What is Critical Discourse Analysis?

Abstract

Critical Discourse Analysis does not have a unitary theoretical framework or methodology. It is best viewed as a shared perspective encompassing a range of approaches instead of a school. Historically, CDA is an evolution from the Critical Linguistics developed in the late 1970s by several theorists at the University of East Anglia (Fowler et alii, 1979 and Kress & Hodge, 1979) following Halliday’s (1978) functional view of language, but it has been influenced by other critical theorists such as Foucault, Gramsci, Pêcheux and Habermas.

According to Halliday (1978), language performs simultaneously three macro-functions: the ideational function (language represents the experience that speakers have of the world), the interpersonal function (language reflects the experience of speakers own attitudes and evaluations and establishes a relationship between speakers and listeners) and the textual function. This last one allows speakers to produce texts that are understood by listeners and, furthermore, connects discourse to its co-text and context.