Predication

Jūratė Ruzaitė, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
jurate.ruzaite@vdu.lt

In the field of linguistics, predication refers to the grammatical relationship between a subject and its predicate within a sentence. The predicate typically contains the main verb and any accompanying elements such as objects, complements, or modifiers that express what is being said about the subject. For example, in the sentence The protestors demanded justice, the subject is the protestors and the predicate is demanded justice.

Beyond its grammatical definition, predication plays an important role in discourse analysis, particularly in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). According to the analytical framework proposed by such scholars as Wodak, Reisigl, and KhosraviNik, predicational strategies are one of five key discursive strategies used to uncover implications manifested in discourse, alongside nomination, argumentation, perspectivisation, and intensification/mitigation.

In CDA, predication focuses on how social actors (often marginalised or vulnerable groups as opposed to those in positions of power) are characterised and represented through language. CDA researchers examine how individuals or groups are described, asking such questions as: How are the social agents in a text described? and What qualities or characteristics are attributed to them? For instance, in media texts, political actors may be described as corrupt, heroic, or radical, each of which reveals a specific ideological positioning.

Importantly, predication is not limited to overt evaluation. It also includes more subtle forms of characterisation, such as metaphors, presuppositions, and frequent collocations. Thus, examining predicational strategies can reveal how language constructs, reinforces, or challenges social stereotypes, power relations, and ideological stances across a variety of genres and contexts.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis (cda), social actor representation, ideological positioning

Related Entries: Critical Discourse Analysis

References:
KhosraviNik, M. (2010). The representation of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in British newspapers: A critical discourse analysis. Journal of Language and Politics, 9(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.9.1.01kho
Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and discrimination: Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. Routledge.
Wodak, R. (2001). The discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 63–95). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020.n4