What does the discourse analyst’s look finds it strange? An exercise of recognizing the discursive fact

Abstract

The article discusses the practice of the discourse analyst who works on Michel Pêcheux’s perspective, especially the approach of the object being studied. Initially, we focus on the theoretical nature of the analyst’s look. The emphasis is on the principles that guide and give specificity to the analytical work. Next, we discuss what we understand about discursive facts and how the notions of lack, excess and strangeness proposed by Ernst (2009) help the analyst to recognize those facts. We suggest that the notions are useful besides the operational necessity to define the discursive corpus. Specifically, the notion of strangeness seems productive for the researcher to satisfy theoretical requirements of Pêcheux’s perspective. Finally, we realize an exercise of analysis to explore the heuristic value of precedent