What is Discourse Analysis?

Discourse analysis is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing

written, vocal, or sign language use or any significant semiotic event.

It is the study of language viewed communicatively or communication viewed

linguistically.

The focus of discourse analysis is any form of written or spoken language,

such as a conversation or a newspaper article.

Discourse Analysis is the study of language in use or language above the sentence.
So, it involves the study of both text and context.

Text is the linguistic content: the stable semantic meanings of words,

expressions, and sentences.

''Context'' is thus a world filled with people

producing utterances: people who have social, cultural, and personal
identities, knowledge, beliefs, goals and wants, and who interact with one
another in various socially and culturally defined situations.

Wetherell et al. (2001) present four possible approaches to DA, which

are summarized as follows:
1. The model that views language as a system and therefore it is important for
the researchers to find patterns.
2. The model that is based on the activity of language use, more than on
language in itself. Language is
viewed as a process and not as a product.
3. The model that searches for language patterns associated with a given topic
or activity (e.g. legal
discourse, psychotherapeutic discourse, etc.).
4. The model that looks for patterns within broader contexts, such as society
or culture. Here, language is viewed as part of major processes and
activities, and as such the interest goes beyond language (e.g. the study of
racism)

Who developed Discourse Analysis?

Discourse analysis is a qualitative method that has been adopted and developed by
social constructionists. Hence, discourse analysis is a way of understanding social
interactions.

It is a multi-disciplinary field, and hugely diverse in the range of its interests.

When performing DA, then, researchers may also engage themselves in Functional
Grammar, Sociolinguistics, Pragmatics or Cognitivism, because all these fields are
interrelated and have common tenets.
What do Discourse Analysts do?
Broadly speaking, discourse analysts investigate the use of language in context,
thus they are interested in what speakers/writers do.
Discourse analysts are interested in the actual patterns of use in naturally occurring
texts. These natural texts, once transcribed and annotated, are known as the
corpus, which constitutes the basis for analysis. Thus, discourse analysts
necessarily take a corpus-based approach to their research.

For example;
The language of humor
Dialogue in chat rooms
The conversation at a dinner table
The scripts of a given television program
The discourse of politicians
The use of linguistic politeness
The discourse of e-mail messages
Legal discourse used in trials
The structure of narrative
Turn-taking in telephone conversations
Openings and closings in different types of conversations
The characteristics of persuasive discourse
The discourse of the archives, records or files of linguists
The strategies used by speakers/writers in order to fulfil a given
discourse function (e.g. classroom discourse for metalinguistic explanations)

References
Alba-Juez, L. (2009).Perspectives on Discourse Analysis:Theory and Practice. New
Castle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
Trappes-Lomax, Hugh (2004) "Discourse analysis", in The Handbook of Applied
Linguistics ed. by A. Davies & C. Elder. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 13364.
Wetherell, M. (2001a). Debates in Discourse Research In S. Taylor & S. J. Yates (Eds.),
Discourse Theory and Practice. London: Sage.

Discourse
1. What is the definition of discourse?
The word discourse refers to more than just talkit encompasses any meaningful
use of language as well as communicative gestures
Discourse is inseparably linked to the social activities, the formation and
maintenance of social identities, the interactions of social groups, and the
establishment of social institutions.

2. What is discourse analysis?

Discourse analysis considers how language, both spoken and written, enacts social
and cultural perspectives and identities. Discourse analysis, by definition, gives a lot
of attention to the contexts of learning, and it rests upon observable behavior such
as speech, written text, and gestures, requiring less appeal to invisible structures
and states.
Essentially a discourse analysis involves asking questions about how language, at a
given time and place, is used to engage in the seven building tasks:

significance
practices
identities
relationships
politics
connections
sign system and
knowledge