UNIT: CONCEPTS
OF DISCOURSE
B. Ed. 4th Sem
Man Bahadur Jora, PhD
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Discourse is a written or spoken
communication or debate.
It is a verbal interchange of ideas,
especially conversation: formal and
orderly and usually extended expression
of thought on a subject.
Collins Dictionary:
Discourse is spoken or written
communication between
people, especially serious discussion of
a particular subject.
According to Marriam Webster Dictionary:
a. It is a formal and orderly and usually
extended expression of thought on a subject.
connected speech or writing
a linguistic unit (such as a conversation or a
story) larger than a sentence
a mode of organizing knowledge, ideas, or
experience that is rooted in language and its
concrete contexts (such as history or
institutions)critical discourse
the capacity of orderly thought or
procedure
Discourse analysis examines how stretches
of language.
It is considered in their full textual, social,
and psychological context, and they become
meaningful and unified for their users.
It is a rapidly expanding field, providing
insights into the problems and processes of
language use and language learning.
It is of great importance to language
teachers.
Traditionally, language teaching has
concentrated on pronunciation, grammar,
and vocabulary.
When they remain the basis of foreign
language knowledge, discourse analysis
(DA) can draw attention to the skills
needed to put this knowledge into action
and to achieve successful communication.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines
discourse analysis as: "Linguistics, a
method of analysing the structure of texts
or utterances longer than one sentence,
taking into account both their linguistic
content and their sociolinguistic context;
analysis performed using this method."
Discourse analysis is a research method
that helps understand the use of
language in real-life situations.
It is used for studying both written and
spoken language in relation to its social
context.
It considers language to be the way
people express themselves rather than
just the technical pieces like words and
sentences.
It discovers how language is influenced by
and shapes the social context in which it
takes place.
In it, language could mean text or speech
and context means the form in which the
text or speech occurs.
Discourse analysis has an interdisciplinary
approach that could be used for the study of
various social domains in different types of
research.
It involves examining language beyond the
sentence to gain an understanding of how it
functions in a social context.
After understanding what is discourse
analysis, here's how we divide discourse
analysis into two approaches: language-
in-use (or socially situated text and talk)
and sociopolitical.
The language-in-use approach
concentrates on the micro dimensions of
language, grammatical structures, and
the manner in which these features
interplay within a social context.
An example of the socio-political approach
would be critical discourse analysis (CDA).
Critical Discourse Analysis concentrates on
social problems, particularly on the role of
discourse in the production and
reproduction of power abuse or domination.
It sets up a relationship between language
and power and is fundamentally dealing
with the analysis of how language reflects
and reveals complex relationships of
dominance, discrimination, power and
control.
What are the advantages of discourse
analysis?
The most significant advantages of discourse
analysis are:
It assists researchers in uncovering the
motivation behind a text by making it possible
for them to view a problem from a higher
stance.
It is helpful for studying the underlying meaning
of a spoken or written text as it considers the
social and historical contexts.
It aids in understanding the function of language
and how discourse can be used to spur and
nurture positive social change.
What are the disadvantages of discourse
analysis?
The main disadvantages of discourse analysis
are:
Since there are various approaches to discourse
analysis, it might be hard to choose the most
appropriate approach for a specific setting.
Discourse analysis can be a time-consuming
task.
Some say that it is no more than a
deconstructive reading of a text to understand
its underlying meaning—it does not provide
answers to questions based on scientific
research.
Discourse analysis (DA),
or discourse studies, is an approach
to the analysis of written, spoken, or
sign language, including any
significant semiotic event.
The objects of discourse analysis
(discourse, writing, conversation,
communicative event) are variously
defined in terms of coherent sequences
of sentences, propositions, speech,
or turns-at-talk.
Discourse analysis is a qualitative research method
for studying “language in context.”[1] The process
goes beyond analyzing words and sentences,
establishing a deeper context about how language
is used to engage in actions and form social
identity.
In Gee’s (2011) view, language is always used from
a perspective and always occurs within a context.
A chat with a police officer differs from one with a
close friend.
Politicians often use vague double-talk to mask
contradictions between their actions and public
stance.
Even a car's user manual follows specific structural
conventions.
1.2 DISCOURSE AND
SENTENCE