What is' Discourse Analysis

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• What is. Discourse Analysis?
• Charles Antaki
• Loughborough University

19 slides 1 table Some data
2

• Why analyse discourse?

Many (all?) things happen primarily (only?) in
language
From (say) promising to come to dinner To
(say) defining marriage
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• Two definitions of discourse
• A set of terms, metaphors, allusions, ways of
  talking, references and so on, which constitute
  an object
• Exchange in talk (or text) that performs social
  actions

4

• How do you analyse discourse?
• Various ways. Depends on whether youre
  interested in...

Discourse that constitutes an object ..
or Discourse that realises a social action
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• First Discourse that constitutes an object

Usually some cultural object (marriage, crime,
obesity etc)
Data Media texts (e.g. news reports, magazine
articles, newspaper features) Personal accounts
(e.g. in interviews, diaries)
6

• From The Sun online 21 June 2006

7

• ENGLANDS next clash will be against a nation of
  GUINEA PIG eaters.We avoided a showdown with old
  enemy Germany for now and will play Ecuador
  on Sunday.
• Heres your Sun guide to the South American
  teams dangermen plus a few facts about the
  country where their national dish is a roasted
  pet.
• It would be easy to underestimate them. But
  Ecuador beat mighty Brazil and Argentina in the
  South American qualifying rounds.
• continues

8
The whole nation?

• ENGLANDS next clash will be against a nation of
  GUINEA PIG eaters.We avoided a showdown with old
  enemy Germany for now and will play Ecuador
  on Sunday.
• Heres your Sun guide to the South American
  teams dangermen plus a few facts about the
  country where their national dish is a roasted
  pet.

Nothing else?
Why old enemy?
Facts?
Whose pet?
9

• Ecuadors capital Quito is 9,300ft above sea
  level, giving their footballers a home advantage
  when they play in the thin air.
• They were a Spanish colony until they seized
  their independence in 1822. Out of a population
  of 14 million, 3,000 Ecuador fans are in Germany.
  Football is the No1 sport but they also love
  basketball and bullfights.
• The main exports are coffee and bananas.
• The language is Spanish. But lets hope their
  fans get no chance to shout Olé against England
  in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Other facts not chosen?
Whos us?
Inevitable Spanish-speaker behaviour?
10

• The Times online 22 June 2006

11

• PRESIDENT BUSH sought to repair his tattered
  reputation in Europe yesterday, talking of his
  deep desire to close the Guantanamo Bay prison
  camp and conceding that his response to the 9/11
  terrorist attacks had not been understood by much
  of the continent.

Assumes it is tattered
Compare expressing his deep desire
Assumes (someone) has made an accusation
12

• 2. Discourse accomplishing actions in interaction

People speak in a sequence, in turns.
Each turn has an implication for the next.
Data Video or audiotape recordings
13

• An example of analysing language-in-interaction

How do care-staff offer choices to people with
intellectual impairments?
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• Offering choices

avi
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• Repeat questions can imply a wrong choice

Alec
avi
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• Discourse Analysis - Some general worries
  objections

• Is it useful?
• reveals how objects get constituted unmasks
  the interests that it serves (and perhaps could
  be resisted)
• shows how mundane interaction achieves its
  business (and perhaps could be improved)

• Its not quantitative, so is it subjective?
• not particularly argument still has to convince
  readers,
• editors etc., by appeal to established findings
  theory

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18

• Two reasons why you shouldnt do Discourse
  Analysis

You wont be able to say that X caused Y
Youll be in danger of over-interpreting the data
or merely describing it
19

• Two reasons why you might do Discourse Analysis

The data (e.g. video recordings) are of life as
its lived
Youre where people do things - where the action
is
End