Defining Discourse

What is Discourse? Consider the following definitions of discourse: Discourse is language above the sentence or above the clause (Stubbs, 1983). How we organize language into units that are larger than sentences’ (Scheffrin, 1994).

3. a stretch of language perceived to be meaningful unified, and purposive; language in use 4. Discourse serves to indicate not only the immediate context of, e.g. a conversation, a job interview, etc., but also the hidden conditions that govern such situations of language use. That is, how people use their language in their social contexts.

5. Discourse is ‘utterances’ (units of language production, whether spoken or written) that are inherently contextualized. A: Have you got a light? B: Yes. B: No, sorry. I don’t smoke. 6. A discourse is behavioral unit. It is a set of utterances which constitute a recognizable speech event e.g. a conversation, a joke, a sermon, an interview.

Language above the level of a sentence What is Discourse? So discourse can be defined as: Language above the level of a sentence Language use linked to social practices and participants The focus is on the language as a means to an end, an instrument at the service of communication.

Text Vs. Discourse Text: It refers to any passage (spoken or written) of whatever length that forms a whole unit (Essays, notices, road signs, a single proverb, a cry for help, etc. It is a unit of language in use. It is a physical product of a communicative acts, i.e. the record of some speaker’s or writer’s discourse, uttered or written in some context and for some purpose.

Discourse Analysis The analysis of discourse is the analysis of language in use. As such, it cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms without looking at the purposes or functions which these forms are designed to serve in human affairs (Brown & Yule, 1993). Father: Is that your coat on the floor again? Son: yes (goes on reading)

Discourse analysis is an attempt to discover linguistic regularities in discourse using grammatical, phonological and semantic criteria e.g. cohesion, anaphora, coherence, etc. It is an effort to interpret what the writer or speaker intended to convey within a sensitive social context. A: What does Ali do for a living? B: Do you need to know? A: Oh, this and that. B: I’ve no idea. A: What’s that got to do with it? B: He doesn’t.

What do we do in Discourse Analysis? Interested in the relationship between texts and the context. Always look at real texts. We analyze and investigate all those features that are part of the total communicative act: context of utterance, relationships, and so on. Conversational behavior is observed (turn-taking, repair, how to begin and end a conversation, etc.) How different speech acts (e.g. politeness) are performed.

Spoken vs. written Discourse Evanescent (rapid fading) Difference in tempo (faster) Spontaneous Rich in prosody More ‘natural’ Situated (co-constructed, interaction) Permanent & transportable Difference in tempo (slower) Worked over, planned Poor in prosody Less ‘natural’ De-situated

What do we do in Discourse Analysis? Interested in the relationship between texts and the context. Always look at real texts. We analyze and investigate all those features that are part of the total communicative act: context of utterance, relationships, and so on. Conversational behavior is observed (turn-taking, repair, how to begin and end a conversation, etc.) How different speech acts (e.g. politeness) are performed.

Devices for Discourse Analysis Cohesion Coherence Speech events Background Knowledge Conversational interaction The cooperative Principle

Approaches to Discourse Analysis Speech Acts Theory The Ethnography of Communication Conversation Analysis Pragmatics Critical Discourse Analysis

What’s Next? Speech Acts Theory

Thank You