critical discourse analysis

Critical Discourse Critical Discourse AnalysisAnalysis

Discourse AnalysisDiscourse Analysis

Group 6Group 6Fira Nursya’baniFira Nursya’baniLuciyana DwiningrumLuciyana DwiningrumPrita Annisa UtamiPrita Annisa UtamiRiestia HandayaniRiestia Handayani Part IPart I

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OverviewOverview• Principles of Critical discourse analysisPrinciples of Critical discourse analysis• Doing critical discourse analysisDoing critical discourse analysis• Critical discourse analysis and genreCritical discourse analysis and genre• Critical discourse analysis and framingCritical discourse analysis and framing• Critical discourse analysis and multimodalityCritical discourse analysis and multimodality• Critical discourse analysis and identityCritical discourse analysis and identity• Critical discourse analysis and the world wide webCritical discourse analysis and the world wide web• Criticisms of critical discourse analysisCriticisms of critical discourse analysis


Critical Discourse AnalysisCritical Discourse Analysis

• Critical Discourse Analysis aims to help reveal Critical Discourse Analysis aims to help reveal some of the hidden and ‘out of sight’ values, some of the hidden and ‘out of sight’ values, positions, and perspectivespositions, and perspectives

• CDA explores the connection between the use CDA explores the connection between the use of language and the social and political of language and the social and political contexts in which it occurscontexts in which it occurs


Principles of Critical Discourse AnalysisPrinciples of Critical Discourse Analysis

• Some principles for CDA:Some principles for CDA:a)a) Social and political issues are constructed and Social and political issues are constructed and

reflected in discoursereflected in discourseb)b) Power relations are negotiated and Power relations are negotiated and

performed through discourseperformed through discoursec)c) Discourse both reflects and reproduces social Discourse both reflects and reproduces social

relationsrelationsd)d) Ideologies are produced and reflected in the Ideologies are produced and reflected in the

use of discourseuse of discourse


Doing Critical Discourse AnalysisDoing Critical Discourse Analysis

• CDA includes not only a description and CDA includes not only a description and interpretation of discourse in context, but also interpretation of discourse in context, but also offers an explanation of why and how discourses offers an explanation of why and how discourses workwork

• CDA might commence by deciding what discourse CDA might commence by deciding what discourse type or genre of the texttype or genre of the text

• The analysis may consider the The analysis may consider the framingframing of the text of the text• CDA, then, takes us beyond the level of CDA, then, takes us beyond the level of

description to a deeper understanding of texts description to a deeper understanding of texts


Cont’d…Cont’d…

At the sentence level, the analyst might consider At the sentence level, the analyst might consider what has been:what has been:

a)a) ““topicalized” in each of the sentences in the topicalized” in each of the sentences in the texttext

b)b) ““agent patient relations” in the discourseagent patient relations” in the discourse

Critical Discourse Analysis and GenreCritical Discourse Analysis and Genre

e.g Hong Kong government’s promotion: Hong e.g Hong Kong government’s promotion: Hong Kong as ‘Asia’s World City’Kong as ‘Asia’s World City’

Flowerdew (2004)Flowerdew (2004)• A public consultation document• The Hong Kong annual yearbook• A video


Critical Discourse Analysis and FramingCritical Discourse Analysis and FramingFramed: the way in which the content of a text Framed: the way in which the content of a text

is presented to the audienceis presented to the audience• ForegroundedForegrounded• Backgrounded Backgrounded

e.g Huckin (1997)e.g Huckin (1997)Newspaper report on a demonstration at a nuclear test site in the US

(page 188) (page 188)



• Readings of text are constructed not just by Readings of text are constructed not just by the use of words but by the combination of the use of words but by the combination of words with other modalitieswords with other modalities

• The use of The use of multimodal discoursemultimodal discourse establish a establish a ‘proximity’ to the events and engage people in ‘proximity’ to the events and engage people in the eventsthe events

Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis and MultimodalityMultimodality

VideoVideo


Example:Example:•How a family use language to create and How a family use language to create and socialize each other into a shared family socialize each other into a shared family political identitypolitical identity

• Online communities where social relations Online communities where social relations and identities are constructed through and identities are constructed through people’s participation and interaction with people’s participation and interaction with each othereach other

Critical Discourse Analysis and IdentityCritical Discourse Analysis and Identity


Critical Discourse Analysis and The Critical Discourse Analysis and The World Wide WebWorld Wide Web

• Many works of critical discourse analysis use Many works of critical discourse analysis use texts from world wide webtexts from world wide web

• There are some problems in using material There are some problems in using material from the world widefrom the world wide– SourceSource– AuthorityAuthority– AuthorAuthor– More than just wordsMore than just words


Cont’d...Cont’d...

• There are some advantages in using material There are some advantages in using material from world wide webfrom world wide web– Easy to findEasy to find– A lot of relevant dataA lot of relevant data– Can be used in research rorpus basedCan be used in research rorpus based


Criticism of Critical Discourse AnalysisCriticism of Critical Discourse Analysis

There are some critics toward critical discourse There are some critics toward critical discourse analysis:analysis:– Widdowson (1998, 2004)Widdowson (1998, 2004)

CDA should include discussion with the producers CDA should include discussion with the producers and consumers of texts.and consumers of texts.

– Van Noppen (2004)Van Noppen (2004)CDA does not always consider the role of the reader CDA does not always consider the role of the reader in the consumption and interpretationin the consumption and interpretation

– Schegloff (1997)Schegloff (1997)CDA does not provide detailed and systematic CDA does not provide detailed and systematic analysis of texts analysis of texts



– Toolan (1997)Toolan (1997)Analyst should be more critical and Analyst should be more critical and demanding of the tools of analysisdemanding of the tools of analysis

– Cameron (2001)Cameron (2001)A weakness in CDA is its reliance on just the A weakness in CDA is its reliance on just the analyst’s interpretation of the textsanalyst’s interpretation of the texts



There are some suggestions toward critical There are some suggestions toward critical discourse analysis:discourse analysis:– Benwell (2005)Benwell (2005)

Use a textual culture approach in CDAUse a textual culture approach in CDA– Martin (2000); Fairclough (2003)Martin (2000); Fairclough (2003)

Use systemic functional linguistics as a tool in CDAUse systemic functional linguistics as a tool in CDA– Mautner (2005a)Mautner (2005a)

Use corpus approaches as a way of increasing the Use corpus approaches as a way of increasing the qualitative dimension of CDAqualitative dimension of CDA



– McKenna (2004)McKenna (2004)expand CDA by drawing on work such as expand CDA by drawing on work such as schema theory in the area of language and schema theory in the area of language and cognitioncognition

– Threadgold (2003)Threadgold (2003)suggesting the issue of performatifitysuggesting the issue of performatifity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xftIgu0sIgIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xftIgu0sIgIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6BzEKhE2Qhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6BzEKhE2Q


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Thank you!Thank you!


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