Critical Discourse Analysis

Ali Rahimi

Condensed by Husain Abulhay

Discourse Two

CDA A Post-mortem Procedure

Critical Discourse Analysis

Probing ideological distortion, conflicts , inequalities and mystifications through discourse by grasping some of the confines of various features of social context such as gender, status, power, ethnicity, roles and institutional settings based on style, thematic structures, or the cognitive interpretation of text and talk

Uncovering of implicit ideologies in texts

Widdowson (2000)

Setting

Macro and micro levels of sociological and linguistic studies

Macro structure

Marxists, Neo-Marxists, Critical theorists,

Functionalists, and Neo-Functionalists

Micro structure

Symbolic Integrationists, Exchange theorists, Ethnomethodologists, and Phenomenologists

Naturalization of ideologies

dichotomous categorization of

euphemistic and derogatory terms as effective techniques in naturalization of ideologies

Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Theory

CDA rooted in critical theory

Critical theory & Frankfurt School

Hegelianism and Western Marxism

Frankfurt School

school of thought put forward as a reaction against the authoritarian practices of occidental state .

Critical Theory

a research perspective, which has basically a critical attitude towards society (Langer, 1998, p.3)

Any theory concerned with critique of ideology and the effects of domination" (Fairclough, 1995, p.20) .

Critical theory: Real is rational

"Rationality " ideal situation or "utopia"

An ideal speech situation in which every individual has access to information and public argumentations.

"Irrational society" in which people are excluded from the mainstream of power.

political voice, ideology and discourse

Shackles of macro structures: Oligarchies vs. suppressive societies

Emancipation or suppression of argumentation?

The Aims of CDA

Uncover the opacities in discourse which contribute to the exercise, maintenance or reproduction of unequal relations of power

Analysis and elucidation of harmless & neutral discourses:

Wodak (2001)

Analyzing opaque as well as transparent structural relationships of dominance, discrimination, power and control as manifested in language. In other words, CDA aims to investigate critically social inequality as it is expressed, signalled, constituted, legitimized and so on by language use (or in discourse).

CDA as Language autopsy

Analysis and elucidation of discourses:

George Orwell’ Newspeak language to forbid the utterance of deviant statements

Discourses of an "apparatus( discursive formations)

Discourses of "social field "

Language, Society & Ideology

discourse is socially constitutive or substantive and socially determined or regulated

Discourses constructs some ingredients of the society and, in turn, is created and shaped by it

Vygotsky's "intersubjectivity","self regulated" &"other regulated "

Discourses constructs some ingredients of the society and, in turn, is created and shaped by it.

Language as catalyser & termination of the great civilizations and political system

language connects with the social through being the primary domain of ideology, and through being both a site of, and a stake in, struggles of power" (Fairclough 1989 ) .

Ideology and CDA

To account for social power, and its relations to discourse, and to see how a certain ideology, or any other social and cultural issue is produced, enacted, reproduced or legitimized by certain discourse structures .

Ideology

A system of ideas or world views or simply a fixed way of looking at the life issues.

The systems o f representation Hall(1986)

Language , self and identity

Linguistic Relativity or Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Language Determinism

Manufactured Consent

Manufactured and shaped by the powerful systems and organizations

Marx's view on ideology

1.Ideology structures appear to be natural, according to the order of things (naturalization).

2.Ideological structures are the logical conclusion to an historical development (historicization).

3.There is an assumption that now that this (natural) state of affairs has been reached, things will be that way, barring regression (externalization).

4 .An experience ,an event or thing is mystified when a broad cultural meaning obscure the accuracy of that experience ,event or thing ;this obscurity usually covers up 0or disappear contrary or h particulars ,the specific , the concrete reality, with all its blemishes and contradictions

5 .What enthymemes can you see in the logic of the text? Enthymemes are statements which exclude the expression of key assumptions which ground conclusions.

Effect of style representation on ideology

Utopickernel

Anarchism

Bohemmian or liberal lifestyles

Hegemony, Relative autonomy or Thinking alike

Why ruling class ideas are produced and why these ruling ideas are only introduced by the powerful

elite and discourse?

Self and identity

Who we are?

Lacan’s idea of other

Language as Virus

Williams S. Burroughs

Ideology as Ease Dilger (2003)

Power

Discourse is socially influential, discursive practices of discourse can help produce and reproduce unequal power relations between (for instance) social classes, women and men, ethnic/cultural majorities and minorities through the ways in which they represent things and position people.

Fairclough & Wodak(1997)

Language & power& their different manifestations

Manifestations for language and power )Sue Wright 2001 (

1 .state-formation, nation-building and problem of linguistic minorities

2 .Formulation of human of linguistic minorities 3 .Protection of linguistic minorities under the

council of Europe 4 .Linguistic diversity and European integration

5 .Linguistic diversity in the post-national constellation

Language and power realizations

Influential

Instrumental

Influential

Advertising, media, politics, culture

Linguistic techniques in advertising

Puns,alliterations,assonance,onomatopeia,rhyme,ambiguity,irony,cliché or buzzword among business people:e.g. win-win situation

Instrumental

Law, education ,business, management

Theoretical text analysis

Language ,power vis-à-vis pragmatics, speech act theory, lexis ,semantics structures , phatic tokens ,etc.

Power as means of stratification

subordinates and superordinates in the forms of class, party and status

CDA discusses power in terms of the twisted relations of power or unfair access to sources of power

power resources

organizational capacity, competence, expert knowledge, social positions, information control, instruments of force, and charisma

Discursive formations

Socializations and "seduction "

Discourse constitutes people as subjects who are authorized (as experts) to discipline others.

Linguistic signals and tools

Power relations realized by forms and operations

Overt structureCommands ,e.g. imperative

Covert structure:

Reclassifications

Instruments and analytical framework

CDA ,Markedness theory, Case theory, Pragmatics ,Evaluative semantics ,

Mood and modality (Halliday,1985),

Principles of CDA

1 .Discourse addresses social problems2 .Power relations are discursive

3 .Discourse constitute society and culture 4 .Discourse does ideological works

5 .Discourse is historical 6 .The link between text and society is

mediated 7 .Discourse analysis is interpretative e and

explanatory 8 .Discourse is a formal social action