1. Discourse Analysis ENGL4339
Dr. Mosheer Amer
September 2017 1

2. Course Objectives
To introduce students to basic concepts and terms in the field of discourse analysis.
To understand how discourse is structured and interpreted.
To learn the most important approaches to discourse analysis.
To understand and analyze texts using various discourse analysis methods.
To read and discuss descriptions and illustrations of leading approaches, methods, and applications of discourse analysis.
To increase familiarity with linguistic research deploying discourse analytic approaches. 2

3. Course Assessment Bonus………….....……………………….. 5%
Course grades will be determined roughly according to the following distribution:
Midterm Exam ………………………….……….. 20%
Final Exam ………………….………………..….. 50%
Quiz ………………………………………………10%
Chapter or article summary ………………..……..10%
Data Analysis Assignments ……………………… 10%
Bonus………….....……………………….. 5% 3

5. My expectations of YOU
Attend all classes
Participate in discussion
Ask questions
Do all required textbook readings
Do all your assignments
Give Presentations (if possible)

6. What is Language?
Any system of linguistic symbols used in a generally consistent way by people to communicate meaningfully with one another.
A systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of signs, sounds, gestures, or marks which have understood meanings.

7. Levels of Language Description and Analysis
Phonetics & phonology: sound and sound system (Phonological analysis)
Morphology: Word forms (morphological analysis)
Syntax: sentence structures including word order (syntactic analysis)
Semantics: the ways in which meaning is constructed from words (semantic analysis)

8. Levels of Language Description and Analysis
Discourse
Sentence
Clause
Phrase
Word
Morpheme
Phoneme

9. Linguistic Structuralism
A particularly influential approach to language during the 1960’s was the structuralist or formalist approach.
The view of language as consisting of systems- phonological, morphological and syntactic systems and as rule-governed was advocated by proponents of the structuralist view of language chief among them was Chomsky.
Chomsky proposed a concept called Linguistic competence.

10. Structural Linguistics in the 1960’s
Morphology and syntax constituted the main areas of analysis, and there was minimal attention to the social meaning of language.
Linguistics was largely limited to the analysis of single sentence.
As a result, little focus was given to contextual meaning and the social context of situation in which language activity takes place.

11. Linguistic Competence
Linguistic Competence: The stored mental knowledge that enables the speaker to:
produce an unlimited number of grammatical sentences that he/she has not said or heard before,
understand an unlimited number of sentences belonging to his/her native language never encountered before,
pass grammaticality judgment on sentences which he/she encounters, and
identify ambiguous sentences and provide interpretations for such sentences.
They are hunting dogs
I saw the man with the binoculars.

12. *Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
Chomsky said that by the age of five or six, every native speaker will have internalized the entire linguistic system (or grammar).
According to Chomsky’s structuralist approach, although there is an obvious connection between syntax and semantics, the two are in fact separate things and should not be confused.
Chomsky insisted that the syntactic part of the linguistic system should be seen as independent from the semantic part.
The young boys play in the playground happily.
*Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
*Za spanky twikers malasted a minky vimp blintly

13. The Linguistic Turn in the 1970’s
The formalist/structuralist approach to language came under sustained criticism during the 1970’s by proponents of a functionalist approach to language. Chomsky’s definition of linguistic competence was seen as too narrow.
Linguistic competence or knowledge about language forms could not explain the social and functional rules of language.
New conceptions of language, particularly since the early 1970’s, have focused on the interplay between language, meaning making and social structures.

14. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
A: What is your name?
B: Well, let us say you might have thought you had something from before, but you haven’t got it anymore.
A: I am going to call you Sam.
Language is as much a social construct as much a mental ability or a set of structures and it is important that you are aware of the social function of language
This piece of conversation is an example of Schizophrenic talk. All utterances are grammatical but they are not appropriate. They simply do not make sense in the context of a conversation. The answer of B speaker does not make sense to the question of A. What’s wrong with B’s contribution is that it breaks the rules for the production of coherent discourse.

15. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
Communicative competence: The speaker’s ability to produce appropriate utterances not grammatical sentences since the basic function of language is “meaningful communication” amongst speakers of the same speech community.
There is no one-to-one correspondence between form and function. Utterances are concrete realizations of linguistic expressions on some particular occasion, e.g. hello? In here! Any chance of a coffee? Oh heck! Ouch!
Appropriateness: whether and to what extent something is suitable and effective in some context.

16. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
Consider the following conversations:
Steve: What’s up with you?
Tom: The beach is a beautiful beach.
Steve: I haven’t learnt to use computers yet.
A: Can you tell me the time?
B: Well, the milkman has arrived.
Adam: It does not look like 140 students.
Basil: It’s Friday.

17. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
A: What time is it?
B: Five past six.
A: _________________
What could fill the third part here? Here are some possibilities:
A: Thanks.
A: Good! Clever girl!
A: No it isn't, and you know it isn't; it's half past six and you're late again!

18. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
The analysis of language in use cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms and structures independent of the purposes and functions which those forms are designed to serve in human communication.

19. Context of Culture
Context of Situation
Language

20. Linguistic Competence vs. Communicative Competence
For each of the following, suggest one possible context and who might be speaking to who. What might be the speaker’s purpose.
Speaker’s Purpose
Who?
Possible Context
Sentence
‘Phew. It’s cold in here.’
‘The fish is very good today.’
‘Well, actually I’m a bit busy at this moment.’
It is important to your awareness of the various functions language can perform, i.e. how language takes on different meanings depending on contexts, who says what to whom.

21. Language-in-action
When you speak or write anything, you use the resources of the English language to project yourself as a certain kind of person, a different kind in different circumstances. You also project yourself as engaged in a certain kind of activity, a different kind in different circumstances.
You project a different identity at a formal business meeting than you do at the family dinner table, i.e.,
We enact different social identities and activities

22. Textual Competence
Textual Competence: The ability to produce and interpret contextually appropriate texts. To do this, we draw on our linguistic, textual, and pragmatic knowledge of what typically happens in particular text, and how it is typically organized and how it is typically interpreted.
For example, using MSN Messenger/text messaging involves learning a set of abbreviations and symbols [ BRB, BTW, FYI, OIC, TY,, ] that are commonly used as well as how they are interpreted, and you would need to keep your messages short so as to be easily read.

23. Generic Competence
Generic Competence: It describes how respond to repeated and new communicative situations by using, interpreting and exploiting conventions associated with specific text types or genres.
For example, writing a business or letter requires certain knowledge and conventions different from writing a text message to a friend. If you write business letters, you will have to know how to start your letter, what to say, how you organize what you say in a particular organizational pattern, and what language you should use in such type of texts..

24. Social Competence
Social Competence: It refers to how we use language to take part in social and institutional interactions in a way to allow us to express our social identity, within the limitations of a specific social situation and communicative interaction.
For example, How I present myself at a meeting at work, or how I talk to my professor or my close friend, or how I use language in a conversation to show that I am in control of the situation, etc.

25. Discursive Competence
Discursive Competence: It draws together these three competences: textual, generic and social competence.
It involves not only language-related and text-level knowledge, but also factors outside of the text which need to be there for effective communication.
Using a MSN text message involves how language is used, how I can express myself, whom I am writing to, knowledge of the technology, the impact I will have on what I say, etc.

26. Exercise
Think of examples of how people recognize your social identity through your use of language? In other words, how does your use of language reflect your age social class, gender, religion, nationality?
Think of rules of communication that people seem to follow when they are using language? For example, are there rules to be followed when students talk to their professors? What level of formality is used? What typical topics are talked about? What forms of address are used, etc.? Think of other examples?

27. We have to pay attention to:
The social uses people make of language
The relationship between culture and language
How language is related to social contexts

28. What do we mean by discourse analysis?
So,
What is discourse?
What do we mean by discourse analysis?
What is written discourse and spoken discourse?
What are approaches to discourse analysis?
Try to find answers to these questions next class!!!

29. Chapter 1 Paltridge, B. (2008). Discourse analysis: An introduction
Chapter 1 Paltridge, B. (2008). Discourse analysis: An introduction. New York: Continuum. Chapter 3, pp

30. Thank You