Conflict, Discourse and Cognition - (Bloomsbury Advances in Critical Discourse Studies) by Laura Filardo-Llamas (Hardcover)

About the Book

Relying on cognitive linguistics, with examples taken from the Northern Irish context, this book offers a comprehensive approach to the study of discourse and conflict.

Book Synopsis

A comprehensive approach to the study of discourse and conflict, this book explores how opposing communities construe discourse worlds which appear to reflect the existence of "paradoxical realities".

Adopting a novel method for the study of conflict, framed in the cognitive linguistic tradition within Critical Discourse Studies, the book explains how conflict may be discursively created by relying on the study of four main construal operations. Grounded in examples specific to Northern Ireland, each chapter also highlights how the method used could be applied to other conflictual contexts. In doing so, it demonstrates how language and representation in conflict situations may stem from a combination of different layers in conflictual relations and the existence of both overt and covert conflict. It also provides a comprehensive list of linguistic cues upon which researchers can rely for analysing and explaining the role of discourse in conflictual situations.

Review Quotes

"Conflict, Discourse and Cognition offers inspiration and tools to include discourse studies in research across disciplines with a view to the limitations of the human mind. It presents a clear and fundamental cognitive approach to discourse analysis as a critical means to reveal and enhance the understanding of the nature and politics of language use. The case study of discourses on the Northern Ireland Troubles and aftermath shows how opposing worldviews reveal causes of conflict and doorways to reconciliation. The book will inform scholars (to enhance research design), teachers (to inspire students), and practitioners (appreciation of the power of language to create or alleviate conflict)." --Dr. Bertie Kaal, Independent Researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

About the Author

Laura Filardo-Llamas is Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.