Critical Discourse Analysis

CDA is defined by Fairclough (1992) as ‘discourse analysis which aims to systematically

explore often opaque relationships of causality and determination between

- Discursive practices, events and texts, and

- wider social and cultural structures, relations and processes; to investigate how such
practices, events and texts arise out of and are ideologically shaped by relations of power
and struggles over power; and to explore how the opacity of these relationships between
discourse and society is itself a factor securing power and hegemony’. (p.135).

CDA plays the important role in uncovering hidden ideologies while examining the presence of
force in media. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) proposes a research methodology for
deconstructing discourses and fixed power relationship. From epistemological standpoint, it
presupposes the multiple possibilities of knowing and interpreting the world (Yanow, 2000.
Through mass media we could know about the world as well, mass communication is a tools
communication between human, how human talks to one another via verbal and non-verbal
means, but which concerns messages that are essentially transmitted through a medium (channel)
to reach a large number of people (Wimmer & Dominick, 2012, Devito, 2011).

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) proposes a research methodology for deconstructing

discourses and fixed power relationship. From epistemological standpoint, it presupposes the
multiple possibilities of knowing and interpreting the world (Yanow, 2000. Through mass media
we could know about the world as well, mass communication is a tool of communication
between humans, how humans talk to one another via verbal and non-verbal means, but which
concerns messages that are essentially transmitted through a medium (channel) to reach a large
number of people.

To Van Dijk (1997), the term CDS (Critical Discourse Studies) is “a cross-discipline that
comprises the theory and analysis of text and talk in virtually all disciplines of the humanities
and social science” CDA describes, interprets, analyses, and critiques social life (Luke, 1997) by
studying “the discursive practices of a community and its normal ways of using language”.

Critical Discourse analysis can provide valuable insights into how media texts construct and
reinforce social norms, identities, and ideologies and can help researchers understand the broader
social and cultural contexts in which media is produced and consumed.

Relevance theory and media discourse: the verbal-visual Model of communication

The application of Relevance theory to media discourse, specifically discourses that share verbal
and visual channels of communication, implies the incorporation in pragmatic analysis not only
of communicative situations in which the addressee’s choice of an interpretation matches the
addresser’s intended one, but also situations where for some reason communication does not
reach an optimal level of interpretation. For example, in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Salieri asks
Mozart what opinion he has about his music, and Mozart answers that he never thought that such
music was possible. Salieri, when given this answer, cannot know whether Mozart has praised
him or has criticised his music, because both interpretations are likely to be selected as consistent
with the principle of relevance. Examples like this of intentional ambiguity cause problems for
optimal interpretation (see Morgan and Green 1987: 727), and illustrate a picture of
interpretation that moves away from the code model of communication, and into a more down-
to-earth inferential view of hypothesis formation and confirmation.

Quantitative and qualitative methods of media analysis:

The former is based on statistics, while the latter draws on narratives. Quantitative analysis uses
statistics that are relatively easy to obtain, quick to compare, and they show figures for key
performance metrics. However, quantitative analysis also comes with some drawbacks, as
statistics on their own cannot account for omissions, misstatements, or nuances, among other
things. Thus, statistics cannot give you the ‘full picture’. That is to say, numbers and graphs
cannot always provide you with meaningful context (or meaning in a context), nor can they fully
capture the impact on audiences.

Qualitative analysis involves the examination of the relationship between a text or speech and its
likely audience. It is an indeterminate field of meaning in which intentions and possible effects
intersect”. it pays special attention to target audiences, media sources, and other contextual
factors. This helps to determine the most likely meaning, on top of being able to provide a more
insightful idea of social impact than simple statistics are able to give. But many people consider
the qualitative method of analysis “unscientific” because of its reliance on small sample sizes

Language usage in social media

It is important to keep in mind that these different types of media vary from service to service.
This discrepancy affects the way in which people speak and depends on the purpose of their
interactions, as there is a difference in the way people communicate within games or how they
do it on Facebook, for example. Facebook users can post their messages allowing a broader
audience to access them or use private messengers (PM) when they wish to establish a more
personal type of communication. In the case of games, however, communication tends to be a lot
faster as it takes place in real time. Another example of modern day online interaction is Twitter,
which follows a similar system for communication to Facebook. Nevertheless, Twitter is mostly
used for a quicker reading and writing of messages, allowing the use of a limited character space.

With such a global user basis, social media becomes a melting pot of languages used in different
manners and for different purposes. This has resulted in the creation of an alternate dialect that,
with its immediacy, favours real-time communication as, for instance, the acronyms that are used
in instant messages. Examples of these acronyms would be expressions such as LOL, which
means to laugh out loud. One of the oldest acronyms used on the internet, LOL it is often used to
convey the message that the user found the subject of the conversation funny.

Media Effects

The news media shapes public opinion through the use of language. They employ various
strategies to influence the audience's perception and understanding of events. This includes the
portrayal of public opinion in an integrated manner, the manipulation of public consciousness
and social control through the news discourse, the formation of specific stereotypes in the minds
of the masses, and the manipulation of language to expand ideology and manipulate public
opinion. Additionally, the news media uses language to disguise the identity of perpetrators and
victims in crime news, emphasizing certain aspects to evoke emotional responses and maintain
impartiality.