Critical discourse analysis in a semiformal interview

Abstract

Based on the principle that oral discourse implies the construction of the use of power, a representative extract of a semiformal interview of a male subject of the city of Valdivia, Chile, senior citizen, belonging to the high social stratum is presented as an example of the application of the methodology used for Critical Discourse Analysis. This extract is analyzed on the different linguistic levels (phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexicosemantic), extralinguistic aspects (social stratum, age and sex of the interviewee) and the cognitive processes of world vision and of himself of the speaker in order to extrapolate the underlying message. The results of this Critical Discourse Analysis show that the cognitive dimension for power control is exerted through such variables as racial origin, sex, age group, and sociocultural position of the interviewee.