Discourse & Society II (Edit)

TRAJ 412
Discourse Analysis
Paltridge, B. (2021). Discourse analysis: An introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
galghamdi@ksu.edu.sa 1
Central Idea of the Chapter
It discusses, in more detail, important
aspects of the social and cultural settings of
spoken and written discourse.
It starts with a discussion of the notion of
discourse communities.
Discourse and language

choice
Then discourse and identity:
Social identity
Gender identity
Ideology and discourse
Discourse Communities
People who:
• share common goals , some mechanism of communication and
some way of providing the exchange of information
• they must have:
• their own particular genres, specialized terminology,
vocabulary and expertise in a particular area
They also:
• share some kind of activity
• have a particular way of communicating
• share values and beliefs
Speech communities and spoken Defining a speech community
and written discourse
• group of who speak the same • it includes characteristics such

language and have the as social, geographical,
opportunity to interact with cultural, political, and ethnic
each other factors.
• it is important for effective use • a person can be part of more
of spoken and written discourse than one speech community
to feel part of the same speech • in other cases, speakers may
community not always be full members of a
speech community or discourse
community depending on
different factors
Discourse, social class and social
Discourse and language choice networks
• The choice of language may • Social class include factors

be determined by the domain such as occupation,
the language is being used in education, income, housing
depending on the setting that and its location
can be for example: familiar, • social grouping may also be
educational, friends, etc. influenced by religious
affiliation, leisure time
• The age of the speakers may activities and membership of
also be important when community organizations
choosing the most
appropriate language
Discourse and gender
Is the language used to describe males

different from the language used to
describe females?
Do men and women use language

differently?
What research has been on these

questions and how accurate is in the
21st Century?
An examination of the
ways language is used in
relation to the social
category, or rather the
socially constructed
category , of gender.
Gender, then, is not just a natural
and inevitable consequence of
one’s biological sex
(Weatherall 2002 )
It is, rather, ‘part of the routine,

ongoing work of everyday,
mundane, social interaction’; that
is, ‘the product of social practice’
(Eckert and McConnell-Ginet
2003:5).
In line with gender theory more
generally, researchers interested in
language and gender have focused
increasingly on plurality and
diversity amongst female and male
language users, and on gender as
performativity – something that is
‘done’ in context, rather than a
fixed attribute.
The discussion of how men and women speak, and what they do as they
speak, has also been extended to how people speak about men and women.
Holmes ( 2004 ), for example,

compared the use of the terms woman and lady and found that the social
significance of these terms has changed over the last 30 years.
Woman has moved from being marked as impolite to a situation where this
is no longer the case
Lady/ladies may be used as a politeness marker in formal settings nowadays,
however, in informal settings it is also used to trivialize and patronize.
Identity is, equally, conveyed through writing as well as through speech.

Gender, then, is ‘not something a Butler ( 1990 : 33) calls ‘a set of
person “has”, but something that a repeated acts’ and a ‘repeated
person does’ (Cameron 2005a : 49). stylisation of the body’.
Gender (and in turn other identities) These gendered identities are then
is not a result of what people ‘reaffirmed and publicly displayed by
(already) are but a result of, among repeatedly performing particular
other things, the way they talk and acts’ (Cameron 1999 : 444) in
what they do. accordance with historically and
Doing gender identity: socially constructed cultural norms
which define (this particular view of)
The way they talk femininity.
The way they dress
The way they behave as they speak Gender identity then is a complex
to each other construction.
Indexing The features of language use which
do this are not at a single level such
as a particular vowel quality, choice
The extent to which these roles, of vocabulary item, grammatical
activities and personality traits structure or language variety.
become associated in a particular
culture with being gendered lead to
these ways of speaking pointing to, This occurs, rather, at multiple levels,
or indexing a particular gender. all at the same time.
Particular ways of speaking may The use of language may be, in part,
point to, or index, a person’s social intentional and it may, in part, be
class or ethnic identity. habitual.
Trends of female spoken language Trends of male spoken language
- Hedges (words and phrases which - A more direct style

soften or weaken the force with which - use directives and
something is said, e.g. perhaps)
- Polite forms explicit commands more e.g. 'Give me
- Tag questions (turning a statement into the scissors“
a question, e.g. isn't it?) - Interrupt more, more often with me to
- Emphatic language e.g. so hijack the conversation, or dominate
Empty adjectives e.g. adorable, sweet - Swear more
Hypercorrect grammar and punctuation - Better sense of humour
- Lack of humour - Tell more jokes
- Direct quotations - Simplified vocabulary in some fields
- Specialised vocabulary e.g. in colour - Use more non standard forms they
terms 'dumb down' their language as a
- Question intonation in a declarative means of social bonding.
Context
- Intensifiers such as so, very, absolutely galghamdi@ksu.edu.sa 15
Identity, further, is not something

that is pre-assigned in fixed social
categories. It, rather, is something
that emerges in practice, through
the use of discourse
A person’s different identities may be difficult to separate.
A person, then, will have a multiplicity of identities or personae which

may be at play all at the same time, at different levels of prominence.
They may not all be equally salient

at a particular moment.
One or more of these identities may be foregrounded at different
points in time and for different (conscious or unconscious) reasons.
Different aspects of identity, further, may be inseparable from each

other.
Discourse and Identity
A person may have a variety of
different identities.
A lot that happens in the field

of identity is constructed by
others.
E.g.,
Identities that people establish
online provide and interesting
examples of how people
creates identities though the
use of the language.
According to Gee , discourse is language plus "
other stuff " : values , belief , symbols , objects ,
and places , etc. . ( Gee 1999 : 17 )
Fairclough thinks that discourse is a practice

representing , signifying , constituting and
constructing the world in meaning including
identity . ( Fairclough 1992 : 64 ) .
More recent work
Earliest Studies
It has taken a poststructural
They were based on a perspective on language and
variationist perspective. identity.
It sees identity ‘as something
They looked at the relationship that is in constant process’
between social variables vs. (Swann et al. 2004 : 140–1)
linguistic variables (social class
vs. pronunciation, or the use of
non-standard grammar) It is through language, or rather
through discourse, that identity
is principally forged.
Identity created Identity recognized
The information a person ‘gives off’ This information is

about themself, and in turn, their recognized by other
identity, depends on participants in the
The context interactions.
The occasion
The purpose of the discourse. No single aspect of identity
The ‘space’ and ‘place’ of the (such as gender, race and
interaction. ethnicity), further, is
E.g., independent of other
aspects of identity (such as
Masculine identity social class, and
National identity occupation).
Identity is a social
accomplishment that ‘operates
as a repertoire of styles, or ways
of doing things that are
associated with culturally
recognized social types’ (Bucholtz 2010: 2).
The identities that people
establish online,
how people create identities

through their use of language
(and other visual devices) that
may, in some cases, be separate
and distinct from their offline
identity.
Each of these identities is part of

the ongoing process of
establishing who we are, and
who we want (at least at certain
times) to be.
Identity and casual conversation
We use discourse to create, express
and establish social and other
identities
E.g., Casual conversations as a way

of negotiating social identities and
clarify and extend interpersonal
relations.
Language may be influenced by

relationship between the
participants among others
The way in which language is
used in casual conversations is
influenced by
- The relationship between the
people speaking.
- The frequency of contact with
each other.
- The degree of involvement they
have with each other.
- Their sense of affiliation for
each other.
Best of friends.
Co-workers
Colleagues
Classmates
Mothers
Teachers
they are each quite different and from quite

diverse backgrounds.
As they meet together, they share their

experiences and negotiate their
understandings.
They construct themselves in a way that signifies a

desirable self of a particular social class in a certain
physical and social setting through their use of the
genre of casual conversation.
Understanding the social and
cultural context of the
conversations is critical to
understanding the identities that
are being expressed and
negotiated.
Butler’s ( 2004 ) ‘sets of repeated

acts’ and ‘repeated stylizations of
the body’:
The acts that they repeatedly

perform reaffirm and publicly
display their views of themselves,
and in turn their social identities.
Identity
When we speak (or write), then, we are telling other people ‘something
about ourselves’ (Cameron 2001 : 170) and relating to people in
particular ways.
Identity, thus, is a joint, two-way production.
It is not just a matter of using language in a way that reflects a

particular identity.
It is rather a socially constructed self that people continually co-
construct and reconstruct in their interactions with each other.
This leads to different ways of doing identity with different people in

different situations.
Identity
Identity is a ‘negotiated experience’ in which we ‘define who we are by
the way we experience our selves . . . as well as by the ways we and
others reify our selves.’
Identities are not fixed but are constantly being reconstructed and
negotiated through the ways we do thing, and ways of belonging (or
not) to a group
Our identities are further developed as we increase our participation in

particular communities of practice.
These identities, further, are based on shared sets of values, agreed-

upon cultural understandings and the ideologies which underlie our
use of spoken and written discourse.
Identity and written academic discourse
Almost everything people
write say something about
them and the short of
relationship that they want to
set up with the readers.
Second language writer may be

influenced by their
experiences in their first
language.
Identity and written academic discourse
Academic literacies
Understanding what is required of writers at

a particular level of study in terms of
attitudes to knowledge and how this is
revealed through language.
how a writer, at the particular level, shows

their command of their subject matter and
their ability to critically reflect on it.
to show both their authorial identity and

authority through the text they are writing in
such a way that their reader will recognize
and respond to this galghamdi@ksu.edu.sa 34
Self-representation in academic writing
The concept of the discoursal self
There is always a range of alternatives

writers can choose from in order to
represent themselves in a text,
- their relationship with their readers,

- and their relationship to the knowledge
they are discussing.
Academic literacies Example
Stance (express their attitude towards a proposition)
Self mentions ( I , we , my )
Hedges ( might , perhaps ),
Boosters ( definitely , in fact )
Attitude markers (unfortunately and
surprisingly)
Engagement (acknowledge and recognize the presence)

Reader pronouns
Personal asides
Appeals to shared knowledge
Directives
Questions
(Hyland, 2005) galghamdi@ksu.edu.sa 36
Discourse and ideology
An ideology is, in some ways,
like a coalition of ideas.
Discourse, a construct with the

personal thought which
reflects personal behaviour
and attitude, is known as the
ideology.
The socially conditioned and

socially constructed ideas are
considered as ideology.
What is ideology?
Ideology is set of beliefs and values
that are held by an individual or a
group of people.
Ideology shapes people actions,

thoughts, interaction, etc. which in
turn shapes the processes of society.
Ideology may change the discourse .

It includes how person's ideology will
influence how they speak and write;
also, in various contexts, whether in
a public discourse or private one
- Texts are never ideology-free
nor objective.
- Texts cannot be separated from
social realities.
- A spoken or written genre is

never just the reformulation of a
linguistic model, but always the
performance of a politically and
historically significant process.
- It always intends to convey or
propagate a message to the
readers / listeners.
How might ideology be explored in a text?
The analysis may start by looking at textual features in the text and
move from there to explanation and interpretation of the analysis.
This may include
- tracing underlying ideologies from the linguistic features of a text
- unpacking particular biases and ideological presuppositions
underlying the text
- relating the text to other texts, and to readers’ and speakers’
own experiences and beliefs
(Clark 1995 )
How ideology are explored in a text?
How ideology are explored in a text?
Framing: how content in the text is presented and the sort
of angle or perspective the writer, or speaker, is taking.
Foregrounding: what concepts and issues are emphasized &

what concepts or issues are played down or backgrounded.
Presuppositions: an implicit assumption about the world or

background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is
taken for granted in discourse.
Framing
To be coherent, a text cannot simply be
a collection of details; rather, it must try
to pull these details together into some
sort of unified whole.
One particularly powerful way of framing

a text is through the use of visual aids.
Analysts should be alert to photographs,
sketches, diagrams, formatting devices,
and other visual embellishments.
Foregrounding
Textual prominence sometimes derives
from the use of genres, as certain genres
will sometimes have "slots" that
automatically bestow prominence on any
information occupying those slots.
For example, the top-down orientation

of news reports decrees that sentences
occurring early in the report will be fore
grounded while those occurring later will
be backgrounded.
The word terrorism in reports on the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict
Al-Jazeera BBC CNN
frequently put the term in did not distance itself
problematized the quotes. from the term,
term by prefacing it suggesting more
support for this notion
with so-called and than the other two
described as . sources, and thereby
encouraging their
readers to view it this
way as well.
What is the purpose of such analyses?
Analyses of this kind, then, take us beyond the level of description to a
deeper understanding of texts and provides, as far as might be
possible, some kind of explanation of why text might be as it is and
what it is aiming to do.
They look at the relationship between language, social norms and

values and aim to describe, interpret and explain this relationship.
In doing so, they aim to provide a way of exploring and perhaps

challenging some of the hidden and ‘out of sight’ social, cultural and
political values that underlie the use of spoken and written discourse.

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TRAJ 412

Discourse and language

• group of who speak the same • it includes characteristics such

• The choice of language may • Social class include factors

Is the language used to describe males

Do men and women use language

What research has been on these

It is, rather, ‘part of the routine,

Holmes ( 2004 ), for example,

Identity is, equally, conveyed through writing as well as through speech.

- Hedges (words and phrases which - A more direct style

Identity, further, is not something

A person, then, will have a multiplicity of identities or personae which

They may not all be equally salient

Different aspects of identity, further, may be inseparable from each

A lot that happens in the field

Fairclough thinks that discourse is a practice

The information a person ‘gives off’ This information is

how people create identities

Each of these identities is part of

E.g., Casual conversations as a way

Language may be influenced by

they are each quite different and from quite

As they meet together, they share their

They construct themselves in a way that signifies a

Butler’s ( 2004 ) ‘sets of repeated

The acts that they repeatedly

Identity, thus, is a joint, two-way production.

It is not just a matter of using language in a way that reflects a

This leads to different ways of doing identity with different people in

Our identities are further developed as we increase our participation in

These identities, further, are based on shared sets of values, agreed-

Second language writer may be

Understanding what is required of writers at

how a writer, at the particular level, shows

to show both their authorial identity and

There is always a range of alternatives

- their relationship with their readers,

Engagement (acknowledge and recognize the presence)

Discourse, a construct with the

The socially conditioned and

Ideology shapes people actions,

Ideology may change the discourse .

- A spoken or written genre is

Foregrounding: what concepts and issues are emphasized &

Presuppositions: an implicit assumption about the world or

One particularly powerful way of framing

For example, the top-down orientation

They look at the relationship between language, social norms and

In doing so, they aim to provide a way of exploring and perhaps

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