Discourse Analysis(List1) Flashcards
What is discourse analysis?
It is the analysis of the relationship between language and the context in which it is used. It developed in the 60s and 70s from different disciplines (linguistics, semiotics, psychology, sociology, anthropology). It is a study of language in use, including both written and spoken texts. Important name: M. A. K. Halliday
What is discourse?
Discourse is a unit of language larger than a sentence, whose intended function is realized.
What is the formalist approach to DA?
They believe that discourse is language above the sentence or clause. They analyse discourse at several levels in terms of different units, categories and relations (i.e. morpheme, word, phrase, clause, sentence). They focus on how different units function in relation to each other without any regard to the context in which they occur.
There are three major problems with this approach:
- Units, in which people speak, do not always qualify as sentences.
� In most cases. You can run a hou- whatcha � now ehatcha you can � ran a house -.� - Grammatically correct sentences can also be meaningless.
�Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.� - Form and function do not always overlap.
�Are you free for lunch today?�
�You are free for lunch today?�
�Free for lunch today?�
�Lunch today?�
What is the functionalist approach to DA?
They see discourse as language in use. They believe their analysis of linguistic form is interdependent with social life. They focus on how patterns of language are put to use for certain purposes in particular contexts and how they result from the application of communicative strategies. Their analysis relies less upon strictly grammatical features of utterances as sentences than upon the way they are situated in contexts.
What is a text?
A text is language that is functional. Language plays some role in the context of a situation. It is a product in the sense that it is an output that can be recorded and studied. It is also a process in the sense that there is a continuum of semantic choices to create a social exchange of meaning.
What is the context of situation?
It is shown in a text through a semantic relationship between the social event and the functional organization of language (what kind of language is used depends on the situation).
What are the seven criteria of textuality? Describe each of them and give one example per criterium.
A text is a media of communication if it fulfils the 7 criteria of textuality.
Cohesion is the surface of a text, realized by surface links, which are grammatical features (pronouns, phrases�). It is a guide for understanding texts and a guide to coherence. Cohesion can be made difficult by ambiguity � understanding the same words differently in different contexts of situation.
�If you�d like to give someone a phone for Christmas, there are plenty to choose from. Whichever you go for, make sure its technology is up to date.�
Coherence is the interpretation of the surface links and making sense of them. It is created by the reader and depends on their experience and knowledge of the world. They must firstly understand the situation and then interpret it.
�Clara loves potatoes. She is Irish.�
Clara/she = cohesion
Stereotypical ethnic association that the Irish love potatoes = coherence
Intentionality is the intention of the speaker to deliver a cohesive and coherent text while at the same time transferring their ideas and thus achieving a communicative goal. The listener must have some tolerance toward the speaker because of difficult circumstances that occur: spontaneous speech, ambiguity, grammatical uncertainty, intentional lack of cohesion and coherence�
�Hey Tim, the note from last time? Could you, uh. Yeah, send it please. You know, uh, the one about this year�s bonuses and about the mess up at Simon�s office? Send that one please.�
The speaker uses cohesive links and creates a coherent text with the clear intention of wanting to receive a specific note from the listener.
Acceptability is the listener�s readiness to interpret a text as cohesive and coherent, their willingness to participate in a discourse and achieve its goal, and also their ability to detect and understand what the participant�s goals are based on what they say. It is also the speaker�s ability to acknowledge the listener�s response as helpful or contrary to the plan of achieving the goal of the discourse. If a text is not accepted, its textuality could be impaired because that violates the principles of cooperation.
A: �Hey Tim, the note from last time? Could you, uh. Yeah, send it please. You know, uh, the one about this year�s bonuses and about the mess up at Simon�s office? Send that one please.�
B: �Yup, coming up right away.�
A: �Thanks so much.�
Speaker B accepts A�s cohesive and intentional text, interpreting it as coherent and interprets its meaning correctly � he responds to the request and speaker A shows that the response was helpful by expressing gratitude in their follow-up.
Informativity is the amount of and the relationship between things that are informative and things that are redundant. Information theory is based primarily on the notion of statistical probability: the more possible alternatives there are, the higher the information value. We process ordinary sentences more easily.
There are three orders of informativity:
First order are trivial words that receive slight attention, usually function words. They are skippable in highly economic texts and pronounced indistinctly with weak forms. They can be upgraded.
��long along the in and out of grey car.�
Second order is the normal standard for textual communication. These are ordinary, frequent words.
�Ice melts.�
Third order are abnormal, infrequent words or patterns that require more attention and processing, even problem-solving by the receiver. They are outside the set of probable options. If the receiver successfully familiarizes themself with these infrequent words, they are downgraded to the 2nd order. This downgrading can be backward (think of past activities, actions) or forward (wait for an explanation further in the text).
�The sea consists of water. In consists of water in the sense that the water is the prevailing element. Otherwise it is a solution of gases and salts.�
Determinate knowledge: water is the substance of the sea
Upgrading: the sea is a solution of gases and salts
The sea is not water. It is a solution of gases and salts.�
Third-order occurrence ? forward downgrading
Situationality is how relevant the text is for the communicative situation and whether it is transferring the aim you want to the addressee. The text can do two things about the situation:
Situation monitoring: describing the situation � solving problems, negotiating, resolving, reaffirming expectations.
Situation managing: steering the situation toward the producer�s goal � different goals may lead to conflicts, as participants often protect their goals.
An example of this is a spinster aunt, who pretends to monitor the situation of her nieces but by pretending to monitor manages the situation of trying to get herself a husband in the current listener.
Intertextuality links the text to previous familiar texts. It is used to understand a text according to the understanding of one or more previously encountered texts. Some texts are in continuous consultation with previous texts (parodies, critical reviews, reports�).
Original: �To be or not to be.�
New version: �To eat or not to eat,� on a TV add for healthy nutrition. Original text from Hamlet is reworked and it carries the exophoric reference, and for its understanding the receivers must be familiar with the drama, or at least this famous line.
What is interpretation?
It is a cognitive act which is based on logical sequence relations. When we interpret texts, we actually interpret textual patterns � functional relationships between bits of text (words, phrases, clauses and sentences). These relationships are of multiple types: phenomenon-example, phenomenon-reason, cause-consequence, situation-problem-response-evaluation. They can be deduced with the help of signals and clues that can be either adverbs, clauses, phrases or repetition and parallelism.
What is senselessness?
It is a lack of continuity between an occurrence and the rest of the knowledge and experience.
What are planboxes?
Planboxes are plans frequently used in goal negotiation: asking, invoking, informing, bargaining, threatening, overpowering and stealing. The goal is the minimum effort for maximum effect. They have to be appropriate for the situation but may escalate. Planbox escalation is a normal response to continued failure.
John wanted Bill�s bicycle. He walked over to Bill and asked him if he would give it to him. Bill refused. Then John told Bill he would give him five dollars for it, but Bill would not agree. John told Bill he would break his arm if he didn�t let him have it. Bill let John have the bicycle.
What is strength of linkage?
It is the determinate knowledge, typical knowledge and accidental knowledge that influences the degree of disturbance of a third-order disturbance.
What is semiotics and what is the social-semiotic perspective?
It is the study of sign systems. The social-semiotic perspective refers to the fact that language is related to social structure. It is transmitted in social contexts from one person to another and language used in these contexts gets its meaning from activities in which it is used.�
What is the context of situation according to Malinowski?
It is the total environment, including verbal and situational. The context of culture is also an important factor for the interpretation of meaning.
What is the context of situation according to Firth?
He believes that the COS is greatly dependant on the cultural background of the language. He created the framework of COS that consists of 4 major parts:
The participants (and their status and roles)
Their actions (verbal and non-verbal)
Other relevant features of the situation (objects and events around)
The effects of the verbal actions (how a situation is changed by what they say)
How does Halliday interpret the social context of a text?
He does so with 3 concepts.
Field of discourse relates to the content � what is the content? What is happening, what is the nature of the social action and what is it that the participants are engaged in?
A recipe for �marry-me-chicken� has the field of someone giving instructions on cooking chicken. It names ingredients and describes the process of cooking, instructing the receiver every step of the way.
Tenor of discourse refers to who is taking part � what is the nature of the participants and their statuses and roles? What is the type of speech role that they are taking on in the discourse?
In the recipe, there are two participants: the author of the recipe who actively teaches and instructs, and the receiver of the text � someone who reads the recipe and later decides whether or not to use it.
Mode of discourse refers to what part the language is playing � what does the language do for the participants in that situation? What is the symbolic organization of the text? What status does it have and what is its function in its context? What is its channel (spoken, written, both)? What is the rhetorical mode (persuasive, expository, didactic)?
The recipe teaches the receiver on how to cook chicken. Its function is to teach; therefore, its rhetorical mode is didactic. In this case, the channel is written because the recipe is posted on a website.
Explain the 4 meanings by Halliday, also in connection to his 3 concepts of COS.
According to Halliday, the context of situation is realised by the text itself. We can divide COS in smaller parts.
The field of discourse is realised by the experiential meaning, which is the meaning of a sentence/text. It is an expression of a process, event, action and/or the state of the real world.
The wine and kiss poem and experiential meaning:
The wine � a thing
Ask for � process
I � a doer
The tenor of discourse is realised by interpersonal meaning, the process of social interaction. A sentence is an interaction between the speaker and the listener.
�Or leave a kiss within the cup� � request
�And I�ll not ask for wine� - offer
The mode of discourse is realised by textual meaning, referring to how the text is linked with the preceding text. It is usually organized by a common theme (thematic organization).
Repeated pattern: you do (x) and I will do (y) ? if
Thematic organization: speech function signalled at the beginning of the clause � the theme
Logical meaning is not connected to any of the three concepts - it is the relation between grammatical parts of a text. It is achieved by coordination/subordination, conjuncts, conjunctions�
Use of conjunctions: or, and
What is reference?�
It is a two-way relationship between contextual configuration (field, tenor, and mode) and the text structure.
What is ellipsis? Provide an example.
It is the omission of elements normally required by grammar but are obvious from the context. The structure has some missing elements, which can be retrieved from co-text or context. Omission can be either endophoric or exophoric. There are three types of ellipsis: nominal, verbal and clausal.
Endophoric: The children carry the small boxes, and adults the large.
Exophoric: You label, and I�ll stack.
Nominal: She liked the green tiles; I preferred the blue.
Verbal: A: �Will anyone be waiting?� B: �Jim will.�
Clausal: He said he would leave very soon, and he has.
What is substitution? Provide an example for each type (3).
It is switching out a sentence element for another. There are three types: nominal, verbal and clausal.
Nominal: I offered him the seat. He said he did not want one.
Verbal: Did Mary take that letter? She might have done. (instead of �take�)
Clausal: She chose the duck. I did the same. (instead of �chose the duck�)
What is the function of a conjunction? How can it be realized? Name the 4 different possible meanings of the conjunction �and� and exemplify.
It presupposes textual sequence and signals a relationship between segments of discourse. It can be realized by a single word (consequently), by a phrase (as a consequence) or by a clause (the consequence of that was that…).
�AND� � the four meanings
He fell down the hill and down the stairs. ADDITIVE
He fell in the river and caught a chill. CAUSAL
I got up and made my breakfast. TEMPORAL
I�ve lived in Dallas for so long and I�ve never seen Don?i?. ADVERSATIVE
What is lexical cohesion and how can it be achieved?
Lexical cohesion refers to the way that related words are chosen to link elements of a text.
It can be achieved by reiteration: either by direct repetition of an item or by explaining and item/phrase in different words. Reiteration adds new dimensions to the meaning and serves to build up a more complex context.
Restating in different words: �The meeting commenced at six thirty. But from the moment it began, it was clear that it was not well. ? commence and begin refer to the same entity.
Direct repetition: �The meeting went great. Overall, it was a good meeting, yes.�
Lexical cohesion can also be achieved by introducing synonymy or antonymy (commence and begin, the fun vs the shitshow), hyponyms or hypernyms (desk, lamp an curtains vs furniture). Other lexical relations include polysemy (one word has several meanings, like pupil), metaphoric and idiomatic language (she�s a bitch), denotation and connotation (dog).
What are organization patterns of a text? Name and exemplify the larger textual patterns.
Organization patterns help us to organize a text and to choose the proper vocabulary. These organization patterns include discourse organising words that replace segments in a text while organising and structuring the argument and give an indication of the patterns.
The larger textual patterns are:
Problem-solution
Structure of this pattern is a problem, response, solution and evaluation.
�Most people like to take a camera with them when they travel abroad. But all airports nowadays have X�ray security screening and X rays can damage film. One solution to this problem is to purchase a specially designed lead�lined pouch. These are cheap and can protect film from all but the strongest X rays�.
1st sentence: situation
2nd sentence: complication/problem
3rd sentence: response to the problem
4th sentence: positive evaluation
Claim-counterclaim
�Historians are generally agreed that British society is founded on a possessive individualism, but they have disputed the origins of that philosophy. Some trace it back to the Middle Ages, other link it to the rise of capitalism.�
Question-answer
A question is immediately followed by the answer. It is similar to the problem-solution pattern.
�How expensive is the most expensive hotel? A single room costs up to 20 thousand pounds per night.�
On what does register depend?
Register is closely tied to lexical selection. It depends on the context (where the text appears), on the author�s assumption about the readership (cultured, educated, tabloid lovers…) and about the mode (written, spoken, written to be read aloud).
Modality
Modality expresses stance and the attitude of the sender. It is concerned with assertion, tentativeness, commitment, detachment and other aspects of interpersonal meaning.
It can be expressed by modal auxiliary verbs, lexical verbs, adverbs or nouns and adjectives related to them.
Department of Transport statistics have shown that a car driver is nine times more likely to take someone else with him in an accident than a motorcyclist, so riding a motorcycle is actually contributing to road safety.
