Lecture 1 Discourse Analysis

7/29/2019 Lecture 1 Discourse Analysis

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DiscourseAnalysis

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Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Level 7

1434 - 1435


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- Discourse in Relation to Linguistic Units

What is discourse?

Sentence, Text, and Discourse

Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryDiscourse Analysis


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Words:- Morphology: word classes, word structure, word formation

- Lexical semantics

Sentences:- Syntax: sentence structure

-Semantics: sentence meaning

Discourse:

- What is the structure of multi-sentence texts/discourse?

- What is the meaning of multi-sentence texts/discourse?

Discourse in Relation to Linguistic Units



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Discourse is usually defined as language beyond the sentence

. For example : story, conversation, lecture, chat ., etc.

What is discourse?

Discourse refers to any linguistic unit that consists of multiplesentences. For example :

1- I think you are wrong. You should take into account the point that.

2- Omer went to the store. He wanted to buy lunch. But it was closed.

Discourse analysis is generally defined as the study of

language in text and conversation.



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In linguistic description, we were concerned with the

accurate representation of the forms and structures.

However, as language-users, we are capable of more than

simply recognizing correct versus incorrect forms and

structures. For example:

*My mother gived my one Rail and I went buy ice-cream, it was raining heavily, I run cross the road and reached the

shop discovered no money in pocket.

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Interpreting discourse



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To arrive at an interpretation, and to make our messagesinterpretable, we certainly rely on what we know about

linguistic form and structure. But, as language-users, we

have more knowledge than that.

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Sentence, Text, and Discourse:

Sentence is the minimal unit of language activity. It is a group of words put in an acceptable order, expressing a unit of meaning.

Consider the following sentence:

- Dr. Hameed teaches us Discourse Analysis

Text is the maximal unit of a language activity. A text is a

semantic unit, which is realized in a sentence. Sometimes a

single sentence may constitute a text. Proverbs are excellentexamples of single sentence texts, e.g.,

- People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.



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Discourse is language above the sentence or above the clause.

Most definitions of discourse refer explicitly or indirectly to language

in use , to participants, to non-linguistic factors (e.g. situational

context, socio-cultural factors, our knowledge of the universe, etc.)

In fact, the study of discourse is the study of any aspect of language

use.

Discourse analysis examines how stretches of language,

considered in their full textual, social, and psychological context,

become meaningful and unified for their users.



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Text:is made up of sentences.

- A text is made up of sentences having the

property of grammaticalcohesion.-Text Analysis: deals with

cohesion.

Discourse:is the use of such

sentences.- A discourse is made up

of utterances having theproperty of coherence.- Discourse analysis:

investigates coherence.

Comparison between Text & Discourse



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Text:

Text is defined in termsof its being a physicalproduct.

Meaning is not found intext.

Discourse:

Discourse is viewed as aprocess.

Meaning is derivedthrough the readersinteraction with the text

discourse.

Note: Discourse and Text can be used interchangeably



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Text Analysis

Needs linguisticanalysisInterpretation is basedon linguistic evidenceText analysts need the

right knife to cut theright bread Different knives fordifferent bread

How texts relate to contexts of situation and context of cultureHow texts are produced as asocial practiceWhat texts tell us about

happenings, what people think,believe etc.How texts represent ideology(power struggle etc.)

Discourse Analysis

Text Analysis Vs Discourse Analysis



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Text & Discourse Analyses(Nunan, 1993)

Text analysis is the study of formal linguistic devices that

distinguish a text from random sentences.

Discourse analysts study these text-forming devices withreference to the purposes and functions for which the

discourse was produced, and the context within which the

discourse was created. The ultimate goal is to show how the

linguistic elements enable language users to communicate .


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Lecture 1 Discourse Analysis