Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, vocal, or sign language use or any significant semiotic event.

The objects of discourse analysis—discourse, writing, conversation, communicative event—are variously defined in terms of coherent sequences of sentencespropositionsspeech, or turns-at-talk. Contrary to much of traditional linguistics, discourse analysts not only study language use 'beyond the sentence boundary', but also prefer to analyze 'naturally occurring' language use, and not invented examples. Text linguistics is related. The essential difference between discourse analysis and text linguistics is that it aims at revealing socio-psychological characteristics of a person/persons rather than text structure.[1]

Discourse analysis has been taken up in a variety of social science disciplines, including linguistics, education, sociologyanthropologysocial workcognitive psychologysocial psychologyarea studiescultural studiesinternational relationshuman geographycommunication studies, and translation studies, each of which is subject to its own assumptions, dimensions of analysis, and methodologies.

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice and focuses on the ways social and political domination are reproduced in text and talk.[1]

Since Norman Fairclough's Language and Power in 1989, CDA has been deployed as a method of multidisciplinary analysis throughout the humanities and social sciences. It does not confine itself only to method, though the overriding assumption shared by CDA practitioners is that language and power are linked.

An Introduction to Discourse Analysis (Applied Linguistics and Language Study)


Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences


An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education

An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method, 2nd Edition


Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers (Cambridge Language Teaching Library)


The Handbook of Discourse Analysis (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics)

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