Law test

1. Discourse analysis
- Seminar 1 -
Frank Bramlett and Niina Hynninen
Department of English
Stockholm University

2. Outline
O Course introduction
O What is Discourse Analysis (DA)?
O Introduction to research project
O Discourse and Society

3. The concept of discourse
O d = discourse: language-in-use
O D = a discourse, discourses: relatively crystallised
ways of meaning making recognised by a community
of language users
A Discourse is a socially accepted association among
ways of using language, of thinking, feeling, believing,
valuing, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself
as a member of a socially meaningful group or 'social
network', or to signal (that one is playing) a socially
meaningful 'role'. (Gee 1990: 143)
O Continuum from more micro-level descriptions of
language to social and historical settings of language
use

4. What is DA?
O “Approach to the analysis of language that looks at
patterns of language across texts as well as the
social and cultural contexts in which the texts
occur.” (Paltridge 2006: 1)
O Focus on both spoken and written language.
O Focus on the crossroads of language use, context
and action:
O How macro-level processes (e.g. changes in
world economy) are negotiated in micro-level
language use?
O What macro-level processes, rules and
consequences can be seen in texts?

5. Assumptions
O Discourse as the social construction of reality (varies
between approaches to DA)
O Texts as communicative units embedded in social and
historical practices
O Discourse shapes language:
O e.g. changes in our associations of the term ‘terrorist’ after 9/11
O Discourse is shaped by language:
O e.g. influence of the media: China depicted as ‘a tiger on steroids’ =>
idea becomes part of readers’ social reality constructed through
discourse
O Performativity:
O socially constructed identities (we are what we do, say etc.)
O Intertextuality:
O relationships between texts, intertextual chains

6. more textually-oriented more socially-oriented
Different views of DA
<= Discourse grammar
CA =>
<= Corpus approaches
<= Genre analysis =>
CDA =>
Pragmatics =>
Discourse and society =>

7. Example
Topic: news discourse
O D&S: Depiction of women vs. men in news
texts
O Pragmatics: Comparison of expressions of
politeness in news texts from two different
countries
O CA: (Lack) of repairs in news broadcasting
O DG: Ellipsis in newspaper headings
O Genre: Discourse structure of news articles
O Corpus: Word frequency and collocations
(e.g. terrorism) in news texts
O CDA: ideologies reflected in news texts

8. What DA focuses on
O Relationship between language and the
context in which it is used
O Description and analysis of spoken text
OR written text OR both

9. Spoken-written-continuum
O Different types of spoken and written discourse:
O From casual conversations to prepared lectures
O From chat rooms to emails to published articles
O Affect type of discourse
O Speech (typically):
O Reformulations, repetitions, hesitations, fillers, pauses
etc.
O Spoken grammar, e.g. negotiating topics or fronting:
these lions they don’t eat each other
O Linear, real-time production
O Writing (typically):
O Lexical density, nominalisation and long noun groups
O What we typically see: product (not process)

10. Discourse & Society
Paltridge, Ch. 2
O Discourse communities
O What kinds of language (register) are valued and
used?
O What text types are most common? What
purposes do those texts serve?
O How do members situate their identities vis-à-vis
other members? The community as a whole?
O Who belongs to the group as a core member?
Who might be a peripheral member?
O How do participants indicate membership in the
group using language (discourse)?

11. Discourse & Society (cont.)
O Speech communities
O Any group of people who speak the same
language (Paltridge 27)
O Any group of people who use the same
language, repertoire, or variety but also
who have the opportunity to interact with
each other (Spolsky 1998 qtd. in Paltridge
27)
O In these definitions, spoken language is
privileged as basic, but written language is
not entirely excluded.

12. Discourse and Identity
O In traditional sociolinguistics, the
characteristics of sex, class, and race
were taken as isolated, identifiable social
variables.
O Now, however, we know that these ‘social
variables’ are complex. They stretch and
contract; they are more relevant or less
relevant at different times.
O Through discourse, individuals perform
their identities, and this includes gender,
SES, and race/ethnicity.

13. Discourse and Identity
O People perform their gender, partially through
language and also through other visual,
behavioral cues.
O People perform SES/class, partially through
language.
O People perform their ethnicity, partially
through language.
O Social cues and linguistic cues (discourses
and Discourses) signal membership in
discourse communities and in speech
communities.

14. Ideology
O Ideologies are often defined as beliefs (or
belief systems) that underpin everyday
actions and behaviors. (e.g., Fairclough,
van Dijk)
O Ideologies sometimes make the ‘state of
the world’ seem natural, and we often
don’t question things that seem natural.
O Ideologies are maintained partially
through language, and they are also
taught through language as well.

15. Ideology
(9) [LM6C6m]
1. Host: I’ve got a Paul from Brisbane
2. calling in from the cave.
3. Good morning.
4. C6: a ha ha »how are ya« a: I’m I’m
5. actually in my workshop which is uhm
6. I- was one of the (.) p- parts of
7. our renovation that I insisted
8. upon having.
9. Every blokes gotta have a shed.
Rendle-Short 2005: p. 568

16. Your project
O Discussion question?

17. Your project
O We would like for you to start thinking
about your project. Not to decide what
your project will be, but just to consider a
few things.

18. Your project
O Each reading assignment will give you new
information about DA. Whenever you read a
chapter or article, keep some things in
mind:
O Theory: identify central concepts &
definitions
O Methodology: how to identify linguistic
components
O Possibilities for your own research
project.