Discourse
Analysis
2.4.1 Discourse and text
Crystal
(1992:25) in Nunan (1993:5) discourse is a continuous stretch of (especially
spoken) larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit, such as a
sermon, argument, joke, or narrative. Discourse refers to the interpretation of
the communicative event in context. Context refers to the situation giving rise
to the discourse and within which discourse embedded (Nunan (1992:6).
Meanwhile, Cook (1989:156) discourse is stretches of language perceived to be
meaningful, unified, and purposive.
The
term text according to Crystal (1992:72) is a piece of naturally occurring
spoken, written, or signed discourse identified for purpose of analysis, and
often a language unit with a definable communicative function such as a conversation,
a poster. Brown and Yule (1983:6), text is as a technical term, to refer to
verbal record of a communicative act. Nunan (1992:5) text refers to any written
records of a communicative event. The event maybe involve spoken (e.g. a casual
conversation) and written language (e.g. newspaper, novel, advertisement).
Carter,
et al (1997), the term of discourse analysis refers to language in action and
the patterns which characterize particular types of language in action as he
puts it:
Discourse is a term used in linguistics
to describe the rules and conventions underlying the use of language in
extended stretches of text, spoken and written. (Such an academic study is
referred to as discourse analysis). The term is also used as a convenient
general term to refer to language in action and the patterns which characterize
particular types of language in action.
According to Richards
and Schmidt (2002: 161), discourse analysis the study of how sentences in
spoken and written language form larger meaningful units such as paragraphs,
conversations, interviews, etc. Discourse analysis deals with how the choice of
articles, pronouns, and tenses affects the structure of the discourse (address
forms, cohesion), the relationship
between utterances in a discourse (see adjacency pairs, coherence), the moves made by speakers to
introduce a new topic, change the topic, or assert a higher role relationship
to the other participants. Analysis of spoken discourse sometimes called
conversational analysis. Some linguists use the term text linguistics for the
study of written discourse.
According
to Schiffrin in Juez (2009:8-7) discourse analysis involves the study of both text and context. One might conclude,
then, that text linguistics only studies the text, while discourse Analysis is
more complete because it studies both text and context. Furthermore, Schiffrin
points out that all approaches within discourse Analysis view text and context
as the two kinds of information that contributes to the communicative
content of an utterance.
Meanwhile,
Fasold (1990: 65), Candlin (1997: ix) in Juez (2009:9), and Nunan (1993:7)
states that discourse is the study of language in use. This is in line with Brown
& Yule (1983) that puts it:
The analysis of discourse is,
necessarily, the analysis of language in use. As such, it cannot be restricted
to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions,
which these forms are designed to serve in human affairs (p.1).
Slembrouck (2005:1) as quoted in Juez (2009:9) points out
the ambiguity of the term discourse analysis and provides another broad
definition. He writes:
The term discourse analysis is very
ambiguous. I will use it in this book to refer mainly to the linguistic
analysis of naturally occurring connected speech or written discourse.
Roughly speaking, it refers to attempts to study the organization of language
above the sentence or above the clause, and therefore to study larger
linguistic units, such as conversational exchanges or written texts. It
follows that discourse analysis is also concerned with language use in
social contexts, and in particular with interaction or dialogue between
speakers.
Another important
characteristic of discourse analysis is that they are essentially
multidisciplinary so they are cross linguistics and therefore it can be said
that they cross the linguistics border into different and varied domains as van
Dijk (2002:10) stated in the following passage:
……discourse analysis for me is essentially multidisciplinary, and
involves linguistics, poetics, semiotics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, history,
and communication research. What I find crucial though is that precisely
because of its multi-faceted nature, this multidisciplinary research should be
integrated. We should devise theories that are complex and account both for the
textual, the cognitive, the social, the political and the historical dimension
of discourse. (in Juez, 2009:9)
Based on this
viewpoint, van Dijk introduces a model of discourse analysis called critical discourse
analysis (CDA). From the viewpoint above a discourse should be viewed from the textual, the cognitive, the social, the
political and the historical dimension.
2.5
Critical Discourse Analysis
CDA sees ‘language as social practice’ (Fairclough
andWodak, 1997), and considers the ‘context of language use’ to be crucial. CDA
sees discourse as language use in speech and writing is also a form of ‘social
practice’. Describing discourse as social practice implies a dialectical
relationship between a particular discursive event and the situations,
institutions and social structures, which frame it (Wodak and Meyer, 2008:5). Meanwhile, van Djik says that the crucial task
of Critical Discourse Analysis is to account for the relationships between
discourse and social power. More specifically, an analysis should describe and
explain how power abuse is enacted, reproduced or legitimized by the text and
talk of dominant groups or institutions.
In critical discourse analysis, power is defined as
property of relations between social groups, institutions or organizations.
Thus, only social power is
considered ,not individual power, Social power is defined in
terms of the control exercised by one group or organization (or its
‘members) over the actions and/or the minds of (the members of)
another group, thus limiting the freedom of action of the others, or
influencing their knowledge, attitudes or ideologies. The power of a specific
group or institution may be `distributed', and may be restricted to a specific
social domain or scope, such as politics, the media, law and
order, education or corporate business, thus resulting in different 'centres'
of power and elite groups that control such centres. Dominance is
understood as a form of social power abuse that is, as a legally or morally illegitimate exercise of
control over others in one's own interests, often resulting in social
inequality. Power is based on
privileged access to valued social resources, such as wealth, jobs, status, or
indeed, a preferential access to public discourse and communication. Social
power and dominance are often organized
and institutionalized, so
as to allow more effective control, and to enable routine forms of power
reproduction.
2.5.1
Van Dijk (Socio-cognitive model)
CDA
is a special approach in discourse analysis which focuses on the discursive
condition, component and consequences of power abuse by the dominant (elite)
group and institution. It examines pattern of access and control over context,
genre, text, talk, and their properties as well as the discursive mind control.
CDA studies discourse and its functions in society and the ways society,
especially form of inequality are expressed, represented, legitimated or
reproduced in text and talk (van Dijk, 1995: 24)
In
addition, Van Dijk (2001) defines CDA as follows:
……..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. With such dissident research, critical discourse
analysts take explicit position, and thus want to understand, expose, and ultimately
resist social inequality (p.352)
From the definition
above, van Djik stresses that CDA is a discourse analysis to expose the invisible
social practices explicitly, but it has effect in social order those are power
abuse, dominance, inequality which revealed in certain techniques in text and
talk, and supported by social and political context. It means that CDA attempts
to expose the use of language that is linked to social factors when the
language is produced.
Furthermore,
van Dijk (2001:353) states that critical research on discourse needs to satisfy
a number of requirements in order to effectively realize its aims. Those aims are: first, as is often the case for more marginal
research traditions, CDA research has to be better than other research in order
to be accepted. Second, it focuses primarily on social problems and political issues, rather than on current
paradigms and fashions. Third, empirically adequate critical analysis of social
problems is usually multidisciplinary.
Fourth, rather than to merely describe
discourse structures, it tries to explain
them in terms of properties of social interaction and especially social structure.
Ultimately, more specifically CDA focuses on the ways discourse structures
enact, confirm, legitimate, reproduce or challenge relations of power and dominance in society.
There
are several CDA principles are stated by Fairclough &Wodak as follows:
- CDA addresses social problems
- Power relations are discursive
- Discourse Constitutes Society and Culture
- Discourse does ideological work
- Discourse is historical
- The link between text and society is mediated
- Discourse analysis is interpretative and explanatory
- Discourse is a form of social action. (Faiclough & Wodak in Van Dijk, 1998).
According to van Dijk (in Eryanto, 2001:225), the
study of discourse is not sufficient in text based only, since a text is
produced from a practical process production that is necessary to be observed.
In this case, we have to see how the text is produced so that we have knowledge
of why the text it is. Further, this process and approach involve a process
called social cognition. This term is actually adopted from social physiology
approach, especially to explain the structure and process of forming a text.
Various complex and complicated problems in
producing a text is tried to be delineated by van Dijk. Therefore, it is not
exclusively on text based analysis, but also how social structure, dominance,
group of power in society and how the
cognition and awareness that forms and affects the text. Discourse by Van
Djik has three dimensions those are: text, social cognition and social context.
The core analysis of van Dijk model is by the combination of the three dimensions
of discourse into the unified analysis (Eriyanto, 2001:224; in Hidayat &
Kuswanto, 2007). The discourse analysis is primarily text based (syntax,
lexicon, local semantics, topics, schematic structures, etc.). The social
analysis studies how to examine the overall societal structures (the context). The
socio-cognition is social
cognition and personal cognition that mediates between society and discourse.
In this sense, social cognition is defined as “the system of mental
representations and processes of group members" (van Dijk, 1995:18, in Sheyholislami). In social cognition is
to learn the process of producing text, which involves the writer’s cognition
(e.g. journalist). Meanwhile, in social
context learns about the developing knowledge in society. (Eriyanto, 2001: 225,
in Hidayat & Kuswanto, 2007)
Van Dijk’s analysis model can be drawn as follows:
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|
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Figure 1.1 van
Dijk’s model analysis
2.5.1.1
Text Analysis
Van Djik views text consists of three
structure/levels of analysis those are:
1.
Macrostructure (macro level)
Macro
structure refers to the global meaning. It pertains to the thematic/topic
structure of the news stories and their overall schemata. Van Dijk (2003) as
quoted by Rosidi (2007) notes the following passage:
The
meaning of discourse is not limited to the meaning of its words and sentences.
Discourse also has more 'global' meanings, such as 'topics' or 'themes'. Such
topics represent the gist or most important information of a discourse, and
tell us what a discourse 'is about', globally speaking.
Thus, a macrostructure
is a theoretical reconstruction of intuitive notions such as topic or theme of
a discourse. It explains what is most relevant, important, or prominent in the
semantic information of the discourse as a whole.
2.
Superstructure (meso level)
Superstructure
refers to the schema of discourse. According to van Dijk (1988, 14-16), superstructure
schema is structured according to a specific narrative pattern that consists of
the following: summary (headline and the lead paragraph), story (situation
consisting of episode and backgrounds), and consequences (final comments
and conclusions). He states:
“Overall
meanings, i.e. topics or macrostructures, may be organized by conventional
schemata (superstructures), such as those that define an argument, a
conversation or a news report” (van Dijk, 2003 in Rosidi).
3. Microstructure
(Micro level)
The microstructure refers to the meaning of the local (local meaning)
of a discourse. At the microstructure level, analysis is focused on the
semantic relations between propositions, syntactic, lexical and other
rhetorical elements that provide coherence in the text, and other rhetorical
elements.
Semantic aspects of a discourse
include background, details, intentions, assumptions, and nominalization. For
instance, journalist write news always expresses background of event. The
choice of background also determines where the people’s view will be directed.
Detail is a strategy of journalist to expressing his idea implicitly and while
intention is same as detail, but it is expressed explicitly. Assumption is a
statement to support the meaning of the text. In addition, semantics
also typically focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for.
Syntactic aspects of a discourse with
regard to how the phrase or sentence and is prepared to put forward. This
includes forms of sentences, coherence, and the selection of a number of
pronouns. For instance, the use of plural pronoun
‘we’ implicate to grow solidarity,
alliance, and decrease criticism and opposition.
Aspects stylistic of a discourse is
regarding the choice and used of words, style or manner of writing (diction)
and air of force used by the perpetrators of discourse. Van Djik (2004) as
quoted by Rosidi (2007) writes:
Selection of words falls in between lexicalization
is largely automatic given underlying mental models and the lexicon as
a basis, but often specific words are chosen deliberately, and depending on
genre and context quite well controlled, especially in written communication.
Meanwhile, rhetorical aspects of a
discourse refer to the tactics and methods used by perpetrators of discourse to
give emphasis on the elements you want highlighted. This includes the
appearance of graphics, writing, metaphor, and the expression is used.
Van Dijk’s
discourse elements can be drawn more completely as in the table 2.1 below
Tabel 2.1 Van Dijk’s Discourse
Elements
Discourse
Structure
|
Focused
Analysis
|
Elements
|
Macro-structure
|
Thematic
What
are being talked?
Topic
is being discussed in the discourse.
|
Topic/theme
|
Super-structure
|
Schematic
How
is the opinion or idea arranged?
|
Schema
|
Micro-structure
|
Semantic
The
meaning which intend to be stressed in the discourse. For example, by giving
the detail in another side or make another side explicitly.
|
Background,
details, intention, assumption.
|
Syntactic
How
is the opinion delivered?
It
pertains to the form and structure of sentence used.
|
The
structure of sentence, coherence, and pronoun
|
|
Diction
The
word choice used in discourse
|
Lexicon
|
|
Rhetoric
How and by what means are the stressing
done?
|
Graphic,
Metaphor and expression
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2.5.1.2 Socio Cognition Analysis
Social
cognition means the beliefs or social
representations they share with others of their group or
community. Knowledge, attitudes, values, norms and ideologies are different
types of social representations. Van (1991:35) notes it in the following
passage:
We also saw that such practices
presuppose knowledge and beliefs shared by all, most, or many other group
members, that is, various types of ‘social cognition’ (Fiske and Taylor, 1984;
Wyer and Srull, 1984) or ‘social representation
Socio cognition regards to how a text is produced by
individual or group. Social cognition analysis deals with how the text is
connected to the social structure and developing knowledge in society toward a
discourse. In van Dijk’s analysis
framework need to analyze the social cognition. That is, the mental
representation of the journalist who produce the text. It is based on the
assumption that the text will not have meaning without the language user give
the meaning to the text.
In analysis social cognition, event is understood depending
on the schema or model. In this case, models
represent the interpretations individuals make of other persons, of specific
events and actions, and essentially are the cognitive counterpart of
situations. When people witness a scene or an action, or read or hear about
such events, they construct a unique model of that situation or update an old
model. In other word, model is conceptualized as the mental structure which
comprises the perspective to other people, social role and events.
Schema reveals how the human use their mental
structure to select the coming information from the around environment. Schema
assists human to explain and actively construct the complicated social reality.
Schema delineates how one uses the stored information in the memory, and how
those are integrated with the new information which depicts how the event is
understood, interpreted and inserted into the knowledge as the reality. When
people witness a scene or an action, or read or hear about such events, they
construct a unique model of that situation or update an old model. The
understanding of this reality is influenced by the experience and memory (Eriyanto,
2001 in Hidayat & Kuswanto, 2007).
Besides model or schema, memory is also essential
element in analyzing social cognition. Schlessinger dan Groves (in Rakhmat,
2004: 62) defines memory as a very structured system causing organisms are able
to record the fact of processing information (Hidayat & Kuswanto, 2007).
There are two kind of memory such as short term memory and long term memory. Short
term memory is utilized to remember short time events. This kind of memory is very affected by
interferential. If the information is successfully maintained, so it comes in
to the long term memory.
Social cognition more considers long term memory. This
memory consists of two big parts those are episodic memory and semantic memory.
Tulving (in Paivio & Begg, 1981:171) drew a useful distinction between
episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory refers to memories of specific
events that occurred in a particular place at particular time. In contrast,
semantic memory refers to our general knowledge without specification of the
time and place in which it was originally learned.
2.5.1.3 Social Analysis
Discourse is a part of reality which is occurring in
the society. Therefore, to analyze a text needs to be executed in
intertextuality with the study of how a discourse about something is produced
and reconstructed by society. The main point of social analysis is that how the
meaning is comprehended together, social power that is created through practice
of legitimation. According to van Dijk
in social analysis, there are two important things need to be concerned those
are power and access.
Van Dijk (2001) defines power as control over the
act and minds of other group. He notes it as in the following passage:
Summarizing a complex philosophical and social
analysis, we'll define social power in terms of control. Thus, groups
have (more or less) power if they are able to (more or less) control the acts and
minds of (members of) other groups (p.354).
Furthermore,
according to van Dijk that type of power is distinguished according to the
various resources employed to exercise such power. He gives examples that the
coercive power of the military and of violent men will rather be based on force
and the rich man will have power because of their money, whereas the more or
less persuasive power of parents, professors, or journalists may be based on
knowledge, information, or authority. In analysis of the relations between
discourse and power, van Dijk explains it as follows:
…….thus, we
first find that access to specific forms of discourse, e.g., those of politics,
the media or science, is itself a power resource. Secondly, as suggested
earlier, action is controlled by our minds. So, if we are able to influence
people's minds, e.g., their knowledge or opinions, we indirectly may control
(some of) their actions. And, thirdly, since people's minds are typically
influenced by text and talk, we find that discourse may at least indirectly
control people's actions, as we know from persuasion and manipulation (van
Djik, 2001: 355)
Power abuse not only involves the abuse of force.
Van Dijk gives example such as in police aggression against black youths, and
may result not merely in limiting the freedom of action of a specific group,
but also and more crucially may affect the minds of people. Therefore, through special access to,
and control over the mean of public discourse and communication, dominant
groups or institutions may influence the structures of text and talk. Consequently, the knowledge, attitudes, norms,
values and ideologies of recipients are more or less indirectly affected in the
interest of the dominant group.
Furthermore, with
regard to access, van Dijk states that access is dominated by the elites
group. The members of more powerful
social groups and institutions, and especially their leaders (the elites), have
more or less exclusive access to, and control over one or more types of public
discourse. For instance, professors control scholarly discourse, teachers
control educational discourse, journalists control media discourse, lawyers control
legal discourse, and politicians control policy and other public political
discourse (van Dijk, 2001:356). Consequently, the more powerful groups have
more chance to control the public discourse. The more access also determines
the topic and content of discourse which will be discuss in to the public.
Access may be
defined both for the context and
control for the structures of text and
talk themselves. Context is defined as the mentally represented
structure of those properties of the social situation that are relevant for the
production or comprehension of discourse (Duranti and Goodwin 1992; van Dijk
1998b; 2001). Context consists of such categories as the overall definition of
the situation, setting, ongoing actions (including discourses and discourse
genres), participants in various communicative, social, or institutional roles,
as well as their mental representations: goals, knowledge, opinions, attitudes,
and ideologies, while control not only over content, but over the structures of
text and talk. Relating text and context, the powerful groups may decide on the
(possible) discourse genre or speech acts of an occasion, for
example, a teacher or judge may require a direct answer from a student or
suspect.
In summary, Van Dijk (2001: 354) says there are
several ways to analyze and bridge these levels, as to arrive at unified
critical analysis. First, member group is as the language user who engages in
discourse as members of (several) social groups, organizations, or
institutions; and conversely, groups thus may act by their members. Second, actions process is social acts of
individual actors are thus constituent parts of group actions and social
processes, such as legislation, news making, or the reproduction of racism.
Third, Context social structure is
Situations of discursive interaction are similarly part or constitutive
of social structure; for example, a press conference may be a typical practice
of organizations and media institutions. That is, local and more global contexts
are closely related, and both exercise constraints on discourse. Ultimately, it
is Personal and social cognition. Language users as social actors have
both personal and social cognition: personal memories, knowledge and opinions,
as well as those shared with members of the group or culture as a whole. Both
types of cognition influence interaction and discourse of individual members, whereas
shared "social representations" govern the collective actions of a
group.
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