CRITICAL REALISM AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SPEECH: EXPLANATORY ANALYTICAL MODEL

In this article, I present a theoretical essay on critical realism and critical discourse analysis. I try to show the approximations and implications between these two approaches. The work is divided into four sections. In the first, I discuss Bhaskar's philosophy of critical realism. In the second, I present Fairclpugh's approach to critical discourse analysis. In the third section, I show some implications of critical realism for discourse studies. I argue, in the light of Fairclough, Jessop and Sayer's thought, that discourse can not be reduced only to the play of signs without identifying and exploiting the extra-semiotic conditions that make it possible and guarantee its effectiveness. In the fourth and last section, I discuss the analytical model based on Bhaskar's 'explanatory criticism'.