Application of analytic discourse techniques to clinical practice is relatively recent. This book's contributors begin with the notion that systematic examination of discourse provides a rich source of data for describing the complex relationships among language, social context, and the cognitive processes that underlie discourse comprehension and production. Evidence is provided that when discourse is studied across different clinical populations, analysis yields an optimal opportunity for developing dynamic models of brain and language that more thoroughly account for the complexity of language use in social contexts. Accordingly, studies presented in this volume have a dual focus -- to examine the implications of discourse research on neurolinguistic theories and to evaluate the contribution of discourse analysis to understanding the clinical status of patients with brain damage. As such, this volume reports patterns of preserved and impaired discourse behavior in normal adults and in different adult clinical populations. It also describes numerous tasks designed to elicit a variety of discourse genres and a host of techniques created to describe how subjects order information and relate ideas across sentences. In addition, it includes numerous abstract units and linguistic devices targeted to examine those aspects of discourse that govern cohesion, organization, and topic manipulation. This volume is unique because it presents both theoretical and clinical papers that examine a variety of communication pathologies. Clinicians often report dissatisfaction with formal test batteries in that results are often at variance with clinical observation of performance in real life situations. To address this concern, this work proposes methods for examining discourse that move the examiner closer to naturalistic sampling. The research presented demonstrates that discourse analysis provides clinically significant information that contributes to the understanding of the cognitive, linguistic, and social status of people with communication disorders. These studies also offer a framework to support continuously evolving diagnostic and treatment paradigms for adults with neurological communication pathologies.

In contemporary linguistics, both cognitive and critical approaches to language have been elaborated in some detail. Unfortunately, the two perspectives have seldom converged, despite the potential theoretical advances such collaboration offers. The contributions to this volume explore the convergence of cognitive and critical trends in the guise of cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis. The volume addresses a range of socio-political discourses in various international contexts, including discourses on nation, education, immigration, and war. One single integrated model is not presented, but rather, a number of methodologies are developed and assessed across the chapters. The application of established cognitive linguistic theories, including conceptual metaphor theory, conceptual blending theory and frame semantics, are discussed, as well as developing theories, such as metaphor power theory and discourse space theory. The book is of value to anyone interested in the interaction between language, mind, and society, including both students and scholars of cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis.

Discourse Analysis is becoming increasingly "multimodal", concerned primarily with the interplay of language, image and sound. Video Games allow humans to create, live in and have conversations with new multimodal worlds. In this ground-breaking new textbook, best-selling author and experienced gamer, James Paul Gee, sets out a new theory and method of discourse analysis which applies to language, the real world, science and video games. Rather than analysing the language of video games, this book uses discourse analysis to study games as communicational forms. Gee argues that language, science, games and everyday life are deeply related and each is a series of conversations. Discourse analysis should not be just about language, but about human interactions with the world, with games, and with each other, interactions that make meaning and sustain lives amid risk and complexity. Written in a highly accessible style and drawing on a wide range of video games from World of Warcraft and Chibi-Robo to Tetris, this engaging textbook is essential reading for students in discourse analysis, new media and digital culture.

This book, written in an accessible style and illustrated with drawings by the author and with many other images, discusses the basic principles of discourse theory and applies them to various aspects of popular culture, media and everyday life. Among the topics it analyzes are speed dating, advertising, jokes, language use, myths, fairy tales and material culture.

This bestselling textbook is the ideal companion to An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method, by leading author, James Paul Gee. Using a practical how-to approach, Gee provides the tools necessary to work with discourse analysis, with engaging step-by-step tasks featured throughout the book. Each tool is clearly explained, along with guidance on how to use it, and authentic data is provided for readers to practice using the tools. Readers from all fields will gain both a practical and theoretical background in how to do discourse analysis and knowledge of discourse analysis as a distinctive research methodology. Updated throughout, this second edition also includes a new tool- ‘The Big C Conversation Tool’. A new companion website www.routledge.com/cw/gee features a frequently asked questions section, additional tasks to support understanding, a glossary and free access to journal articles by James Paul Gee. How to do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit is an essential book for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students working in the areas of applied linguistics, education, psychology, anthropology and communication.

Discursive Psychology is a theoretical and analytical approach used by academics and practitioners alike, widely applied, though often lost within the complicated web of discourse analysis. Sally Wiggins combines her expertise in discursive psychology with her clear and demystifying pedagogical approach to produce a book that is committed to student success. This textbook shows students how to put the methodology into practice in a way that is simple, engaging and practical.

What is Discourse Analysis? is an accessible introduction to an empirical research approach which is widely used in the social sciences and related disciplines. This book explores the idea of how meaning is socially constructed and how 'talk' and text can be interpreted. The challenges of discourse analysis are outlined as well as helpful ways to approach them - from finding the right starting point, processing and interpreting data through to building an argument. Discourse analysts work with language data, including talk, documents and broadcast material. Researchers in different traditions study interactions and social practices, meaning-making and larger meaning systems, and contests and conflicts around collective identities, social norms and subjectification. What is Discourse Analysis? addresses new researchers and other academics interested in language and its associated practices. The book outlines the history of discourse analysis, its key concepts and theorists and its uses and challenges. Discussions of published studies illustrate the use of the approach to investigate a range of research topics, such as gender, health and national identities. The book also addresses the practical aspects of discourse analysis, providing clear guidance on data collection and data processing, including transcription and selection. Covering important topics, What is Discourse Analysis? draws from recent articles to show how discourse analysis works in action. Common questions about discourse analysis are presented in a lively and accessible Q&A format. This book will be an essential resource for all researchers working with discourse analysis.