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Chinese

Discourse Analysis

话语分析

Overview

概述

Discourse analysis examines how language shapes (not just reflects) reality. It reveals how texts construct identities, power relationships, and social norms through word choice, framing, and what is left unsaid. Especially valuable for analyzing media, corporate communications, policy documents, and political speech.

话语分析研究语言如何塑造（而非仅仅反映）现实。它揭示文本如何通过措辞、框架构建以及留白来塑造身份、权力关系和社会规范。这一方法在分析媒体、企业沟通、政策文件及政治演讲时尤为有用。

Framework

框架

IRON LAW: Language Constructs Reality, Not Just Describes It

The choice of words is never neutral. "Restructuring" vs "layoffs",
"enhanced interrogation" vs "torture", "undocumented workers" vs
"illegal aliens" — same events, different realities constructed.

Discourse analysis examines WHAT language does, not just what it says.

铁律：语言构建现实，而非仅仅描述现实

措辞的选择从来都不是中立的。"结构调整"与"裁员"、"强化审讯"与"酷刑"、"无证工人"与"非法移民"——描述的是同一事件，却构建出不同的现实。

话语分析研究的是语言的作用，而非仅仅是语言的内容。

Key Analytical Dimensions

核心分析维度

Framing: How is the issue defined? What metaphors are used? What's included/excluded?
Subject positions: Who is positioned as agent (active doer) vs patient (passive receiver)?
Presupposition: What is taken for granted without being stated?
Intertextuality: What other texts/discourses does this reference or draw upon?
Power relations: Whose voice is amplified? Whose is silenced?

框架构建：议题是如何被定义的？使用了哪些隐喻？包含了什么，又省略了什么？
主体定位：谁被定位为施动者（主动行事的一方），谁被定位为受动者（被动承受的一方）？
预设前提：哪些内容是被想当然接受而未被明确说明的？
互文性：该文本参考或借鉴了哪些其他文本/话语体系？
权力关系：谁的声音被放大？谁的声音被压制？

Analysis Steps

分析步骤

Select the text: What specific communication are you analyzing?
Context: Who produced it? For whom? In what setting? What's the purpose?
Lexical analysis: What word choices are notable? What alternatives were available?
Structural analysis: How is the text organized? What comes first? What's emphasized?
What's absent: What is NOT said? Who is NOT represented?
Power mapping: Who benefits from this particular framing?

选择文本：你要分析的具体沟通内容是什么？
背景信息：谁创作了它？受众是谁？在什么场景下创作的？目的是什么？
词汇分析：哪些措辞值得关注？原本可以选择哪些替代表述？
结构分析：文本是如何组织的？内容的先后顺序是怎样的？重点是什么？
留白内容：哪些内容没有被提及？哪些主体没有被呈现？
权力映射：这种特定的框架构建对谁有利？

Output Format

输出格式

markdown

undefined

markdown

undefined

Discourse Analysis: {Text/Document}

话语分析：{文本/文档名称}

Context

背景信息

Producer: {who created this text}
Audience: {intended recipients}
Purpose: {stated and unstated goals}
Genre: {press release / policy doc / speech / ad}

创作者：{谁创作了该文本}
受众：{目标接收者}
目的：{明确说明及隐含的目标}
类型：{新闻稿 / 政策文件 / 演讲 / 广告}

Framing Analysis

框架构建分析

Element	In the Text	Alternative Framing	Effect
{key term}	"{actual language}"	"{what could have been said}"	{how this shapes perception}

要素	文本中的表述	替代框架表述	效果
{核心术语}	"{实际使用的语言}"	"{原本可以使用的表述}"	{这如何影响认知}

Subject Positions

主体定位

Agent (active): {who does things}
Patient (passive): {who has things done to them}
Absent: {who is not mentioned}

施动者（主动）：{行事的主体}
受动者（被动）：{承受行为的主体}
缺失主体：{未被提及的主体}

Presuppositions

预设前提

{what the text assumes without stating}

{文本中未明确说明但被默认的内容}

Power Analysis

权力分析

This framing benefits: {who}
This framing disadvantages: {who}

该框架构建对以下主体有利：{主体}
该框架构建对以下主体不利：{主体}

Key Findings

核心发现

{What the discourse analysis reveals that a surface reading misses}

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{话语分析揭示了哪些表层阅读无法发现的内容}

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Examples

示例

Correct Application

正确应用场景

Scenario: Analyzing a tech company's layoff announcement

Text: "We are making the difficult decision to right-size our organization to better position ourselves for long-term growth."

Element	Text	Alternative	Effect
"right-size"	Implies current size is wrong	"lay off 500 employees"	Euphemism hides human impact
"our organization"	Company as abstract entity	"our colleagues"	Removes personal connection to affected people
"difficult decision"	Positions management as suffering	"decision that will displace 500 families"	Redirects sympathy toward decision-makers
"long-term growth"	Forward-looking justification	No mention of what caused over-hiring	Skips accountability for the situation

Subject positions: Management = agents making "difficult decisions" (sympathetic). Employees = completely absent as subjects. ✓

场景：分析某科技公司的裁员公告

文本："我们做出了艰难的决定，对组织进行优化调整，以更好地为长期发展做好准备。"

要素	文本中的表述	替代表述	效果
"优化调整"	暗示当前规模不合理	"裁员500名员工"	委婉语掩盖了对人的影响
"我们的组织"	将公司视为抽象实体	"我们的同事"	消除了与受影响人员的个人关联
"艰难的决定"	将管理层塑造成承受痛苦的一方	"将导致500个家庭流离失所的决定"	将同情的焦点转移到决策者身上
"长期发展"	以未来发展为正当理由	未提及过度招聘的原因	回避了对当前局面的责任

主体定位：管理层 = 做出“艰难决定”的施动者（值得同情）。员工 = 完全未作为主体被提及。 ✓

Incorrect Application

错误应用场景

"This press release is biased" → Too vague. Which words? What framing? Bias toward what? Discourse analysis requires specific textual evidence. Violates Iron Law: analyze what language DOES.

"这份新闻稿有偏见" → 过于模糊。哪些措辞？哪种框架构建？偏向什么？话语分析需要具体的文本证据。违反铁律：应分析语言的作用。

Gotchas

注意事项

All language is "constructed": Discourse analysis doesn't mean the text is "lying." Even honest communication makes framing choices. The question is what those choices reveal and conceal.
Analyst's own discourse: Your analysis is also a discourse with its own framing and assumptions. Be reflexive about your own position.
Context is everything: The same words mean different things in different contexts. "We need to move fast" in a startup vs in a hospital has very different implications.
Don't over-read: Not every word choice is strategic. Sometimes "right-size" is just corporate jargon the writer learned, not a deliberate framing strategy. Consider intentionality.
Discourse analysis is not fact-checking: It examines how meaning is constructed, not whether claims are true. Pair with evidence-based analysis for a complete picture.

所有语言都是“构建出来的”：话语分析并不意味着文本“在说谎”。即便是诚实的沟通也会做出框架构建的选择。关键在于这些选择揭示了什么，又隐藏了什么。
分析者自身的话语体系：你的分析本身也是一种带有自身框架构建和假设的话语。要反思自己的立场。
背景是关键：相同的措辞在不同背景下含义不同。“我们需要快速行动”在初创企业和医院中的含义有着天壤之别。
不要过度解读：并非每个措辞选择都是策略性的。有时“优化调整”只是作者学到的企业行话，而非刻意的框架构建策略。要考虑意图因素。
话语分析不是事实核查：它研究的是意义如何被构建，而非主张是否真实。可结合基于证据的分析以获得完整的认知。

References

参考资料

For Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis framework, see
```
references/cda-framework.md
```

关于Fairclough的批判性话语分析框架，可查看
```
references/cda-framework.md
```