Discourse and Pragmatics

Approaches to Discourse AnalysisWhats it all about?Leaning to use the analysis of language to solve real-life problems at work, at school and at home.Theory and Practical ApplicationThe D WordDiscourseDiscourse is: language above the sentence level or above the clause.Stubbs 1998The study of discourse is the study of any aspect of language use. Fasold 1990The analysis of discourse is the analysis of language in useit cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions that they serve in human affairs. Brown and Yule 1983DiscourseDiscourse is for me more than just language in use: It is language use, whether speech or writing, seen as a type of social practice. Fairclough 1992Discourse constitutes the socialDiscourse is shaped by relations of power, and invested with ideologies. Fairclough 1992Big D and Little d Discourse (non-count) vs. DiscoursesSaying, Doing, Thinking, Behaving, Believing, Valuing, Interacting combinations that show who we are (Gee) The Discourse of medicineThe Discourse of romance

Discourse isHow language reflects realityHow language creates realityHow language shapes our identities and interactionsHow language is used as to tool to control peopleWhat is the meaning of this sentence?

Meaning depends onHowWhereWhenTo whomWhyThe P WordPragmaticsFrom the Greek pragma meaning deedHow we do things with words The study of meaning in different contexts of useHow language is used to do things in real world situationsSpeech act theoryConversational logic

Discourse AnalysisCritical Discourse AnalysisConversationAnalysisPragmaticsGenreAnalysisEthnography OfSpeakingMultimodalDiscourseAnalysisDiscourseAnalysisMediatedDiscourseAnalysisDiscourse analysisAn ExampleQuestionsWho are these people?What is going on here? What are these people doing? What kinds of tools/language are they using to do it?Are they being successful/doing it well? Who has more power in the conversation? How can you tell? What do the two people want? What strategies are they using to get what they want? Who wins?

QuestionsWho are these people?What is going on here? What are these people doing? What kinds of tools/language are they using to do it?Are they being successful/doing it well? Who has more power in the conversation? How can you tell? What do the two people want? What strategies are they using to get what they want? Who wins?

The Ethnography of CommunicationCommunication as a matter of cultural competenceFocus on things like setting, participants, mood, and other kinds of behavioral rulesWhat are some of the rules for complaining to your superior?Genre AnalysisCommunication as using the generic conventions of a discourse communityFocus on the structure of the interactionDo moves occur in a predictable way?

PragmaticsCommunication as doing things with wordsSentence meaning vs. speaker meaning

Politeness TheoryCommunication as a way of encoding social relationshipsFocus on Face threatening acts and Face saving strategies

Conversation AnalysisCommunication as joint activityAttention to the sequential organization of talk, turn-taking and topic management

Interactional SociolinguisticsCommunication as a way of signaling social activities and social identitiesAttention to strategies speakers use to signal activity and identityCompeting frames

Critical Discourse AnalysisCommunication as a way of exercising and resisting powerFocus on existing power relations and how they are reinforcedExamines underlying assumptions Asks, who really won?

Multimodal Discourse AnalysisCommunication as a matter of combining multiple modesFocus not just on words but on gestures, facial expressions, posture, proxemics, gaze, object handling, spatial layout, time and timingMediated Discourse AnalysisCommunication as a tool for taking actionFocus on actions and the cultural tools that make them possible

ConclusionCommunication is not just a matter of wordsCommunication is a matter of actionCommunication is a matter of relationships and powerCommunication creates and re-creates our social worlds