Discourse Flashcards
Explain discourse.
Discourse is usually defined as “language beyond the sentence” and covers the analysis of discourse/language in texts and conversations.
Explain cohesion.
Cohesion is when one in text or conversation maintains reference to the same people or things throughout the text and conversation. For example: “Louie was throwing sand at his father, and his father told him to stop it, but he adamantly continued despite what his father said. However, in the end he realized the agony he inflicted upon his father, knowing how annoying it must be getting dirty by the moist sand”.
Cohesive ties in the sentence:
People: Louie -> he -> his -> continued -> he -> his.
Things: Sand -> dirty -> moist.
Explain coherence.
Coherence is when people make sense of what they read and/or hear. Hence, they interpret an utterance and connect the dots in what you are trying to convey. For example: “Louie hasn’t eaten all day” -> can, and should be interpreted by the other speaker that he/she needs to give Louie something to eat.
Explain completion points.
Completion points mark when a speaker end of a turn – in conversation. What that means is that in conversations, with more than one speaker, we can use completion points to mark when we are finished talking. To mark a completion point one could simply ask a question. In other turns when someone wants to chime in and say something when another speaker is talking, they could make noises or even use their body language to convey they urge to speak.
Explain scripts.
Schemas are terms used in speech when one explains or tells something without going into details as to where the what and how went down. Example: A schema is basically about one’s knowledge of “a supermarket” or “the dentist”. You don’t have to be informed of what either a supermarket or the dentist office is. You simply know what it is and what situations one might end up in or questions what questions might be asked and answered.
Scripts in turn tend to work in the same way, but it doesn’t necessarily convey where the what and how happened. For example: “I pulled my wisdom teeth out today”. It indicates that the speaker pulled a tooth out, and without having expressed where he/she did it, the listener would easily understand that he/she pulled it out at the dentist.
Explain hedges.
Hedges are a type of expressions that show ones will to follow the maxims whilst still being co-operative. Hedges are used in moments when what we say might not be entirely correct or even complete. Example of hedges are sort of, kind of, as far as I know, correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not entirely sure about this but, etc.
