Having no strict rules to follow in the process of discourse analysis means that there are various possibilities of the approach and framework to research and the consequent outcome, which is to ask “why” and “how” rather than to give a clear conclusion, it is a special way based on the complexity of material. According to Tonkiss (2018), language in discourse analysis is not the objective, straightforward and neutral description, but a way to explore the real meaning and purpose under the text. For discourses like language and text, the way to narrative something determines the meaning of it, which Potter and Wetherell call it as “interpretive repertoires” (413). Moreover, any language and text cannot be understood without context, as discourse is the understanding and reflection of the special social and historical background (406). Thus researchers need to analyze how ideologies are shaped and reproduced by power through language and text, and to explain their relationship in a specific historical context (408).
Because of the complexity and flexibility of discourse analysis, it can be seen as a “craft skill” (Potter and Wetherell, 1994, 55 in Tonkiss, 2018, 412), that researchers can only learn it through practice. That requires scholars to keep critical thinking and a clear sense of giving up all preconceptions, and usually need to challenge the common sense and apparent assumptions which the society take for granted for a long time. However, although have no step by step procedures to follow, Tonkiss (2018) suggest that there are four useful pointers for discourse analysis:
Identifying key themes and arguments.
Looking for association and variation.
Examining characterization and agency.
Paying attention to emphasis and silences.
(486)
These four leading points are supposed to help researchers to dig out the invisible meaning and clarify the amphibolous metaphor in text. That is a multi-level process that usually starts with general reading, researchers in this process need to point out the association among different messages, which usually through the repetition or emphasis in the text. Then researchers need to analyze the tone of the writer or speaker from the patterned information through what is presented as “normal” and what is silenced in this context (416).
To sum up, the main difficulty discourse analysts face is they need to dig out many invisible facts under the text without the help of clear rules to follow. And the broad relevant dataset will deepen the complexity of discourse analysis, especially when the historical and social domains can not be ignored. So it can be seen as a process to give up the existing conception and looking for any possible meanings through unspoken discourse.
Anqi Weng
Reference:
Tonkiss, F. (2018). Discourse Analysis (pp.477-492). In C. Seale (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage.
MCS923 Group 5 