Salience and semantic functions of Portuguese-speaking countries and China in Portuguese as a foreign language textbooks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/diacritica.6128Keywords:
Semantic functions, Portuguese-speaking countries, China, Portuguese as a foreign language textbooksAbstract
Textbooks shape language teaching and learning, by giving visibility to the discursive entities mobilised, in this case, the countries and assigning them semantic roles through discursive choices. The present study examines the salience and semantic functions of the names of Portuguese-speaking countries and China in four Portuguese as a Foreign Language textbooks, two published in China and two in Portugal. It is theoretically framed by Systemic Functional Linguistics, specifically through the categorisation of processes and semantic functions at the clausal and phrasal levels. Methodologically, a database was built including the country names and their clausal and phrasal contexts, analysing the frequency of the terms and the processes and functions associated with them. The results show that Portugal is the most salient, followed by Brazil and Angola, while China also occupies a prominent position in the Chinese textbooks. The countries are represented in a multifaceted way, performing roles such as Carrier and Identified in relational processes, the semantic value of location (Attribute, Circumstance, or Classifier), as well as Actor and Goal in material processes and Phenomenon in mental processes. This diversity reflects the complexity of the concept of country, which encompasses dimensions of territory, people, history, culture, and society, and can assume corresponding semantic functions.
References
Abdollahzadeh, E., & Baniasad, S. (2010). Ideologies in the imported English textbooks: EFL learners and teachers’ awareness and attitude. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(217), 1–17. https://elt.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_624.html
Anthony, L. (2024). AntConc (Version 4.2.4) [Computer Software]. Waseda University. https://www.laurenceanthony.net/software
Apple, M. W. (1990). The text and cultural politics. The Journal of Educational Thought (JET) / Revue de La Pensée Éducative, 24(3A), 17–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23768190
Caels, F. (2016). Os textos de ciências na disciplina de PLNM: uma abordagem baseada em género [Tese de Doutoramento, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa]. https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/entities/publication/c2429145-e8e9-45eb-aeee-5c50feea5def
CAPLE (2020). Estatística: exames de portuguêslíngua estrangeira. https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/estatisticas
Cheng, C. (2016). A comunicação intercultural ao nível da intervenção pedagógica no ensino do português como língua estrangeira a alunos chineses na China [Tese de doutoramento, Universidade Nova de Lisboa]. https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/17075
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2017). Português em foco, nível b1, livro do aluno. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2018). Português em foco, nível a1/a2, livro do aluno. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2018). Português em foco, nível b2, livro do aluno. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2019). Português em foco, nível c1, livro do aluno. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2020). Português em foco, nível a1/a2, caderno de exercícios. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2021). Português em foco, nível a1/a2, livro do professor. 2.ª edição aumentada. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2021). Português em foco, nível b1, livro do professor. 2.ª edição aumentada. LIDEL.
Coelho, L., & Oliveira, C. (2021). Português em foco, nível c1, caderno de exercícios. LIDEL.
Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1999). Cultural mirrors: materials and methods in the EFL classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (pp. 196–219). Cambridge University Press.
Del Gaudio, R. S., & Pereira, D. B. (2013). A polissemia em torno do vocábulo pays/país: entre escalas, estados e nações. Boletim Goiano de Geografia, 33(2), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.5216/bgg.v33i2.25554
Eggins, S. (2004). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics (2nd ed.). Continuum.
Gómez Rodríguez, L. (2015). The cultural content in EFL textbooks and what teachers need to do about it. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 17(2), 167–187. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v17n2.44272
Gouveia, C. A. M. (2009). Texto e gramática: uma introdução à linguística sistémico-funcional. Matraga - Revista do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras da UERJ, 16(24). https://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/matraga/article/view/27795
Gray, J. (2010). The branding of English and the culture of the new capitalism: representation of the world of work in English language textbooks. Applied Linguistics, 31(5), 714–733. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amq034
Guilherme, M. (2002). Critical citizens for an intercultural world: foreign language education as cultural politics. Multilingual Matters.
Gu, X. (2021). Nanjing massacre in Chinese and Japanese history textbooks: transitivity and appraisal. Critical Discourse Studies, 19(4), 418–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2021.1886956
Halliday, M. A. K. (1973). Explorations in the functions of language. Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004). An introduction to functional grammar (3rd ed.). Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.
Ilieva, R. (2000). Exploring culture in texts designed for use in adult ESL classrooms. TESL Canada Journal, 17(2), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v17i2.889
Keles, U., & Yazan, B. (2020). Representation of cultures and communities in a global ELT textbook: a diachronic content analysis. Language Teaching Research, 27(5), 1325–1346. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820976922
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford University Press.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: the grammar of visual design. Routledge.
Kuijper, H. (2022). Comprehending the complexity of countries: the way ahead. Springer.
Lee, J. F. (2014). A hidden curriculum in Japanese EFL textbooks: gender representation. Linguistics and Education, 27, 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2014.07.002
Liu, Y., Zhang, L. J., & May, S. (2022). Dominance of Anglo-American cultural representations in university English textbooks in China: a corpus linguistics analysis. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 35(1), 83–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2021.1941077
Li, J., & Barbeiro, L. F. (2023). O conhecimento (inter)cultural veiculado num manual didático chinês de PLE: conteúdos e percurso de aprendizagem. Rotas a Oriente. Revista de estudos sino-portugueses, 3, 137–159. https://doi.org/10.34624/ro.v0i3.31945
Li, J., Barbeiro, L. F., & Sá, M. H. A. (2025). Gender representation in Portuguese as a foreign language textbooks used in china. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 16(4), 1434–1444. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1604.36
Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2007). Working with discourse: meaning beyond the clause (2nd ed.). Continuum.
Pires, M. D. J. (2022a). Português na China: os números do ensino superior. Revista Thema, 21(3), 602–614. https://doi.org/10.15536/thema.V21.2022.602-614.2442
Pires, M. D. J. (2022b). Português no ensino superior da China: os estudantes chineses de mobilidade de crédito em Portugal e o ensino para a interação cultural [Tese de Doutoramento, Universidade de Lisboa]. https://repositorio.ul.pt/handle/–10451/54737
Rajandran, K. (2013). Us and them: the portrayal of Malaysians and British in Malaysian history textbooks. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 48(3), 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909612455473
Reto, L., Crespo, N., Esperança, J. P., Espanha, R., & Valentim, F. (2020). O essencial sobre a língua portuguesa como ativo global. Imprensa Nacional-Casa de Moeda.
Sharples, M. (1999). How we write: writing as a creative design. Routledge.
Shinabe, N. (2018). Revealing a hidden curriculum in educational discourses: a study of the representation of Europe and Asia in Spanish and Japanese school textbooks. Discourse & Society, 29(6), 674–690. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926518802963
Stubbs, M. (1996). Text and corpus analysis: computer-assisted studies of language and culture. Blackwell.
Tang, L. (2016). 美国大报之中中国形象的语料库语言学方法辅助下的批评话语分析 [Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of China's image in the US Broadsheets]. Gāoděng jiàoyù chūbǎnshè (Higher Education Press).
Van Leeuwen, T. (1998). A representação dos actores sociais. In E. Pedro (Org.), Análise crítica do discurso: uma perspectiva sociopolítica e funcional (pp. 169–222). Caminho.
Van Leeuwen, T. (2008). Discourse and practice: new tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford University Press.
Weninger, C., & Kiss, T. (2013). Culture in English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks: a semiotic approach. TESOL Quarterly, 47(4), 694–716. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.87
Wu, J. (2010). A content analysis of the cultural content in the EFL textbooks. Canadian Social Science, 6(5), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.15642/NOBEL.2022.13.1.67-82
Xiang, R., & Yenika-Agbaw, V. (2021). EFL textbooks, culture and power: a critical content analysis of EFL textbooks for ethnic Mongols in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(4), 327–341. https://doi.org/10. 1080/01434632.2019.1692024
Xu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2012). 葡萄牙语综合教程 学生用书 2 [Curso de português para chineses livro do aluno 2]. Shànghǎi wàiyǔ jiàoyù chūbǎnshè (Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press).
Xu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2014). 葡萄牙语综合教程 学生用书 3 [Curso de português para chineses livro do aluno 3]. Shànghǎi wàiyǔ jiàoyù chūbǎnshè (Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press).
Xu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2016). 葡萄牙语综合教程 学生用书 4 [Curso de português para chineses livro do aluno 4]. Shànghǎi wàiyǔ jiàoyù chūbǎnshè (Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press).
Ye, Z. (2009). 大学葡萄牙语1 [Português para ensino universitário 1]. Wàiyǔ jiàoxué yǔ yánjiū chūbǎnshè (Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press).
Ye, Z. (2010). 大学葡萄牙语2 [Português para ensino universitário 2]. Wàiyǔ jiàoxué yǔ yánjiū chūbǎnshè (Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press).
Yuen, K. M. (2011). The representation of foreign cultures in English textbooks. ELT Journal, 65(4), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq089
Zhang, H. (2019). Avaliação de competência intercultural: estudantes universitários chineses de PLE [Tese de doutoramento, Universidade de Lisboa]. https://repositorio.ul.pt/handle/10451/37240
Zhang, H., & Yu, R. (2020). 大学英语教材中华文化呈现研究 [Representation of Chinese culture in China’s College English]. Wàiyǔ jiàoyù yánjiū qiányán (Foreign language education in China). 3(3), 42–48.
Zhang, H., Li, X., & Chang, W. (2022). Representation of cultures in national English textbooks in China: a synchronic content analysis. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(8), 3394–3414. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2099406
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jiaqi Li, Luís Filipe Barbeiro, Maria Helena Araújo e Sá
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
