Discourse Analysis: In Plain Language

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Discourse AnalysisIn Plain Language

• Philippa Smith
• Discourse Research Group
• AUT

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Fasold, R. (1990)

• The study of discourse is the study of any
  aspect of language use.

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Du Gay, P. (1996)

• Discourse is a group of statements which
  provide a language for talking about a topic and
  a way of producing a particular kind of knowledge
  about a topic. Thus the term refers both to the
  production of knowledge through language and
  representations and the way that knowledge is
  institutionalized, shaping social practices and
  setting new practices into play.

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Fairclough, N. (1995)

• The term discourse is widely and
  sometimes confusingly used in various
  disciplines. It is helpful to distinguish two
  main senses. One is predominant in language
  studies discourse as social action and
  interaction, people interacting together in real
  social situations. The other is predominant in
  post-structuralist social theory Foucaulta
  discourse as a social construction of reality, a
  form of knowledge.

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Smith and Bell, 2007

• Discourse analysis involves a close
  examination of text, including visual imagery and
  sound as well as spoken or written language. It
  is concerned with both the form of the text and
  its use in social context, its construction,
  distribution and reception. It aims to understand
  and elucidate the meanings and social
  significance of the text.

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Phillips and Hardy (2002)

• Without discourse, there is no social
  reality, and without understanding discourse, we
  cannot understand our reality, our experience or
  ourselves.

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Stubbe, M. et al. (2003)

• Multiple discourse analyses of a workplace
  interaction.
• Discourse Studies. 5 (3) 351-389.

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British Columbia Whale Watching Industryexample
one from Phillips, N. Hardy, C. (2002).

• Business study of whale watching industry
• Identified actors
• Collected data
• Findings
• Outcomes

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Actors

• 1. Main - commercial whale watchers
• researchers
• Lesser - amateur whale watchers
• seaplane companies
• ferry companies
• fishing boat companies
• Regulators - Govt. British Columbia
• Coastguards
• Travel tourism boards assoc

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Data collection

• 17 tape recorded, semi-structured i/views
• key actors (1995-96)
• Textual materials - brochures, books etc
• Scholarly texts
• Internet Movie Database
• Microsoft Cinemania CD-ROM
• Film oriented Internet newsgroups
• Personal communications
• Movies - Moby Dick to Free Willy

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Findings

• Concept of whales changed from dangerous monsters
  to intelligent individuals
• Resulted through complex processes of multiple
  discourses
• This provided a space within which institutional
  entrepreneurs worked to influence the field

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Outcomes of research

• Broader, more contextualised understanding of
  collaboration (discursive activity)
• Developed framework based on a discursive
  approach to explain dynamics of collaboration
• Understand how collaboration can be managed

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Example 2 from Tuffin, K., Praat, A. Frewin,
K. (2004)New Zealand Journal of Psychology, Vol
33, No. 2.

• Analysing a Silent Discourse
• Sovereignty and tino
• rangatiratanga in Aotearoa

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Points of interest

• Social psychology of race relations
• Discursively analyses construction of sovereignty
  from focus group
• Offers alternative to dominant discourses
  surrounding nationhood
• Illustrates how oppressive race talk can be
  challenged

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Extract 1 Whats your understanding of
sovereignty?

• Gareth That ((pause)) what were really talking
  about constantly is tino rangatiratanga. I mean
  thats the safe basis to go back to because
  thats what the Treaty actually says. Um
  sovereignty is a translation of that, and its a
  translation which ah has been one that Maori have
  used, probably without thinking very much about
  it because it was clearly the word that ah
  Britain was using ((pause)) and more recently the
  Settler Government ((pause))

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Extract 2

• GarethWe could get into much more detail than
  that. um - I think for instance that this country
  has suffered. Ah from picking up a notion of
  sovereigntyof national sovereignty based on the
  way that Britain saw it, and still to some extent
  sees it. In one narrow window of her history mm
  ah and its a very unusual meaning and its a
  meaning that says sovereignty is a single thing
  and its concentrated and exercised only in one
  place mm and most of the states in the world that
  Im aware of dont operate that way.

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References

• Du Gay, P. (1996). Consumption and identity at
  work London Sage Publications.
• Fairclough, N. (1995). Media Discourse. London
  Edward Arnold.
• Fasold, R. (1990). Sociolinguistics of Language.
  Oxford Blackwells.
• Phillips, N. Hardy, C. (2002). Discourse
  analysis Investigating processes of social
  construction. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage
  Publications.
• Smith, P. Bell, A. (2007).Unravelling the web
  of discourse analysis in Media Studies Key
  issues and debates. Eoin Devereux (ed). London
  Sage Publications.