Abstract
Representation has long been a central concern in the field of discourse studies, closely intertwined with issues of ideology and power (van Dijk, 1993; Wodak and Meyer, 2015). Over the past two decades, much scholarly attention has been paid to how linguistic forms construct or reinforce social hierarchies, marginalize certain groups, and legitimize particular ideologies (Baker, 2006, 2023; Mautner, 2007). Within this broad landscape, Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS) serves as a methodological framework that integrates computational corpus with critical discourse studies, enabling the examination of large textual datasets for linguistic patterns that may reveal underlying social processes. Building on the methodological foundations of CADS (e.g. Baker, 2006; Hardt-Mautner, 1995; Taylor and Marchi, 2018) and notable previous works on the applications of the method (e.g. Baker and McEnery, 2015; Gabrielatos and Baker, 2008; Partington, 2010), the collection under review explores a broader range of discourse contexts and incorporates more current frameworks and methodologies.
CADS is characterized as an approach to exploring overarching patterns in large text collections using computer tools that highlight how language constructs social meanings, power dynamics, and ideologies – while still allowing researchers to ‘zoom into’ the textual details. As a textbook, the volume presents CADS methodology through a scaffolded progression: from corpus techniques (e.g. frequency, keyword, and collocation analysis) to discourse analysis frameworks (e.g. social actor, transitivity, and metaphor analysis), supported by illustrative case studies. This structured approach is aimed at helping researchers, and particularly research students, to learn in a step by step manner. The approach taken her, however, occasionally oversimplifies the challenge of integrating corpus with discourse methods. The organization of the edited volume benefits from the contributors’ multidisciplinary expertise in CADS, though a more consistent treatment of methodological challenges across chapters would better prepare readers for real-world research.
The book illustrates how ‘representation’ is not merely a matter of word choice. Rather, it can be a potent nexus for constructing and contesting social realities – whether focusing on portrayals of stigmatized groups (e.g. Muslims, the elderly, immigrants) or the discursive framing of controversial issues (such as climate change, obesity, gender roles). Each chapter integrates CADS into critical interpretive frameworks (such as van Leeuwen’s social actor analysis, Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics), thereby offering a detailed roadmap for examining how social actors, events, and identities are linguistically shaped.
After a brief theoretical grounding that discusses discourse, ideology, and social norms, the editors introduce key tools from corpus linguistics. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 (by Gillings and Mautner, Kennedy et al., and Pérez-Paredes respectively) showcase how concordances, collocation analysis, and frequency measurements can be used to reveal hidden or subtle patterns of representation. These chapters deal with how the quantitative dimension of corpus work can shed light on which terms are foregrounded in relation to particular social groups or phenomena.
Chapters 5 and 6 (by Love and Busso, and De Cock et al.) shift the focus to the construction of corpora and annotation practices. Readers are guided through principles of corpus design, ranging from sampling considerations to representativeness, and are introduced to systematic annotation methods for labeling and interpreting linguistic data. These sections underscore that issues of ideology and power can hinge on how data is curated. For example, which texts are included, whose voices are represented, and how categories are defined – all of which critically shape subsequent analyses.
The latter portion of the book (Chapters 7–11) examines discourse-analytic methodologies that foreground ideology and power structures. Coffey-Glover (Chapter 7) explores methods for analyzing the representation of social actors using corpora. She introduces various techniques for identifying and categorizing social actors in texts. Hunt (Chapter 8) builds on the analysis of social actors by discussing the concept of transitivity and its application in corpus analysis. She demonstrates how to investigate social actions and their representations in texts. Moving to more nuanced aspects of representation, Bisiada (Chapter 9) explains how metaphor analysis can be integrated with corpus methods to study representation. He shows how metaphors can be identified and interpreted in discourse that functions as ideologically charged representations shaping the very subject it describes. Handford and Alshahrani (Chapter 10) continue this focus on detailed analysis by introducing indexicality and its role in representation. They discuss methods for analyzing indexical expressions in corpora. Shifting focus to key thematic elements, Schröter (Chapter 11) discusses the concept of discourse keywords and their significance in corpus analysis. She explains how to identify and analyze keywords to understand the representation of specific themes or groups.
The volume also tackles specialized themes such as comparing representation across corpora (Vessey) and analyzing discourse in digital contexts (Collins and Ignatova), expanding the methodological toolkit for researchers interested in online data and multimodal representations. The final chapter (Marchi) addresses the essential but sometimes overlooked topic of evaluating corpus-based discourse research. It draws attention to methodological rigor, reflexivity, and the potential biases that can emerge even in systematically compiled corpora. While such reflections do appear briefly throughout the book, this concluding chapter reiterates the necessity of taking a careful, critical stance. This reminds readers that any textual analysis is always shaped by the researcher’s assumptions and choices.
In contrast to earlier texts (e.g. Baker 2006, 2023), this collection gives a finer-grained focus on the specific notion of representation, emphasizing how discourses construct realities for different social actors or societal issues. Another key feature is its interdisciplinary approach: contributors draw from sociolinguistics, forensic linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and media studies. This breadth both enriches the analytical perspectives offered and highlights the multifaceted ways in which power relations may be manifested in text.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its explicit demonstration of how corpus techniques can be used to expose ideologically charged representations – an aspect vital to Discourse & Society readers. The exercises and real-world case studies in each chapter also support active learning, arguably, allowing students and researchers to refine their skills by applying methods to relevant datasets. For scholars and instructors seeking to reveal how discursive patterns perpetuate societal inequalities, this hands-on approach may be particularly valuable.
The volume falls short in several key areas that undermine its methodological rigor. Notably, the chapters offer only a brief mention of the limitations inherent in corpus-based approaches, such as biases in corpus selection and annotation. Likewise, the influence of researcher identity and institutional power on data interpretation is not critically addressed. Furthermore, the interplay between visual and textual analysis in digital discourse (conceptualized as ideologically structured systems of meaning-making through multimodal signs) remains under-explored, despite the growing significance of digital communication. Overall, the collection lacks a critical self-reflection on its methodological choices and overlooks emerging digital discourse research.
Nevertheless, on the whole, the book is a welcome addition to the current literature, offering a comprehensive, methodological guide to analyzing how discourse can shape social realities. For scholars interested in the nexus of language, ideology, and power, this text provides a foundational framework, as well as advanced techniques for critical inquiry. It connects quantitative and qualitative methods, showing how techniques like collocation scores, keyword lists, and concordances can reveal hidden inequalities and biases in real-world communication.
While acknowledging methodological reflexivity (e.g. awareness of corpus design, researcher bias, and institutional context, as detailed in Section 14.5), the book does a good job at demonstrating how corpus-based research can function as a useful lens for examining representation. By unveiling how social actors are named, attributed agency, or cast in particular ideological lights, Heritage and Taylor’s collection underscores the importance of an integrated approach to corpus and discourse studies. This textbook will serve as an essential resource for those seeking to understand – and ultimately challenge – the discursive reproduction of societal power imbalances.