The Integration of Phrasal Verbs in the Critical Analysis of Discourse

Abstract

            Virtually all the frameworks that are used in the critical analysis of discourse, such as, Fairclough’s three-dimensional modal, Wodak’s discourse historical approach, van Dijk’s ideological square theory, van Leeuwen’s theory of the representation of social actors, and so on, typically focus on prenominal and predicative adjectives, transitivity structures, presuppositions, pseudo titles, metaphors, etcetera. However, there is no framework or research that have used phrasal verbs or even explored the viability of its function in the critical analysis of discourse. This study demonstrated how critical phrasal verbs analysis can be employed to analyse political, spoken, and media discourse. The results showed that phrasal verbs are used pervasively in Bush’s political discourse to emphasize the power of America in eliminating enemies.