Discourse Flashcards
Discourse
unit of language longer than a single sentence; use of language in a social context
Global structure
Macrostructure; overall text structure, inclusion of all elements, appropriate order
Local structure
Microstructure; sentence structure, use of words, clear referencing
Coherent discourse
forms a unified whole
Situational coherence
plausible, makes sense
Generic coherence
recognisable genre
Categories of cohesion
reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction
Reference
link between words/phrases and other words (using pronouns, demonstratives, comparatives)
Substitution
replacing a lexical item to avoid confusion
Ellipsis
omitting a word; implies repetition (the woman […], she”
Conjunction
express relationships between phrases or sentences
Schema
Structure in semantic memory - specifies general/expected arrangement of a body of info
Levels of discourse
Surface representation, propositional representation, situational representation
Surface representation
syntactic form; stored in working memory until meaning is understood
Propositional representation
specifies meaning apart from exact words used and any inferences drawn
