Browsing by Subject "Queen Elizabeth II"

This thesis examines Irish attitudes on Twitter following the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s. The aim of the study is not only to find out which different attitudes were expressed on the microblogging platform in Ireland around 8 September 2022 – the day the Queen passed away – but also how these attitudes were realised. Martin and White’s (2007) APPRAISAL theory builds the basis of this study. APPRAISAL emerged within Systemic Functional Linguistics and is a framework for analysing how evaluative language performs in different contexts. The theory offers fine categories for how speakers negotiate their positive as well as negative assessments with others. To answer the research questions, a limited corpus of 206 relevant tweets containing evaluation was annotated and analysed according to APPRAISAL theory -- specifically ATTITUDE, which deals with feelings (AFFECT), judgement of behaviour (JUDGEMENT) and the assessment of things (APPRECIATION). The evaluative markers were further examined and grouped into the subcategories of each of the three groups. The analysis yielded the result that the attitudes to the Queen’s death expressed on Twitter in Ireland were mainly negative and judgemental. Irish Twitter users criticised the Queen’s as well as the Crown’s behaviour with regard to colonialism and call for the monarchy to be abolished. They regard the system as outdated and useless – which the Twitter users mainly express through negative evaluative markers regarding the monarchy’s value. At the same time, some of the Irish Twitter users express their negative attitudes to Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy through positive markers of evaluation. They celebrate her passing and share their joy on the microblogging platform. Contrary to the negative evaluations and celebrations, some Irish Twitter users’ attitudes were positive. They admired and praised Queen Elizabeth II and highlighted her role in the peace process between Ireland and the United Kingdom. This is mainly expressed by positively evaluating her behaviour as ethical as well as viewing her character as special. Often, the Irish users of Twitter share not only their condolences with their neighbours but also their own personal grief. These emotions are realised through negative markers of evaluation. This study revealed all the different attitudes Irish Twitter users shared after the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Even though it was mainly criticism in the form of negative JUDGEMENT, the analysis also showed the positive feelings expressed towards the Queen and the monarchy.