Ideologies in the Thematic Slogans of the 1984 – 2012 Olympic Games

This paper spotlights the twelve slogans of the Olympic Games in order to critically analyze the ideologies underlying the discourse. By taking the principles of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Halliday’s (1994) systemic-functional grammar (SFG) as analytical tools, the paper endeavours to reveal the ideology that predominates in the ruling class and that may impinge on the ways in which the slogans are constructed and elucidated. Furthermore, the images of the host countries manifested in the slogans and their attitude towards and enthusiasm for the Olympic Games are construed. Last but not least, with the rapid development of political and economic globalization, the enhanced call for friendliness and harmony is clearly shown in the linguistic structures of these slogans by analyzing them diachronically.