Discourse and Practice New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis Theo van Leeuwen OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSOXFORD Osfoat University Pros. Ie, pal Osfont iver objet in esac, hula, and edcation Osfost Now York Auckland Cape Tose Dares Sans Hom Kong Karachi Kuala Carypar Madi Melbourne Mexico City | Nasobi Row Delhi Shanghat Lap With ofices in Argctina Austin ral Chile Crsch Republic France Gresee Guatemala Thangary aly Japan Pola Portugal» Singapore Sout Korea Switrland Thai Turkey Ukraine Viet ‘Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Ine Pablishse by Oxon University ros, In us tats Semi, Now York, New York 10016 www oup.com ‘Osfon i ested ade nith oF Oxon University Press Ail ights rd, No part of this publication maybe eps Stor in a eival stm, or rama. lest rehareal, phates ing econ ‘wt the por permission of Oxia Unversity Library of Co sn-Pbliaton Dat ss Cala Lowen, Th san Discourse and practice now tls fr crite dscousse alysis! Tho van Lacuwen Py em—iOxtn sues in socolnguistcs) ISBN 978.019 512330.6:978 0-19 82351 3 HK) 1. Critical scours analysis. |. Tih Paz 433 2008 40rd 2yn7023000 ostasaent Printed inthe United Stes of Amerie sonal ise paneua Space in Discourse Tras chapter, I deseribe how the spaces im which social practives ane acted out cant be, and are, represented in English discourse and also in visual images, Both my linguistic and visual examples draw on the “lirst day at schoo!” corpus 1. Introduction Most approaches to space and la continue to be inspired by the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who saw space as one of the basic a priori—and universal— principles of human cognition. Here. | explore a different point of view, the point of view that our understandings of space derive from and can be linked vireetly to social action, to the way in which we use space in ating out social practices, A look atthe history of maps can illustrate this point. Figure 5.1 shows how early maps explicitly represented space as a setting for complex actions and included spatial information only insofar as it was relevant to these actions In the early days of modern science, maps played a key role in practices oF sealar- ing. trade, and colonialism and still included pictorial elements. for instance, pictures of ships, But gradually. action was left out and space came to be represented as an objective order. existing separately from, and prior to, human aetion, Kay O° Halloran (2005) has described how the same process took place in the development of math- ematical drvwings, For the sixteenth-century scientist Tart pmetry, the sci- cence of space. was fully engaged with the social actions it sought to understand and improve (figure $.2), Geometry was depicted in its social context. Less than a century later, it would abstract away from the social actions which, of course. it continued t0 serve (igure 5.3)