This entry discusses discourse analysis (hereafter “DA”) in linguistic anthropology and the related field of sociolinguistics, where “discourse analysis” refers to methods used to analyze the content, sociopolitical significance, and interactional effects of semiotic practices for the purpose of systematically showing how these practices shape social processes. Referring to DA in these fields as sociocultural studies of discourse, the entry reviews the historical emergence of this type of DA and engages key issues and future directions in such studies. These issues and directions include the production of authority and ideology; the co‐construction of race, language, and nationalism; and the relationship between language and commodification.