Issues in cognitive discourse research: Positioning, representation, conceptualization
Issues in cognitive discourse research: Positioning, representation, conceptualization

Summary/Abstract: The present paper explores the current nexus between Cognitive Linguistics (CL)and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), focusing on theories of conceptual positioning, distancingand perspective-taking in discourse space. It assesses the strengths, limitations, andprospects for further operationalization of positioning as a valid methodology in CDA, andpolitical discourse studies in particular. In the first part, I review the cognitive models of positioningthat have made the most significant contribution to CDA. Discussing Deictic SpaceTheory and Text World Theory, among others, I argue that these models reveal further theoreticalpotential which has not been exploited yet. While they offer a comprehensive and plausibleaccount of how representations and ideologically charged worldviews are established, theyfail to deliver a pragmatic explanation of how addressees are made to establish a worldview,in the service of speaker’s goals. The second part of the paper outlines Proximization Theory,a discursive model of crisis and conflict construction in political discourse. I argue that, unlikethe other models, it fully captures the complex geopolitical and ideological positioning inpolitical discourse space, providing a viable handle on the dynamics of conflict between theopposing ideologies of the space.

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