VAN DIJK’S CDA MODEL OF “US (SELF) VS THEM (OTHERS)” KEY INDICATORS

• ACTOR DESCRIPTION
• AUTHORITY
• DISCLAIMER
• EVIDENCE
• COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
• POLARIZATION
• EUPHEMISM
• HYPERBOLE
• IRONY
• VICTIMIZATION
• GENERALIZATION
• PRESUPPOSITION
• VAGUENESS AND HEDGING

ACTOR DESCRIPTION

1 Positive self-representation
2 Negative other-representation

AUTHORITY

• It can be a person, organization or book.
• It is an influential, higher or superior power that exerts control, gives orders, and enforces obedience in any particular situation

DISCLAIMER
• The negation in such a case primarily serves as form of positive selfpresentation, of face keeping.

EVIDENCE

• Don’t rely on baseless blames
• Come up with strong evidence
• Prove your opponent to be the guilty party
• Facts and figures……..stats….etc.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
• Comparison is an act of looking for similarities or dissimilarities in discourse.
• Claims vs actions, rich vs poor, black vs white, privatization vs nationalization

POLARIZATION

• The categorical division of people in in-group (us) and out-group (them)
• Polarization divides individuals or ideas into two totally opposing groups

EUPHEMISM

• Replacement of an apparently unpleasantly of offensive word or expression with one that is mild or pleasant.
• Use of word honor instead of gherat

HYPERBOLE

• The deliberate exaggeration of certain facts or figures used for the sake of heightened effect.
• A speaker may use certain exaggerated expressions.
• It may also add humor to a situation.

IRONY

• For the sake of humor or emphasis
• Difference between appearance and reality

VICTIMIZATION

• To represent the in-group members as the victims by the hands of the outgroup members.
• When the others tend to be represented in negative terms, and especially when they are associated with threats, then the in-group needs to represented as victim of such a threat (Van Dijk)

GENERALIZATION

• When concrete events or actions are generalized and possibly abstracted from, thus making the claim broader, while more generally applicable.

PRESUPPOSITION

• The information that a speaker assumes to be already known.
• Speakers assumes certain information is already known by their listeners.
• This is part of what is communicated but not said

VAGUENESS AND HEDGING

• Implication/Implicature
• Used when precise statement are contextually inappropriate or simply “politically incorrect”.