Appraisals in Diplomatic Condolences Addressed to 2023 Earthquakes in Türkiye

Diplomatic condolences involve appraisals, sympathy, and solidarity. Cultural norms influence the ways of expressing diplomatic condolences. On 6th February, 2023, Kahramanmaraş and 11 nearby cities in Türkiye and Syria were struck by two rampant earthquakes, which were labeled as the deadliest disaster of the century. In the aftermath of this disaster, national leaders across the world extended their condolences to Türkiye and Syria. The present study examined the cultural variations in the use of appraisals in diplomatic condolences following the two catastrophic earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş in Türkiye in 2023. The data of the study included 17 diplomatic condolences which were collected from the official websites of the governments and ministries of the counties. Following the appraisal taxonomy of Martin and White (2005), it was found that engagement was the most prevalent category of appraisals preferred by the national leaders. The attitude category of appraisal was also common in the data. Graduation was not a dominant aspect of diplomatic condolences. The results also probed cross-cultural differences in the diplomatic condolences. The sentimental analysis ran as a follow-up analysis revealed both positive and negative polarization in the diplomatic condolences. The themes derived from the sentimental analysis mostly carried identical items of appraisals found.