A Critical Discourse Analysis Study of UNHCR Reports on Internally Displaced Iraqi People

Abstract

Critical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice. Thus CDA is considered a theory in qualitative research in which the framework of analysis includes analysis of texts, interactions and social practices at the local, institutional and social levels.The present research paper is concerned with utilizing critical discourse analysis in analysing UNHCR reports that have been selected from internally displaced people of Iraq. The main aim of this on-going study is to investigate the linguistic devices that have been found in UNHCR reports. Thus, five UNHCR reports have been selected randomly from the internet for the reference period of 2014 to 2017. The procedure followed for the analysis of these reports is Norman Fairclough’s Three-layer model (2001). The study has come up with the following concluding points: on the textual analysis level, the reports consist of vocabulary items including synonymy, collocations, hyponymy, Acronyms, etc. On the discoursal analysis level, the reports involve repetitions, conjunctions, articles, and conjunctions. On social analysis level, the reports are said by different UNHCR representatives and happened in different occasions to send different messages.