Nominalizations: Application of Grammatical Metaphor in the News Articles of Bangladesh-China Relations

Abstract This study, within the framework of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, aims to find out the types of nominalization and their functions in the news articles of Bangladesh-China relations. Bangladesh established the diplomatic relation with China on 4 October 1975. Since then the BSS has shown great interest in the relationship between the two countries. By combining the qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper includes 140 news articles from the BSS on the topic (1975-2016). Grammatical Metaphor Theory is applied to identify the specific functions of nominalization in the news articles, which are calculated by the Wordsmith Tools. The findings show that process nominalization is the top-highest frequently metaphor (40.3%), while circumstance nominalization is the second-highest metaphor (35.8%). Further, relator nominalization is the third-highest metaphor (14.2%), while quality nominalization is the fourth-highest metaphor (8.4%). The lowest nominalization is entity nominalization, which is only 1.4%. The findings also show that process nominalization can increase the level of objectivity and conciseness of Bangladesh-China relations. By contrast, quality nominalization can increase the distance between the readers and the editors. Relator and entity nominalizations are rarely used in the news articles of the BSS. Further, practical implications are drawn for the readers about the function of nominalization in the news articles, which are concise, objective, and formal. Therefore, this paper will be helpful for those, who are interested in the study of the relations between Bangladesh and China.