📚 Complete Discourse Analysis Study

Guide
All 18 Topics — Simple Language + Examples from Sources

TOPIC 1: DEFINITION OF DISCOURSE

What is Discourse?
Think of it this way:

• A single sentence = grammar's job

• Language being actually used by real people in real situations = discourse's job

From Brown & Yule (Document 2):

"The analysis of discourse is, necessarily, the analysis of language in use. As such, it cannot be
restricted to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions which
these forms are designed to serve in human affairs."

Simple Translation: Discourse is NOT about studying sentences in a textbook. It is about

studying language the way people actually USE it — when they talk, write, argue, joke, explain,
or persuade.

From Schiffrin (Document 1): Schiffrin studies words like oh, well, and, but, or, so, because,
now, then, I mean, y'know — these are all part of how we organize real conversation. This is
discourse.

Two Famous Definitions of Discourse Analysis

Definition 1 — Brown & Yule:

The analysis of discourse is the analysis of language in use — it looks at what language DOES,
not just what it IS.

Definition 2 — Stubbs (quoted in Schiffrin):

Discourse analysis consists of "attempts to study the organization of language above the sentence
or above the clause."

Key Point: Both definitions agree that discourse goes BEYOND single sentences and looks at
language in SOCIAL CONTEXTS.

Why Can't We Just Study Sentences?

Here is a great example from Brown & Yule:

A: "I'm out of petrol." B: "There's a garage round the corner."

If you only study these as sentences:

• A is stating a fact about petrol

• B is stating a fact about a garage

But in REAL USE (discourse):

• A is actually asking for help

• B is actually giving directions and suggesting a solution

This is why we need discourse analysis — to understand what language really DOES.

Key Point from Schiffrin (Document 1, Background

Chapter)
Schiffrin says discourse has four key assumptions:

1. Language always occurs in a context — no language exists in a vacuum

2. Language is context sensitive — context changes meaning
3. Language is always communicative — it is always addressed to someone
4. Language is designed for communication — it is built to help people communicate

Simple Memory Trick: Language is ALWAYS in context, ALWAYS sensitive to context,

ALWAYS communicative, and ALWAYS designed for communication.

TOPIC 2: KEY TERMS IN DISCOURSE

Essential Vocabulary You Must Know

1. Text

Definition (Halliday & Hasan, from Document 5):

"The word text is used in linguistics to refer to any passage, spoken or written, of whatever
length, that does form a unified whole."

Simple Version: A text is any piece of language — spoken or written — that holds together as
ONE unit.

Examples:

• A conversation between two friends = text

• A news article = text
• A single tweet = text
• A 500-page novel = text
• Even "EXIT" on a sign = text (it communicates something!)

2. Context

Definition: The situation in which language is used. Everything surrounding the text that helps
us understand it.

Brown & Yule describe context using Hymes' framework — who is speaking, where, when,
why, and to whom.

Example:

"Can you pass the salt?"

• In a dinner table context = a polite request

• In a hearing test context = a test question
• SAME WORDS, DIFFERENT MEANING because of different context

3. Utterance

Definition: A unit of spoken language produced by one speaker.

Difference from sentence:

• A sentence is a grammatical unit with subject + verb

• An utterance is what someone actually SAYS (can be grammatically incomplete)

Example:

Sentence: "I would like some coffee." Utterance: "Coffee, please." (grammatically incomplete
but perfectly understood)

4. Co-text

Definition (Brown & Yule): The linguistic environment — the words and sentences that come
before and after a particular word.

Example:

"She decided to sell the cow and buy a shop with the money." The word "shop" is understood
because of its co-text (selling, money, buying).

5. Coherence

Definition: When a text MAKES SENSE as a whole — the ideas connect logically.

Example of coherent text:

"It was raining. I took an umbrella." ✅ (Makes logical sense)

Example of incoherent text:

"It was raining. Democracy is important." ❌ (No logical connection)

6. Cohesion

Definition (Halliday & Hasan): The grammatical and vocabulary connections between
sentences that hold a text together.

Example:
"The dog barked loudly. It woke everyone up." (It refers back to the dog — this is cohesion)

7. Discourse Marker

Definition (Schiffrin): Words or phrases that organize conversation — like signposts that guide
the listener.

Examples: well, oh, so, but, because, now, I mean, y'know

8. Register

Definition: The variety of language used in a particular situation.

Examples:

• Medical register: "The patient presents with acute myocardial infarction"

• Everyday register: "The patient is having a heart attack"

9. Genre

Definition: A recognizable type of text with its own conventions.

Examples: news report, wedding speech, academic essay, text message, recipe

10. Intertextuality

Definition (Document 5): When one text refers to or builds on another text.

Example:

A politician's speech that quotes the constitution = intertextuality A news article that refers to a
previous news article = intertextuality
TOPIC 3: FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF
DISCOURSE
The Two Main Functions (Brown & Yule, Ch. 1)
This is one of the most important topics! Brown & Yule say language serves TWO main
functions:

Function 1: Transactional Function

What it is: Language used to TRANSFER INFORMATION or get things done.

Brown & Yule's definition:

Language which is used to convey 'factual or propositional information' — primarily message-

oriented.

Key Feature: What matters is that the MESSAGE gets through correctly.

Examples from Brown & Yule:

• A policeman giving directions to a traveller

• A doctor telling a nurse how to give medicine
• A scientist describing an experiment
• A shop assistant explaining the difference between products

Why it matters: If the message is wrong, there are real consequences (wrong medicine =
patient harmed; wrong directions = person gets lost).

Function 2: Interactional Function

What it is: Language used to ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.

Brown & Yule's definition:

Language involved in expressing social relations and personal attitudes — primarily concerned
with social bonds.

Key Feature: What matters is NOT the information, but the relationship between people.
Famous Example from Brown & Yule:

Two strangers at a bus stop in icy wind. One says: "My goodness, it's cold."

This is NOT primarily about conveying weather information. It is about indicating a readiness
to be friendly and to talk.

Another Example from Brown & Yule:

Woman on a bus describing a friend: Speaker 1: "Aye, she's an awfy woman." Speaker 2: "Aye,
she's an awfy woman." (repeating the exact same thing)

This repetition is not about information — it is about agreement, solidarity, social bonding.

Pirsig's Quote (in Brown & Yule):

"The conversation's pace intrigues me. It isn't intended to go anywhere, just fill the time of day...
with no point or purpose other than to fill the time, like the rocking of a chair."

Important Note About Both Functions

Brown & Yule are clear: Most real language use involves BOTH functions at the same time.
The distinction is just for analysis purposes.

Feature Transactional Interactional

Focus Message/Information Relationship
Risk if failed Real-world consequences Social awkwardness
Typical form Written language often Spoken conversation often
Example Doctor's prescription Small talk about weather

Written vs. Spoken Language Forms (Brown & Yule)

Brown & Yule note important differences between how spoken and written language are
FORMED:

Spoken language characteristics:

• Less structured syntax

• Incomplete sentences
• Uses and, but, then to connect ideas
• Contains fillers: well, um, er, y'know
• Planned "on the spot"
 • Cannot be revised

Example of spoken language (from Brown & Yule):

"it's quite nice the Grassmarket since + it's always had the antique shops but they're looking +
they're sort of + em + become a bit nicer"

Written language characteristics:

• More structured syntax

• Complete sentences
• Uses complex connectors: however, moreover, consequently, therefore
• No fillers
• Can be revised and edited
• Information is more densely packed

Example of written language (from Brown & Yule):

A highly organized description with multiple clauses and precise vocabulary — information
dense and carefully structured.

TOPIC 4: DISCOURSE MARKERS

What Are Discourse Markers?
From Schiffrin (Document 1):

Schiffrin's entire book is about discourse markers. She studies these specific words:

oh, well, and, but, or, so, because, now, then, I mean, y'know

Her Definition: Discourse markers are expressions that help ORGANIZE conversational
interaction — they connect different parts of discourse together.

How Discourse Markers Work

Schiffrin's Key Idea: Discourse markers work on multiple levels at the same time:

1. They connect IDEAS (ideational level)

2. They connect TURNS in conversation (exchange level)
 3. They signal the speaker's ATTITUDE (expressive level)

Individual Discourse Markers Explained

1. OH — Marker of Information Management

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 4): Oh signals a CHANGE IN THE SPEAKER'S

STATE OF KNOWLEDGE.

Oh with FALLING intonation = acknowledgement:

A: "I think the party's called for six o'clock." B: "Oh." (Now I understand, I have processed this
information)

Oh with RISING intonation = request for confirmation:

A: "I think the party's called for six o'clock." B: "Oh?" (Really? Are you sure?)

Simple Rule for Oh:

• Falling oh = "I see, I understand, I have received this information"

• Rising oh = "Really? I'm surprised, tell me more"

2. WELL — Marker of Response

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 5): Well signals that the upcoming response will not be
a PERFECT or COMPLETE answer to what was expected.

Example:

A: "Did you enjoy the party?" B: "Well, the food was good..." (Well signals: I am not going to
give a simple yes/no — my answer is complicated)

3. AND, BUT, OR — Discourse Connectives

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 6):

AND = addition, continuation

"She sang and she danced."

BUT = contrast, unexpected information

"She tried hard but she failed."

OR = alternative

"You can stay or you can leave."

Important point from Schiffrin: These words do much more in DISCOURSE than in single
sentences. In conversation:

"I went to the store and — you know what happened?" Here, and is not just adding information
— it is CONTINUING a turn, keeping the floor, building suspense.

4. SO AND BECAUSE — Markers of Cause and Result

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 7):

BECAUSE = gives a reason/cause

"We stayed home because it was raining."

SO = gives a result/consequence

"It was raining, so we stayed home."

Special discourse use of BECAUSE (from Brown & Yule):

A: "But you'd have telephones around —" B: "Yes... I've had the telephone since 1938..." A:
"'cause there was a man in..."

Here, 'cause is NOT connecting two clauses in the same sentence. It is introducing the REASON
WHY the speaker brought up telephones in the conversation.

5. NOW AND THEN — Temporal Adverbs as Discourse Markers

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 8):

NOW = can mark a topic shift, a new stage in discourse

"Now, let me explain the second point..."

THEN = can mark sequence, result, or conclusion

"If you agree, then we can proceed."

6. Y'KNOW AND I MEAN — Markers of Participation

From Schiffrin (Document 1, Chapter 9):

Y'KNOW = invites the hearer to share the speaker's knowledge/perspective

"It was really difficult, y'know?" (seeking agreement or shared understanding)

I MEAN = clarification, reformulation

"It was difficult. I mean, really impossible." (reformulating to be more precise)

Summary Table of Discourse Markers

Marker Main Function Example

oh Information change/surprise "Oh! I didn't know that."
well Incomplete/complex response coming "Well, it's complicated..."
and Addition, continuation "And then she left."
but Contrast "I tried, but failed."
so Result "It rained, so we stayed."
because Reason "Because it rained."
now Topic shift, new stage "Now, moving on..."
then Sequence, conclusion "Then she arrived."
y'know Seeking agreement "It was hard, y'know?"
I mean Clarification "I mean, really hard."

TOPIC 5: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

What is Discourse Analysis?
The Simple Answer: Discourse analysis is the STUDY of how language works when people
actually use it — in conversation, in writing, in social situations.

From Brown & Yule (Document 2):

"The analysis of discourse is, necessarily, the analysis of language in use."

What Does Discourse Analysis Look At?

Discourse analysis examines:

1. How sentences connect to form larger units

2. How context shapes meaning
3. How language is used to accomplish social actions
4. How speakers/writers organize information
5. How discourse creates and maintains social relationships and power

Three Key Properties of Discourse (Schiffrin, Document 1)

Schiffrin says discourse has THREE main properties:

Property 1: Structure

Discourse forms STRUCTURES — organized patterns of language.

Example: Question → Answer is a structure. If someone asks a question, the next turn is
expected to be an answer. If it is not, we notice something is strange.

From Schiffrin:

Adjacency pairs: a sequentially constrained pair of turns where the first part creates an
expectation for the second part. Examples: Question/Answer, Greeting/Greeting.

Property 2: Meaning

Discourse CONVEYS MEANING through cohesion.

Halliday & Hasan (mentioned in Schiffrin):

Texts have meaning because of the semantic relationships underlying them — words and
sentences connect through shared meaning.

Example:

"I saw a dog. The animal was huge." The animal refers back to a dog — this creates meaning
through cohesion.

Property 3: Action

Discourse ACCOMPLISHES ACTIONS.

Simple idea: When you speak, you are not just making sounds — you are DOING things.

• Saying "I promise" = performing the action of promising

• Saying "I apologize" = performing the action of apologizing
• Asking "Can you open the window?" = performing the action of requesting

From Schiffrin:

Austin (1962) showed that language is used to DO things — this is the basis of Speech Act
Theory.

Discourse Analysis vs. Grammar

Grammar Discourse Analysis
Studies individual sentences Studies language in context
Works with constructed examples Works with real language data
Looks for rules (100% correct/wrong) Looks for regularities (patterns)
Ignores the speaker Centers the speaker
Ignores context Context is essential

From Brown & Yule:

The grammarian's data is the single sentence, often constructed by the analyst himself. The
discourse analyst's data comes from others — real speech, real writing.
TOPIC 6: TEXT AND TEXTURE
What is a Text?
From Halliday & Hasan (Document 5):

"The word text is used in linguistics to refer to any passage, spoken or written, of whatever
length, that does form a unified whole."

Key Word: UNIFIED — a text is not just any collection of sentences. It hangs together as ONE
unit.

What is Texture?
Texture is what makes a text a TEXT rather than just a random collection of sentences.

From Halliday & Hasan (quoted in Brown & Yule, Document 2):

"A text has texture, and this is what distinguishes it from something which is not a text."

Simple Example:

Has Texture (= a real text):

"The dog barked. It woke everyone up." (It refers to the dog — there is a connection =
TEXTURE)

No Texture (= not a real text):

"The dog barked. Democracy is important. Pizza was invented in Italy." (No connection between
sentences = NO TEXTURE)

What Creates Texture?

From Halliday & Hasan: Texture comes from COHESION — the semantic relationships that
connect parts of the text.

From Brown & Yule:

"Cohesive relationships within a text...create texture... A text has texture, and this is what
distinguishes it from something that is not a text."

Famous Example from Brown & Yule

WITH texture:

"Wash and core six cooking apples. Put them into a fireproof dish." (them = the six cooking
apples = cohesion = texture ✅)

WITHOUT texture (Enkvist's example in Brown & Yule):

"I bought a Ford. A car in which President Wilson rode down the Champs Elysées was black.
Black English has been widely discussed. The discussions between presidents ended last week.
A week has seven days. Every day I feed my cat. Cats have four legs. The cat is on the mat."

There seem to be some connections (Ford→car, black→Black) but the text does NOT make
sense as a unified whole. It has the SEMBLANCE of cohesion but no real texture.

The Seven Standards of Textuality (Beaugrande & Dressler

— Document 5)
These are the characteristics that make something a TEXT:

1. COHESION

How sentences are grammatically connected.

"John came in. He sat down." (He = John → cohesion)

2. COHERENCE

How the text makes logical sense as a whole.

"It was raining. I took an umbrella." (logical connection = coherence)

3. INTENTIONALITY

The producer INTENDS to produce a meaningful text.

A writer deliberately writes an article to inform readers.

4. ACCEPTABILITY

The receiver ACCEPTS it as a meaningful, relevant text.

Readers accept a news article as a genuine, relevant text.

5. INFORMATIVITY

The text contains information worth knowing.

A definite expression like "the man with the golden gun" gives more specific information than
just "him."

6. SITUATIONALITY (Contextuality)

The text is appropriate to its context.

Document 5: "Every text... unfolds in some context of use." A wedding speech is appropriate at a
wedding, not in a courtroom.

7. INTERTEXTUALITY

The text relates to other texts.

A lawyer's argument refers to previous legal cases. A politician's speech quotes the constitution.

Three Regulative Principles (Beaugrande & Dressler —

Document 5)
Beyond the seven standards, texts should also be:

Efficiency

A text is efficient if it achieves its goals with minimum effort from the reader.

Simple, clear language = efficient text

Effectiveness

A text is effective if it achieves its goals forcefully and memorably.

A powerful speech that people remember = effective text

Appropriateness

A text is appropriate if its style and approach match its content and context.

Using formal language in an academic paper = appropriate

TOPIC 7: TEXT AND THEIR SOCIAL

FUNCTION
Texts Have Social Purposes
The Key Idea: Texts do not just transfer information — they PERFORM SOCIAL
FUNCTIONS.

From Schiffrin (Document 1): When we analyze discourse, we must understand:

• What structural function the text serves

• What meaning it conveys
• What social action it performs

Four Social Functions of Texts (Schiffrin's Framework)

Schiffrin identifies key functions through analyzing how people use narrative (storytelling) and
argument:

1. Narrative Function

Texts tell stories to:

• Report events
• Convey a point
• Establish social identity
• Entertain

From Schiffrin:

A story has: Abstract → Orientation → Complicating Action → Evaluation → Coda

2. Argumentative Function

Texts argue to:

• Support a position
• Challenge others' views
• Persuade
• Defend

3. Informative Function

Texts inform to:

• Transfer knowledge
• Report facts
• Explain processes

4. Interactional Function

Texts manage social relationships:

• Greetings maintain social bonds

• Politeness expressions show respect
• Small talk builds solidarity

Social Functions and Speech Acts (Brown & Yule)

From Austin (mentioned in Brown & Yule): When we speak, we perform ACTS:

• Locutionary act = the act of saying something

• Illocutionary act = what we DO by saying it (promise, warn, request)
• Perlocutionary act = the EFFECT on the hearer

Example:

"It's cold in here." (said while near an open window)

• Locutionary: Stating a fact about temperature

• Illocutionary: Requesting someone to close the window
• Perlocutionary: Someone gets up and closes the window
TOPIC 8: LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL
PRACTICE
Language IS Social Practice
Key Idea (from Schiffrin and Fairclough): Language is not just a tool for communication — it
IS a form of social action. When we use language, we are engaging in social practice.

What is Social Practice?

From Schiffrin (Document 1):

Language accomplishes social actions: promising, requesting, greeting, apologizing,

complaining, complimenting, insulting, boasting, confiding, threatening.

These are ALL social practices performed through language.

Schiffrin's Model of Discourse Coherence (Document 1)

Schiffrin proposes a model showing how language functions as social practice across different
levels simultaneously:

The Five Planes of Discourse

1. Exchange Structure The turn-taking system of conversation — who speaks when.

Question → Answer is an exchange structure

2. Action Structure The social actions performed through language.

A request → A response to the request

3. Ideational Structure (Ideas/Propositions) The content and meaning of what is said.

The actual information being communicated

4. Information State What each speaker knows, believes, and assumes.

Shared knowledge vs. new information

5. Participation Framework Who is speaking, who is listening, what roles they play.

Speaker, addressee, audience, bystander

Fairclough's View: Language and Social Practice (Document

4)
Norman Fairclough makes this even more explicit in his Three-Dimensional Model:

Language = Social Practice at THREE levels:

Level 1: TEXT

The actual language — words, sentences, grammar.

What is literally written or said.

Level 2: DISCURSIVE PRACTICE

How texts are produced, distributed, and consumed.

Who writes this? For whom? Through what channel?

Level 3: SOCIAL PRACTICE

The broader social context — power, ideology, institutions.

What social relations and power structures does this text reflect or maintain?

Key Example — Language as Social Practice

A job advertisement:

TEXT level: Look at the vocabulary — "dynamic," "self-starter," "competitive salary"

DISCURSIVE PRACTICE level: Who wrote it? (HR department) Who will read it? (job
seekers) How is it distributed? (online job boards)

SOCIAL PRACTICE level: What ideology does it reflect? What kind of worker does
capitalism need? What power relationship exists between employer and potential employee?
Van Dijk's View: Discourse, Cognition, Society
Van Dijk (from Document 4 context) says language connects to society through cognition
(mental processes):

1. Discourse (texts, talk) ↔ Cognition (mental models) ↔ Society (structures, power)

Simple idea: Our language reflects our mental models of the world, and those mental models are
shaped by our social experiences.

TOPIC 9: COHESION AND COHERENCE

Cohesion
Definition

From Halliday & Hasan (quoted in Brown & Yule, Document 2):

"Cohesion occurs where the INTERPRETATION of some element in the discourse is dependent
on that of another. The one PRESUPPOSES the other in the sense that it cannot be effectively
decoded except by recourse to it."

Simpler Version: Cohesion is when you NEED to look at another part of the text to understand
a word or phrase.

Classic Example

"Wash and core six cooking apples. Put them into a fireproof dish."

Why is this cohesive? Because them REQUIRES you to look back at "six cooking apples" to
understand what it means. You cannot decode them without the previous sentence.

Types of Cohesion

From Halliday & Hasan (in Brown & Yule):

1. Reference — pronouns, demonstratives pointing to other parts of text 2. Substitution —

replacing something with a pro-form (one, do, so) 3. Ellipsis — leaving something out 4.
Conjunction — connecting words (and, but, so, however) 5. Lexical cohesion — vocabulary
connections (repetition, synonyms, collocation)

Coherence
Definition

From Brown & Yule (Document 2): Coherence is about whether a text MAKES SENSE —
whether the parts connect logically and meaningfully.

"The natural effort of hearers and readers alike is to attribute relevance and coherence to the text
they encounter until they are forced not to."

Key Insight: Coherence is NOT in the text — it is in the READER'S interpretation. Readers
ASSUME coherence and work to find it.

Coherence Does NOT Require Cohesion

Famous example from Brown & Yule:

A: "That's the telephone." B: "I'm in the bath." A: "O.K."

There is NO grammatical connection between these sentences — no pronouns linking them, no

conjunctions. But we understand this exchange PERFECTLY:

• A is asking B to answer the phone

• B is saying she/he cannot because they are bathing
• A is agreeing to answer it

This is COHERENT even without COHESION.

Coherence Requires World Knowledge

Another example from Brown & Yule:

"The baby cried. The mommy picked it up."

Why do we understand these as connected?

 1. We assume they are in the SAME PLACE (principle of local interpretation)
2. We know that when babies cry, caregivers respond (world knowledge)
3. We infer the mommy is the baby's mother (not just any woman)

Cohesion vs. Coherence — Key Difference

Cohesion Coherence
Grammatical/vocabulary
What it is Logical meaning connections
connections
Where it is IN the text (surface level) IN the reader's interpretation
World knowledge, inference,
How achieved Pronouns, conjunctions, repetition
logic
Can exist without the Yes — common in
Yes — but rare
other? conversation

Cohesion WITHOUT coherence:

Enkvist's example: "I bought a Ford. A car in which President Wilson rode was black. Black
English has been discussed..." (Connected words: Ford→car, black→Black — BUT the text
makes no sense as a whole)

Coherence WITHOUT cohesion:

A: "That's the telephone." B: "I'm in the bath." (No grammatical links — but perfectly coherent!)

TOPIC 10: COHESIVE DEVICES

(GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL)
A. GRAMMATICAL COHESION

Device 1: REFERENCE

Definition (Document 5): "Reference... has to do with the introduction of a new item in the text
and the subsequent referral to that same item by means of another item, usually a shorter form."

From Halliday & Hasan (in Brown & Yule):

"Cohesion itself lies in the continuity of reference whereby the same thing enters into the
discourse a second (and more) time(s)."

Three Types of Reference

Type 1: Anaphoric Reference (looks BACKWARD) The referring item points BACK to
something already mentioned.

"John came in. He sat down." (He refers back to John — anaphoric)

"I saw a little girl get bitten by a dog. I tried to catch the dog, but it ran away." (the dog and it
both refer back to a dog)

Type 2: Cataphoric Reference (looks FORWARD) The referring item points FORWARD to
something not yet mentioned.

"It was brilliant — that speech she gave." (It refers forward to that speech)

Type 3: Exophoric Reference (looks OUTSIDE the text) The referring item points to
something in the physical context, NOT in the text.

"Look at that!" (pointing at something visible) (That refers to something outside the text)

Reference Items in English

Type Examples
Personal pronouns he, she, it, they, him, her, them
Possessives his, her, its, their
Demonstratives this, that, these, those
Comparatives same, similar, different, better

Device 2: SUBSTITUTION

Definition: Replacing a word/phrase with a shorter substitute to avoid repetition.

From Halliday & Hasan (in Brown & Yule):

Substitution involves "relatedness of form."

Types of Substitution:
Nominal substitution (replacing nouns):

"I want a coffee. Do you want one?" (one = a coffee)

Verbal substitution (replacing verbs):

"John works in Manchester. So does Susan." (does = works)

Clausal substitution:

"Is she coming?" "I think so." (so = that she is coming)

Device 3: ELLIPSIS

Definition: Leaving something out because it is understood from context.

From Document 5: "Ellipsis means elements in sentences are physically deleted/omitted

because the writer believes that the reader will insert the missing elements."

Important Note from Brown & Yule: Ellipsis is a FORMAL concept — it is not just anything
left unsaid. There must be a clearly recoverable element.

Examples:

Nominal ellipsis:

"Which dress will you wear? The red [dress]." (dress is omitted)

Verbal ellipsis:

"Can you swim?" "Yes, I can [swim]." (swim is omitted)

Clausal ellipsis:

"Have some more [cake]." (cake is omitted)

Device 4: CONJUNCTION

Definition: Words that connect clauses/sentences and show the LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP
between them.

From Halliday & Hasan (in Brown & Yule):

 Type Words Function Example
and, also, furthermore, moreover, in
Additive Adds information "She sings and dances."
addition
but, however, yet, nevertheless, on "He tried hard, however
Adversative Shows contrast
the other hand he failed."
so, therefore, consequently, because, Shows "It rained, so we stayed
Causal
for this reason cause/result home."
Shows time
Temporal then, after that, finally, at last, next "Then she left."
sequence

From Brown & Yule:

"It is the underlying semantic relation... that actually has the cohesive power" — not just the
word itself.

B. LEXICAL COHESION
Definition: Cohesion created through vocabulary choices — word relationships.

From Halliday & Hasan (in Document 2): Lexical cohesion creates "continuity of lexical
meaning" within a text.

Type 1: REITERATION

Sub-type 1a: Repetition The same word is used again.

"The dog barked. The dog was hungry."

Sub-type 1b: Synonym A word with similar meaning is used.

"The car broke down. The vehicle needed repair."

Sub-type 1c: Near-Synonym/Antonym A word with related or opposite meaning.

"He bought a house. The home was beautiful." "He won the race. His opponent was
disappointed."

Sub-type 1d: Superordinate A general category word used for a specific item.

"I bought a rose. The flower was beautiful." (flower is the superordinate category of rose)
Sub-type 1e: General Word A very general noun used.

"I saw an accident. The whole thing was terrible." (thing is a very general word)

Type 2: COLLOCATION

Definition: Words that naturally and typically occur together.

From Document 5: Collocation refers to "semantic relations... created by specific lexical items."

Examples:

"doctor" naturally collocates with: hospital, patient, medicine, nurse, clinic, prescription

"cricket" naturally collocates with: bat, ball, wicket, run, over, fielder

Why collocations create cohesion: When you use doctor, you can then use patient, nurse,
medicine — these words hold together because of their shared semantic field.

Example of Lexical Cohesion (Brown & Yule)

From Lord Melbourne passage:

"Lord Melbourne...did not like birdsong and could not distinguish a woodlark from a
nightingale. He preferred the singing of blackbirds anyway; best of all he liked the cawing of
rooks..."

Lexical chain: birdsong → woodlark → nightingale → singing → blackbirds → cawing →

rooks All words from the semantic field of BIRDS and BIRD SOUNDS = lexical cohesion

TOPIC 11: THEME AND RHEME

What Are Theme and Rheme?
From Brown & Yule (Document 2, Chapter 4):

THEME = The LEFT-MOST part of the sentence — the starting point — what the sentence is
"about."
RHEME = Everything ELSE in the sentence — the new information being communicated
about the theme.

From Mathesius (quoted in Brown & Yule):

Theme = "the starting point of the utterance" Rheme = "what the speaker states about, or in
regard to, the starting point"

Basic Examples
Sentence Theme (Starting Point) Rheme (New Info)
John kissed Mary. John kissed Mary
Mary was kissed by John. Mary was kissed by John
Yesterday, John arrived. Yesterday John arrived
The Prime Minister stepped off the plane. The Prime Minister stepped off the plane

Why Speakers Choose Different Themes

Brown & Yule's Key Insight:

The choice of theme is NOT random. Speakers choose themes based on:

1. What information they think the hearer already knows

2. What they want to focus on
3. The discourse context

Example from Brown & Yule:

Question: "What did John do?" Answer: "John kissed Mary." (John is already in focus — it is
the theme)

Question: "What happened to Mary?" Answer: "Mary was kissed by John." (Mary is now in
focus — it is the theme)

SAME EVENT, DIFFERENT THEME — because the discourse context is different.

The Astronaut Example (Brown & Yule)

Version A (normal thematic organization):
"The sun's shining, it's a perfect day. Here come the astronauts. They're just passing the Great
Hall; perhaps the President will come out to greet them. No, it's the admiral who's taking the
ceremony..."

Version B (confused thematic organization):

"It's the sun that's shining, the day that's perfect. The astronauts come here. The Great Hall
they're just passing..."

Brown & Yule's conclusion: Version B is very difficult to process because the theme choices
do not match what we know. The theme should reflect SHARED/GIVEN information, not new
information.

Theme Types
Simple themes: Just one element (noun phrase)

"The dog barked."

Complex/Marked themes: More than one element, or non-subject theme

Marked theme = when something OTHER than the subject appears at the front:

"Yesterday, John came home." (time adverbial as theme — marked) "In London, prices are
very high." (place adverbial as theme — marked)

Why marked themes matter: They indicate the speaker is emphasizing something unusual or
creating a special discourse effect.

Thematic Progression
From Brown & Yule: In good discourse, themes connect smoothly. This is called thematic
progression.

Pattern 1: Linear Progression The rheme of one sentence becomes the theme of the next:

"John kissed Mary. [Rheme: kissed Mary]" "Mary was surprised." [Theme: Mary — from
previous rheme]

Pattern 2: Constant Theme The same theme repeats across sentences:

"Jack goes up the beanstalk. He comes to the giant's house. He sees the giant's wife."
(Jack/He/He = constant theme throughout)

TOPIC 12: REFERENCE

What is Reference?
Traditional View: Words refer to things in the world.

Discourse Analysis View (Brown & Yule, Ch. 2):

"It is the speaker who refers (by using some appropriate expression): he invests the expression
with reference by the act of referring." — Lyons (quoted in Brown & Yule)

Also from Brown & Yule:

Searle says: "'referring' is not something an expression does; it is something that someone can
use an expression to do."

Simple Summary: Reference is not a property of WORDS — it is an ACTION performed by

SPEAKERS.

Successful vs. Correct Reference

Brown & Yule make this important distinction:

Correct Reference (traditional view): The expression MUST be true of the entity.

"The king of England" can only correctly refer to whoever is actually the king.

Successful Reference (discourse view): The hearer IDENTIFIES the intended referent.

Even if I call someone "the genius" sarcastically (and they are not a genius), the reference is
SUCCESSFUL if you understand who I mean.

Why this matters for discourse analysis: We analyze what speakers DO with references, not
whether references are logically correct.
Types of Referring Expressions
From Brown & Yule:

1. Indefinite Noun Phrases

Used to INTRODUCE a new entity into discourse.

"A man came to the door." (a man = brand new entity, unknown to hearer)

2. Definite Noun Phrases

Used to refer to entities already known/established.

"The man knocked again." (the man = entity already introduced)

3. Proper Names

Used to identify specific individuals.

"John arrived." (But: the same name can refer to different individuals in different contexts!)

4. Pronouns

Used to refer to GIVEN entities (already known/salient).

"The dog barked. It was hungry." (It refers to the dog — already established)

The Special Challenge of Pronouns (Brown & Yule)

Problem: Pronouns are very vague by themselves (he, she, it, they). How do hearers know what
they refer to?

Brown & Yule say hearers use:

1. Antecedent nominal expressions (previous noun phrases)

2. Antecedent predicates (previous verb phrases)
3. Implied entities from context
4. Roles of participants
5. New predicates attached to the pronoun

Tricky Example from Brown & Yule:

"There's a car going up the road and he comes to a crossroads."

Here, he refers NOT to the car but to the DRIVER of the car — an implied entity! The pronoun's
reference is determined by world knowledge (cars have drivers) not by the grammar.

Discourse Reference — Key Principle

From Brown & Yule:

When a writer uses a referring expression, the hearer builds a discourse representation — a
mental model of who and what is being talked about. Subsequent pronouns are matched to
entities in this mental model.

Simple Version: Readers keep a mental "cast of characters" as they read. Each new reference is
matched to this mental list.

TOPIC 13: PRESUPPOSITION

What is Presupposition?
Definition (Brown & Yule, Document 2):

"Pragmatic presupposition... defined in terms of assumptions the speaker makes about what the
hearer is likely to accept without challenge."

Also (Stalnaker, quoted in Brown & Yule):

"Presuppositions are what is taken by the speaker to be the common ground of the participants in
the conversation."

Simple Definition: Presuppositions are the BACKGROUND ASSUMPTIONS that are taken for
granted — not stated directly but assumed to be accepted.

Classic Example
From Brown & Yule:

"My uncle's coming home from Canada."

What is said (Assertion) What is presupposed (Background)
The uncle is coming home The speaker HAS an uncle
He is coming from Canada The uncle WAS in Canada

The speaker does NOT say "I have an uncle" — this is PRESUPPOSED.

Presupposition vs. Assertion

Assertion Presupposition
What is directly stated What is taken for granted
Can be denied easily Difficult to deny
New information Background information
"My uncle IS coming home" "I have an uncle"

Famous Example — Leading Questions

From Brown & Yule (Loftus's experiment):

Group 1 was asked:

a. "How fast was car A going when it turned right?" b. "Did you see a stop sign?" Result: 35%
said yes to (b)

Group 2 was asked:

a. "How fast was car A going when it ran the stop sign?" b. "Did you see a stop sign?" Result:
53% said yes to (b)

Why? Because question (a) in Group 2 presupposes there was a stop sign. Many subjects
accepted this presupposition and then "remembered" seeing a stop sign, even if there was none!

The Lesson: Presuppositions are very powerful — they shape what people believe.

Types of Presupposition Triggers

From Brown & Yule, various examples:

Existential Presupposition
"The present king of France is bald." Presupposes: There IS a king of France.

Factual Presupposition

"I regret that John left." Presupposes: John DID leave.

Change of State Presupposition

"Have you stopped smoking?" Presupposes: You WERE smoking.

Iterative Presupposition

"John came back." Presupposes: John WAS here before.

Why Presupposition Matters in Discourse

Brown & Yule's point: Presuppositions are the SPEAKER's assumptions — they are pragmatic,
not logical.

This means the SAME sentence can have different presuppositions in different contexts, because
it depends on what the SPEAKER assumes the hearer knows.

TOPIC 14: IMPLICATURE

What is Implicature?
Definition (Grice, quoted extensively in Brown & Yule): Implicature is what a speaker
implies, suggests, or means — as distinct from what the speaker literally says.

Simple Version: Implicature is the HIDDEN MEANING — what you mean but don't directly
say.

Grice's Cooperative Principle

From Brown & Yule:
"Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the
accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged."

Simple Version: In conversation, we cooperate — we say what is needed, when it is needed,

truthfully and relevantly.

Grice's Four Maxims

From Brown & Yule:

Maxim 1: QUANTITY

• Give ENOUGH information (not too little)

• Do not give TOO MUCH information

"Be as informative as required."

Maxim 2: QUALITY

• Do not say what you believe to be FALSE

• Do not say things you lack evidence for

"Be truthful."

Maxim 3: RELATION

• Be RELEVANT

"Be relevant."

Maxim 4: MANNER

• Be CLEAR
• Avoid obscurity
• Avoid ambiguity
• Be brief
• Be orderly

"Be perspicuous."

How Implicatures Work

Implicatures arise when a speaker FLOATS (breaks) a maxim — and the hearer knows it.
Because we assume the speaker is still being cooperative overall, we search for a deeper
meaning.

Famous Example from Brown & Yule

A: "I am out of petrol." B: "There is a garage round the corner."

Literally: B is just stating a fact about a garage.

But what is IMPLICATED:

1. The garage is open

2. The garage sells petrol
3. The garage is close enough to help
4. B is trying to help A

How? B floats the Maxim of Relation (his statement seems irrelevant to A's problem) — so A
searches for how B's remark IS relevant — and concludes that B means "go to the garage, they
can help you."

More Examples of Implicature

Example 1 — Flouting Quality (Sarcasm):

A: "You are a REAL genius, aren't you?" (Said after someone does something stupid) Literal:
You are intelligent. Implicated: You are NOT intelligent — you did something stupid.

Example 2 — Flouting Quantity:

Professor writes a recommendation: "This student is always on time and has good handwriting."
Literally: These are positive things. Implicated: These are the ONLY positive things to say —
the student is not academically strong.

Example 3 — Flouting Relation:

A: "Do you want to come to the party?" B: "I have an exam tomorrow." Literally: B states a fact
about an exam. Implicated: B means NO — the exam is why they cannot come.
Types of Implicature
From Brown & Yule:

Conventional Implicature

Fixed by the CONVENTIONAL MEANING of words, regardless of context.

"He is an Englishman; he is, therefore, brave." Therefore conventionally implicates a causal

relationship — even if it is not logical.

Conversational Implicature

Arises from the COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE in specific conversational contexts.

These are context-dependent, defeasible (can be cancelled), and calculable.

TOPIC 15: INFERENCE

What is Inference?
Definition (Brown & Yule, Document 2):

Since the discourse analyst has no direct access to a speaker's intended meaning, "he often has to
rely on a process of inference to arrive at an interpretation for utterances or for the connections
between utterances."

Simple Version: Inference is the process by which we work out meaning that is NOT explicitly
stated.

Inference = filling in the gaps.

Types of Inference
From Brown & Yule:

1. Logical/Deductive Inference

Formal reasoning from premises to conclusion.

a. If it's sunny, it's warm. b. It's sunny. c. Therefore, it's warm. (logical deduction)

Brown & Yule note: We rarely use strict logical inference in everyday conversation — it is too
rigid.

2. Pragmatic Inference

Based on real-world knowledge, context, and the Cooperative Principle — much more
FLEXIBLE than logical inference.

Example from Brown & Yule:

"John was on his way to school." Inference: John is probably a schoolboy (pragmatic inference
from world knowledge)

Later in the same text: "Last week he had been unable to control the class." Revised inference:
Oh — John is actually a SCHOOLTEACHER!

We abandoned the first inference and formed a new one. Pragmatic inference is REVISABLE.

3. Bridging Assumptions (Clark & Clark, in Brown & Yule)

Connecting two sentences by filling in the logical link.

Example from Brown & Yule:

"Mary got some picnic supplies out of the car. The beer was warm."

Bridging assumption needed: The beer = part of the picnic supplies. (This is not stated — we
must INFER it)

Compare:

"Mary got some beer out of the car. The beer was warm." (No bridging needed — direct
connection)

4. Inferences from World Knowledge (Frames/Scripts)

Using stored knowledge about how the world works.

Example from Brown & Yule:

"There's a car going up the road and he comes to a crossroads."

We infer: He = the driver. (World knowledge: cars have drivers.) This inference is not in the text
— it comes from our KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD.

Inferences in Discourse — Three Key Points from Brown &

Yule
Point 1: Inferences are not AUTOMATIC — they require WORK from the reader/hearer.

Point 2: Inferences can be WRONG — we revise them when new information comes.

Point 3: Inferences are CONTEXT-DEPENDENT — the same sentence can lead to different
inferences in different contexts.

Missing Links vs. Inferences (Brown & Yule)

Brown & Yule make an important distinction:

Missing Links = formal textual connections that are implied but not stated.

"She dressed the baby. The clothes were made of wool." Missing link: Dressing involves clothes.

Inferences = the READER'S mental process of identifying and using those connections.

Key Point: Not all missing links require the same amount of inferential work. If the connection
is part of your stored world knowledge (schema), it happens automatically. If it requires unusual
knowledge, it is a true inference.

TOPIC 16: CO-TEXT

What is Co-text?
Definition (Brown & Yule, Ch. 2):
Following Halliday, Brown & Yule introduce the term co-text to refer to the linguistic
environment of a word or utterance — the words and sentences that come BEFORE and AFTER.

Simple Version: Co-text is the SURROUNDING TEXT that helps you understand a particular
word or sentence.

How Co-text Constrains Meaning

From Brown & Yule:

"Just as the interpretation of individual lexical items is constrained by co-text, so is the

interpretation of utterances within a discourse."

Brilliant Example from Brown & Yule (from Darwin's Journal):

a. "...be little to complain of." — treatment (how captives were treated) b. "The first landing in
any new country is very interesting." (arrival) c. "...one of the four natives...wishing to direct us
where to land." (come ashore) d. "...descended into the small land-locked plain of Guitron."
(area of land)

The word land/landing/land means DIFFERENT things in each context, but the CO-TEXT tells
us which meaning applies.

Co-text and Reference

From Brown & Yule:

Co-text is crucial for understanding PRONOUNS. Consider:

"When the woman arrives at the checkout counter, there's an old lady following her, and she
pays for all the goods except the bottle in her bag."

Who does she refer to?

The co-text tells us it is the WOMAN (the main character throughout). The old lady is a
secondary character. We use the co-text to track who she is.

Co-text vs. Context

 Co-text Context
Linguistic environment Situational environment
The words AROUND the text Everything OUTSIDE the text
Example: previous sentences Example: the physical setting
"Text within text" "World around text"

Both co-text and context are essential for interpretation.

The Power of Co-text — Brown & Yule's Key Point

Isard (quoted in Brown & Yule):

"Communications do not merely depend on the context for their interpretation, they change that
context."

Simple Version: Every sentence you read CHANGES the co-text. The co-text keeps growing
and updating as you read more.

Example:

Sentence 1: "A man and woman sat in the living room." Sentence 2: "The man was bored."
Sentence 3: "He went to the window."

After Sentence 1: The co-text establishes two characters and a room. After Sentence 2: The man
is now in focus; he clearly refers to the man. After Sentence 3: He and the window are both
understood through the expanding co-text.

Co-text and Local Interpretation

From Brown & Yule:

"The principle of local interpretation: the hearer does not construct a context any larger than
needed."

When we use co-text, we assume:

• The same characters unless told otherwise

• The same place unless told otherwise
• The same time unless told otherwise
• Minimal changes from what was previously established
TOPIC 17: THE EXPANDING CONTEXT
What is Context?
From Brown & Yule (Ch. 2): Context is EVERYTHING surrounding the text that helps
interpretation — the physical situation, the participants, the purpose, the time, the place, and
shared background knowledge.

Key Insight from Brown & Yule:

"The more the analyst knows about the features of context, the more likely he is to be able to
predict what is likely to be said."

Hymes' Features of Context (SPEAKING)

From Brown & Yule: Hymes created a checklist of contextual features:

Feature What it covers Example

Setting Time and place In an office, at 9 AM
Participants Who is speaking and to whom Professor to student
Ends Goals and purposes To explain an assignment
Introduction → explanation →
Act sequence Organization of the speech
conclusion
Key Tone (serious, joking, formal) Formal lecture tone
Instrumentalities Channel (speech, writing) Face-to-face speech
Conventional rules of the
Norms Take turns, don't interrupt
interaction
Genre Type of speech event Academic lecture

Lewis's Index of Co-ordinates (Brown & Yule)

Lewis proposed a more formal list of contextual co-ordinates:

Co-ordinate What it accounts for

Possible world What could be the case
Time Tenses, time expressions (today, next week)
 Co-ordinate What it accounts for
Place Spatial expressions (here, there)
Speaker First person reference (I, me, we)
Audience Second person reference (you)
Indicated object Demonstratives (this, that)
Previous discourse Anaphoric references (the latter, aforementioned)

The Expanding Context — How Context Grows

Brown & Yule's Key Idea: Context is NOT static. It EXPANDS as discourse progresses.

Every utterance:

1. Is interpreted within the existing context

2. Then ADDS TO and MODIFIES that context

Example from Brown & Yule:

"In the kitchen there was a huge dresser and when anyone went in you see the hats and coats
were all dumped on this dresser."

As we read:

• "In the kitchen" → establishes PLACE

• "a huge dresser" → introduces NEW entity
• "the hats and coats" → assumes we can infer hats and coats belong to visitors
• "this dresser" → refers back to the dresser

The context EXPANDS with each new piece of information.

Classification of Context
From your syllabus — these are the key types:

1. Situational Context

The physical and social circumstances of the interaction.

• Who is the speaker? Who is the hearer?

• Where and when does the interaction take place?
• What is the social relationship between participants?
Example:

A teacher speaking to students in a classroom = situational context that shapes everything said.

2. Linguistic Context (Co-text)

Already covered above — the language surrounding the text.

• Previous sentences
• Following sentences
• The discourse as a whole

3. Cultural Context

The shared cultural knowledge, values, beliefs, and practices of a community.

Example from Brown & Yule:

The text: "SQUASHED INSECTS DONT BITE MAD MENTAL RULE" To understand this,
you need CULTURAL CONTEXT:

• Knowledge of British street gang culture

• Knowledge of wall graffiti as a form of communication
• Knowledge of "X Rule OK" as a convention
• Knowledge that "Mad Mental" and "Insects" are gang names

Without this cultural context, the text is incomprehensible.

4. Social Context

The social roles, power relationships, and institutional structures involved.

• Boss to employee = power differential

• Doctor to patient = institutional roles
• Friend to friend = equal relationship

From Brown & Yule:

Consider: "I do think Adam's quick." Said by a young mother about her child to her mother-in-
law = genuine compliment Said by a student after Adam laughs late at a joke = sarcasm
Same words — different social contexts — completely different meanings.

5. Cognitive Context

The mental representations and background knowledge that speakers and hearers bring to an
interaction.

From Brown & Yule:

When reading "John was on his way to school," we immediately build a cognitive model: John is
a student, it is morning, he is travelling to a school building.

This cognitive work happens automatically based on our stored knowledge.

6. Psychological Context

The emotional states, attitudes, and intentions of participants.

• A speaker who is angry uses different language than one who is calm.
• A hearer who trusts the speaker interprets differently than one who is suspicious.

Two Key Principles of Interpretation in Context

From Brown & Yule:

Principle 1: Local Interpretation

"Do not construct a context any larger than needed to find an interpretation."

Example:

"The baby cried. The mommy picked it up." We do NOT imagine: the mommy is in another
country, she waited 3 days to respond, the baby is 25 years old... We assume: MINIMAL,
LOCAL context — they are together, the response is immediate.

Principle 2: Analogy

"Interpret new discourse by analogy with similar past discourse."

Example:

When you read a news article, you interpret it based on your EXPERIENCE of news articles —
you know what to expect, how they are structured, what is important.

TOPIC 18: THE ROLE OF CONTEXT IN

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Why Context Matters
Central Claim: You CANNOT understand discourse without context. The same words mean
completely different things in different contexts.

Brown & Yule:

"The analysis of discourse, as undertaken in this book, is typically based on the linguistic output
of someone other than the analyst... More typically, the discourse analyst's data is taken from
written texts or tape-recordings."

Real language in real contexts = the proper object of discourse analysis.

The Role of Context — Three Main Roles

Role 1: Context LIMITS Meaning

Context eliminates possible interpretations.

From Hymes (quoted in Brown & Yule):

"The use of a linguistic form identifies a range of meanings. A context can support a range of
meanings. When a form is used in a context it eliminates the meanings possible to that context
other than those the form can signal."

Example:

"Can you pass the salt?" at a dinner table → context limits this to a polite request (not a literal
question about your ability to pass things)
Role 2: Context ACTIVATES Meaning

Context helps select the correct interpretation from multiple possibilities.

Brown & Yule's example:

"I do think Adam's quick." Context A (park, young mother to mother-in-law, child playing):
Adam is developing quickly — a compliment Context B (students at coffee table, Adam laughs
late at joke): Adam is slow — sarcasm

Role 3: Context CREATES Meaning

Sometimes context creates meanings that go beyond what the words literally say.

From Brown & Yule:

B: "I'm in the bath." (In response to "That's the telephone.") The meaning "I cannot answer the
phone" is CREATED by the context — it is not in the words themselves.

Classification of Context — Full Framework for Exam

Based on your syllabus and the sources:

1. Situational Context

What it is: The physical and social situation of the interaction. Key elements: Who, where,
when, why, what purpose

Example:

A courtroom context activates formal language, turn-taking rules, power hierarchies between
judge, lawyer, and witness.

2. Linguistic Context (Co-text)

What it is: The surrounding language — what has been said before and what comes after. Role:
Determines how pronouns are interpreted, what words mean, how utterances connect.
Example:

"I bought a painting last week. I really like paintings." (paintings here refers to the semantic
field established by painting in the co-text)

3. Cultural Context

What it is: The shared cultural knowledge of the speech community. Role: Enables
interpretation of culturally specific references, conventions, and norms.

Example:

Understanding "Ranke" in a history discussion requires cultural knowledge of historiography.

Understanding "Koch's postulates" requires scientific cultural knowledge.

4. Social Context

What it is: The social roles, relationships, institutions, and power structures involved. Role:
Determines appropriate register, levels of formality, who can say what to whom.

Brown & Yule example:

Speaker B is a man in his early thirties, visiting his children once a month. Knowing the
speaker's social identity (young man, separated father) allows us to infer much more than if B
were a 70-year-old grandfather.

5. Cognitive Context

What it is: The mental representations, schemas, and background knowledge of participants.
Role: Enables inference, prediction, and interpretation beyond what is literally said.

Brown & Yule describe this through:

• Frames (Minsky) — stored knowledge structures about typical situations

• Scripts (Schank) — stored knowledge about typical event sequences
• Scenarios (Sanford & Garrod) — situation-specific knowledge
• Schemata (Bartlett) — organized background knowledge

Example:
Reading about "going to a restaurant" activates a SCRIPT: enter → sit → look at menu → order
→ eat → pay → leave. When a text mentions a restaurant, we assume all this background
without it being stated.

6. Psychological Context

What it is: The emotional states, attitudes, and intentions of participants. Role: Shapes tone,
word choice, and interpretation.

Fairclough's Model — Context as Social Practice

From Document 4 — Fairclough's Three-Dimensional Model:

Context is analyzed at THREE levels:

Dimension 1: TEXT (Description)

What is in the text itself?

• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Cohesion
• Text structure

Dimension 2: DISCURSIVE PRACTICE (Interpretation)

How is the text produced and consumed?

• Production: Why was this text created? By whom?

• Distribution: How does it circulate?
• Consumption: How do people read/use it?

Dimension 3: SOCIAL PRACTICE (Explanation)

What is the broader social context?

• Power relations
• Ideology
• Hegemony
• Social institutions
Van Dijk's Model — Context and Cognition
Van Dijk's key contribution: Context is not just external — it is represented in our MINDS as
mental models.

Three-Part Framework:

1. Discourse (the text itself)

2. Cognition (how we mentally represent discourse)
3. Society (social structures that shape and are shaped by discourse)

Key concept — Ideological Square:

• Emphasize OUR positive qualities

• Emphasize THEIR negative qualities
• Downplay OUR negative qualities
• Downplay THEIR positive qualities

Example:

Political speech: "We have brought stability and prosperity. Our opponents have brought only
chaos and division."

Wodak's Discourse-Historical Approach

Key idea: Discourse CANNOT be understood without its HISTORICAL context.

Three dimensions Wodak analyzes:

1. Topics — What subjects does the discourse deal with?

2. Discursive strategies — How does the discourse construct, justify, or transform reality?
3. Linguistic means — What specific language choices are made?

Key concepts:

• Recontextualization: Taking language from one context and using it in another

• Intertextuality: How texts refer to and build on other texts
• Interdiscursivity: When different types of discourse mix
QUICK EXAM REFERENCE SUMMARY
All 18 Topics at a Glance
Topic One-Line Definition Key Scholar
Brown & Yule;
1. Discourse Language in use, beyond the sentence
Schiffrin
Text, context, utterance, cohesion,
2. Key Terms Halliday & Hasan
coherence, etc.
Transactional (info) vs. Interactional
3. Forms/Functions Brown & Yule
(social)
Words organizing conversation (oh, well,
4. Discourse Markers Schiffrin
but)
Brown & Yule;
5. Discourse Analysis Study of language in use in context
Schiffrin
6. Text & Texture A unified whole; texture from cohesion Halliday & Hasan
7. Social Function Texts perform social actions Schiffrin; Austin
8. Language & Social
Language IS social action Fairclough; Schiffrin
Practice
9. Cohesion & Coherence Grammar links vs. logical meaning Halliday & Hasan
Reference, substitution, ellipsis,
10. Cohesive Devices Halliday & Hasan
conjunction, lexical
Halliday; Brown &
11. Theme & Rheme Starting point vs. new information
Yule
12. Reference Speaker's action of picking out entities Brown & Yule; Lyons
13. Presupposition Background assumptions taken for granted Grice; Brown & Yule
14. Implicature What is implied but not directly said Grice; Brown & Yule
Reader's process of filling unstated
15. Inference Brown & Yule
meaning
Halliday; Brown &
16. Co-text Surrounding linguistic environment
Yule
17. Expanding Context Context grows as discourse develops Brown & Yule; Hymes
Context limits, activates, and creates Brown & Yule;
18. Role of Context
meaning Fairclough

Most Important Definitions for Exam Papers

Discourse: "The analysis of language in use" — Brown & Yule
Text: "Any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole" —
Halliday & Hasan

Cohesion: "Cohesion occurs where the interpretation of some element in the discourse is
dependent on that of another" — Halliday & Hasan

Coherence: When a text makes logical sense as a whole — the ideas connect meaningfully.

Presupposition: "Assumptions the speaker makes about what the hearer is likely to accept
without challenge" — Brown & Yule

Implicature: What a speaker implies as distinct from what is literally said — Grice

Inference: The process of arriving at meaning not directly stated — Brown & Yule

Theme: "The starting point of the utterance" — Mathesius (in Brown & Yule)

Discourse Markers: Words like oh, well, and, but, so, because that organize conversational
interaction — Schiffrin

🌟 Final Exam Tips

1. Always give a definition + example
2. Always cite the scholar (Brown & Yule, Schiffrin, Halliday & Hasan, Grice, Fairclough)
3. Compare concepts when asked (cohesion vs. coherence; theme vs. rheme)
4. Apply models to examples (Fairclough's 3D model, Grice's maxims)
5. Remember: Context is EVERYTHING in discourse analysis

Good luck tomorrow! You have covered everything systematically! 🎓