Discourse Analysis by Brian Paltridge

Brian Paltridge . Discourse Analysis . London : Continuum . 2006 . 344 pp. Pb (9780826485571) £17.99 . Reviewed by Ekaterina Timofeeva Discourse analysis has become an umbrella term for many different approaches in the social sciences and humanities. This book belongs to the Continuum Discourse Series which is intended for teachers and researchers in applied linguistics, ELT and English Language. Brian Paltridge's knowledge and expertise in these fields and his research interests, which include English for Specific Purposes, thesis and dissertation writing, and English as a Second Language, place him perfectly in this series. Indeed, Discourse Analysis frequently refers to the author's earlier works on discourse analysis, genre, thesis and dissertation writing, and also examines works of Paltridge's students, adding a unique personal touch to the book. In comparison to other introductory books on discourse analysis, Paltridge'sDiscourse Analysis addresses the concept from the language teachers’ perspective. Therefore, almost every chapter makes suggestions on how language teaching can be improved by incorporating discourse analytic techniques into the teaching process. As in his previous book Making Sense of Discourse Analysis (2000), Paltridge focuses on several different approaches to the linguistic analysis of discourse, such as pragmatics, genre analysis, conversation analysis, grammar, corpus-based analysis, and critical discourse analysis. The discussion of theoretical concepts is illustrated with case studies and examples from contemporary texts. The book also contains discussion questions and project sections which can be used in the classroom to expand upon the theoretical concepts of the chapters. Furthermore, it is necessary to acknowledge that Discourse Analysis might be used as a guide and reference book in discourse studies as each chapter provides an opportunity to deepen knowledge and understanding of key concepts in discourse analysis by providing a synopsis of literature on the topics discussed in the book. The book is organized into nine chapters. In the introductory chapter, the author suggests that the results of discourse analysis partly depend on the adopted research perspective and nature of the research question. The stated aim of the book is to provide an introduction to some of these perspectives. Each chapter is, consequently, centered round a particular discursive approach which is not only described but also evaluated critically by the author. Defining discourse analysis as ‘an approach to the analysis of language that looks at patterns across texts as well as the social and cultural contexts in which the texts occur’ (p. 1), the author marks the importance of context in discourse analysis of real-world texts, providing a rationale for his later chapters that in one way or another discuss the interplay between language use and context. Chapter 2 explores the relationship between language-use and identity. First, the author introduces early concepts of discourse analysis that illustrate how the choice of language or language variety is influenced by social and cultural factors and contexts, particularly, the notion of discourse community, which determines the ways in which people communicate with each other in particular settings. Second, the chapter goes on to more recent constructionist approaches to discourse, using examples from gender studies in order to demonstrate how people perform their gendered identities through talk in interaction. The importance of context for discourse analysis is discussed throughout Chapters 3 and 4, focusing on situational context and introducing key issues of discourse analysis from a pragmatic perspective (Ch. 3), and examining the connection between genre-specific characteristics of discourse, such as linguistic features and discourse structure of texts, and its contextual appropriateness (Ch. 4). Chapter 5, devoted to the analysis of spoken data, discusses some theoretical and methodological issues in conversation analysis (CA). For instance, emphasizing the primacy of the conversational rather than contextual data in CA, the author notes the constraints of this approach, which might gain further insights by incorporating ethnographic descriptions and getting more information about conversational interaction. Once again, the constructionist approach to the analysis of conversation is emphasized. Chapter 6, by far the most detailed chapter in the book, acknowledging limitations of the traditional sentence-based perspectives on grammar, discusses grammar from a discourse-based perspective that connects the text to the social context in which it occurs. Chapter 7, pointing out that the findings of the majority of discourse studies are based on small sets of textual data, and, consequently, are difficult to generalize, promotes corpus-based discourse studies as an attempt to produce more generalizeable findings of discourse studies. Nevertheless, the author acknowledges that corpus studies do not account for contextual aspects of texts. Chapter 8, exploring the connection between the use of language and social, cultural and political contexts from a critical perspective – apart from traditional views of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), such as Fairclough's (1992) three dimensional model – introduces some current trends in CDA, such as multimodality and critical work on online texts. The final chapter offers students practical guidelines for doing discourse analysis. For instance, suggestions are made on how to choose a research topic and formulate a research question. To exemplify methods and applications of discourse analysis, the author analyzes several research projects conducted by his students. Finally, the issues of the reliability, validity, and replicability of the projects are addressed. In short, the book finds a good balance between theoretical and applied issues in discourse analysis. Each chapter thoroughly explores methodological and theoretical premises of discourse analytic approaches, tracing their evolution and developments, and giving priority to the current trends. That is why, for instance, the topic of discourse and gender, being characterized by the author as ‘a topic that has been discussed at great length’ (p. 24), is a recurring theme in the book; this, surprisingly, unites the different discursive approaches represented in the chapters. For instance, extracts from the TV show Sex and the City are used as examples for ‘doing’ gender (Chapter 2), and recent work on Cosmopolitan (cf. Machin and Thornborrow 2003) is used to illustrate how multimodal discourse is used in this global magazine to promote values of ‘independence’ and ‘fun’ among women (Chapter 8). As part of his focus on the relationship between discourse and current lifestyle trends, Paltridge examines also data from the internet, for example, he discusses the power of discourse in online chat environments that help people to create their desired identities (which may be different from their offline identities). The book's strength lies particularly in its ability to establish connections between discursive concepts and first and second language teaching environments. For instance, moving from sentence-based to text-based perspectives by incorporating the discursive concepts of genre (Chapter 4) and grammar (Chapter 6), both first and second language students can improve their writing skills. The chapters also help to enhance awareness of cross-cultural patterns when analyzing discourse. Thus, it is demonstrated that the pragmatic notions of face and politeness are culture-specific (Chapter 3). While a substantial body of language teaching literature exists on each of these concepts, it is very useful to have a book that brings this information together. Moreover, the author frequently suggests that there has not been enough discourse analytic research done on second language learning, both spoken and written, which can be used as a tool for understanding the acquisition of a second language. The main weaknesses of the book, however, are related to its strengths. Indeed, being particularly targeted at language teachers (and their students), and using a linguistic approach to discourse analysis, the book might lose social science readers interested in discourse studies. Furthermore, in keeping with its introductory character, and its attempt to produce a simplified and coherent account of the discipline, the book is not always consistent. Thus, for instance, Chapter 6 on grammar seems much more difficult than other chapters of the book which might create confusion among the readers. The author assumes that incorporating popular culture texts in the classroom will motivate students to learn complex discursive concepts and facilitate the learning process but his consistent use of examples drawn from sources such as Sex and the City, Big Brother, or Cosmopolitan throughout the book seems to be somewhat one-sided and simplistic. Overall, the book emphasizes the significance of discourse analysis for language teaching and learning. Therefore, it is recommendable both for students and teachers encountering discourse analysis for the first time. The book is written in a readable style and does not require previous knowledge of discourse analysis, as every term and concept is explained and ample illustrative examples are provided

Applied linguistics · Conversation · Conversation analysis · Critical discourse analysis · Discourse analysis · Discourse community · Grammar · Ideology · Linguistics · Pragmatics · Sociology · Digital Communication and Language · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy

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