在過去五年間，新冠疫情（COVID-19）引發了廣泛的辯論與研究，特別是關於其與焦慮與壓力之間的關聯性（Mertens, 2021, 2023；Taylor, 2020）。而新聞媒體在國家安全與公共衛生危機期間，扮演著關鍵的溝通角色（Pieri, 2018），深刻影響大眾對風險的認知。然而，目前僅有少數研究具體探討在不同語言中的用詞差異，如何影響新聞報導中的恐懼敘事。本研究探討新聞記者在報導中用詞的重要性，特別關注在 COVID-19 疫情期間，臺灣中文與英文新聞報導中，恐懼相關詞彙的使用方式與程度差異，並進一步評估其生態效度。本文研究分析了臺灣四家讀者最普遍閱讀或信賴的報紙，在世界衛生組織宣布緊急狀態期間（2020 年 3 月至 2023 年 5 月）所發布的 2001 篇與 COVID-19 有關的新聞報導。本文結合媒體的框架理論、多元文化主義，以及具脈絡的情緒分析之結果，並綜合影響臺灣新聞環境的歷史與當代因素，發現臺灣的中文新聞相較於英文新聞更傾向使用煽動性較強的措辭，進而向中文讀者傳遞出不同的敘事觀點。

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked extensive debate and research over the past five years, particularly regarding its connection to anxiety and stress (Mertens, 2021, 2023; Taylor, 2020). News media play a crucial role in communication during national security and health emergencies (Pieri 2018), shaping how the public perceives risks. However, few studies have specifically examined how differences in word choice across languages influence fear narratives in news coverage. This paper explores the significance of news reporters’ word choice, with particular attention to how, and to what extent, the use of fear-related words differs in Mandarin- and English-language news articles in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to gauge its ecological validity. The study analyzes 2001 COVID-19-related news articles published during the declared emergency period (March 2020 to May 2023, WHO) by four of Taiwan’s most widely read or trusted newspapers. By considering historical and contemporary factors that shape Taiwan’s news landscape, alongside framing theory, multiculturalism, and the results of a context-aware sentiment analysis, I argue that Mandarin-language news in Taiwan tends to use more alarmist rhetoric than its English-language counterpart and thus communicate a different narrative to Mandarin readers.

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