The idea of environmental discourse can seem a bit daunting as it is such a broad concept to grasp. However, let me break it down for you! Here are 4 overarching concepts that have been formed by John Dryzek, who was one of the leading pioneers of environmental discourse, to look out for when you approach the idea of discourse.

• What are the entities that are recognised?

Entities are things that have a distinct and independent existence. This can be things such as governments, human beings and the ecosystem. Different discourses may recognise differing types of entities. This would show how they view certain entities as more important than others in their discourse and how this can frame the concepts that are found in each discourse. This is because that what they recognise, may shows the emphasis of what they believe is important in their discourse in one way to another

• What are the assumptions that they make about the relationships between entities?

Entities are bound to interact with one another, such as how humans interact with the environment. In discourse, participants in the discourse will have an assumption as to how they think these entities interact with one another. This can generally be broken down into the conflicts that entities see and also the hierarchies of the different entities in the discourse. This assumption would then form their understanding of how the world is and the issues around them.

• Who are people that are involved in this?

Similar to what entities are, the people in this question is more related to the people that are taking action in one way or another. This action can both be positive or negative. These people have some sort of agency or ability to take on actions that may impact the issue at hand.

• What are the language methods that were used to express their beliefs?

It is also important for us to understand the type of language that is being used and how the type of language can impact how you convey the message.  The type of language that is use can perpetuate the type of idea that people wish to convey about their discourse. One of the ways that we can use to observe this is through their use of metaphors.However, there are still many other subtle ways in which you can analyse for language, such as the use of negative or positive stories to reinforce their ideas.

An example: If I wish to highlight how humans overeating hamburgers can be bad for your health, I can use negative language that might be more fear-mongering. I can say, “Overeating hamburgers are artery clogging, you will be morbidly obese and struggle to even be alive!” Through this example, we can see how the use of negative words like ‘morbidly’, ‘struggle’ and ‘artery-clogging’ may cause some sort of fear, which reinforces my idea that overeating hamburgers might be bad for you!

With these questions in mind, I hope that you have a clearer idea on how to analyse discourse and how to break down the big ideas into smaller ones!