DISCOURSE AND Ms.

Noor Shah
GRAMMAR
 INTRODUCTION:
 In recent years discussions of grammar have moved
from sentence-based perspectives to more of a
discourse-based perspective.

1. HUGHES & MCCARTHY (1998):

Both argued that traditional explanations of grammar do not
adequately capture grammatical selection in longer, real-
world texts.
They showed a number of linguistic items show quite different
patterns of use when looked at from a discourse perspective.
2. HALLIDAY AND HASSAN:
Both worked in the area of discourse grammar from
rather a different perspective.
Their interest has been in patterns of grammar and
vocabulary that:
(1)Combine to tie meanings in the text together
(2)Connect the text to the social context in which it
occurs
(3)Items that are combined together to make the text
cohesive and give it unity of texture.
 GRAMMAR FROM A
DISCOURSE PERSPECTIVE:
Different linguistic items such as ‘it’, ‘this’ and ‘that’ show
different interpretation from a discourse analysis point of
view.

 MCCARTHY (1994):
• It: often signals reference to a continuing or ongoing topic in
a text, rather than just something inside or outside the text,
as more traditional explanations might suggest.
• This: often indicates the raising of a new topic or a new
focus in the current topic.
• That: has a distancing or marginalizing function in a text,
rather than just demonstrative functions.
MCCARTHY (1998): Also found similar differences in relation to the
Use of Tenses : (Past Perfect)
1. The use of be to with future meaning.
2. Wh-cleft constructions (as in ‘What you need is . . .’).

CELCE-MURCIA (1997): She argued for contextual analyses that look

at grammatical form in relation to where, why and how
frequently it is used in written and spoken discourse rather than in
isolated sentences.
She makes a similar argument to McCarthy about this and that
showing how, in extended texts, this and that: function in ways other
than just pointing to something.
She also shows how tense and aspect choices differ in extended
 CELCE-MURCIA AND OLSHTAIN (2000): be going to &
will
1. Discuss how be going to and will , when looked at from a
discourse perspective:
Show different functions other than just the expression o
future time.
2. They found ‘be going to’: is typically used when English
speakers narrate future scenarios, which they then follow with
a contracted form of ‘will’
3. They also found the present simple is often used alongside
‘will’ to add descriptive details to the future event being
recounted.
 DISCOURSE BASED
GRAMMAR: PROPERTIES
HUGHES AND MCCARTHY (1998): Made a helpful
comparison between discourse and sentence-based
grammars.

1. A discourse-based grammar, makes a strong

connection between form, function and context.
2. Aims to place appropriateness.
3. Use at the center of its descriptions.

.
LARSEN-FREEMAN (2003): Makes a similar
argument that form, meaning and use need to be at
the basis of all grammatical descriptions.

 A discourse-based grammar, acknowledges

language choice.
 Promotes awareness of interpersonal factors in
grammatical choice.
 Can provide insights into areas of grammar that,
previously, lacked a satisfactory explanation
 DISCOURSE-BASED
ANALYSIS:

It is also useful for:

1. Looking at the relationship between vocabulary items in

texts.
2. The relationship between items such as ‘it’ and ‘others’
and the items they are referring to inside or outside of the
text, and conjunction
HASAN (1989) discusses two crucial attributes of
texts and which are important for the analysis of
discourse.

I. Unity of structure
II. Unity of texture
UNITY OF STRUCTURE: refers to patterns which combine
together to create information structure, focus and flow in a text,
including the schematic structure of the text.

UNITY OF TEXTURE: refers to the way in which resources such as

patterns of cohesion create both cohesive and coherent texts.
 UNITY OF TEXTURE:
Texture results where there are language items that:
(1)tie meanings together in the text as well as
(2)tie meanings in the text to the social context in
which the text occurs.

Example: An example of this is where the meaning of

items that refer outside of the text, such as ‘it’ and
‘that’, can be derived from the social context in
which the text is located.
Texture: is a result of the interaction of these kinds of
features. (Halliday 2009b)
Texture: A matter of meaning relations. (Hasan 1989b:71)
A crucial notion in this discussion is that of a tie which
connects:
1. the meanings of words to each other;
2. as well as to the world outside the text.

The Basis for cohesion, and in turn texture, thus, is semantic.

It is both explicit and implicit and is based in the ways in
which the meanings of items are tied in a semantic
relationship to each other.
The interpretation of these items is found by reference to
some other item, or source, within or outside the text.
WHAT IS “TEXTURE”
 Texture: is a result of the interaction of these kinds of features. (Halliday
2009b)
 Texture: A matter of meaning relations. (Hasan 1989 b: 71)
A crucial notion in this discussion is that of a tie which connects:
1. the meanings of words to each other;
2. as well as to the world outside the text.
The Basis for cohesion, and in turn texture, thus, is semantic.
It is both explicit and implicit and is based in the ways in which the meanings of
items are tied in a semantic relationship to each other.
 The interpretation of these items is found by reference to
some other item, or source, within or outside the text.
EXAMPLE:
Waiter: Where would you like it sir?
Customer: Just a little on the meat thanks.

In the following sentence:

One will use his knowledge of the text and the context in which it
is occurs to understand what ‘it’ is referring to in the text: (in this
case, gravy)
 COHESION: (DISCOURSE)
 An area of language in which grammar and
discourse are highly integrated is in patterns of
cohesion in texts.
 The main patterns of cohesion are:

LEXICAL
REFEREN CONJUCTI SUBTITUTI ELLIPSI
COHESIO ON
CE
N
ON S
 WHAT IS COHESION?

Cohesion: it refers to the relationship between

items in a text such as words, phrases and clauses
and other items such as pronouns, nouns and
conjunctions.
This includes the relationship between words and pronouns
that refer to that word (Reference items).
It also includes words that commonly co-occur in texts
(Collocation)
The relationship between words with similar, related and
different meanings (Lexical cohesion).
Cohesion also considers semantic relationships between
clauses and the ways this is expressed through the use of
conjunctions.
A further aspect of cohesion is the way in which words such
as ‘one’ and ‘do’ are used to substitute for other words in a
text (substitution)
and the ways in which words or phrases are left out, or
ellipsed, from a text (Ellipsis).
 REFERENCE:

Reference: refers to the situation where the

identity of an item can be retrieved from
either within or outside the text.
MAIN REFERENCE
PATTERNS:
CATAPHORI
ANAPHORIC
C

HOMOPHOR
EXOPHORIC
IC
 ANAPHORIC REFERENCE:
Anaphoric reference is where a word or phrase
refers-back to another word or phrase used
earlier in a text.
EXAMPLE:
Michael went to the bank. He was annoyed because
it was closed.
 CATAPHORIC REFERENCE:
Cataphoric reference describes an item which refers
forward to another word or phrase which is used later
in the text.
Example: If you call him, tell Sam to come as soon as
possible
Explanation: the identity of the italicized “that” follows,
rather than precedes, the -- which is the reference item.
In this case, the reader knows the item being referred to is
yet to come in the text and reads forward to find the
meaning of ‘that’.
 EXOPHORIC REFERENCE:
Exophoric reference looks outside the text to the situation in
which the text occurs for the identity of the item being
referred to.
Example:
Customer: What kind of book would you say this is? Where
would you put it on your bookshelves?
Explanation: Both speakers clearly know what book is being
referred to in this conversation. ‘You’ and ‘your’ are also
examples of exophoric reference. Both speakers know, from
outside the text, who these items are referring to.
 HOMOPHORIC REFERENCE:
Homophoric reference is where the identity of the item can
be retrieved by reference to cultural knowledge, in
general, rather than the specific context of the text.
Example: First in the US, then all over the world, women
became converts to the book’s tough-love message. (ibid.)
Explanation: This is different from the final use of ‘the’ in
this sentence. To answer ‘which book’ we know it is the one
being discussed in the text. We know, however, from our
cultural knowledge ‘which’ United States and ‘which’ world
are being referred to in the text.
SECONDARY REFERENCE
PATTERNS:

COMPARATI
BRIDGING
VE
 COMPARATIVE REFERENCE:
Comparative reference: ‘the identity of the presumed item is
retrieved not because it has already been mentioned or will
be mentioned in the text, but because an item with which it is
being compared has been mentioned. (Eggins 2004 : 35).
Example: When it was published late last year, Oprah sang
its praises, tearful women called it ‘the Bible’, and others
declared it had changed their lives forever. The book assumes
all men are confident, or that if they really like a girl, they’ll
overcome their shyness. The opposite is true. (Cooper 2005 :
S38)
Explanation: The author proceeds, however, on the
assumption that we will know ‘which’ people and that we will
 BRIDGING REFERENCE:
Bridging reference is where an item refers to
something that has to be inferentially derived from
the text or situation; that is, something that has
to be presumed indirectly. (Martin 1992 , Martin
and Rose 2007)
Example: Stuart agrees. ‘I was hopeless’, he says
with a laugh. ‘I’m just not one of those blokes that
finds approaching women easy.’ (Cooper 2005 : S38)
Explanation: we are not told which ‘blokes’ Stuart is
referring to. The author presumes that we can
indirectly derive this..
 LEXICAL COHESION:
Lexical cohesion: refers to relationships in meaning
between lexical items in a text and, in particular,
content words and the relationship between them.
The main kinds of lexical cohesion are:
Repetiti Synony Antony Hypony Merony Collocati
on ms ms m m on
 REPETITION:
Repetition refers to words that are repeated in a text.
This includes words which are inflected for tense or number
and words which are derived from particular items.
Example: Jen Abydeera, 27, and Stuart Gilby, 22, . . . are
convinced they wouldn’t be a couple if Jen had done things
the [He’s Just Not That Into You] way when they first met. ‘
Stu was quiet and shy, while I was more confident and
forward,’ says Jen. ‘He was more reluctant than I was to ask
questions or to initiate a date. I would be the one to say to
him: “When do you want to go out, then?”’ (ibid.)
Explanation: ‘Stuart’ and ‘Stu’ in the example.
Although the form of these two items is (slightly) different,
the author is certain that it will be clear that she is still
 SYNONYM & ANTONYMS:
Synonymy: refers to words which are similar in meaning.
Example: (Date) and (Go out).
 In English it is not good style to continuously repeat the
same word in a text. Both ‘Date’ and ‘Go out’ are referring to
the same concept but in a different way.
Antonymy: describes opposite or contrastive meanings.
Example: (Shy) and (Forward), (Men) and (Women), (Real
players) and (Boofheads)
 We know as we read the words which meanings contrast
with each other. Part of their meaning, indeed, derives from
this contrast.
 HYPONYMY & MERONYMY:
Halliday ( 1990 ) describes two kinds of lexical taxonomies that
typically occur in texts:
1. Superordination
2. Composition

Superordination: are words which are in a ‘kind-of’ relationship

with each other
Composition: are words that are in a ‘whole-part’ relationship
with each other.
Hyponymy: refers to classes of lexical items where the
relationship between them is one of ‘general-specific’, ‘an
example of’ or in a ‘class to member’ type relationship.
Meronymy: where lexical items are in a ‘whole-to-part’
relationship with each other.
 COLLOCATION:
Collocation: describes associations between vocabulary items which
have a tendency to co-occur such as combinations of adjectives and
nouns.
Collocation is not something that is restricted to a single text but
is part of textual knowledge
In general. A writer and speaker of a language draws on this knowledge of
collocations as he/she writes and speaks. Expert writers (and readers)
know that only certain items collocate with each other. That is, we
know we can say ‘real-estate agent’ but not ‘real-estate fruit and
vegetables’. Or that we can say ‘fresh fruit and vegetables’ but not (with
the same meaning) ‘fresh real-estate agents’.
This knowledge of collocation is another way in which a text has
the property of texture.
 COLLOCATION:
1. EXPECTANCY RELATIONS
2. LEXICAL BUNDLES
A further kind of relationship, related to collocation, is
expectancy relations .
EXPECTANCY: This occurs where there is a predictable
relationship between a verb and either the subject or
the object of the verb.
These relations link nominal elements with verbal
elements (e.g. love/book, waste/time)
They can also link an action with a participant (e.g.
ask/guy) or an event with its location (e.g. dating/sites).
Expectancy can also refer to the relationship between
individual lexical items and the composite nominal group that
 2. LEXICAL BUNDLES:
Lexical bundles: are multi-word combinations such as (as a
result of), (on the other hand) , (if you look at) and (as can be seen)
that occur in genres such as:
University textbooks,
academic essays, theses and dissertations,
research articles, as well as spoken genres such as
academic lectures and conversation.
Byrd and Coxhead ( 2010 ) define lexical bundles as three or
more words that occur in fixed or semi-fixed combinations
‘that are repeated without change for a set number of times in
a particular corpus’
 CONJUNCTION:
Conjunction refers to words that join phrases, clauses or sections of a
text in such a way that they express the ‘logical-semantic’ relationship
between them.
They are a further important part of discourse knowledge that both
speakers and writers, and readers and listeners, draw on as they both
produce and interpret spoken and written discourse.
Conjunctions are described by Halliday and Hasan under the groupings of:
(1) Additive. (2) Adversative (3) Causal (4) Temporal
Martin ( 1992 ) and Martin and Rose discuss conjunctions under the
categories of:
(1) Additive (2) Comparative (3) Temporal (4) Consequential
 THEME AND RHEME
Two further elements that contribute to the texture of a text is
the relationship between “Theme” and “Rheme” in the clause.
It contributes to the focus and flow of information in a text.
THEME: Element which serves as the point of departure of the
message. (Halliday 1985:38). It introduces “information
prominence” into the clause.
The theme of a sentence is the starting point of the
message; it typically indicates what the sentence is about.
It often sets the context for the information that follows.
RHEME: The rheme is what the clause has to say about the theme.
It is the part of the sentence that provides new information
about the theme. It expands on or elaborates what the theme
is introducing.
Characteristics:
It often contains the verb and complements, detailing what happens
to or about the theme.
The rheme conveys the core message or the action taking
place.
Position: The rheme typically follows the theme in a sentence,
creating a natural flow of information.
EXAMPLE:
Hiragana represents the 46 basic sounds of the
Japanese language’

The theme is “Hiragana”, the rest of the sentence is

Rheme (what the sentence has to say about
Hiragana.
CONTINUE…
Example The dog (Theme) barked loudly (Rheme)."

Theme: "The dog" introduces the subject.

Rheme: "barked loudly" provides new information about what the
dog is doing.
In discourse analysis, the concepts of theme and rheme are
essential for understanding how information is structured within a
sentence or larger text.
The theme is the starting point of a clause; that is what the
clause is about. The remainder of the clause is the rheme
(Paltridge, 2006:145).
 THEMATIC PROGRESSION
The notions of theme and rheme are also employed in the examination of
“thematic progression” (Eggins 2004), or a method of development of
texts (Fries 2002)
Thematic Progression refers to the way in which the theme of a
clause may pick up, or repeat, a meaning from a preceding
theme or rheme.
This is a key way in which information flow is created in text.
There a number of ways in which this may be done:
a. Constant theme
b. Linear theme.
c. Multiple theme/Split theme
 CONSTANT THEME
In this, “Theme 1” is picked up and repeated at the beginning of
the next clause, signaling that each clause will have something
to say about the theme.

In this pattern, the same theme is repeated throughout the

text.
This can create a strong focus on a particular subject.
Example: The cat is playful. The cat loves to chase shadows.
 LINEAR THEME
In this pattern, each new theme builds on the previous one.
The rheme of one sentence becomes the theme of the next,
creating a chain of related ideas.
Example:
The cat is playful. It often jumps on furniture.
 MULTIPLE/SPLIT THEME:
This involves introducing multiple themes in a single sentence,
which are then elaborated upon in subsequent sentences. It
allows for more complex structures and introduces various
elements at once.
Example: The cat and the dog play together. They both enjoy
chasing each other around the yard.
 IMPORTANCE OF THEMATIC
PROGRESSION:
 Coherence: It helps maintain a logical flow, making
it easier for readers or listeners to follow the argument
or narrative.
 Focus: Effective thematic progression ensures that
key ideas are emphasized and clearly connected.
 Engagement: Varied thematic progression can
keep the audience engaged by introducing new ideas
while maintaining connections to previous information.