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Discourse

The document defines discourse as language beyond the sentence level, language linked to social practices, and language as a system of thought. Discourse can be defined in three ways: 1) language beyond a sentence, 2) language behavior linked to social practices, and 3) language as a system of thought. Discourse analysis examines language in context and how it is used in social interactions and settings. It is a multi-disciplinary field that is studied by linguists, sociolinguists, and psycholinguists.

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Ridhi Fatima
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48 views8 pages

Discourse

The document defines discourse as language beyond the sentence level, language linked to social practices, and language as a system of thought. Discourse can be defined in three ways: 1) language beyond a sentence, 2) language behavior linked to social practices, and 3) language as a system of thought. Discourse analysis examines language in context and how it is used in social interactions and settings. It is a multi-disciplinary field that is studied by linguists, sociolinguists, and psycholinguists.

Uploaded by

Ridhi Fatima
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is Discourse

The term discourse analysis was first employed by Zelling Harris as the name for ‘a
method for the analysis of the connected speech or writing for continuing descriptive
linguistics beyond the limit of a single sentece at a time and for correlating culture and
language’

⚫ Word Discourse comes from Latin ‘discursus’

⚫ Denotes conversation or speech

‘discursus’ which denoted ‘conversations’, ‘speech’As a noun it can mean verbal communication,
talk, formal speech or writing on a subject and a unit of text used by linguists for the analysis of
linguistic phenomena that range over more than one sentence

⚫ A unit of language

⚫ longer than a single sentence

⚫ Multi-disciplinary field

Discourse
⚫ Discourse can be defined in three ways

⚫ 1. Language beyond the level of a sentence

⚫ 2. Language behavior linked to a social

practices

⚫ 3. Language as a system of thought.

⚫ Continuous stretch of language(Written or spoken)

⚫ Language in interaction

⚫ Language in situational & cultural context

⚫ Verbal interchange of ideas


⚫ Extended expression of thought on a subject

⚫ Connected speech or writing

⚫ Novels, short conversation named discourses

⚫ Language use relative to social, political &

cultural formations

⚫ Language reflects social order

⚫ Language shapes social order

⚫ Shapes individual’s interaction with society

⚫ Discourse analysis is done by applied linguists

Widdowson, Candlin, Swales, Halliday

o Study of language viewed communicatively

o Communication viewed linguistically

o Mode of organizing knowledge, ideas or

experience

Features of Discourse
⚫ Cohesion:
⚫ links & ties with in the text

Cohesion in a text comes from the rules of sentence connection.

A : Can you go to Lahore tomorrow?

B: Yes, I can.

It is also coherent because B has given an appropriate response to A

⚫ Coherence:

⚫ what makes a text semantically meaningful

Coherence means the degree to which a piece of discourse makes sense.


Example of coherence

A: Can you go to Lahore tomorrow?

B: there is a general strike.

Thus two sentences are not cohesive because the second sentence is not linked to the first
sentence in a grammatical sense. There is no repetition or obvious connection between the two
sentences.

⚫ Language use in social contexts

⚫ dialogue b/w speakers

⚫ Social relations

⚫ social identity

⚫ Language an instrument of communication

⚫ Expression in discourse

Discourse Analysis
⚫ Analysis of language functions referred as DA

⚫ DA increasingly popular area

⚫ DA describes activities in several disciplines

⚫ Linguistics

⚫ Sociolinguistics

⚫ Psycholinguistics

Critical Discourse Analysis


⚫ Broad term for study

⚫ Language use in texts & contexts

⚫ CDA first developed by Lancaster School of

Linguists(England)
⚫ CDA provides theories & methods for study relations b/w

discourse & social & cultural developments in social

domains

⚫ CDA is concerned how power is exercised through

language

Two diverging subjects


⚫ Textual analysis

⚫ Discourse analysis

Text
⚫ Text: information , written form, printed form

⚫ Text.............non-interactive

⚫ Agent is not crucial

⚫ Agent has no direct impact of the content

⚫ E.g text in a subject textbook, an essay,

documents, Press reports,

⚫ Reader reads, becomes aware

⚫ A sequence of paragraphs

⚫ Analyze the content one should be aware

of grammatical, linguistic categories of

language

⚫ Grammatical devices, structure, meaning

Context
⚫ Environment in which text is produced
⚫ Environment in which text is set

⚫ Environment in which text is read

⚫ Environment may be;

⚫ Social

⚫ Political

⚫ Historical

⚫ Physical

⚫ philosophical

⚫ Readers construction of meanings

⚫ Context & meanings varies with your

background

⚫ Context is everything that surrounds a text

⚫ Without it English would make no sense

Discourse
⚫ Discourse specifies the agent of information

⚫ Discourse............interactive

⚫ Often conversational communications

⚫ Multi-layered communication in a variety

⚫ Verbal Textual Visual audial dialogues

⚫ Both consist of sentences, information

Types of Discourse
⚫ Narrative

involves telling a story


⚫ Descriptive

⚫ Persuasive

⚫ Argumentative

⚫ expository

Narrative
⚫ Telling story

⚫ Point of view (1st & 3rd person)

⚫ Characters

⚫ Setting

⚫ Plot

⚫ conflict

Descriptive
⚫ Descriptive words

⚫ phrases

⚫ images

⚫ Effective piece makes the reader as if he is

experiencing what is being described

Persuasive/Argumentative
⚫ To convince the readers/listerns

⚫ To change mode of thinking

⚫ Persuade to take specific action

⚫ Advertisements

⚫ Political compaigns
⚫ Argumentative writing

⚫ Appeals or emotions

⚫ Supported by fact

Expository
⚫ To deliver info about an issue

⚫ Method

⚫ Idea

⚫ Analysis

⚫ Cause and effects

⚫ Classification

⚫ Comparison/contrast

⚫ Definition

⚫ Examples

Media Discourse
⚫ Broadcast platform (spoken,written)

⚫ Non present reader, listener or viewer

⚫ Linguistic analysis of newspaper media

⚫ Not face to face communication

⚫ A particular issue is publically discussed or

framed by media

Political Discourse

⚫ Discourse in political forums

⚫ Debates
⚫ Speeches

⚫ Hearings

⚫ Power, conflict, control, domination

⚫ Politicians, political institutions, political supporters.

Identifying Discourse Type


Must pay attention to:

⚫ The writer’s purpose

⚫ The main idea of speech

⚫ Type of language used

⚫ The way information is organised

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