Discourse analysis using corpus-assisted methodologies

The aim of corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) is the uncovering, in the discourse type under study, of what we call nonobvious meaning, that is, meaning which might not be readily available to naked-eye perusal. By combining the quantitative approach, that is, statistical overviews of large amounts of the discourse in question with the more qualitative approach typical of discourse analysis, that is, the close analysis of particular stretches of discourse, it may be possible to access such nonobvious meanings. This chapter describes a set of CADS case studies into the facework performed during media and political interaction, from early work on White House press briefings to contrastive examinations of the facework typical of the US State Department and Chinese Foreign Ministry briefings which envisage not just the study of interpersonal im/politeness but also the performance of ‘national facework’. The facework involved in all these settings is multifaceted and complex. Firstly it is not always collaborative, indeed it is often downright competitive, and impoliteness is not uncommon, and it also comprises a mixture of personal, group and vicarious facework. The corpora employed in these studies are also multimedia in that videos of the briefings are also mostly available alongside the transcripts.