Fairclough's

Dialectical-Relational Approach

(A Sample of CDA)

Prepared By:BEKHAL ABUBAKIR HUSSEIN

APRIL 22ND, 2017UNIVERSITY OF SULAIMANI

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

▫ Is a practically-oriented form ofdiscourse analysis addressing asocial problem with the aim ofresisting it.

▫ It is not concerned with language orlanguage use per se, but with thelinguistic character of social andcultural processes and structures .

Main Approaches to CDA

A relational-dialectic approach

N. Fairclough

A Socio-

cognitive approach

T. Van Dijk

Adiscourse-historical approach

R. Wodak

Van Dijk Fairclough Wodak

Norman Fairclough

• is considered as the most impressive and influentialpractitioner in CDA as he has contributed to thefield most significantly.

• In his earlier work (1989) he called his approach tolanguage and discourse as Critical Language Study.

• His main objective is "to help increaseconsciousness of how language contributes to thedomination of some people by others, becauseconsciousness is the first step for emancipation"(Fairclough,1989:1).

Fairclough’s Model

• From Fairclough’s perspective, discourse is athree-dimensional concept which involves:

1) Texts (the objects of linguistic analysis)

2) Discursive practices (the production,distribution and consumption of texts)

3) Social practices (the power relations, ideologiesand hegemonic struggles that discoursesreproduce, challenge or restructure).

These elements are the main dimensions with which Fairclough works (and investigates) as exemplified in his diagram:

A Sample of CDA

The Context

• Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saidon NBC’s “Meet the Press" that “the unbornperson doesn’t have constitutional rights.”

• Clinton made the statement in response to aquestion from “Meet the Press” host ChuckTodd.

• Clinton also said that an unborn child’sconstitutional rights are “not something thatexists.” (CNSNews.com)

• Democratic primary front-runner HillaryClinton ran afoul of both the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the abortion debate ( in thepresidency electoral campaign April 3rd, 2016),when she said constitutional rights do not applyto an “unborn person” or “child.”(WashingtonTimes)

• “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutionalrights,” Mrs. Clinton said on NBC’s “Meet thePress.” “Now that doesn’t mean that we don’t doeverything we possibly can in the vast majority ofinstances to, you know, help a mother who iscarrying a child and wants to make sure that childwill be healthy, to have appropriate medicalsupport.”

• Mrs. Clinton also said “there is room for reasonablekinds of restrictions” on abortion during the thirdtrimester of pregnancy.

Text Analysis

Vocabulary Grammar Cohesion Text Structure

Deals mainlywith individual

words:

•word choice• word meaning

• wording• metaphor

Deals with words

combined intoclauses andsentences:

• transitivity• modality

Deals with howclauses and

sentences arelinked together:

• connectives. argumentation

Deals with large scale

organizationalproperties:

•interactionalcontrol

•sentence length and complexity

Textual Analysis (Description)

• Vocabulary:

She has chosen the word “person” instead of “fetus” or “baby” or “child”.

• Using the word “person” has been criticized by both pro-life & also pro-choice supporters.

Pro-life supporters confirm that:

• “fetus” is indeed a “person” & has divine given the right of life.

• Here are some samples of their comments on Clinton’s youtube video:

• “This is why rights do not come from government but from God. Those atheists that say they can have morality without God are proved wrong by Bill's wife.”

• “She couldn't even look that camera in the lens and say "child."

• “She has already said “person”, hhhh.”

Pro-choice supporters also criticized her:

• Diana Arellano, manager of community engagement for Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, said that Mrs. Clinton’s comments undermined the cause for abortion rights. She “further stigmatizes abortion,”. “She calls a fetus an ‘unborn child’ & calls for later term restrictions.”

• Describing the fetus as a “person” or “child” has long been anathema to the pro-choice movement, which argues the terms misleadingly imply a sense of humanity.

• Choosing the term “constitutional rights”, has the connotations that:

• She regards the law & legislations,

• She will be a guard of US constitution,

• Only the rights will be protected that have been passed by the US constitution.

Grammar

• The utterance has been structured in negativedeclarative , simple sentence.

• Doesn’t have has been used to express negation,it consists of does (auxiliary)+ not (negationmarker)+ have (here is used as a main verbwhich implies the meaning of possession).

• Doesn’t have has been shifted to has no in somenews reports, which is more dramatic &emphatic.

Discursive Analysis (Interpretation)

• The force of the utterance

• The coherence of the text

• The intertextuality of the text

The Force of the Utterance

• The utterance is a direct speech act.

• The locutionary act is expressed in negativedeclarative.

• The illocutionary act functions as explicitperformative, to represent the speaker’s beliefsabout Abortion.

• She has made a reference to “constitution” toinform & assert that the issue is solved,constitutionally.

The Coherence of the Text

• The coherence relations in the text areconstructed inferentially.

• The hearers can conclude the speaker’s beliefs &attitude to stand with abortion, from her speechthat “The unborn person doesn’t haveconstitutional rights”.

The intertextuality of the text

• The speaker has quoted from United StatesConstitution.

• The issue of Abortion has various dimensions,such as ethical, religious, legal, medical, social,economical, and has also been politicized.

• These notions have all been intermingled in thetext.

Social Analysis ( Explanation)

• In relation to ideology and power, hegemonicstruggle between the pro-choice & pro-lifesupporters is observed in the text.

• The speaker dominates power due to herprofessional & political status.

• The ideology behind the text is secularism, &some feminism movements.

• The intention behind the text is to win the pro-choice supporters votes in the presidentialelection process.

• The text influences social practice legalizing &normalizing abortion, which leads to severalconsequences, like:

• More illegal relations, reduction of legalmarriages.

• More violence against women & unborn fetuses.

• More fund for abortion clinics, and more taxesdemanded from them to the government or tosupport pro-choice candidates in the elections.

Hillary Clinton:• “I have been proud to stand with Planned

Parenthood for a long time and, as president,

I will always have your back… We need to

protect Planned Parenthood from partisan

attacks… I will be your partner in the election

and for the long haul.”

According to Family Watch International statistics, more

than 6 000 000 millions innocent babies have been

aborted in America solely since 1970.

Thank You