Notes on Towards Intervention in Positive Discourse Analysis by Barlett (2010)

Barlett, T. (2010). Towards intervention in positive discourse analysis. In C. Coffin, T. Lillis, & K. O'Halloran (Eds.), Applied linguistics methods: A reader. (pp. 133-147). London, UK: Routledge.

I. Introduction

Methodology. PDA demonstrates where discourse works and understanding how a particular discourse works through ethnographic approach, i.e. framing texts within a broader description and evaluating the responses of the population in the same community (p. 134; see Insights a).

II. Problem identification: The rise of Critical Linguistics

Critical linguistics. The way people speak to each other is connected with their relative social position. In Critical Linguistics, advances the role of texts in social life.

-Building on Critical Linguistics, PDA concerns to take its findings back to the people involved to “contribute to improving social interaction in various contexts.” (p. 136)

III. Understanding problems: Discourse and socialization

Definitions. “The idea, then, is that the dominant discourses (ways of seeing the world) are maintained invisibly through the everyday discourse (talk in context) of the population…” (p. 137)

IV. Addressing problems: From CDA to PDA

-Intervention can be futile if attacking the dominant values is the goal. It is likely to be ineffective itself.

-Language is powerful in their own context yet reliance on ‘trained linguists’ (having their own advocacies) to provide evaluation on different text and their effectiveness will not develop discourse participants’ “voices”.

V. Living in the solution: The need for common ground

On the positive side, ideology helps community members connect, unite and make sense of their social life for coherence. On the negative side, it serves to make other practices of other communities illogical or inferior. (See Insights b)

VI. Language and powers

a. My dad smoked 40 a day and he was dead by the time he was 52.

b. Smoking is harmful to you and those around.

c. You should really consider giving up smoking.

-Different texts are suitable for the same purpose in different contexts and with different relationships between the speaker and their audience---between societies context link might be different. Different speakers carry more weight in specific contexts.

-Fieldwork in Guyana, South Africa using SFL’s three metafunctions to link aspects of language to social context: ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunction.

-This approach helps participants in the discourse to “rethinking their deeply held view in new and ‘un-naturalizes ways’”. (p. 147; see also Insights c)

Insights:

This article allowed me discover/re-affirm that:

1. the response of both parties, or the effect of discourse thereof, is important to analysis.
2. there is no one right viewpoint opposed to many false ideologies; ideologies unify communities lived by them and overlaps are areas for positive discourse (e.g. getting things done).
3. nurturing areas of discourse that invite sharing and not shifting of powers is a responsible undertaking.

 NOTE: I apologize for using PDA for my own economy. This is not a valid abbreviation for Positive Discourse Analysis.