Discourse analysis

From Geography

Revision as of 10:10, 6 September 2011

Discourse analysis considers how language, both spoken and written, enacts social and cultural perspectives and identities. But this discourse does not only contain language, also actions, interactions, ways of thinking, believing, valuing, symbol use, tools and objects are taken into account. These discourses are present everywhere, at any time of the day. They determine the way we speak, think and act. At the same time these things are limited by our discourse. Discourses frame our daily life.

As a method discourse analysis tries to go behind language. When we speak or write we design what we have to say to fit the situation in which we are communicating. At the same time this speaking or writing creates that situation. How we design the things we say and write, depends on the seven 'building tasks' of language:

1. Significance: how a piece of language is being used to makes certain thing less or more important.

2. Activities: how a piece of language is being used to make clear to other what it is I think I'm doing, which activity.

3. Identities: how a piece of language is being used to get recognized as taking on a certain identity or role.

4. Relationships: how a piece of language is being used to make clear what sort of relationship we have, want to have or are trying to have with our listener or reader.

5. Politics: how a piece of language is being used to state the perspective on the distribution of social goods, what is being seen as being normal, right, good, correct, proper, etc.

6. Connections: how a piece of language is being used to render certain things connected or relevant or to build these connections and relevance.

7. Sign systems & knowledge: how a piece of language privilege or disprivilege specific sign systems, or different ways of knowing and believing.

When executing a discourse analysis the text is first seen as a whole, but then divided in certain levels. The first is a part or section, which is a larger section in the text. The next level is a stanza, a part of the text that deals with a certain topic. And last but not least the lines, a sentence or a part of a sentence. When analyzing these levels of the text you should always take the seven building tasks into account.

The result of a discourse analysis is a discourse model. A generalized version of someone's frame of reference in a certain place and time in history. This is a stereo- or idealtype, a certain frame of reference.

References:

Gee, J.P. (1999). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis; theory and method. London: Routledge.

Published by Evelien de Beer & Richard Huttinga