FAIRCLOUGH

AND CDA
• Maslathif Dwi Purnomo, Ph.D
 Norman Fairclough
■ Norman Fairclough is a Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics
and English Language at Lancaster University.

■ He is one of the founders of critical discourse analysis as applied to

sociolinguistics.

■ He is known as one of the prominent figures in the discussion of

language,
discourse, and society.
 Discourse Analysis
■ Discourse Analysis is an approach to the analysis of written, vocal, or sign
language use or any significant semiotic event. It is a method of analyzing
the structure of texts or utterances longer than one sentence.

■ It is research method for studying written or spoken language in relation to

its social context. It aims to understand how language is used in real life
situation.

■ Discourse analysis helps in studying the underpinning meaning of a spoken

or
written text as it considers the social and historical contexts.
 Critical Discourse Analysis
■ CDA is concerned with how power is exercised through language. It is a type of
Discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse,
dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted by text and talk
in the social and political context

■ Critical discourse analysts take explicit position, and thus want to understand,
expose and ultimately resist social inequality.
 Tenets of CDA - Fairclough
■ CDA addresses social problems like gender inequality, racism, body
shaming etc.
■ Discourse constitutes society and culture.
■ Discourse does ideological work.
■ Discourse is historical.
■ Discourse analysis is interpretative and explanatory.
■ Discourse is a form of social action.
Three-Dimensional Model

■Norman Fairclough has developed a

model for critical discourse analysis
the model consists of three categories.
 Tex
tThe text could be speech,
writing, images, or a
mixture of all three forms of
communication. It is an
analysis at the word level.

Example:
■ My neighbor is an old
witch
■ My neighbor is an old
woman
Discursive Practice

■ In discursive practice, the

analysis takes place at the
text level.
■ It deals with the relationship
between the discursive
process of production and
interpretation and the text.
■ At this step, we analyze
institutional practices. what
are the media domain and
political domain, why do
they use such kinds of aids,
and what is their basic
target.
Sociocultural Practice
■ It deals with the
relationship between
production,
interpretation, and social
conditioning.
■ In the last step, we
examine how our aid and
society are linked
together and which
things influence our
society.
 Language and Society
According to Fairclough “Language is a kind of Social Practice”.
 What constitutes as social practice?
3 PRINCIPLES that are considered as social practices.
 Discourse contributes to the formation and reflection of social
structures.
 Social practice builds social identities and social
relationships.
 Social practice contributes to the system of knowledge and
trust.
 Social discourse theory
 Social significance
 Social context
 How social problems are dealt with in language.
 Social power
 Social dominancy
 ’.

Example:
Nivea ‘Goodbye Cellulite
The discourse of
beauty products
 Relational Dialectal
Approach
 "Relational dialectics" is a concept within
communication theories which is introduced by
professors "Leslie Baxter" and "Barbera M.Montgomery" in
1988,
 It defines communication patterns between
relationship
partners as the result of endemic dialectical tensions.
 The relational dialectic is an elaboration on Mikhail Bakhtin's
idea that life is an open monologue and humans experience
collisions between opposing desires and needs within
relational communications.
 Ying and
Yang
 It is a Chinese philosophical concept
that describes how
opposite
obviously or contrary forces
may actually be complementary
interconnected, and ,
in the natural world. interdependent
 Many natural dualities (such as
light and dark, fire and water) are
thought of as physical
manifestations of the duality
symbolized by yin and yang.
Four Main Assumptions of the
Theory
 Relationships are not one dimensional.
 Change is a key element in relational life.
 Permanency of contradictions between opposites forces.
 Essentiality of communication.
Four Core Concepts
 Contradiction: The contrary has the
extreme characteristics of its
opposite.
of the tensions in a
 Totality:
relationship,We need
rather tojust
than look
one in isolation.
 at all
Process: Refers to the fact that relationships are
things that change.
 Praxis: The ways we behave in relationships to either
ease, ignore, or exacerbate the tensions that currently
exist.
 The most common dialectics in a
relationship
 Autonomy-Connection
This is a need to have a close connection with others as well as our need
to have our own space and identity.

 Predictability–Novelty
We desire predictability as well as spontaneity in our relationships. In
every relationship, we take comfort in a certain level of routine as a way
of knowing what we can count on the other person in the relationship.
Such predictability provides a sense of comfort and security
 Openness–Closedness
This dialectic refers to the desire to be open and honest with others while at
the same time not wanting to reveal everything about yourself to
someone else. One’s desire for privacy does not mean they are shutting out
others.
 Certainity-Uncertainity
All relationships have some certainties (or ‘knowns’) and uncertainties
(or
‘unknowns’).
 Ideal-Real
The perceptions of what is ideal may interfere with or inhibit perceptions of
what is real.
 Transparency-Privacy
n a relationship, it is important to keep some things between the two parties,
while other parts of the relationship are okay to allow the public to
know about.