Language and Ideology in Discourse of Product Advertisement in Facebook Page for Media Literacy: A Case Stuty of Students at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the relationship between linguistic devices and ideology in the discourse of advertisements on Facebook pages based on the critical discourse analysis concept by using purposive sampling, and the sample consisted of 326 texts posted from July to December 2021 on 8 Facebook pages; 2) to examine media literacy competencies of students at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University (CRU) after undergoing training in linguistic devices and ideology in the discourse of advertisements on Facebook pages. The sample comprised 395 students. Tests were employed as research tools. The statistics used in the data analysis were means, standard deviation, and the dependent sample t-test (significance level = .05). The results of the study were as follows: 1) the linguistic devices that implied ideology in the discourse of advertisements on Facebook pages included verbal communication strategies, namely lexical selection, modalities, concession sentences, allusions, hyperbole, rhetorical questions, metaphor, and presupposition; and non-verbal communication strategies, such as advertising illustrations and non-verbal communication and texts in advertising. These linguistic devices presented ideas in the discourse of advertisements on Facebook pages, namely mindsets concerning beauty, mindsets concerning modernity, and mindsets concerning happiness. These beliefs and tenets were systematically related, reinforced, and reproduced by one another to reflect the ideology of “consumerism”; 2) the CRU students’ media literacy competencies concerning linguistic devices and ideology in the discourse of advertisements on Facebook pages after undergoing the training were higher than their competencies before receiving the training at .05 level of significance.