Discourse Studies
Discourse Studies
In the context of discourse analysis, discourse refers to language use beyond the level of a
sentence, particularly how language is used in real-life situations to construct meaning, convey
social norms, and exercise power. It's not just about grammar or vocabulary, but about how
language functions in different contexts.
2. Contextual Meaning: It considers how meaning is shaped by context, including the social,
cultural, historical, and political environments in which the discourse occurs.
3. Social Function: Discourse is seen as a social practice. It not only reflects but also shapes
society, identities, ideologies, and power relations.
4. Structures and Patterns: Analysts look at how texts are organized (cohesion, coherence, turn-
taking, narrative structure, etc.), and how these structures contribute to meaning and social
interaction.
5. Power and Ideology: Particularly in critical discourse analysis (CDA), discourse is seen as a
way to reinforce or challenge power structures, ideologies, and inequalities.
In short, discourse is more than just talking or writing—it's about how language works socially
to produce meaning, influence people, and shape the world.
1. Language in Context
Discourse analysis focuses on how language is used in real situations. It studies communication
as it naturally occurs in conversations, media, politics, education, and more.
Discourse analysis explores how language reflects and shapes social norms, beliefs, values, and
ideologies.
5. Interdisciplinary Nature
In essence, discourse analysis helps us understand not just what people say, but how and why
they say it, and what effects it has in society.
1. Discourse
Focus: The actual content—what is being said or written, and how it constructs meaning.
Examples: A political speech, a news article, a classroom conversation, or a social media post.
Definition: Discourse analysis is the study of discourse—the methods and theories used to
analyze how language is used to communicate, influence, and shape society.
Focus: The process of examining and interpreting discourse to uncover patterns, meaning,
power dynamics, and social functions.
Examples: Analyzing how a politician uses language to gain support, or how gender is portrayed
in media texts.
In Short:
Discourse _Language in use _What is being said and how_ A TED Talk, a
newspaper editorial
Discourse Analysis_ Study of discourse _How language works in context_ Analyzing tone and
persuasion in the TED Talk
Critical Discourse
Critical discourse refers to discourse (language in use) that is examined with a focus on power,
inequality, ideology, and social change. It’s typically studied within the framework of Critical
Discourse Analysis (CDA), which views language not just as a means of communication but as a
tool that can maintain or challenge power relations in society.
Language as Social Practice: Critical discourse is seen as something that shapes and is shaped by
social structures. It reflects ideologies and can influence how people think and behave.
Focus on Power and Ideology: It often reveals how language can legitimize dominance,
marginalize certain groups, or reinforce stereotypes (e.g., racism, sexism, classism).
Embedded in Context: Critical discourse is always tied to a broader social, historical, or political
context—you can’t understand it without looking at who is speaking, to whom, and for what
purpose.
How corporate or institutional language hides responsibility (e.g., “mistakes were made” vs.
“we made mistakes”).
CDA is the method used to analyze critical discourse. It’s interdisciplinary and draws on
linguistics, sociology, political science, and more. Scholars like Norman Fairclough, Teun van
Dijk, and Ruth Wodak are key figures in this field.
✅ In Summary:
Term _. Definition
Critical Discourse _Discourse that reflects, maintains, or challenges power, ideology, and
social structures.
Purpose_ To uncover how language influences society, often in ways that are unequal or
oppressive.
🔹 Critical Discourse
Definition: Critical discourse refers to language that reflects or shapes power, ideology, or
inequality in society.
What it is: It’s the actual language used in real-life communication that carries ideological
weight or serves political, social, or cultural purposes.
Examples:
🟢 Think of it as the content — the type of language used to influence or reflect power dynamics.
Definition: Critical Discourse Analysis is the method or approach used to study critical discourse.
What it does: It analyzes how language in texts or speech is used to construct or challenge
social inequalities, ideologies, and power structures.
Purpose: To reveal hidden meanings, biases, and the social consequences of language use.
🟢 Think of it as the toolkit — the methods and theories used to examine how critical discourse
works.
2. Language as a Constructive Part of Social Reality: In discourse analysis, language is not just a
tool for communication; it actively constructs social reality. The way we talk about things
shapes how we understand and experience them. Language constructs identities (e.g., "victim"
vs. "survivor"). It also constructs social categories, events, and values. For example, calling
climate change a "crisis" vs. a "challenge" influences how seriously people take it.
3. Power and Ideology: Discourse is deeply connected to power structures and ideologies. It can
maintain, reinforce, or challenge dominant beliefs and systems. Certain groups (governments,
media, corporations) use discourse to legitimize their authority. Others may use counter-
discourse to resist power. Example: Media framing of protestors as "rioters" or "activists"
reveals ideological bias and affects public opinion.
4. Variety of Data Sources: Discourse analysis draws on a wide range of data types, including:
Spoken conversation, Written texts (books, articles, reports), Media (TV, film, news), Online
communication (tweets, forums), Visual texts (advertisements, posters). This variety reflects
the flexible and adaptive nature of discourse analysis across contexts and formats.
5. Micro-Level Analysis: Discourse analysts often work at a detailed, close-up level to examine:
Word choices, Sentence structures, Turn-taking in conversation, Use of metaphor, modality,
hedging, etc. This micro-level focus helps reveal underlying power dynamics, assumptions, and
strategies in everyday language use. For example, analyzing how a manager uses "maybe" or
"you might want to..." to soften commands in emails.
6. Identity and Subjectivity: Discourse helps to construct and negotiate identities and subject
positions. People position themselves (and others) through language (e.g., expert, victim,
authority). Identity is fluid and context-dependent, not fixed. Example: A person may speak as a
"mother" in one setting and as a "professional" in another, shifting discourse to fit the role.
7. Power and Representation: Discourse shapes how people, groups, and events are
represented in society. These representations are not neutral—they reflect underlying power
relations. Who gets to speak?, How are groups described or labeled?, What is made visible or
invisible in the discourse? Example: News media may represent refugees as "burdens" or
"threats" rather than as "individuals in crisis," affecting public policy and empathy.
✅ Summary Table
Characteristic____________________________ Explanation
Power and Ideology______Discourse reflects and reinforces power structures and ideologies
Variety of Data Sources_________ Can analyze text, talk, media, visuals, online content
In the early to mid-20th century, the field was influenced by structural linguistics, especially the
work of Ferdinand de Saussure, who conceptualized language as a system of signs. Around the
1950s, Zellig Harris introduced the term discourse analysis within a linguistic framework,
focusing on how patterns of language extended beyond individual sentences. However, this
early approach remained largely formal and descriptive, with limited attention to meaning in
context.
A major shift occurred in the 1970s and 1980s when scholars began emphasizing the social and
contextual aspects of language use. The work of Dell Hymes in the ethnography of
communication highlighted how language reflects cultural norms and social roles. Meanwhile,
speech act theory, developed by John Austin and John Searle, introduced the idea that speaking
is a form of doing—language as action. Around the same time, Conversation Analysis (CA), led
by Harvey Sacks and Gail Jefferson, offered a detailed method for studying spoken interaction
and turn-taking in everyday talk. These developments pushed discourse analysis beyond
structural linguistics into social inquiry.
By the late 1980s and 1990s, discourse analysis took a more critical turn with the rise of Critical
Discourse Analysis (CDA). Scholars like Norman Fairclough, Teun van Dijk, and Ruth Wodak
argued that language is not neutral but a powerful tool for constructing and maintaining
ideologies, identities, and power relations. CDA sought to uncover how discourse is used to
reinforce dominance or resistance in politics, media, and institutions. This critical perspective
transformed discourse analysis into a deeply interdisciplinary and socially engaged field.
In the 2000s and beyond, discourse analysis expanded to include digital and multimodal forms
of communication, such as social media, video, images, and sound. Multimodal discourse
analysis emerged to study how different modes—text, visuals, gestures—combine to create
meaning. Today, discourse analysis is used across a wide range of disciplines, including
sociology, education, media studies, linguistics, political science, and cultural studies, to
investigate how language operates in shaping our understanding of the world.
Role: It ensures that sentences are connected and text is unified on the surface level.
🔹 2. Coherence: Coherence is about the logical connections and overall sense a reader or
listener makes from a text. Unlike cohesion, it depends on context, background knowledge, and
the organization of ideas.
Role: It allows the discourse to make sense as a whole, even if cohesive devices are minimal.
Example: A story without cohesive markers can still be coherent if the events are logically
ordered.
Role: It organizes dialogue and avoids chaos in communication. Rules of turn-taking are often
implicit, involving pauses, intonation, or body language. Example: A raised pitch at the end of a
sentence can signal a question and invite a response.
🔹 4. Genre: Genre refers to the type of discourse being used, such as a news article, academic
paper, sermon, or casual conversation. Each genre has specific conventions and structures.
Role: Helps participants recognize the purpose of the text and how to interpret or respond to it
appropriately.
🔹 5. Register: Register is the level of formality and style of language, depending on the situation,
audience, and purpose.
Role: It reflects the social context of discourse. A speaker might use formal language in a job
interview but switch to informal register with friends.
Role: They add layers of meaning, indicate emotion, show agreement or disagreement, and
guide turn-taking. Example: Nodding while someone speaks shows attentiveness or agreement.
🔹 8. Discourse Markers: Words or phrases like well, so, you know, and anyway that organize
talk, indicate transitions, or manage interaction.
Role: They help structure discourse and signal speaker intentions or attitude.
✅ Summary Table:
Feature_______Role in Discourse
These elements are essential for analyzing how people understand each other and maintain
effective communication in various settings.
VOICE: When a person use to speak a language, there are the different mediums to convey it. It
tells us about the speaker's different approach, context i.e subjectivity. Voice is a discourse
analysis that refers to individual's unique way of speaking, writing or expressing themselves,
which is shaped by their social position, experience and interaction within a broader discourse.
Voice is basically not the tone of a language, it is how that particular person is representing
himself through language. Voice is quite broader and even is related to discourse analysis. It is
the personal experience of an individual in the society.