Lectures 21-22

Different types of Discourse

• 1.The Relationship between Gender and

Discourse
• 2. Types of Feminist Discourse
• 3. Discourse and Ideology
• 4.Different types of National Discourse
• In sociolinguistics and other related areas of
academia, discourse is usually defined as the
relationship between language and its real-
world context.
• Many researchers and theorists relate
discourse specifically to power structures in a
given society, and this is the area where there
is the most overlap between gender and
discourse.
• Approaches to gender and discourse research may
analyze the way language reflects or influences
gender stereotypes, or they may discuss the
differences between how men and women use
language.
• Much use of the word discourse in the late 20th and
early 21st centuries was influenced by the work of
the French philosopher Michel Foucault, who
defined the use of language and other sign systems as
a means to control people's actions.
• Drawing on Foucault's theories, many
researchers have analyzed gender in relation to
existing social and cultural power structures.
Some theorists argue that the way language is
used re-enforces existing power structures,
while others claim that discourse simply
reflects the existing state of affairs.
• The relationship between power and discourse
may also be viewed as cyclical or mutually re-
enforcing: social structures influence
language, and language influences social
structures. Foucaultian approaches to gender
and discourse tend to focus on the relationship
between gender and power.
• Some research focuses on the difference between
how men and women are portrayed in discourse.
• For instance, some studies of gender and discourse
analyze the way men and women are viewed in
public communication, such as advertising or TV.
• The goal of such analysis is often to reveal the
unspoken assumptions about gender interactions
and the underlying power structures that these
interactions reveal.
• On the other hand, a significant portion of gender
discourse studies analyzes the difference between how
women and men themselves use language. These types of
studies almost always concentrate on a particular culture
or sub-culture.
• For example, one study of Malagasy-speaking people
revealed women's speech to be more direct in that cultural
context, while men's speech was more round-about.
• This study provoked debate about the types of power
wielded when each style of communication was used.
• Across many different cultures, women's speech styles
are often found to have power within domestic
circumstances, while men's speech is believed to be more
powerful in public settings. Most theorists believe that
this difference is due primarily to the way boys and girls
are socialized from a young age, rather than from innate
biological differences between the sexes.
• They may disagree, however, about whether these
differences constitute a form of societal oppression of
women.
• Those who identify as gender-egalitarian or
gender-liberal may argue that these differences
should not exist.
• On the other hand, some people, such as
difference feminists, would respond that
although the power assigned to women in
society is of a different type than that assigned
to men, it is not an inherently unequal system.
• Feminist discourse can be rooted in liberal, radical,
or socialist themes. It might also be normative or
descriptive in terms of its tone, language, and implied
action.
• Common types of discourse that contain feminist
ideologies include essays, poetry, novels, and
editorials.
• Conversations between individuals, as well as
advertising and promotional messages, can display
elements of feminism.
• Textbooks that discuss and expand theories, historical
developments, political movements, and business
practices might also use feminist language.
• Liberal feminist discourse assumes that in order for
women to achieve equal status in society, they must think
and behave in ways traditionally associated with men.
• Most of the language that displays this theme encourages
women to support themselves financially, pursue careers
over family life, and become less submissive.
• The primary direction behind liberal feminist 
ideology is equality and freedom in terms of social
and economic power, including a more equal and
accurate portrayal of female characters in the media.
• A second type of feminist discourse is radical,
which expresses the idea that women are different.
• The purpose behind radical feminist ideology is to
exalt and celebrate the differences that women bring
to society.
• As a philosophy, radical feminism can be
viewed as extreme as it tends to support the
idea that women should be segregated from
men.
• Potential themes present in radical discourse
include establishing a separate set of rules,
language, and female driven societies that
demolish patriarchal structure and power.
• Rather than focusing primarily on gender as the
reason for female inequality, socialist feminist
discourse also takes into account financial and
social class.
• For example, Caucasian women who are born
into families with economic and social
influence typically have more control and
privilege than middle-class women or women
of other races.
• This type of discourse seeks to get rid of
sexism by evenly distributing the familial
responsibilities of men and women.
• It also attempts to even out socioeconomic
differences and change the way women are
portrayed in the media.
• The language of feminist discourse can be
either normative or descriptive.
• Normative language tends to make claims and
define potential solutions to sexism, such as
that women and men should have equal
opportunities for promotions to executive level
positions.
• Descriptive language, on the other hand, tends
to describe why and how females are
disadvantaged in society.
• An example of descriptive feminist discourse
might be a statement such as, "A
disproportionate amount of corporate
executives are male because female applicants
tend to be dismissed and overlooked due to
their gender."
• Feminist discourse might focus on the
perception of women on social media.
• The relationship between discourse and 
ideology is profound, as these two elements of
human thought and communication relate to
each other in many ways.
• Some explorations of the relationship between
discourse and ideology focus on the ways that
ideology affects discourse.
• Other studies might focus on how discourse is
used as a means of disseminating an ideology.
• All of this helps to illustrate how discourse and
ideology are interconnected, and how studying
one can provide insight on the other.
• One common aspect of studying discourse and
ideology is examining how a specific ideology
will change discourse.
• This includes how a person’s ideology will
influence how they speak and write.
• It also can involve studying how a common ideology,
often an implicit ideology, will affect discourse
between two or more people in various contexts,
whether in a public discourse, or a private one.
• For example, many researchers have tried to provide
a link between ideology and evident racism in
discourse.
• A person’s ideology will influence how they speak
and write.
• Another way to look at these elements involves
studying rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices
are tools used in discourse to persuade an
audience.
• These are often employed in a strategy to
evangelize a specific ideology.
• In these situations, it may be helpful to figure
out what specific rhetorical devices are
effective.
• An example of studying rhetorical strategy in
the exploration of discourse and ideology is
the use of “spectacle,” and related persuasive
strategies.
• Some rhetorical devices, such as those called
“glittering generalities,” are often used in
tandem with powerful visual appeals to an
audience.
• Glittering generalities are vague words meant
to evoke a powerful feeling in a audience
because of shared ideology.
• These and other types of devices, in many
ways, seek to relay a more detailed ideology
through relying on a more basic or
conventional ideology such as patriotism or
religion.
• Studying both elements may involve specific
research methodologies. Researchers may
present their findings in a formal format,
including data sets used to support a thesis or
hypothesis.
• These studies will often seek to draw further
connections between elements of discourse and
ideology that may have already been associated
or researched.
• The progressive study of these connections is part of
an advanced attempt to understand the spoken or
written word in a fuller context, in this case, in the
context of closely held personal mores or values that
may not be explicitly part of a discourse, but may still
affect a person’s style of communicating.
• Ultimately, the ability to manage discourse allows a
person to exercise some degree of power over the
responses of others.
•  
• National discourse refers to forms of
communication that occur at a national level,
though it can also be used to indicate topics and
subjects that are considered of national
importance.
• Different types of national discourse can take
just about as many forms as communication in
general, though certain methods are more
prominent than others.
• Verbal forms of expression can range from
face-to-face contact between individuals at a
national political debate, to large-scale events
like rallies.
• There are additional forms of verbal
communication that take place on television,
such as news broadcasts and press conferences
that provide information and outlets for ideas.
• With the development of the Internet at the
end of the 20th Century, non-verbal forms of
national discourse have become increasingly
important, including the use of Internet news
sites and email communications.
• Many of the most common methods of
expression at this level are through verbal
means of communication.
• Political debates and rallies, for example, are
large events that can be nationally televised so
that most citizens of a country can be witness
to them.
• Discussions and ideas expressed at these types
of events are often part of the discourse and
can be further considered and explored by
citizens of a country for weeks afterward.
• The proliferation of television sets throughout
many countries in the world throughout the
20th Century has also changed the way
national discourse occurs.
• Weekly or nightly news broadcasts are used by
many people as a way to learn about what is
going on in the world and in their country.
• The comments and opinions of broadcasters can
have a tremendous influence on the national
discourse in a country, since these ideas are
received by thousands or millions of people.
• Press conferences and public addresses are often
broadcast over television to ensure as large an
audience as possible is witness to them, since
such talks are usually of national importance.
• As the Internet has become increasingly
popular and accessible, it has also developed a
place within the national discourse of many
countries.
• Communication over the Internet, however,
can take many different forms and is as likely
to be in text as it is in recorded audio and
video.
• Blogs and social networking sites have become a
hotbed of conversation and discourse for many
people who find the freedom of the Internet to be
a natural forum for discussing political issues.
• Email communications have made the
distribution of ideas even faster and easier.
• Video hosting sites have also allowed the
Internet to fill many of the functions previously
provided only by television news broadcasts.