adage. One values a good closure.
Moreover, the two writers can be more specific in describing their experiences as “challenging
and productive” and “rewarding.” They even specifically thanked the company for “[the] first full-time job
and...[being a] venue for acquiring new skills and for developing existing ones” and “allowing [him/her] to serve
Citistore and providing [him/her] with this opportunity.”These descriptions and paying of gratitude are
significant for the superior who is interested to know (1) the experiences of his/her employee/s and
(2) the contributions the company gave to the growth of the employee.
4. Sympathizing and Remorseful Negative Words
The presence of positive words does not necessarily mean though that negative words are
utterly avoided in a negative business letter although they are fewer in number as compared to
positive words. Also, they are all collocated with the writer himself and not the company to express
sympathy and remorse about the hard decision he/she made. Negative expressions found in the
letters are “regret” and “apologize for any inconvenience.” An apology can serve the purpose of softening
the blow while expressing regret is sharing an equal negative feeling with the supposed emotion that
a resignation letter elicits and implies that the decision is difficult thus needs understanding.
SENTENTIAL LEVEL
1. Declarative Sentences
Though proposing an acceptability of the decision and implicitly requesting for
understanding, imperative sentences are sparingly used. The two resignation letters predominantly
contain declarative sentences. Declarative sentences are the most neutral of the sentence moods.
They are mere assertions and narrations of facts/reasons even if they literally mention emotions in
them. Professionalism and neglect of the personal are still observed in business communication even
when writing a negative letter where the emotion of the receiver is highly considered.
2. Elaborate Sentence Structures
The sentences in both resignations letters are elaborate in their structures; some are
compound, some are complex, while the others are kernel sentences extended by some clauses.
Examples of these elaborately structured sentences are given below with the kernel sentence
italicized:
I am exceedingly grateful for the privilege and opportunity to work with <company>
and for the many experiences I have acquired during these several months.
This position at <company> has been my first full-time job and has been a venue for
acquiring new skills and for developing existing ones.
Due to health concerns, and family matters, I have been persuaded to resign from this
position.
Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation from my position at
<company> as <job position>, effective on 29 July 2017.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may bring about.
And I wish the best for <company> in its future endeavors.
This letter is to officially notify you that I have no longer to continue my training and I am
resigning from the position of Assistant Store Manager trainee from Uno Factory
Outlet.
It is with both regret and anticipation that I submit this letter of resignation, effective
today, January 25, 2019.
It has been a genuine pleasure working for Citistore during these past few months.
The work has been challenging and productive, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my
managers and merchandisers.
My experience with the company has been rewarding and I appreciate the time I spent working
here.
Thank you again for allowing me to serve Citistore and providing me with this
opportunity.
The elaborativeness of these sentences can be traced from the letters’ compression of facts
to clarify and specify pertinent matters. Also, the communicative competence of the writers
manifests in their capability to write such elaborate sentence structures, one important and
praiseworthy trait in the professional/business world.
SUPRASENTENTIAL LEVEL
1. Direct vs Indirect Approach
As stated earlier in the introduction of this analysis, there are two approaches in delivering a
negative message: direct and indirect. In a direct approach, the letter starts immediately with the
negative information, followed by logical explanation, and ends with a constructive follow-up and a
friendly closing. One of the two letters adheres with this approach. The first paragraph clearly states
the negative information:
This letter is to officially notify you that I have no longer to continue my training and I am resigning
from the position of Assistant Store Manager trainee from Uno Factory Outlet. It is with both
regret and anticipation that I submit this letter of resignation, effective today, January 25, 2019.
According to the book, Business Communication for Success, in direct approach, it is assumed that
the reader highly values brevity. The possibility of misinterpretation is further reduced through this
plan.
On the other hand, the letter provides no explanation on the resignation. The same
reference believes that in a direct approach, among the four parts of the negative letter, the logical
explanation is the least important especially if the receiver assumes that resignations are acceptably
normal in a company. Thus, the letter proceeds instead on the constructive follow-up given below:
It has been a genuine pleasure working for Citistore during these past few months. The work has
been challenging and productive, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my managers and
merchandisers. I will miss my associations here. My experience with the company has been rewarding
and I appreciate the time I spent working here.
From the term itself, the constructive follow-up makes up for the preceded negative
message. In a resignation, this is done through recalling the contributions of the company to the
writer’s growth.
Lastly, the negative letter ends in a friendly closing as exemplified by the one below:
Thank you again for allowing me to serve Citistore and providing me with this opportunity. I wish the
organization continued success.
It does not only sum up the entire letter. It maintains goodwill through a positive futuristic
outlook for the company.
On the other hand, the other letter represents the indirect plan which distinguishes itself for
including an opening buffer. According to Salerno (1987), an opening buffer delays the coming of
the negative message while preparing as well the reader for its arrival. This opening buffer is
illustrated in the example below:
I am exceedingly grateful for the privilege and opportunity to work with <company> and for the
many experiences I have acquired during these several months. This position at <company> has
been my first full-time job and has been a venue for acquiring new skills and for developing existing
ones.
This opening buffer is in form of gratefulness and it sets the mood for the coming negative
message while providing as well a slight inkling on its arrival.
What also distinguishes the indirect plan, according to Business Communication in Success, is the
positioning of the negative message in the middle of the paragraph to soften its blow. In this case,
the three parts—the opening buffer, the logical explanation (written as a very short clause so that it
will not attract attention to itself), and the negative message—are compressed in a single paragraph.
The only critique that can be ascribed is the redundant last two sentences which resonate the
negative message. The said paragraph is shown below:
I am exceedingly grateful for the privilege and opportunity to work with <company> and for the
many experiences I have acquired during these several months. This position at <company> has
been my first full-time job and has been a venue for acquiring new skills and for developing existing
ones. Due to health concerns, and family matters, I have been persuaded to resign from this position.
Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation from my position at <company> as
<job position>, effective on 29 July 2017. I apologize for any inconvenience this may bring about.
Nevertheless, the resignation letter ends in the same note as the other as shown in its
friendly close-up:
I will always value the time I have spent here. And I wish the best for <company> in its future
endeavors.
2. Tenor
The choice of course of whether to use a direct or an indirect plan is contingent not only to
the type of company (subscribing to low-context culture or high-context culture) but also to what
Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999) called as tenor. Tenor is defined as the roles and
relationship between interlocutors.
It can be surmised based on the immediate effectivity of the resignation, lack of logical
explanation, and its apparent use of direct approach that there is a low-context culture in the
company. The writer of the directly planned resignation letter and the superior are not personally
close.
On the other hand, the writer of the indirectly planned resignation letter and his/her
superior are in a company with high-context culture. Providing a logical explanation, apologizing,
and using the indirect plan somewhat reveal that they share a tight work relations.
CONCLUSION:
The two resignation letters demonstrate the dilemma of business communication in
conveying a difficult and negative piece of information clearly and maintaining goodwill amidst and
despite this writing goal. Nevertheless, they are in unison in revealing the relationship between form,
meaning, and function in the three levels of grammatical operation, the suprasentential level setting
the huge difference. But if there is something one shall agree with, it is that one should not resign in
studying what is best to do in maintaining and establishing the equilibrium between clarity and
character.
Business communication for success: GVSU edition. (2017). Grand Valley State University Libraries,
Minnesota.
Celce-Murcia, M. &Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The grammar book: An ESL/EFL teacher’s
course (2nded.). USA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Klagge, J. (2012). Communicating in high-context and low-context cultures.
Perfect English Grammar (n.d.). When should I use the present perfect simple tense. Retrieved May
9, 2019 from https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-use.html
Salerno, D. (1987). An interpersonal approach to writing negative messages. Journal of
Advanced Composition, 6, 139-149
VanBaren, J. (2019, January 25). What are the 8 C's of a business letter?. Retrieved May 15, 2019
from https://bizfluent.com/info-8396664-8-cs-business-letter.html