Chapter preview
Discourse is the use of language above and beyond the sentence: how people use language in texts and contexts. Discourse analysts focus on peoples’ actual utterances and try to figure out what processes make those utterances appear the way they do. Through discourse, people
represent the world
convey communicative intentions
organize thoughts into communicative actions
arrange information so it is accessible to others
engage in actions and interactions with one another
convey their identities and relationships
This chapter provides an overview of central concepts and methods through in-depth discussion and analyses of spoken discourse and written discourse. Models of function and coherence in spoken discourse are also presented.
GOALS
The goals of this chapter are to:
define discourse and demonstrate how to analyze spoken and written discourse
explain the relationship between structure and function in discourse
demonstrate how repair in discourse works
describe the effects of recipient design
explicate the relationship between text and context
describe the planes of discourse and their relationships
Language use above and beyond the sentence
Almost everything that we do in our everyday lives depends on language. In fact, it is hard to even imagine what our world would be like without language. So much of what keeps people and societies together depends crucially on language. We need language to make and enforce laws; get and distribute valued resources; create and maintain personal and public relationships; teach children our ways of “being,” “thinking,” and “doing”; engage in scholarly inquiry; preserve our past and plan our future. Language allows us to make friends (and enemies), joke and argue with each other, celebrate happy occasions and mourn sad ones.
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