Discourse analysis – on the roadpure.au.dk/portal/files/32304635/WP4.pdf · Discourse analysis – on the road ... sociocultural approach to language, literacy, discourse studies

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Discourse analysis – on the road from shades to colours

An analysis of an American company website

Af Dorrit Bøilerehauge This working paper is a discussion of some of the aspects presented by James Paul Gee in his book An introduction to Discourse Analysis: theory and method (1999). The working paper can be regarded as a snapshot illustrating some of my present observations and considerations in my work on my doctorial dissertation One village – one language? – and as such it entails all the limitations and reservations of any work in progress.

1. Introduction

The aim of my doctorial dissertation is to demonstrate and explain the possible reasons for the cultural differences observed in American, Italian and Danish company presentations on the internet. The differences will be observed and presented as a number of characteristics in the presentations, and will subsequently be matched with selected cultural categories. I shall take discourse analysis as my theoretical point of departure and intend to combine a cultural discussion and analysis with the synthetic approach demonstrated by Gee (1999). Other theories not applied in my

Dorrit Bøilerehauge

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final analysis may still be a part of the theoretical discussion of my dissertation where I present the following research question(s):

- are there any cultural differences in the websites? - if indeed there are – - can they be described and maybe also explained?

My analysis will include a limited number of websites as I have prioritised a more detailed approach, and consequently the website analysed in this paper is only one of the sites of my test corpus. However, this paper will focus only on James Paul Gee’s approach to discourse analysis by means of a short presentation and discussion of his concepts, followed by a test analysis applying the concepts on an American website.

2. The concept of discourse – Gee’s approach

So Discourses are out in the world and history as coordinations (“a dance”) of people, places, times, actions, interactions, verbal and non-verbal expression, symbols, things, tools, and technologies that betoken certain identities and associated activities. (Gee 1999: 23)

As illustrated above James Paul Gee has a very detailed and tool oriented way of defining the concept of discourse in his book An introduction to discourse analysis: theory and method (1999). In general Gee takes a sociocultural approach to language, literacy, discourse studies and other areas, and he has centered his recent work on development of an integrated theory of language, literacy, and schooling1. In a review of the above mentioned book Xinzhan Yang from the Xiamen University in China outlines five major approaches to the extensive area of discourse analysis: the structural, cognitive, sociocultural, critical and synthetic approaches (Yang 2201: 646). A synthetic approach entails possibility for integration of 1 http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/edpsych/facstaff/gee.htm


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other concepts, theories and models and this particular aspect renders the approach apt for the present purpose. Gee repeats the elements constituting discourse a number of times (Gee 1999: 12, 15, 17, 18, 23, 25, and 38) but not with the same number of elements. In an attempt of getting a complete overview of all possible elements according to Gee, I have simply listed the elements mentioned, followed by the page number where I found them. Discourses involve coordinating language with ways of:

- acting (38, 25, 12, 17, 18, 23) - interacting (38, 25, 12, 17, 18, 23) - valuing (38, 25, 12, 17, 18) - believing (38, 25, 12, 18) - feeling (38, 25, 12) - with bodies (25) - clothes (38, 25) - non-linguistic symbols (25) - objects (38, 25, 15, 18) - tools (38, 25, 18, 23) - technologies (25, 23) - times (38, 25, 15, 17, 23) - places (38, 25, 15, 17, 18, 23)

- thinking (38, 12, 17) - symbols (38, 18, 23) - people (38, 15, 23) - verbal and non-verbal expression (23)


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- situated identities (38) - gesturing (38) - knowing (38) - listening (38)2 3

It remains unspecified whether the number of times the different elements are mentioned makes them more central, or whether the list on page 38 – being the most comprehensive list – is to be regarded as the complete and final list. It also remains unspecified on which basis the elements have been selected. However, as a basis I will include all 21 elements, and I have listed the elements from page 25 in the first group and other elements in subsequent groups as it remained to be examined if the groups entailed different characteristics. In an attempt to order or categorise the elements I tried to group them under the headings of Gee’s situation network, a combination of the below aspects and situations involving communicative social interaction (Gee 1999: 83, this paper p 8). The aspects are as follows:

- semiotic aspect - activity aspect - material aspect - sociocultural aspect

resulting in the following preliminary groups:

Semiotic aspect Acting, interacting, valuing, believing, feeling, with bodies, clothes, non-linguistic symbols, objects, tools, technologies, times, places,

2 I have left out talking, speaking (Gee 99: 38) writing-reading (Gee 99: 17) as I regard these as modes and not central to my examination at present. 3 I have interpreted performing (Gee 1999: 38) as being included in acting; symbol systems (Gee 1999: 38) as being included in symbols; things (Gee 1999: 38) to be the same as objects, dressing (Gee 1999: 38) as being the same as clothes and posturing (Gee 1999: 38) to be included under non-verbal expressions. Consequently, I consider these elements expressed although not mentioned explicitly on the list.


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symbols, verbal and non-verbal expression, gesturing, knowing and listening. Activity aspect Acting, interacting, thinking, gesturing, knowing, and listening. Material aspect With bodies, clothes, non-linguistic symbols, objects, tools, technologies, times, places, symbols, people, and verbal and non-verbal expressions. Political aspect Acting, interacting, valuing, believing, feeling, with bodies, clothes, non-linguistic symbols, objects tools, technologies, times, places, symbols, verbal and non-verbal expressions, gesturing, knowing, and listening. Socio-cultural aspect Valuing, believing and feeling.

The first problem with the above groups is that they remain too open in the sense that many of the elements can belong under different aspects. Consequently, they render little guidance in an attempt to clarify the first stages of analysis by means of categorisation or limitation of the number of elements to include. Being aware that my interpretation of the elements is also rather wide and open, and at present left without a detailed discussion of the position of each single element, I have subsequently ordered the elements under the semantic headings of Mental activities/processes, and Physical and factual entities with the following result:

Mental activities / processes Acting, interacting, valuing, believing, feeling, thinking, and knowing.


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Physical and factual entities Bodies, clothes, non-linguistic symbols, objects, tools, technologies, times, places, symbols, people, and verbal and non-verbal expressions.

Again the groups can be subject to much discussion, as the first question may be if time can be regarded as a physical element, just as the problem of not categorising situated identities, gesturing and listening in any of the groups remains unsolved. Besides, it may be argued that some of the elements are super-ordinates while others are sub-ordinates in the very same categories. For example non-linguistic symbols may be said to be super ordinate to: objects, tools, technologies, times, and places. The present conclusion to the questions and attempts at clarification is that the list may be regarded as a source of inspiration, which cannot be directly linked to any of the other categories in Gee’s book, nor can they be fully categorized without further discussion and analysis. 2.1. Tools for analysis

Gee works with a type of discourse analysis which is an “analysis of language as it is used to enact activities, perspectives and identities” (Gee 1999: 4). He distinguishes between “discourse” with and small “d” and “Discourse” with a big “D”. “discourse” concerns how language is used in a specific context whereas Discourse comprises discourse mixed with other elements in order to enact specific identities and activities (Gee 1999: 7). These other elements are the ones listed on pp 3 - 4.

Discourse discourse


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My illustration of the two kinds of D/discourse indicate that I regard discourse to be included in Discourse. It may even be that a great majority of instances can be regarded as Discourse, and it may also be discussed if the above distinction is necessary – and when? As I do not need the distinction for the present analysis, I will apply the term discourse in the meaning of Discourse in my analysis. I do this, as it is a central to my further work, that Discourse is combined with other elements. Another important element in the concept of discourse is recognition in the sense that you need to combine the different elements in such a manner that you or your discourse will be recognized by others sharing the same discourse (Gee 1999: 18). This is a continuous process as no discourse is stable, but rather changing and developing with performance and negotiation in the same way that other aspects are transformed over time (Gee 1999: 23). Gee also describes a term like discourse as an example of a “thinking device” – i.e. terms that theoreticians and analysts treat as existing entities. In doing so they (we) construct and construe the world so that the terms become tools of inquiry – they guide us to ask the right questions with the aim of understanding and analysing the different elements of discourse (Gee 1999: 37). Schematically presented examples of questions are:

- What social languages are involved? - What Discourses are involved? - Performance recognition work? - Relevant conversations?

(Gee 1999: 38). Just as discourses change, also the meaning of words change according to the social and cultural group. In this respect the human mind is considered being pattern recognizing, and thus seeking patterns similar to those experienced and subsequently stored. Consequently, meaning resides more with the groups than in the individual minds (Gee 1999: 40). On the other hand, we recognize meanings based on our experiences of the contexts, and again we perceive the context to be in a certain way as a consequence of the


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meanings we assemble (Gee 1999: 47). This reciprocal process can be called reflexivity (Gee 1999: 82), and a similar process of exchange can be observed between language and situations where language has both a reflective and a constructive function.

As already mentioned on page 4 Gee (1999: 83) uses the term situation to cover situations involving communicative social interaction and argues that they always include the following aspects:

- a semiotic aspect - an activity aspect - a material aspect - a political aspect - a sociocultural aspect

The aspects give meaning one another and simultaneously get meaning from each other, and all together they are called the “situation network” (Gee 1999: 83). When we construe the “situation” network in certain ways (and not in others), we carry out six building tasks referring to the reciprocal process by which language both creates institutions and is created by institutions (Gee 1999: 11). We use the building tasks in social processes with other people, and the processes can be regarded as both cognitive achievements, interactional achievements and inter-textual achievements (Gee 1999: 85). Through the tasks we use language to construct what Gee calls the situation network, and the six tasks include:

Reflexivity

Experiences ↔ Context

Language ↔ Situation


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- semiotic building (semiotic (communicative) systems) - world building (situated meanings regarding “reality”) - activity building - socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building - political building (establish what is social goods – such as status and

power) - connection building (concerning past and future connected to the

present) The building tasks is what we do with language and other communicative aspects (semiotic aspects) to construct and construe a situation network in a certain way. (Gee 1999: 85 – 86). In other words the building tasks form or construct six different aspects of “reality”. While it is relatively easy to follow Gee’s ideas of the complexity of the situation network, and similarly also the concept of building tasks and the process they represent and illustrate; it remains rather obscure what the precise relationship between the two entities is, and why they do not have identical sets of elements. Without any argumentation or explanation for neither the content (nature, constitution) of the situation network, nor the content or selection of the six building tasks, it becomes even more difficult to comprehend on which basis the elements have been selected, and to an even higher degree why they differ the way they do. The “material aspect” has been left out from the building task group where “world building” and “connection building” are new elements in comparison with the situation network. An explanation for the disappearance of the “material aspect” could be that it is partly covered by a combination of “world building” and “political building”4 “World building” may be regarded as a more advanced or refined state of the material aspect, but “connection building” still seems to represent elements (of different types of coherence) belonging to a more detailed level of analysis than the other building tasks.

4 This aspects requires further discussion, but such a discussion is outside the scope of this working paper.


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2.2. Method

In spite of the unexplained aspects and elements mentioned I still apply the building tasks in an analysis of selected parts of an American website, as I regard them as a source of inspiration on the way to construction of a more complete model for discourse analysis of company websites with the aim of finding a number of cultural differences. The building tasks are synthetic (Xinzhang Yang, 2001: 646) and can as such be used as a macrostructure open for combination with other theories and approaches, which is ideal for the purpose at hand. However, the categories are indeed open and wide-ranging, which has lead to problems of overlapping and unclarities regarding categorization. This, in turn, resulted in a certain “slide” in the analysis, as it became increasingly difficult to keep a regular structure in the process. Later I shall elaborate on the main problems in my analysis and indicate possibilities for further clarification and work.

3. The American website – Smucker’s

Smucker’s is a food producing company and a family business run by the same family for four generations.5 Regarding the perception of the term food it may be added that the Amadeus Company list, which is a public accessible data base of European companies, includes companies producing jam, jelly and fruit juice, beer (Carlsberg) and sweets (Carletti) in their group of food producers. Consequently, I regard Smucker’s as being included in the category and also sufficiently within the limits of the general perception of food. This is relevant for my dissertation as I have presumed that companies marketing products in what I call “body related businesses” choose to be, if not culture specific, then at least culturally authentic6, as they need to 5 Founded in 1897, over 2000 employees. 6 The term ”authentic” needs to be further discussed and defined. It indicates that there is an objective reality which has not been discussed – just as the relationship between “culture in real life” and “culture in texts” needs to be discussed.


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establish a more personal / direct relationship based on a different kind of trust than would be the case, if the product was not to have any physical contact with the consumer. Whereas the first criterion for selection of the companies was line of business, the second was a general or first impression of the companies’ willingness to present themselves on the internet by means of a website with a relevant content. I choose the terms “willingness” and “relevant content” regardless of their origin in a different and more colourful register, because my initial criteria are based on an intuitive evaluation of the websites’ suitability for the work at hand. Naturally, a discussion of the basis of criteria for the final selection of parts of a company websites, as well as the possible effects of this, need to be discussed in detail at a later point. As a basis for that discussion I will take Gee’s considerations as my point of departure:

A discourse analysis is based on the details of speech (and gaze and gesture and action) or writing that are arguably deemed relevant in the situation and that are relevant to the arguments the analyst is attempting to make. (Gee 1999: 88)

It is obvious that in order to give an impression of the company, and in particular also the culture of the company, the presentation needs to be of a certain length and include both written text and different kinds of images. It needs at least to attempt to both present – and maybe create – its own universe on the internet. As I focus on the presentation of the company itself on websites, I have selected sites, which have prioritised precisely this aspect. As the presentations and the communication concerning the companies vary on the different sites also the additional communication on the site varies. Especially the Smucker’s site is voluminous and contains communication targeted at a number of rather different target groups. However, I shall restrict myself to discussing only the home pages and the pages presenting the company and its values. The pages selected for analysis at present carry the titles of: A Family Company (About Us, Our Basic Beliefs, and Quality) – see appendices 2, 3, and 4.


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Regarding selection of only parts of the company websites, I will base a subsequent discussion of this on Gee (1999):

A discourse analysis is not based on all the physical features present, not even all those that might, in some conceivable context, be meaningful, or might be meaningful in analyses with different purposes. (Gee 1999: 88)

4. Culture / context

It would be much too simplistic to reduce culture and cultural implications to communicative practises for the sake of convenience, as it would deprive us of the possibility of looking into the different cultural structures and individual elements in order to try to understand their possible implications and manifestations. In stead I shall try to select one or more suitable and illustrative cultural theories to examine whether there are any categories of cultural values or patterns represented in the websites. At present, however, I restrict myself to the application and discussion of Gee’s approach to discourse analysis.

5. Discourse analysis applying James Paul Gee’s method

The subsequent analysis is based on Gee’s description of an “ideal” discourse analysis:

Essentially a discourse analysis involves asking questions about how language, at a given time and place, is used to construe the aspects of the situation network as realized at that time and place and how the aspects of the situation network simultaneously give meaning to that language (remember reflexivity). A discourse analysis involves, then, asking questions about the six building tasks on pp 85 – 6. (Gee 1999: 92)


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I shall apply those questions on pp. 93 – 94 (Gee 1999) that are relevant to the web site in question – that is on each page I intend to reflect on only the relevant questions. The questions / building tasks are listed in appendix 1. 5.1. A discourse analysis of Smucker’s

About Us Semiotic building On all pages the relevant sign systems are both writing and images. Smucker’s does not use auditory elements in its presentation. On the pages About Us and Our Basic Beliefs the personal pronouns are written in italics. This connotes either former times when everything was handwritten, or it may connote a signature and consequently increase the proximity or even presence of the sender. Naturally, it may also be regarded as a stylistic devise creating visual variation (the rest of text is in a usual modern font), or visual focus on the sender. The writing in italics is red, just as the fruit on the photos, and thus creating coherence by means of colour. I cannot at present see if there should be any social language relevant in order to read and fully understand the presentation. At a first glance it seems that the linguistic level and the image/text relationship is at a rather unmarked level, meaning that it should be accessible to most readers. It seems that the texts are Discourse rather than discourse. Example: “The Company, headquartered in Orville, Ohio, was originally founded in 1897 and has been family run for four generations” (appendix 2). An example of a denotative text-image relationship is also found on this page where the text under the heading “About Us” gives data concerning the company, and the image shows the company logo made in wood. World building Smucker’s takes a no. 1 position in the world it creates. In “About Us” the focus is just as much on status as it is on the company as such. Smucker’s is a “market leader”, “has been family run for four generations”, “has over 2,000 employees worldwide”, and “distributes products in more than 70


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countries” (my underlining). So what is important is not only the choice of words but also the use of intensifiers. It is evident that there is status in the age of the company, which was founded in 1897, and also in the fact that it has been run by the same family for four generations. Continuity is marketed as a commodity. The cultural models or network of models that seem to be underlying the “About Us” page can be traced in different manners. The text is factually structured so that essential factual information is presented from the beginning. The reader gets a precise impression of the position of the company in the real world. However, the images supplement the text with values of a slightly different kind. The photo of the logo manufactured in wood and placed in natural surroundings (not in nature but still surrounded by trees and bushes) connotes natural, fresh, long lasting, genuine values and products. The logo is central in the pictures, and at the core of the image we find the strawberries – in wood – decorating the scene. The second image – the green and white chequered cloth - is used on all pages presenting the company (except the timeline). A small piece of fabric has traditionally been used to cover the lid of the jar, so the first connotation is original production of jam – the good old days from which all good traditions stem. Again, values of continuity, stability and in that also trustworthiness, are connoted. People from the countryside with a simple and authentic choice of cloth, lifestyle, way of production and of doing business. All these aspects represent a world and a way of life which to many people today is second hand knowledge and consequently also attractive – maybe even exotic. It can be argued that the cloth, or fabric, is not significant – after all it is only that – checked fabric and nothing else. But the extraordinary aspect of the cloth is that, as already mentioned, it is used on all pages presenting the company. On the home page it is red and white, and on the section A Family Company it is bright green and white. Both are clear and traditional colours matching the other elements on the pages, and the green colour also connotes nature with all positive, entailed elements. Consequently, I find it safe to conclude that the company attaches great importance to the


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values connoted to the fabric, as it takes up a significant amount of space on the website. Another remarkable aspect of the fabric is that it is not straight the way a piece of fabric is when used as for covering a lid or as a cloth. It is wavering or flying as a flag in the wind. So it may be said that the fabric is Smucker’s flag – representing the company and the inherent values and traditions. Finally, it is appropriate to mention that the different colours of the cloths in different sections of the site serve as a help for navigating. In a way nature and natural materials – supplemented by a fresh and solid appearance / image are being recreated in the discourse as institutions representing the above mentioned values, and they are stabilized by repeated usage.7 Socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building As mentioned under World building – the company presents an identity with close affinity to nature and traditional values. Political building The social goods presented by the company are both attached to and detached from the cultural values of the page. The age of the company can be directly linked to the style of the logo on the picture and to the values represented by the cloth. Both these aspects have been discussed above. The same applies for the information concerning size, number of employees and the fabric as a reference point connoting stability and traditional values. However, the theme of nature, green, and freshness is not supported directly in the text, just as the customer base (/customers) is not reflected in the images. Connection building The connection to the past is substantial. However, the past is not only a reference point in time (before the present) – rather it is concept of the good old days applied as an institution. An institution with reliable businesses

7 Activity building: I see no activities in the discourse on the page “About us”. The action is that Smucker’s is presented but in actual fact and values.


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and attractive products is represented by inter-Discursivity established from the very first word in the very first line “Today”. By focussing on today, signals of a relevant history are given, but it is up to the reader to pursue the story. Our Basic Beliefs Semiotic building The principle of quality is elaborated on by the photo of fresh, red apples in a plantation. Quality is fresh and green, and the apples are placed close to the viewer – like they are being offered. World building On the textual side we are told that the creator of Smucker’s still provides the guidelines for the company. The system of basic beliefs, values and Jerome Monroe Smucker can be illustrated like a family tree.

World

Strategic behaviour & Direction

Basic beliefs

Values Principles Philosophy Heritage

Jerome Monroe Smucker By tracing the values of the company back to its founder, he is not only honoured but also assigned moral value and a position more distinguished than a mere initiator of the business. Jeremy Monroe Smucker becomes a shadow-manager in the sense that he (or his principles) is/are still a part of


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the present strategic behaviour and direction. One can assume that this credit is given to Jeremy Monroe Smucker because the company as it is today attaches importance to not only physical but also moral leadership. That the principles heridited have thrived for so many years only increases their value, and thereby also the value of the founder for the company. By explaining the origin of Smucker’s Basic Beliefs and how the ethic guidelines of the company have been developed, value is assigned both to the guidelines, the founder and to the company. This synergy of increased value to the different elements naturally strengthens the strategic behaviour and direction of the company – which are the elements that the reader may actually encounter. The reader, however, is not addressed at all – at present we remain in the world of Smucker’s. To sum up we encounter a world or a culture where heritage – old heritage – and wise leaders are central, and where ideas increase in value the longer they are applicable. The philosophical heritage is an institution that will guide the company in the future, and so it even provides a certain amount of stability ahead of present times. Stability – like continuity – is an attractive aspect which very few businesses can provide, but which is presupposed at Smucker’s – based on its former experience of four generations.8 Socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building & Political building There is substantial status on the part of company in presenting a visionary father figure under whose guidance they can carry out their activities. In order for the company to pursue its identity as a successful company, it must have both a strong leader but also “time-honoured” principles as a frame (of reference) for their business. Connection building The text refers back to the time where Jerome Monroe Smucker ran the company according to his principles, just as it refers to the “today” (mentioned specifically as the first word in the second paragraph) and even 8 Activity building: I see no action in ”Our Basic Beliefs”. Indirectly the activity is to present part of the philosophical and historical aspects of Smucker’s. This could, however, also be regarded as the communicative purpose.


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into the future. Naturally, there is also thematic reference to a number of other pages as the subject is Smucker’s. Finally the words quality, people, ethics, growth and independence are underlined, as they are links to individual pages. Quality is also the page that I have chosen to analyse next. Quality Semiotic building The headings of the pages Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence are all written in italics – in a style similar to handwriting. Apart from the possibility that it is only a visual, stylistic device applied for the sake variation this font may also have been chosen because of its connotation to the past, and in order to illustrate a presence or a signature of the sender. The headings are all red, just as the fruit on all these pages, and consequently the colour red creates cohesion between text and photos. The photo shows a lot of berries (probably cherries) being sprayed with water. There is light in the photo – probably sunlight – and the impression is one of fresh fruit, health and good taste. World building The concept of quality is presented as being the centre for all other entities of the company.

Relationships with each other

Products

Manufacturingmethods

People

Marketing Efforts

Quality


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As illustrated above the reader is presented to a world which turns (is in orbit) around quality. Consequently, quality is given a first priority just as the entities mentioned in this respect are being perceived as central. The groups “products, manufacturing methods, marketing efforts, and people” are all factual, or something which can be observed directly. Only “Relationships with each other” is of a different and theoretical category, but by grouping it with the other elements it achieves a different status and value. Furthermore, “each other” may be perceived as including also external groups – but as there is no elaboration on the groups this aspect is left open. The same applies to the category “people” which may mean staff, but is most likely to include all people with connection to the company. The style of this page is slightly different from the previous pages in that the information is more in the form of a statement promoting the actions of the company, and it also addresses the readers indirectly (discussion of target group and receivers is pending). The sentence “We only produce and sell products that enhance the quality of life and well-being” is most likely addressed to the consumers, as they are the ones directly benefiting from the quality of the products. The concept of quality is also used for ranking the products in relationship to other products on the market where they are estimated as being the “highest-quality products.” The third aspect of quality mentioned is superior results of continuous effort, which stresses the importance of a daily effort in its long-term results. The last sentence does not so much characterize Smucker’s, but is more directed at the receiver and selling the company and its products with a discourse more similar to a slogan than a company presentation.9 Socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building The identity presented is a company with a “strong” identity, and the combination of the identity with long term efforts seems to amount to quality results. However, the relationship is somewhat shattered as the

9 Activity building: As already mentioned the activities on this page are divided between presenting the company and marketing/selling the company and its products.


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more narrative and informative discourse is replaced by a discourse of marketing or selling. Political building The focus is on the kind of quality that results from a continuous effort combined with clear priorities, so this is the central value on this page. Besides, the open ended groups mentioned in connection with quality may signal an all embracing attitude or openness towards all people. An aspect which may be connected to cultural ideals of equality.10

4. Discussion of the method

As evident from the analysis, the situational context as such is not included in any of the categories. It seems relevant to include observations regarding the situational context under World Building. Neither the structure of the website is described. Here it seems relevant to divide into macro (institution) and micro (interaction level). Similarly, it could be appropriate to discuss the selection of topics or themes as well and maybe connect it to the macro structure. These aspects could be included under Socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building which may also contain a division of the statements into cognitive, affective, ability etc. (Gee 1999: 124). As noticed earlier there are no activities observed regarding Activity building in the discourse under neither “About US” nor under “Our Basic Beliefs” or “Quality” in the presentation. It is debatable if a category often left without any observations should remain as an independent category, or rather be incorporated into a related category. On page 15 the observations made under Political building are good examples of the overlapping categories - a problem that needs to be addressed.

10 Connection building: No comments regarding intertextuality, inter-Discursivity or coherence.


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The observations regarding inter-Discursivity under Connection building are better placed at a later stage in a micro analysis. As the above indicates that the five building tasks will need to undergo a restructuring process. It needs to be discussed what their relationship to the situation network is and why there are differences between the two. A thorough discussion of the elements included in the situation network is also required. Additionally, the basis for selection of the building tasks themselves also requires further work and subsequent clarification. However, it is still too early to indicate the most appropriate and final structure, as it will entail incorporation with theories not yet presented or discussed.

7. Conclusion

As the limitations of the James Paul Gee’s approach have already been pointed out I shall restrict myself to summarising only some of the advantages of the approach. After a thorough discussion of each element and its position in the situation network followed by a revision of the building tasks I still regard the structure and approach outlined by Gee as sound basis for my future analysis. The approach does indeed ask questions that uncovered many relevant aspects in a wide area. Even though the list of the elements entailed in discourse remained unstructured, it still worked both as an inspiration and as a reminder during the analysis. Similarly, the building tasks and the 21 questions presented in this respect prompted much information and inspired interpretation in analysing the selected pages of the Smucker’s website. Consequently, the approach has proved to have sufficient potential for being combined with other approaches and theories in a future analysis uncovering cultural differences in company websites.


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Bibliography Gee, James Paul (1999): An introduction to Discourse Analysis:Ttheory and Method. London: Routledge.

Yang, Xinzhang (2001): Review of An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method in Language in Society 30:4. pp 646 – 648 KORREKT??

Appendix 1

Questions to ask about building tasks: Semiotic building

1. What sign systems are relevant (and irrelevant) in the situation (e.g.) speech, writing, images, and gestures)? How are they made relevant (and irrelevant), and in what ways?

2. What systems of knowledge and ways of knowing are relevant (and irrelevant) in the situation? Howe are they made relevant (and irrelevant), and in what ways?

3. What social languages are relevant (and irrelevant) in the situation? How are they made relevant (and irrelevant), and in what ways?

World building

4. What are the situated meanings of some of the words and phrases that seem important in the situation?

5. What situated meanings and values seem to be attached to places, times, bodies, objects, artefacts, and institutions relevant in this situation?

6. What cultural models and networks of models (master models) seem to be at play in connecting and integrating these situated meanings to each other?

7. What institutions and/or Discourses are being (re-)produced in this situation and how are they being stabilized or transformed in the act?


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Activity building 8. What is the larger or main activity (or set of activities) going on in the

situation? 9. What sub-activities compose this activity (or these activities)? 10. What actions (down to the level of things like “requests for reasons”)

compose these sub-activities and activities? Socioculturally-situated identity and relationship building

11. What relationships and identities (roles, positions), with their concomitant personal, social, and cultural knowledge and beliefs (cognition), feelings (affect), and values, seem to be relevant to the situation?

12. How are these relationships and identities stabilized or transformed in the situation?

13. In term of identities, activities, and relationships, what Discourses are relevant (and irrelevant) in the situation? How are they made relevant (and irrelevant), and in what ways?

14. What social goods (e.g. status, power, aspects of gender, race, and class, or more narrowly defined social networks and identities) are relevant (and irrelevant) in this situation? How are they made relevant (and irrelevant), and in what ways?

15. 15 How are these social goods connected to the cultural models and Discourses operative in the situation?

Connection building

16. What sorts of connections – looking backward and/or forward – are made within and across utterances and large stretches of the interaction?

17. What sorts of connections are made to previous or future interactions, to other people, ideas, texts, things, institutions, and Discourses outside the current situation (this has to do with “Intertextuality” and “inter-Discursivity”)?

18. How do connections of both the sort in 16 and 17 help (together with situated meanings and cultural models) to constitute “coherence” – and what sort of “coherence” in the situation? (Gee: 93 – 94)


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Appendix 2


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Appendix 3


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Appendix 4

Documents

Discourse analysis – on the roadpure.au.dk/portal/files/32304635/WP4.pdf · Discourse analysis – on the road ... sociocultural approach to language, literacy, discourse studies