discourse analysis introduction

An Overview

LI NGUI STI CS

LI NGUI STI CS
† What is language?
† How does language work?

LI NGUI STI CS
† The syst em at ic inquiry int o hum an
language- int o it s st ruct ures and uses and
t he relat ionship bet ween t hem , as well as
int o t he developm ent and acquisit ion of
language. ( Finegan, 2004)
† The scope of linguist ics includes bot h
language st ruct ure ( and t he gram m at ical
com pet ence underlying it ) and language
use ( and it s underlying com m unicat ive
com pet ence)

LI NGUI STI CS

† The st udy of laguage as a syst em of
com m unicat ion ( Richards, et .al,
1985)
† I t covers sound syst em s
( PHONETI CS, PHONOLOGY) , sent ence
st ruct ure ( SYNTAX) , and m eaning
syst em s ( SEMANTI CS, PRAGMATI CS,
FUNCTI ONS OF LANGUAGE)

COMBI NATI ON WI TH OTHER DI SCI PLI NES
†
†
†
†
†
†
†

Ant hropological linguist ics
Psycholinguist ics

Sociolinguist ics
Applied linguist ics
Com parat ive linguist ics
Cont rast ive analysis
et c

DI SCOURSE

† A general t erm for exam ples of language
use, ie language which has been produced
as t he result of an act of com m unicat ion
( Richards, et .al.,1985)
† I t refers t o larger unit s of language such as
paragraphs, conversat ions, int erviews, et c.
† The st udy of bot h writ t en and spoken
discourse is known as DI SCOURSE
ANALYSI S

DI SCOURSE
† A sequence of spoken or writ t en

ut t erances t hat “ go t oget her” in a
part icular sit uat ion
† A conversat ion at a dinner, a
newspaper colum n, a personal let t er,
a radio int erview, a subpoena t o
appear in court

Oh, look!
† I t is a discourse alt hough it is not a
sequence of ut t erances, because it is
produced wit hin a sit uat ional cont ext
t hat helps det erm ine an appropriat e
inform at ion st ruct ure
† See pragm at ics for inform at ion
st ruct ure

Pragm at ics overlaps wit h discourse
analysis, which deals wit h t he various
devices used by speakers and writ ers
when t hey knit single sent ences

t oget her int o a coherent and cohesive
whole.

PRAGMATI CS
† The branch of linguist ics which st udies t hose aspect s
of m eaning which cannot be capt ured by sem ant ic
t heory.
† I n brief, it deals wit h how speakers use language in
ways which cannot be predict ed from linguist ic
knowledge alone.
† I n a narrow sense, it deals wit h how list eners arrive at
t he int ended m eanings of speakers
† I n it s broadest sense, it deals wit h t he general
principles followed by hum an beings when t hey
com m unicat e wit h one anot her

Com pare t he followings
A. George at e t he curry wit h delight . Curry
had always been George’s favourit e food.
The curry was subt ly flavoured. George

det ect ed hint s of cum in and coriander in
t he curry. Cum in and coriander are
George’s favourit e spices.
B. George at e t he curry wit h delight . This
t ype of food had always been his favourit e.
The dish was subt ly flavoured, and in it he
det ect ed hint s of his favourit e spices,
cum in and coriander.

Com pare t he followings
A.

Edna: Som eone ought t o lock up Fred.
Minnie: Fred is disgrace
Edna
: Som eone caught Fred peeping at t he new
lodger t hrough t he bat hroom window.
Minnie
: What is t he nam e of t he new lodger? I s
t he nam e of t he new lodger Arabella or Annabel?

B.

Edna: Fred ought t o be locked up.
Minnie: That m an’s disgrace.
Edna: He was caught peeping t hrough t he bat hroom
window at t he new lodger.
Minnie: What ’s her nam e? I s it Arabella or Annabel?