Discourse Analysis Overview: Lesson 1

What is Discourse Analysis?

• Discourse analysis is a research method that studies written or spoken language in relation to its social context.
• It aims to understand how language is used in real-life situations.
• Key foci of discourse analysis include: purposes and effects of different types of language, cultural rules and conventions in communication, and how values, beliefs, and assumptions are communicated.

Applications of Discourse Analysis

• Discourse analysis is a common qualitative research method in many humanities and social science disciplines, including linguistics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and cultural studies.
• It can be applied to any instance of written or oral language, as well as non-verbal aspects of communication such as tone and gestures.
• Suitable materials for discourse analysis include books, newspapers, marketing materials, business and government documents, websites, forums, social media posts, and interviews.

How Discourse Analysis Differs from Other Methods

• Discourse analysis emphasizes the contextual meaning of language, focusing on the social aspects of communication.
• It differs from linguistic approaches that focus only on the rules of language use.
• Instead of focusing on smaller units of language, discourse analysis studies larger chunks of language, such as entire conversations, texts, or collections of texts.

Levels of Analysis in Discourse Analysis

Vocabulary

• Words and phrases can be analyzed for ideological associations, formality, and euphemistic and metaphorical content.

Grammar

• The way sentences are constructed (e.g., verb tenses, active or passive construction, and the use of imperatives and questions) can reveal aspects of intended meaning.

Structure

• The structure of a text can be analyzed for how it creates emphasis or builds a narrative.

Genre

• Texts can be analyzed in relation to the conventions and communicative aims of their genre (e.g., political speeches or tabloid newspaper articles).

Non-Verbal Communication

• Non-verbal aspects of speech, such as tone of voice, pauses, gestures, and sounds like “um,” can reveal aspects of a speaker's intentions, attitudes, and emotions.

Conversational Codes

• The interaction between people in a conversation, such as turn-taking, interruptions, and listener response, can reveal aspects of cultural conventions and social roles.

Conducting Discourse Analysis

• Discourse analysis is a qualitative and interpretive method of analyzing texts.
• It involves making interpretations based on both the details of the material itself and on contextual knowledge.
• Steps to conduct discourse analysis include: defining the research question, selecting the content of analysis, and making interpretations based on the material and contextual knowledge.