Now fully revised, Discourse Analysis: The Questions Discourse Analysts Ask and How They Answer Them, remains the only introductory text organized around the fundamental questions that drive discourse analysis research. This approach cultivates a principled understanding of this interdisciplinary field by examining how analysts of different empirical persuasions systematically address core issues:
- How is discourse structured?
- How are social actions accomplished in discourse?
- How are identities constructed in discourse?
- How are ideologies navigated in discourse?
The answer to each question is illustrated with transcripts and analyses of actual discourse drawn from key studies in the field. Important concepts appear as boxed definitions throughout each chapter, while probing questions and analytical tasks guide readers through practical applications of discourse analysis methods.
This second edition features reconceptualized, reorganized, and expanded content, with significant updates addressing analyses of multimodal texts in digital environments. A new final chapter offers practical guidance for using the book and showcases exemplary student work.
With its unique question-based framework and range of helpful features, this comprehensive guide to the complex world of discourse is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students encountering discourse analysis for the first time.
Table of Contents:
1st EDITION PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
2nd EDITION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
Chapter One: Overview of Discourse Analysis
- Introduction
- Aim of the Book
- Origins of Discourse Analysis
- Discourse and Discourse Analysis
- Defining Discourse
- Defining Discourse Analysis
- Questions and Sample Analyses
- How Is Discourse Structured?
- How are Social Actions Accomplished in Discourse?
- How are Identities Constructed in Discourse?
- How are Ideologies Navigated in Discourse?
- Approaches and Transcription
- Applications of Discourse Analysis
- Overview of the Book
- Key Points
- References
PART TWO: DISCOURSE AND STRUCTURE
Chapter Two: Classics in Discourse and Structure
- Introduction
- Structure of Talk
- Narrative (Labov)
- Conversation (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson)
- Classroom Interaction (Sinclair & Coulthard; Lemke)
- Structure of Text
- Macrostructure (van Dijk)
- Theme and Rheme (McCarthy)
- Cohesive Devices (Halliday & Hasan)
- Structure of Visible Conduct
- Gaze (Kendon)
- Gesture (McNeal)
- Body Movement (Goodwin)
- Key Points
- References
Chapter Three: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Structure
- Introduction
- Grammar
- Tense Variation to Structure Narratives
- Grammatical Units to Organize Interaction
- Genre
- Doing Genre Analysis
- Variations of Genre
- Multimodality
- Compositions of Multimodal Texts
- Grammar-Body Interface
- Preference for Self-registering in Video Call Openings
- Approaches to Discourse and Structure
- Key Points
- References
PART THREE: DISCOURSE AND SOCIAL ACTION
Chapter Four: Classics in Discourse and Social Action
- Introduction
- Doing Things with Words
- Language Games (Wittgenstein)
- Speech Act Theory (Austin and Searle)
- Signaling Meaning with Implicatures, Cues, and Frames
- Implicature (Grice)
- Contextualization Cues (Gumperz)
- Frame (Bateson, Goffman, and Tannen)
- Key Points
- References
Chapter Five: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Social Action
- Introduction
- Begin with Conduct
- Repetition in Conversation
- Lexical Items
- Gaze, Gesture, and Body Movement
- Begin with Action
- Balancing Work and Play
- Managing the Nongranting of Requests
- Achieving Consensus
- Conducting Multiactivity
- Doing things in the Digital Space
- Approaches to Discourse and Social Action
- Key Points
- References
PART FOUR: DISCOURSE AND IDENTITY
Chapter Six: Classics in Discourse and Identity
- Introduction
- Universal Identities
- Face and Facework (Goffman)
- Face-threatening Act and Politeness (Brown and Levinson)
- Social Identities
- Membership Categorization (Sacks)
- Performed Social Identity and Co-membership (Erickson)
- Social Act and Stance (Ochs)
- Negotiability of Social Identities (Zimmerman)
- Interactional Identities
- Footing, Alignment, and Participation Framework (Goffman)
- Positioning Theory (Davies & Harré)
- Relationality Principle (Bucholtz & Hall)
- Pyramid of Identities in Discourse
- Key Points
- References
Chapter Seven: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Identity
- Introduction
- Discourse and Personal Identities
- Operative Identities
- Responsible Urban Father
- Gendered Identities
- Discourse and Professional Identities
- Novice Teacher
- Fellow Physician
- Academic
- Politician
- Discourse and Group Identities
- Activist Leadership Group on Facebook
- Scientists on Websites
- Trinadadians on Facebook and TikTok
- Approaches to Discourse and Identity
- Key Points
- References
PART FIVE: DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY
Chapter Eight: Classics in Discourse and Ideology
- Introduction
- Language and Thought
- Linguistic Relativism (Sapir and Whorf)
- Cognitive Metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson)
- Theoretical Frameworks for Studying Discourse and Ideology
- Critical Language Study (Fairclough)
- Ideological Analysis (van Dijk)
- Seven Building Tasks and Four Theoretical tools (Gee)
- Five Discursive Strategies (Wodak)
- Critical Discourse Analysis
- Key Points
- References
Chapter Nine: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Ideology
- Introduction
- (Re)producing Ideologies
- (Re)producing Sexism
- (Re)producing Racism
- (Re)producing Linguicism
- Resisting Ideologies
- Resisting Sexism
- Resisting Racism
- Resisting Linguicism
- Approaches to Discourse and Ideology
- Key Points
- References
PART SIX: CONCLUSION
Chapter Ten: Coda
About the Author :
Hansun Zhang Waring is Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Teachers College, Columbia University (USA) and founder of The Language and Social Interaction Working Group (LANSI). She is the co-author of Storytelling in Multilingual Interaction (Routledge 2021) and Conversation and Analysis and Second Language Pedagogy (Routledge 2020), as well as being the author of Theorizing Pedagogical Interactions: Insights from Conversation Analysis (Routledge 2017).
Review :
With this new edition of Hansun Zhang Waring's instant classic, Discourse Analysis maintains its undisputed position as the indispensable textbook for understanding and analyzing discourse in all its complexity. Offering a clear guide through multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives, the text inspires students with a variety of engaging activities and a wealth of data examples, both classic and contemporary.
Professor Mary Bucholtz, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
The second edition of Hansun Zhang Waring’s Discourse Analysis provides a highly accessible and exceptionally engaging introduction to discourse analysis. Organized according to the kinds of research questions that animate discourse analysts, Waring’s text covers both foundational topics and current issues. It will, without a doubt, serve as an indispensable guide to the complex and diverse field of discourse analysis for students and more advanced scholars alike.
Susan Ehrlich, York University, Canada
