Discourse Analysis
The Questions Discourse Analysts Ask and How They Answer Them
2nd Edition
Published on 27. February 2026
262 pages
978-1-040-65392-0 (ISBN)
Description
Now fully revised, Discourse Analysis: The Questions Discourse Analysts Ask and How They Answer Them, remains the only introductory text organized around the fundamental questions that drive discourse analysis research. This approach cultivates a principled understanding of this interdisciplinary field by examining how analysts of different empirical persuasions systematically address core issues:
How is discourse structured?
How are social actions accomplished in discourse?
How are identities constructed in discourse?
How are ideologies navigated in discourse?
The answer to each question is illustrated with transcripts and analyses of actual discourse drawn from key studies in the field. Important concepts appear as boxed definitions throughout each chapter, while probing questions and analytical tasks guide readers through practical applications of discourse analysis methods.
This second edition features reconceptualized, reorganized, and expanded content, with significant updates addressing analyses of multimodal texts in digital environments. A new final chapter offers practical guidance for using the book and showcases exemplary student work.
With its unique question-based framework and range of helpful features, this comprehensive guide to the complex world of discourse is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students encountering discourse analysis for the first time.
How is discourse structured?
How are social actions accomplished in discourse?
How are identities constructed in discourse?
How are ideologies navigated in discourse?
The answer to each question is illustrated with transcripts and analyses of actual discourse drawn from key studies in the field. Important concepts appear as boxed definitions throughout each chapter, while probing questions and analytical tasks guide readers through practical applications of discourse analysis methods.
This second edition features reconceptualized, reorganized, and expanded content, with significant updates addressing analyses of multimodal texts in digital environments. A new final chapter offers practical guidance for using the book and showcases exemplary student work.
With its unique question-based framework and range of helpful features, this comprehensive guide to the complex world of discourse is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students encountering discourse analysis for the first time.
Reviews / Votes
With this new edition of Hansun Zhang Waring's instant classic, Discourse Analysis maintains its undisputed position as the indispensable textbook for understanding and analyzing discourse in all its complexity. Offering a clear guide through multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives, the text inspires students with a variety of engaging activities and a wealth of data examples, both classic and contemporary.Professor Mary Bucholtz, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
The second edition of Hansun Zhang Waring's Discourse Analysis provides a highly accessible and exceptionally engaging introduction to discourse analysis. Organized according to the kinds of research questions that animate discourse analysts, Waring's text covers both foundational topics and current issues. It will, without a doubt, serve as an indispensable guide to the complex and diverse field of discourse analysis for students and more advanced scholars alike.
Susan Ehrlich, York University, Canada
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
16 Tables, black and white; 4 Line drawings, color; 2 Line drawings, black and white; 1 Halftones, color; 5 Illustrations, color; 2 Illustrations, black and white
File size
2,71 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-040-65392-0 (9781040653920)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 02/2026
2nd Edition
Routledge
€64.90
Not yet published
Book
approx. 02/2026
2nd Edition
Routledge
€211.60
Not yet published
Person
Hansun Zhang Waring is Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Teachers College, Columbia University (USA). She is the co-author of Storytelling in Multilingual Interaction (Routledge 2021) and Conversation and Analysis and Second Language Pedagogy (Routledge 2020) as well as the author for Theorizing Pedagogical Interactions: Insights from Conversation Analysis (Routledge 2017).
Content
1st EDITION PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
2nd EDITION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
Chapter One: Overview of Discourse Analysis
Introduction
Aim of the Book
Origins of Discourse Analysis
Discourse and Discourse Analysis
Defining Discourse
Defining Discourse Analysis
Questions and Sample Analyses
How Is Discourse Structured?
How are Social Actions Accomplished in Discourse?
How are Identities Constructed in Discourse?
How are Ideologies Navigated in Discourse?
Approaches and Transcription
Applications of Discourse Analysis
Overview of the Book
Key Points
References
PART TWO: DISCOURSE AND STRUCTURE
Chapter Two: Classics in Discourse and Structure
Introduction
Structure of Talk
Narrative (Labov)
Conversation (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson)
Classroom Interaction (Sinclair & Coulthard; Lemke)
Structure of Text
Macrostructure (van Dijk)
Theme and Rheme (McCarthy)
Cohesive Devices (Halliday & Hasan)
Structure of Visible Conduct
Gaze (Kendon)
Gesture (McNeal)
Body Movement (Goodwin)
Key Points
References
Chapter Three: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Structure
Introduction
Grammar
Tense Variation to Structure Narratives
Grammatical Units to Organize Interaction
Genre
Doing Genre Analysis
Variations of Genre
Multimodality
Compositions of Multimodal Texts
Grammar-Body Interface
Preference for Self-registering in Video Call Openings
Approaches to Discourse and Structure
Key Points
References
PART THREE: DISCOURSE AND SOCIAL ACTION
Chapter Four: Classics in Discourse and Social Action
Introduction
Doing Things with Words
Language Games (Wittgenstein)
Speech Act Theory (Austin and Searle)
Signaling Meaning with Implicatures, Cues, and Frames
Implicature (Grice)
Contextualization Cues (Gumperz)
Frame (Bateson, Goffman, and Tannen)
Key Points
References
Chapter Five: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Social Action
Introduction
Begin with Conduct
Repetition in Conversation
Lexical Items
Gaze, Gesture, and Body Movement
Begin with Action
Balancing Work and Play
Managing the Nongranting of Requests
Achieving Consensus
Conducting Multiactivity
Doing things in the Digital Space
Approaches to Discourse and Social Action
Key Points
References
PART FOUR: DISCOURSE AND IDENTITY
Chapter Six: Classics in Discourse and Identity
Introduction
Universal Identities
Face and Facework (Goffman)
Face-threatening Act and Politeness (Brown and Levinson)
Social Identities
Membership Categorization (Sacks)
Performed Social Identity and Co-membership (Erickson)
Social Act and Stance (Ochs)
Negotiability of Social Identities (Zimmerman)
Interactional Identities
Footing, Alignment, and Participation Framework (Goffman)
Positioning Theory (Davies & Harre)
Relationality Principle (Bucholtz & Hall)
Pyramid of Identities in Discourse
Key Points
References
Chapter Seven: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Identity
Introduction
Discourse and Personal Identities
Operative Identities
Responsible Urban Father
Gendered Identities
Discourse and Professional Identities
Novice Teacher
Fellow Physician
Academic
Politician
Discourse and Group Identities
Activist Leadership Group on Facebook
Scientists on Websites
Trinadadians on Facebook and TikTok
Approaches to Discourse and Identity
Key Points
References
PART FIVE: DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY
Chapter Eight: Classics in Discourse and Ideology
Introduction
Language and Thought
Linguistic Relativism (Sapir and Whorf)
Cognitive Metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson)
Theoretical Frameworks for Studying Discourse and Ideology
Critical Language Study (Fairclough)
Ideological Analysis (van Dijk)
Seven Building Tasks and Four Theoretical tools (Gee)
Five Discursive Strategies (Wodak)
Critical Discourse Analysis
Key Points
References
Chapter Nine: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Ideology
Introduction
(Re)producing Ideologies
(Re)producing Sexism
(Re)producing Racism
(Re)producing Linguicism
Resisting Ideologies
Resisting Sexism
Resisting Racism
Resisting Linguicism
Approaches to Discourse and Ideology
Key Points
References
PART SIX: CONCLUSION
Chapter Ten: Coda
2nd EDITION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
Chapter One: Overview of Discourse Analysis
Introduction
Aim of the Book
Origins of Discourse Analysis
Discourse and Discourse Analysis
Defining Discourse
Defining Discourse Analysis
Questions and Sample Analyses
How Is Discourse Structured?
How are Social Actions Accomplished in Discourse?
How are Identities Constructed in Discourse?
How are Ideologies Navigated in Discourse?
Approaches and Transcription
Applications of Discourse Analysis
Overview of the Book
Key Points
References
PART TWO: DISCOURSE AND STRUCTURE
Chapter Two: Classics in Discourse and Structure
Introduction
Structure of Talk
Narrative (Labov)
Conversation (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson)
Classroom Interaction (Sinclair & Coulthard; Lemke)
Structure of Text
Macrostructure (van Dijk)
Theme and Rheme (McCarthy)
Cohesive Devices (Halliday & Hasan)
Structure of Visible Conduct
Gaze (Kendon)
Gesture (McNeal)
Body Movement (Goodwin)
Key Points
References
Chapter Three: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Structure
Introduction
Grammar
Tense Variation to Structure Narratives
Grammatical Units to Organize Interaction
Genre
Doing Genre Analysis
Variations of Genre
Multimodality
Compositions of Multimodal Texts
Grammar-Body Interface
Preference for Self-registering in Video Call Openings
Approaches to Discourse and Structure
Key Points
References
PART THREE: DISCOURSE AND SOCIAL ACTION
Chapter Four: Classics in Discourse and Social Action
Introduction
Doing Things with Words
Language Games (Wittgenstein)
Speech Act Theory (Austin and Searle)
Signaling Meaning with Implicatures, Cues, and Frames
Implicature (Grice)
Contextualization Cues (Gumperz)
Frame (Bateson, Goffman, and Tannen)
Key Points
References
Chapter Five: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Social Action
Introduction
Begin with Conduct
Repetition in Conversation
Lexical Items
Gaze, Gesture, and Body Movement
Begin with Action
Balancing Work and Play
Managing the Nongranting of Requests
Achieving Consensus
Conducting Multiactivity
Doing things in the Digital Space
Approaches to Discourse and Social Action
Key Points
References
PART FOUR: DISCOURSE AND IDENTITY
Chapter Six: Classics in Discourse and Identity
Introduction
Universal Identities
Face and Facework (Goffman)
Face-threatening Act and Politeness (Brown and Levinson)
Social Identities
Membership Categorization (Sacks)
Performed Social Identity and Co-membership (Erickson)
Social Act and Stance (Ochs)
Negotiability of Social Identities (Zimmerman)
Interactional Identities
Footing, Alignment, and Participation Framework (Goffman)
Positioning Theory (Davies & Harre)
Relationality Principle (Bucholtz & Hall)
Pyramid of Identities in Discourse
Key Points
References
Chapter Seven: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Identity
Introduction
Discourse and Personal Identities
Operative Identities
Responsible Urban Father
Gendered Identities
Discourse and Professional Identities
Novice Teacher
Fellow Physician
Academic
Politician
Discourse and Group Identities
Activist Leadership Group on Facebook
Scientists on Websites
Trinadadians on Facebook and TikTok
Approaches to Discourse and Identity
Key Points
References
PART FIVE: DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY
Chapter Eight: Classics in Discourse and Ideology
Introduction
Language and Thought
Linguistic Relativism (Sapir and Whorf)
Cognitive Metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson)
Theoretical Frameworks for Studying Discourse and Ideology
Critical Language Study (Fairclough)
Ideological Analysis (van Dijk)
Seven Building Tasks and Four Theoretical tools (Gee)
Five Discursive Strategies (Wodak)
Critical Discourse Analysis
Key Points
References
Chapter Nine: Empirical Endeavors in Discourse and Ideology
Introduction
(Re)producing Ideologies
(Re)producing Sexism
(Re)producing Racism
(Re)producing Linguicism
Resisting Ideologies
Resisting Sexism
Resisting Racism
Resisting Linguicism
Approaches to Discourse and Ideology
Key Points
References
PART SIX: CONCLUSION
Chapter Ten: Coda
