Lingual primitives and critical discourse analysis: a case of gender ideology in Cosmopolitan

Abstract

This article investigates the utility of combining critical discourse analysis with the framework of lingual primitives advanced by Weideman (2011), in a critical analysis of gender ideology in the women’s lifestyle magazine Cosmopolitan. More specifically, two elementary linguistic concepts are combined with the critical discourse analysis methodology in order to analyse a sample of feature articles from Cosmopolitan. The results are illustrated on the basis of a case study that is representative of this larger sample. The findings suggest that the abuse of power in this magazine is best conceptualised as the abuse of lingual trust.