Approaches to Discourse

Analysis

Whats it all about?

Leaning to use the
analysis of language
to solve real-life
problems at work, at
school and at home.
Theory and Practical
Application

The D Word

Discourse
Discourse is: language above the sentence level or
above the clause.
Stubbs 1998

The study of discourse is the study of any aspect of

language use.
Fasold 1990

The analysis of discourse is the analysis of language

in useit cannot be restricted to the description of
linguistic forms independent of the purposes or
functions that they serve in human affairs.
Brown and Yule 1983

Discourse
Discourse is for me more than just language
in use: It is language use, whether speech or
writing, seen as a type of social practice.
Fairclough 1992

Discourse constitutes the socialDiscourse

is shaped by relations of power, and invested
with ideologies.
Fairclough 1992

Big D and Little d

Discourse (non-count) vs.
Discourses
Saying, Doing, Thinking,
Behaving, Believing, Valuing,
Interacting combinations that
show who we are
(Gee)
The Discourse of medicine
The Discourse of romance

Discourse is
How language reflects reality
How language creates reality
How language shapes our identities
and interactions
How language is used as to tool to
control people

What is the meaning of this

sentence?

Meaning depends on

How
Where
When
To whom
Why

The P Word

Pragmatics
From the Greek pragma meaning deed
How we do things with words
The study of meaning in different contexts of
use
How language is used to do things in real
world situations
Speech act theory
Conversational logic

Discourse Analysis
Multimodal
Discourse
Analysis
Critical
Discourse
Analysis

Ethnography
Of
Speaking
Mediated
Discourse
Analysis

Discourse
Analysis
Conversation
Analysis

Genre
Analysis
Pragmatics

Discourse analysis

An Example

Questions

Who are these people?

What is going on here? What are these people doing?
What kinds of tools/language are they using to do it?
Are they being successful/doing it well?
Who has more power in the conversation? How can
you tell?
What do the two people want? What strategies are
they using to get what they want?
Who wins?

Questions

Who are these people?

What is going on here? What are these people doing?
What kinds of tools/language are they using to do it?
Are they being successful/doing it well?
Who has more power in the conversation? How can you
tell?
What do the two people want? What strategies are they
using to get what they want?
Who wins?

The Ethnography of
Communication
Communication as a matter of cultural
competence
Focus on things like setting,
participants, mood, and other kinds of
behavioral rules
What are some of the rules for
complaining to your superior?

Genre Analysis
Communication as using the generic
conventions of a discourse community
Focus on the structure of the interaction
Do moves occur in a predictable way?

Pragmatics
Communication as doing things with
words
Sentence meaning vs. speaker
meaning

Politeness Theory
Communication as a way of encoding
social relationships
Focus on Face threatening acts and
Face saving strategies

Conversation Analysis
Communication as joint activity
Attention to the sequential organization
of talk, turn-taking and topic
management

Interactional Sociolinguistics
Communication as a way of signaling social
activities and social identities
Attention to strategies speakers use to signal
activity and identity
Competing frames

Critical Discourse Analysis

Communication as a way of exercising
and resisting power
Focus on existing power relations and
how they are reinforced
Examines underlying assumptions
Asks, who really won?

Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Communication as a matter of
combining multiple modes
Focus not just on words but on
gestures, facial expressions, posture,
proxemics, gaze, object handling,
spatial layout, time and timing

Mediated Discourse Analysis

Communication as a tool for taking action
Focus on actions and the cultural tools that
make them possible

Conclusion
Communication is not just a matter of
words
Communication is a matter of action
Communication is a matter of
relationships and power
Communication creates and re-creates
our social worlds