Elements of Critical Context Studies
Journal Title: Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics - Year 2010, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
In this paper, it is argued that Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) should be extended to also include what may be called Critical Context Studies (CCS). After a summary of the new theory of context, defined in terms of special mental models in episodic memory, subjectively representing the ‘definition of the communicative situation’ by the participants, it is argued how a critical analysis of text-context relationships is fundamental for CDS. The focus of CDS on power and domination presupposes the relevance of the ways social contexts are defined by the participants, and how such social context may influence text and talk. This theoretical paper is illustrated by a detailed analysis of fragments from a debate of 2004 held in the British House of Commons on the Hutton Report, which deals with the aftermath of the media coverage of the war in Iraq.
Authors and Affiliations
Teun A. van Dijk
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP363194
- DOI -
- Views 122
- Downloads 0
In-Service Teacher Development Programs and EFL Teaching Practice in High Schools
This study sought the relationship between short-term in-service development programs for EFL teachers and their teaching practice in high schools. The objectives were to determine the relationship between: 1) the compon...
Relative Importance in English and Persian: Thematization or Tonic Prominence?
There are two common ways to assign relative importance in spoken language: tonic prominence and thematization. The former is expressing the main points of information units in speech (Halliday, 1994), and the latter is...
On the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Directive Speech Acts Preference
Language and emotion are two related systems in use, in that one system (emotions) impacts the performance of the other (language). Both of them share their functionality in communication. Since the nature of foreign lan...
Applicability Issues with TBLT in EFL Contexts
This paper examines the theoretical rationales and practical aspects of task-based language teaching (TBLT) with particular reference to research findings in EFL/ESL contexts. The definitional scope of the term ‘task’, p...
Dual function of first position nominal groups in research article titles: Describing methods and structuring summary
Previous research has identified the nominal group as the most distinctive feature of the research article title. In contrast, the findings reported in this paper suggest Theme/Rheme is the dominant structure in title te...