The Memoranda and Orders of the Department of Education on Learning Continuity Plan/ A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

In the Department of Education, the releasing of numerous monthly memoranda and orders have caused confusion among readers. Studies have reported that they present unclear and ambiguous statements which is crucial since it affects one’s interpretation. This qualitative study, utilizing Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis framework, aimed to find out the linguistic features, the discourse flow, and the ideological framing embedded in the 30 memoranda and orders on Learning Continuity Plan. The said corpora were gathered from March to December 2020, which were extracted from the DepEd’s official website. Analysis revealed that most of the corpora were mandative directives, issued as department order. Results also revealed that the transitivity, active and passive voice, modality, thematic structure, and cohesive device were the linguistic aspects present in the corpora. In the analysis of the discourse flow, writers employed topic and topic navigation in shaping the flow of thoughts. Further, legitimation, unification, and reification were embedded ideological framing in the memoranda and orders. These ideologies carefully attended to the interplay of meaning and power in the actual circumstances of social life. The findings of this study would be an avenue for the readers to contemplate the powerful influence of language in social settings.