Developments and challenges in critical discourse analysis

This study presents a systematic literature review to identify the developments and challenges of critical discourse analysis (CDA) in the field of environmental studies.The analysis draws upon Fairclough's three-dimensional framework of CDA, which comprises description, interpretation, and explanation.A review of both Japanese and international literature revealed three findings.First, Japanese and international literature differ in terms of the types of data analysed.Japanese studies have predominantly focused on media texts, whereas international literature has examined various data, including primary information.Second, the study of non-linguistic social practices remains limited compared to the study of linguistic practices.Third, less emphasis is placed on the explanatory dimension than the descriptive and interpretive dimensions.Based on these findings, three challenges are identified for the further development of CDA in environmental studies.First, there is a need to employ a wide range of data sources, including primary data, and incorporate non-linguistic data types.Second, enhancing the analysis of the social conditions that shape linguistic practices is a challenge.Third, further analysis of structural factors-both social and environmental-that influence discourse is necessary.In particular, the importance of this last challenge is underscored by critical realism which theoretically underpins CDA.