Discourse Analysis The study of language inside conversations
Cohesion Cohesion: the ties and connections that exist within texts. Some of these are at the word level – repeated words and phrases, referents Coherence is brought to the conversation by the listener. Listeners are always trying to fit new information into old information to keep the conversation coherent.
Analyzing a Conversation Look for turn-taking strategies ◦“shy” – waiting for other speaker to stop before taking one’s turn ◦“rude” – cutting in on another speaker ◦These are often culturally determined! Look for completion points ◦End of sentence or thought ◦Speaker stops to breathe ◦No fillers “um” or “er”
Cooperative Principle Gricean maxims – Sample response to: How do I get to Green Hall? ◦Quantity – enough information You can’t miss it – it’s the red brink building. ◦Quality – true information You need a car to get there. ◦Relation – relevant information I’d rather buy a poodle than a collie. ◦Manner – clear, brief, orderly Green Hall is more a state of mind than a building; let me explain...
Implicatures Implicatures are additional conveyed meaning (or more work for the listener) Sample conversations: ◦Susan: Are you working on Thursday? ◦Dan: Thursday, hmm, you can borrow the car. The implication shared here is that Dan only uses the car to get to work. ◦James: Should we go out for pizza? ◦Theresa: I worked extra hours this week. These two either understand Theresa to be saying that she can afford the pizza or that she is too tired to go out.
Schemas and SCripts Schemas and Scripts listeners construct as they begin to make sense of what they hear: ◦Mike: Colette, how’s Harvey? Listener thinks Colette has a new boyfriend ◦Colette: I think he’s dead! Hmm, things must not be going all that well ◦Colette: He hasn’t moved for a week. He crawled out of the window onto the ledge last week and froze. ◦Mike: And he’s cold-blooded, right? ◦Colette: He’s an iguana! Listener finally understands and is able to make appropriate inferences.