Most Australian produced reporting about the civil war in Syria during the lead up to the election was focused  on the politicians views and ideas about possible military action in Syria, not the actual conflict. However the texts that were focused on the issue represent the civil war in Syria as a having a worldwide impact.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s article ‘Syria: Where things stand now’ describes different global powers’ actions and decisions in relation to civil war in Syria as an “international puzzle”. This metaphorical description represents the war as having a significant impact on the decisions of countries and governments around the world. The article uses the phrase “the world waits” while introducing the article. The use of the word “world” suggests that the civil war in Syria is of worldwide importance. Suggesting that the civil war in Syria affects everyone makes the article seem more interesting as it personalises the issue and makes the reader feel more inclined to read the article and be engaged with the topic.

The same article represents foreign military intervention in a negative way. The article is divided into 13 sections each based on a separate people group or country. Each section shows the position of that people group or country’s on foreign military intervention. Seven of the  sections opinions are opposed military action, 3 sections support a military strike and the remaining 3 sections are undecided or neutral. This structure creates a negative representation of military action in Syria. This fosters negativity in the audience in relation to intervention of foreign military powers in Syria.

Another article from the Sydney morning herald, ‘Syria: What you need to know’,  creates a negative representation of the Syrian government. The text positions the audience to be against the Syrian government by criticising the government’s actions and using negative descriptions of the government.  the article repeatedly describes the Syrian government in a negative way through the use of adjectives with negative connotations such as “dictatorship”. The word “dictatorship” is usually used as a criticism and has negative connotations to do with corruption in the government. This creates a creates a negative representation of the Syrian government in the text. This representation is likely to make the reader be critical of the actions of the Syrian government.

The title of the article also represents the civil war in Syria as an important personal issue. First, the heading personalises the issue through the use of the word “you”. This makes the issue more personal. It then adds importance to the issue by claiming that you “need” to  know the information you are about to receive in the article. This represents the war in Syria as an important issue that should be important to the reader. This heading is also likely to make the reader interested in the article, therefore making it more likely for them to read it.

Although the article positions the reader against the Syrian Assad regime, it does not support intervention from the US military and positions the audience to see the US military as powerless to resolve the conflict in Syria. It describes the US military’s options as “all bad” and claims that there are “no viable options”. These descriptions create a negative representation of The US military. This places the reader in a position against foreign military intervention in Syria.

Both of these articles  use different language features to represent the civil war in Syria as an important global issue. Also, they both texts create a negative representation of foreign intervention military intervention in Syria. The title of the article ‘Syria: What you need to know’ positions the reader to be concerned with the conflict in Syria by personalising the issue and suggesting it is of great importance. This title may also have been used to engage the reader and make them more likely to read the article.

 

References

Fisher, MThe Sydney Morning Herald (2012) ‘Syria: What you need to know” [Online] Available from http://www.smh.com.au/world/syria-what-you-need-to-know-20130903-2t20m.html [Accessed 12 September 2013]

 

 

The Sydney Morning Herald (2012) ‘Syria: Where things stand now’ [Online] Available from http://www.smh.com.au/world/syria-where-things-stand-now-20130903-2t3g1.html [Accessed 12 September 2013]