Critical Discourse Analysis: A Review of the Critique1

The article is a review of the main criticism targeted at Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in recent yearsG46 It addresses such issues as the epistemological stance of CDA, the linguistic theory behind it, its cognitive framework, the role of the analyst and of the participants, the pretension to connect micro features of discourse and macro societal patterns, the treatment of context, linguistic analysis, and the issue of interdisciplinarityG46 Some of the changes undertaken in the field to respond to the critics and the need for a stronger impact of CDA are also discussedG4