An Analysis of Critical Discourse of Al-Alama al-Hilli's Will to his Son (In light of Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis theory)

Abstract

Discourse analysis is one of the interdisciplinary studies in literature and social sciences, as it deals with the work of language in society and its connection with authority, politics, social structures, and ideologies. Fairclough drew the attention of the critical trend rooted in critical linguistics among the various trends in discourse analysis, and in his analysis of critical discourse, he shed light on three levels description, interpretation, and clarification.
This research attempts to address the commandment of Al-Alama Al-Hilli in those three levels, in the light of the critical discourse analysis method, in order to reveal the social and political facts behind the vocabulary and sentences. At the level of description, he seeks to clarify his idea through the statement of antonyms and the use of specific vocabulary and sentences. At the level of interpretation, the author is concerned with situational context, presuppositions, and intertextuality. At the level of explanation, the effect of social structures on the type of discourse is depicted, and in the light of that social structures, the decisive discourse between Al-Alama and his son is determined.