Diversity is a defining characteristic of contemporary public discourses, as a variety of actors articulating a variety of positions participate in debates surrounding key social issues. This paper presents, on the basis of a... [ view full abstract ]
Diversity is a defining characteristic of contemporary public discourses, as a variety of actors articulating a variety of positions participate in debates surrounding key social issues. This paper presents, on the basis of a year-long study of a debate about language policy in Slovene higher education, a theoretical and methodological framework for analysing polyphony– the coexistence of different voices – in public discourses. The paper combines approaches in critical discourse analysis, most notably the discourse-historical approach (Resigil & Wodak, 2015) and mediated discourse analysis (Scollon, 2008), with Bakhtin’s notions of polyphony and heteroglossia (Bakhtin, 1981) to facilitate micro- and macro-level analyses of diversity in discourse, as well as the mechanisms through which diversity is controlled by actors in positions of power. In particular, this study treated polyphony and heteroglossia as features of text and discourse which are actively constructed through the actions of individuals, and therefore sought to identify the social practices relied on by actors when shaping their own voice and when referring to the voices of others. By juxtaposing textual analysis of media discourse with an ethnographic analysis of a public hearing in the Slovene parliament, the study identifies polarization as a key practice in controlling polyphony, one which was employed by various actors with the effect of creating both a clear Other as well as a homogeneous Self, with dissenting or conciliatory voices on both sides being marginalized.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: four essays. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Reisigl, M., & R. Wodak. (2015). The discourse-historical approach. In Wodak, R. & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Studies (pp. 23-61). London: Sage.
Scollon, R. (2008). Analyzing public discourse: discourse analysis in the making of public policy. New York: Routledge.
