Week 1: introduction

Cognitive discourse analysis

What is discourse?• “the use of language” (Chilton 2004: 16)

• “anything written or said or communicated using signs” (Fillingham 1993: 100)

• “the flow of knowledge through time” (Jäger 2004: 129)

• “talk and texts as parts of social practice” (Potter 1996: 105)

• “social cognitions, socially specific ways of knowing social practices”  (van Leeuwen 2008: 6)

Discourse shapes truth(or what we believe is true)

Discourse shapes truth

„Discourse refers to communication practices, which systematically construct our knowledge of reality. Discourse plays out in various modes, and across all media. Language is one part in this process, but not necessarily the most important one. Non-verbal and visual communication are crucial aspects of discourse.”

Schneider 2013

Word of caution

• No amount of discourse analysis can provide adequate evidence on what goes on in people’s heads.

• What we can learn from a discourse analysis is how specific actors construct an argument.

What is discourse analysis?

• analysis of language 'beyond the sentence’

• discourse context affects the meaning of the sentence

sentence vs discourse analysis

You see signs at the pool:"Please use the toilet, not the pool"

"Pool for members only" • each sentence independently?

• together as a single discourse?

text and talk do not exist in isolation

van Dijk 2000

cognitive context

• context effect is an aspect of cognitive psychology that describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus

• what we know influences what we perceive

Why cognitive analysis?

„A meaning of a text is not 'in' the text, or on paper, or in the air, but assigned to a text by language users, and as such represented in their minds”.

Van Dijk 2000

Van Dijk 2000

„A cognitive analysis, thus, is an analysis of those properties of discourse that are

accounted for in terms of cognitive concepts, such as various types of mental representation.”

But why would you want to learn CODA?

this is Taylor Swift

this is a Taylor Swift concert

this is what a Taylor Swift concert used to look like

Why?

She is very good at cognitive discourse!

Task 1

Listen to the lyrics of „Clean” and find out

• metaphors for emotions (any)

• metaphors for love

• metaphors for lack of love

• metaphors for relationships

The drought was the very worst When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst It was months, and months of back and forth You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore

Hung my head as I lost the war, and the sky turned black like a perfect storm

Rain came pouring down when I was drowning That's when I could finally breathe And by morning gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean

There was nothing left to do When the butterflies turned to dust that covered my whole room So I punched a hole in the roof Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you

The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing

Rain came pouring down when I was drowning That's when I could finally breathe And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean I think I am finally clean Said I think I am finally clean

10 months sober, I must admit Just because you're clean don't mean you don't miss it 10 months older, I won't give in Now that I'm clean I'm never gonna risk it

The drought was the very worst When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst

Rain came pouring down when I was drowning That's when I could finally breathe And by morning gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean

Rain came pouring down when I was drowning That's when I could finally breathe And by morning gone was any trace of you I think I am finally clean Finally clean Think I'm finally clean Think I'm finally clean

Conceptual metaphors:

• EMOTIONS are LIQUIDS in a container

• LOVE is ADDICTION (lack of love is withdrawal)

• LOVE is NOURISHMENT (lack of love is starvation)

• LOVE is WAR • etc.

Image Schemata

• falling in love is physical falling

Conceptual Metonymy

• a thing stands for a person

Frames

• being addicted and recovering from drug addiction

End of week 1