A Return to Basics: Language as the Quintessential Building Block of Meaning Generation

This chapter outlines linguistic and theoretical foundations of a volume titled Meaning generation in Chinese official media discourse. Rooted in contributions to the 17th International Pragmatics Association Conference (2021), the chapter highlights the need to re-centre language in the analysis of meaning-making within China’s state media. It briefly surveys key theoretical approaches used throughout the volume—including Linguistic Pragmatics, Discourse-Historical Approach, and Conceptual Metaphor Theory—and frames the chapters as investigations into how official Chinese discourse strategically constructs meaning to reinforce state narratives. The chapter positions the volume as a linguistically grounded contribution to understanding how discourse power (话语权) is exercised through varied media forms and contexts in the People's Republic of China.