Approaches to Discourse Analysis

■ Discourse structure as product

■ Discourse structure as process
■ Discourse structure as dialogue
DISCOURSE STRUCTURE AS
PRODUCT
Discourse structure may be
represented as rank structure: a
hierarchy of units in which each is
composed of one or more units from
the level below
 A TRIAL:
 INDICTMENT
 PROSECUTION CASE
 DEFENCE CASE:
 INTRODUCTION,
 TESTIMONIES OF WITNESSES [EXAMINATION(QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS) AND CROSS-EXAMINATION (QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS)],
 A SUMMARY.
 SUMMING UP
 VERDICT
 SENTENCE
MASTER THESIS

Introduction
Chapter3
Thesis statement
Introductory remarks
Chapter1
3.1.Support for thesis
Introductory remarks
3.2.concluding remarks
1.1.Support for thesis
Conclusion
1.2.concluding remarks
Thesis statement
Chapter2
Bibliography
Introductory remarks
2.1.Support for thesis
2.2.concluding remarks
A THANK- YOU LETTER

■ Sender’s address
■ Date
■ Receiver’s address
■ ‘Dear’ direct address
■ Message
■ Thank you
■ Thank you again
■ Sincerely yours
■ Signature
A LESSON: TRANSACTION-
EXCHANGE-MOVE-ACT
■ Transaction : stages in the process:
■ warming up, discussion, home assignment
■ Exchange: T. opening move: initiation from the teacher,
■ P. answering move: response from the pupil,
■ T. follow - up move: evaluation from the pupil
■ Closing move
DISCOURSE STRUCTURE AS
PROCESS
■This approach does not take into account real
discourse in a classroom when pupils behave
non - conventionally.
■It reflects teacher-centered classroom. The
2015 British classroom is student-centered:
pupils work in pairs and groups.
Fill in the gaps, please

■ I do not know …. I may appear to the world; … to myself I seem to have been only a
boy playing on the sea shore, … diverting myself in, now and then , finding a smoother
pebble … a prettier shell than ordinary, …… the great ocean of truth lay all
undiscovered before me.
■ Isaak Newton 1642-1727
What is it about?

You fit into me

Like a hook in an eye -
A fish hook
An open eye.
(Margaret Atwood)
 Discourse as process

1. Speech acts
Locution, illocution, perlocution
2. Conversational principles
Cooperation four maxims of Grice
Politeness Robin Lakoff , G Leech
3. Speech rules
for the speaker
for the listener
Speech acts

■ John Austin How to do things with words London 1962

In Austin's framework, locution is what was said and meant, illocution is what was done,
and perlocution is what happened as a result.
■ Clean your boots!
LOCUTION/ ORDER
ILLOCUTION / TO FUNCTION
PERLOCUTION / SHOWING AUTHORITY TO CLEAN THE BOOTS
 John Searle Speech acts. Cambridge 1969

■ assertives = speech acts that commit a speaker to the truth

of the expressed proposition (
■ directives = speech acts that are to cause the hearer to take Assertives : affirm, report,
a particular action, e.g. requests, commands and advice
conclude, deny.
■ commissives = speech acts that commit a speaker to some
future action, e.g. promises and oaths
Directives: insist, ask,
■ expressives = speech acts that express on the speaker's challenge, command.
attitudes and emotions towards the proposition, e.g.
congratulations, excuses and thanks Commissives: guarantee,
pledge, promise, swear.
■ declarations = speech acts that change the reality in
accord with the proposition of the declaration, e.g.
baptisms, pronouncing someone guilty or pronouncing Expressives : apologize,
someone husband and wife congratulate, thank.

Declarations: I resign, I
baptize.
Direct vs indirect speech acts

■ Discourse 1
A - Give me some cash.
B - What? Again? I won’t.
■ Discourse 2
No mon, no fun, your son.
Too bad, too sad, your dad.
Social and cultural dimension

■ Indirectness in English is so much associated with politeness that

directives are expressed often as interrogatives
Why don’t you come and see me some time?
Thank you for not smoking compared to
No smoking
■ Compliments in different cultures
How fat you are! India
Discourse as dialogue

■ Dialogue is characteristic of spoken and written discourse,

sometimes or always constructed with the receiver in MIND !
■ Discourse answers imagined and unspoken questions of the
receiver.
(Michael Bachtin)
 Conversation as structure
Move : opening , closing
Negotiation -Interpersonal meaning
Hello, ok, then, bye
Exchange - two or three turns
Taking a turn - well, yes, but… Adjacency pair- two types of turn which occur
together /inform → acknowledge
Holding a turn - er, um….. "Your phone is over there" → "I know"
Passing a turn- what do you think? insertion sequence, side sequence
Isn’t it? by the way, did you hear the news?
Pre-sequence, pre-request, pre-invitation, pre-
Cycle - three or more turns question
Upshot , gist- summary of the locutions what I
Overlap- coincidence of turns
am getting at is…..
Pause - silence
Repair - a speaker’s self-correction
or other repair - What I really
meant was….. Sorry ,I don’t
quite get what you mean
 Conversational principles
The Maxim Of Quality Be True
The Maxim Of Quantity Be Brief
The Maxim Of Relation Be Relevant
The Maxim Of Manner Be Clear (Grice, 1967)
Eg.
Margaret Thatcher is the iron lady.
A thousand pardons!
I think you would be happier in a larger –or a smaller- college.
 Politeness principle

Maxims:
DO NOT IMPOSE
GIVE OPTIONS
MAKE THE RECEIVER FEEL GOOD
(Robin Lakoff)
 Rules for the speaker

■ USE BODY LANGUAGE TO EMPHASIZE

■ AVOID MUCH TALK ABOUT YOURSELF
■ TALK MORE ABOUT IDEAS
■ DO NOT REPEAT UNFOUNDED RUMORS
■ TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT WILL INTEREST EVERYONE
■ DO NOT TALK TOO LOUD
■ DO NOT SAY ANYTHING TO HURT
 Rules for the listener

■ DO NOT INTERRUPT
■ ASK QUESTONS
■ NOTE GESTURES AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
■ SUMMARISE MENTALLY WHAT THE SPEAKER SAYS
■ KEEP EYE CONTACT
■ DO NOT TAKE EMOTIONAL WORDS SERIOUSLY
■ DO NOT PRETEND TO LISTEN