Critical approaches to the political discourse of crisis: Examples from the Prime Minister’s address before the Greek referendum


Published: Jul 17, 2018
Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis imaginary systemic-functional linguistics transitivity Greek referendum 2015
Δημήτρης Σεραφής
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0335-6796
Abstract

Drawing on the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis and following the principle of macro-level and micro-level interrelation, the present paper examines the discursive representations of the “we” group in the address of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for the Greek Referendum 2015. In our theoretical discussion we employ the notion of imaginary. Our data come from the official website of the Greek Prime Minister. Focusing on the micro-level we draw on the framework of systemic-functional linguistics to form our analytical proposal and we conduct an analysis of transitivity structures in extracts of the address.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Author Biography
Δημήτρης Σεραφής, Panteion University & University of Neuchâtel
Δρ., Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιο & Université de Neuchâtel
References
Αρχάκης, Α. (2005). Γλωσσική διδασκαλία και σύσταση κειμένων (2η έκδοση). Αθήνα: Πατάκης.
Αρχάκης, Α. και Κονδύλη, Μ. (2004). Εισαγωγή σε ζητήματα Κοινωνιογλωσσολογίας (2η έκδοση). Αθήνα: Νήσος.
Habermas, J. (1997). Αλλαγή δομής της δημοσιότητας (μτφρ.: Λ. Αναγνώστου). Αθήνα: Νήσος.
Κονδύλη, Μ. και Μανιού, Ε. (2007). Αναπλαισίωση της κοινής γνώμης στα Εγχειρίδια Εμείς και ο κόσμος της Α’ και Γ’ Δημοτικού: Οι αναπαραστάσεις του φυσικού και κοινωνικού κόσμου. Κριτική/ Επιστήμη & Εκπαίδευση 5 (7), σελ. 3-23.
Μανιού, Ε. (2016). H (ανα)συγκρότηση της επιστημονικής γνώσης στο σχολείο: Kοινωνιογλωσσολογική ανάλυση εκπαιδευτικών πρακτικών. Διδακτορική Διατριβή, Τ.Ε.Ε.Α.Π.Η., Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών.
Σεραφής, Δ., Κητής, Δ., και Αρχάκης, Α. (2017). Αντιγλώσσα και κατασκευή συλλογικής ταυτότητας: Συνθήματα γκράφιτι της εξεγερσιακής συλλογικής δράσης του Δεκέμβρη του 2008. Γλωσσολογία/Glossologia, 25, σελ. 1-17.
Angouri, J. and Wodak, R. (2014). «They became big in the shadow of crisis»: The Greek success story and the rise of the far right. Discourse & Society, 25 (4), pp. 540-565.
Archakis, A. (2014). Immigrant voices in students’ essay texts. Discourse & Society 25 (3), pp. 297-314.
Archakis, A. (2015). National and post-national discourses and the construction of linguistic identities by students of Albanian origin in Greece. Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication 35 (1), pp. 57-83.
Archakis, A., Lampropoulou, S., Tsakona, V. and Tsami, V. (2014). Linguistic varieties in style: Humorous representation in Greek mass cultural texts. Discourse, Context and Media, 3, pp. 46-55.
Boukala, S. and Dimitrakopoulou D. (2017) The politics of fear vs. the politics of hope: analysing the 2015 Greek election and referendum campaigns. Critical Discourse Studies 14 (1), pp. 39-55.
Caldas-Coulthard, C.R. and Coulthard, M. (eds) (1996). Texts and Practices: Readings in critical discourse analysis. London: Routledge.
Chilton, P. (2004). Analysing political discourse: Theory and practice. London: Routledge.
Cook, G. (1989). Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eurogroup (2010). Statement by the Eurogroup. Brussels, May 2010. Available at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/100502-%20Eurogroup_statement.pdf
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing Discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (2010) Critical Discourse Analysis: The critical study of language. London: Routledge, 2nd Edition.
Fairclough, N. (2014). Language and power. London: Longman, 3rd Edition.
Fairclough, I. and Fairclough, N. (2012). Political Discourse Analysis: A method for advanced students. London: Routledge.
Fairclough, N. and Wodak, R. (1997). Critical Discourse Analysis. In T.A. Van Dijk (ed), Discourse Studies: A multidisciplinary introduction, Vol. 2 (pp. 258-284). London: Sage.
Forgacs, D. (1988). A Gramsci reader. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the prison notebooks (ed. and transl.: Q. Hoare and G. Nowell Smith). London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1973). Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1978). Language as social semiotic. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1998). Things and relations: regrammaticising experience as technical knowledge. In J.R. Martin and R. Veel (eds), Reading science critical and functional perspectives on discourses of science (pp. 185-235). London, New York, NY: Routledge.
Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan R. (1985) Language, context and text: Aspect of language in a social semiotic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. and Matthiessen, Ch.M.I.M. (2004). An introduction to functional grammar, London: Edward Arnold, 3rd Edition.
Jessop, B. (2002). The future of the capitalist state. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jessop, B. (2008). State power. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jessop, B. (2013). Recovered imaginaries, imagined recoveries: A cultural political economy of crisis construals and crisis-management in the North Atlantic Financial Crisis [precopy-edited version]. In M. Benner (ed), Before and Beyond the Global Economic Crisis: Economics, Politics and Settlement. (pp. 1–24). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Available at http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07.
Kitis, E. D. (2013). The 2008 urban riots in Greece: Differential representations of a police shooting incident. In A. De Rycker and Z. Mohd Don (eds), Discourse & crisis: Critical perspectives DAPSAC 52 (pp. 323-362). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Kress, G. and Hodge, R. (1979). Language as ideology. London: Routledge and Kogan Paul.
Laclau, E. and Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy. London: Verso.
Pappas, T. and Aslanidis, P. (2012). Evolving Greek Politics amidst the Crisis: Destination Unknown. IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook 2012: 153-156. Available online at: http://www.iemed.org/observatori-en/arees-danalisi/arxius-adjunts/anuari/med.2012/pappas_aslanidis_en.pdf
Reisigl, and Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and discrimination: Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. London: Routledge.
Renkema, J. (2003). Discourse Studies: An introductory textbook. Amsterdam: Benjamins Publishing Company.
Rori, L. (2016). The 2015 Greek parliamentary elections: from great expectations to no expectations. West European Politics, pp. 1-21.
Serafis, D. and Herman, T. (2017). Media discourse and pathos: sketching a critical and integrationist approach – Greek and French headlines before the Greek Referendum of 2015. Social Semiotics. Doi: 10.1080/10350330.2017.1291139
Stamou, A. (2001). The representation of non-protesters in a student and teacher protest: a Critical Discourse Analysis of news reporting in a Greek newspaper. Discourse & Society, (12) 5, pp. 653-680.
Young, L. and Harrison, C. (eds) 2004. Systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis: Studies in social change. London, New York: Continuum.
Van Dijk, T.A. (2002). Political discourse and political cognition. In P.A. Chilton and Ch. Schäffner (eds), Politics as text and talk. Analytical approaches to political discourse (pp. 204-236). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Van Dijk, T.A. (2006). Ideology and discourse analysis. Journal of Political Ideologies 11 (2), pp. 115-140.
Van Dijk, T.Α. (2008). Discourse and power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Van Leeuwen, T. (2008). Discourse and practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wodak, R. (2009). The discourse of politics in action: Politics as usual. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Wodak, R. and Angouri J. (2014). From Grexit to Grecovery: Euro/crisis discourses. Discourse & Society 25 (4), pp. 417-423.
Wodak, R. and Boukala, S. (2015). European identities and the revival of nationalism in the European Union. Journal of Language and Politics, 14 (1), pp. 87-109.
Wodak, R. and Krzyzanowski, M. (eds) (2008). Qualitative discourse analysis in the social sciences. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Wodak, R. and Meyer, M. (2001). Methods of critical discourse analysis. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Wodak, R. and Reisigl, M. (2009). The Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA). In R. Wodak, and M. Meyer (eds.) Methods of critical discourse analysis. London: Sage, 87-121, 2nd edition. Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications Ltd.