LINGUIST List 18.658
Thu Mar 01 2007
Diss: Discourse Analysis/Pragmatics/Socioling: Filardo-Llamas: 'Lan...'
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1. Laura
Filardo-Llamas,
Language and Legitimisation: Political discourse analysis in Northern Ireland after the Agreement, 1998-2004
Message 1: Language and Legitimisation: Political discourse analysis in Northern Ireland after the Agreement, 1998-2004
Date: 25-Feb-2007
From: Laura Filardo-Llamas <laurafllyahoo.com>
Subject: Language and Legitimisation: Political discourse analysis in Northern Ireland after the Agreement, 1998-2004
Institution: University of Valladolid
Program: Filologías Modernas
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2007
Author: Laura Filardo-Llamas
Dissertation Title: Language and Legitimisation: Political discourse analysis in Northern Ireland after the Agreement, 1998-2004
Linguistic Field(s):
Discourse Analysis
Pragmatics
Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
Dissertation Director:
Elena González-Cascos
Dissertation Abstract:
In this thesis I have attempted to describe the inextricable link betweenpolitical discourse and legitimisation. I depart from Chilton's (2004)hypothesis that political discourse has a legitimising function, which, Ibelieve, is achieved by means of the creation of different discourseworlds, which are, in turn, usually related to a set of differentideological perceptions. I believe that those discourse worlds arediametrically opposed in conflict society, such as the Northern Irish one.
Therefore, I depart from the presentation of my working hypothesis, inwhich I also establish my conception of legitimisation, and the differenttypes of legitimisation that can be discursively promoted (cf. Martin Rojo& Van Dijk 1997). In order to describe the context upon which this researchis based, I also present in the thesis a historical and politicaldescription of Northern Ireland, mostly focusing on those historical eventsthat have taken place since it was created, and how each of the four mainNorthern Irish parties understand those historical events. The NorthernIrish parties that are covered in the context section - and in the analysis- are SF, the SDLP, the UUP and the DUP.
As regards the methodology that is followed for the analysis, I havedeparted from the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach, mostly asunderstood by both Teun Van Dijk and Norman Fairclough. Those conceptionsof CDA are linked to the previously explained legitimising function ofdiscourse, and also to the four pragmatic categories - namely deixis,reference, implicit meaning, and metaphors - that will guide the analysis.In order to establish that link, I rely on the necessary acknowledgement ofcontext in order to interpret the mentioned pragmatic categories. Takinginto account those departing points, I establish my own model of analysisof the legitimising function of political discourse.
In the analysis section, I try to test the proposed model by applying it tothree Northern Irish situations, all of them related to the Peace Agreementsigned in 1998. Thus, I first analyse how each of the four main NorthernIrish parties react to that Agreement, and uncover which elements andaspects are legitimised by each of them. The second situation is related toeach party's conception of police, and how they are discursivelytransmitted at the time of the Patten Report in 1999. Finally, I also applythis model to analyse the political situation that is lived in NorthernIreland in 2003, in which two distinguishing features have been identified:the call of elections for the Assembly, and the third act of IRAdecommissioning.
I believe that the analysis allows me to conclude that political discoursehas a legitimising function, which is frequently related to the need tojustify (or unjustify) specific historical and political events. Besides, Ialso consider that a linguistic analysis of political discourses may helpus understand how legitimisation is achieved by means of language.
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