Linguistic Strategies in the Construction of the Ideology of Childhood in Thai Rap Discourse: A Case Study of “The Rapper” Program

Abstract

This research article aims to analyze the linguistic strategies employed in the construction of child ideologies as manifested in the rap discourse from The Rapper Seasons 1 and 2, utilizing the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The researcher compiled data from rap lyrics broadcast in the aforementioned program, totaling 186 songs, selected through purposive sampling to include only those reflecting youth perspectives on the educational system, regulations, and societal norms. The findings reveal two principal ideologies: (1) the ideology of the "good child" and (2) the ideology of the "bad child." These discourses are articulated through eight key linguistic strategies: the use of names and nominal appellations to enact power in identity construction; the deployment of presuppositions and modal verbs to evoke states of subjugation; the invocation of metaphors to establish hierarchies; the utilization of negative constructions to dismantle myths; the application of topoi to expose invisible power practices; the employment of transitivity to reproduce top-down power structures; and the use of irony to reflect power conflicts and ideological struggles within Thai society from a linguistic perspective.