Linguistic Strategies Conveying Political Ideologies in S.E.A. Write Award-Winning Short Stories

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the linguistic strategies through which political ideologies are conveyed in fifteen S.E.A. Write Award–winning short story collections published between B.E. 2524 and B.E. 2566 (1981–2023). The research is grounded in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), employing an analytical framework adapted from Chantima Angkapanichkit (2014). The findings identify twelve linguistic strategies used to articulate political ideologies: mitigation or deflection, referencing, verb usage, presupposition, forms of address, metaphor, negation, irony, speech acts, naming and labeling, intertextuality, and narrative strategies. These strategies reveal six underlying political ideologies embedded in the short stories: liberalism, feminism, environmentalism, conservatism, nationalism, and fascism. In addition, two major ideological confrontations are identified—between nationalism and liberalism, and between fascism and liberalism. The results demonstrate that language in S.E.A. Write Award–winning short stories functions as an instrument of power through which authors reflect and critique political ideologies. By employing diverse and sophisticated linguistic strategies, political meanings are subtly embedded, revealing both the diversity and confrontation of ideologies that mirror ideological tensions in contemporary Thai society. Moreover, these literary texts create a discursive space that encourages readers to critically engage with and question the power structures shaping everyday life.