an approach from Critical Discourse Analysis Analysing Newspapers an approach from Critical Discourse Analysis John E Richardson Department of Language Studies, Canterbury Christ Church 14 December 2007

Discourse analysis: some assumptions Discourse analysis = the analysis of texts in context. Discourse is language in use Discourse is necessarily situated in a context. No practice detached from a social context, and no social context is ever wholly neutral. Constituted/Constitutive: “language simultaneously reflects reality (‘the way things are’) and constructs (construes) it to be a certain way” (Gee, 1999: 82).

CDA: an approach to discourse Language must play some part in producing and reproducing social inequalities. In response, “CDA sees itself as politically involved research” (Titscher et al, 2000: 147). CDA investigates, and aims at illustrating, “relationships between the text and its social conditions, ideologies and power-relations” (Wodak, 1996: 20)

Fairclough: three-site analysis For Fairclough, CDA means: ‘…the analysis of relationships between concrete language use and the wider social cultural structures. […] He attributes three dimensions to every discursive event. It is simultaneously text, discursive practice - which also includes the production and interpretation of texts - and social practice. The analysis is conducted according to these three dimensions.’ (Titscher et al, 2000: 149-50)

1. Text-as-discourse Fig.1 Analysis should be playful View texts as the result of a series of many choices We should ask: how could this have been different?

2 Discursive practices Text-Linguistics is not enough: “If we see discourse as contextualised language, and take this dimension of contextualisation seriously, we shall be forced to develop a linguistics that ceases to be linguistic from a certain point onwards” (Blommaert, 2005: 235)

3. Social practices - markets, ownership, advertising, government, the law, etc. - cause, consequences, social benefits/harm

Discourse practices, revisited

Discourse practice, an expanding model

Conclusions linguistic analysis will only ever reveal so much. We need also to look at: the discourse processes enacted during production and consumption; the ways that these are themselves affected by and reflect earlier texts and earlier interactions; and the ways that newspaper discourse – as a system of systems – relates to power, ideology and social inequalities

References Blommaert, J (2005) Discourse: a critical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni Press Fairclough, N (1995) Media Discourse. London: Edward Arnold Gee, J. P. (1999) An introduction to discourse analysis: theory and method. London: Routledge Richardson, J. E (2007) Analysing Newspapers: an approach from critical discourse analysis. Houndmills: Palgrave Titscher, S., Meyer, M., Wodak, R. & Vetter, E. (2000) Methods of Text and Discourse Analysis. London: Sage Wodak, R. (1996) Disorders of Discourse. London: Longman.