New Trends of Critical Discourse Analysis

Xiaoying Peng

Abstract: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), an interdisciplinary discourse analytical approach, focuses on disclosing language use in relation to social practice. In recent years, the study of CDA has emerged several new trends. This paper aims to give a brief introduction of three significant new trends in CDA studies for a better understanding of this field.

Key Words: critical discourse analysis; new trends; integration

1.Introduction

CDA originated from critical linguistics that emerged at the end of 1970s (Fowler et al. , 1979). The occurrence of CDA as a term could be traced in Faircloughs work, Language and Power, in 1989 against the backdrop of “discursive turn”.

As more and more scholars increasingly focus on researches of CDA both at home and abroad, the study field is entering a new phase. The interdisciplinary features of CDA determines the integration of other theories and approaches with CDA. Thus there emerge new trends in combination with linguistic disciplines or approaches, for instance, corpus linguistics, cognitive linguistics and multimodal discourse analysis.

2.Corpus Linguistic Approach

Absorbing methods from corpus linguistics, a corpus linguistic approach applied in CDA forms a new trend in this study field. The analytical approach from corpus linguistic perspective could make up for the CDAs lack of empirical evidence. Through corpus tools regular linguistic patterns and repeated discourses could be revealed so as to obtain the effect that can not be achieved by human intuition.

Qian Yufang & Tian Hailong (2011) merges corpus tools to critical discourse analysis on news reports to reveal the relationship between language and power, as well as ideology behind. Through applying corpus linguistic approaches, such as collocation, key words, distribution, etc., researches are analyzed by regular patterns of language structures represented in the selected representative discourses, and the influence of ideology in or beyond language also be disclosed.

Corpus linguistics has long been applied to CDA studies in the west, which covers varieties of discourses, for instance, political discourse, teaching and education discourse and news discourse, etc. However, the domestic research about this analytical approach is relatively rare.

3.Cognitive Linguistic Approach

The development of CDA in relation to cognitive linguistic theories remains a strong momentum since the 1990s. From then on, some proponents of CDA (e.g. van Dijk, Wodak) emphasized the importance of cognition serving as the mediation between language and society. In light of employing cognitive linguistic approach into CDA, Hart is an eminent representative for the foregoing efforts made in this field.

Hart (2010) argues what may cause misleading guidance, ultimately leading to abuses of power and discrimination, which advances a model for CDA in combination with cognitive science. Hart (2011) focuses CDA on the combination of discourse analysis with cognitive embranchments, which strictly lay the sound foundation for both the theoretical and methodological cognitive linguistic approach related to CDA studies.

Domestic researches which merged the cognitive linguistic approach with CDA started late. Recently, Zhang hui & Yang yanqin (2019) makes a comprehensive explanation about the theoretical foundations and current researches in this integrated field. He holds that the combination of multiple methods is of great benefit to the quantitative analysis in this field, which needs to be further explored and probed into.

4. Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Another new trend is termed Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, which provides a new analytical perspective of CDA studies. Although their research topics are different, both of them are homogeneous in a certain degree. As far as multimodal research is concerned, its research scope covers different semiotic resources. Moreover, the multimodal analysiss integration with CDA not only broaden their research perspectives but also enrich their applications.

Machin & Mayr (2012) elaborates on case studies and examples of how to do CDA studies from the multimodal perspective with selected graphic, vocal and written materials. Although both CDA and multimodal discourse analysis have been widely developed, there remains much room to be explored on the study of this interdisciplinary integration of CDA and multimodal discourse analysis.

5. Conclusion

These newly emerged approaches from the mentioned above (examples of case enumerated are just the tip of the iceberg), infuse vitalities into the studies of CDA. Absorbing strength from different disciplines, CDA will likely to break through its limitations, thus shines in the future.

Reference

[1] Fowler, R. et al. 1979. Language and Control. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

[2] Hart, C. 2010. Critical discourse analysis and cognitive science: New perspectives on immigration discourse. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

[3] Hart,C. 2011. Critical Discourse Studies in Context and Cognition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 71-92.