Discourse Analysis

Course Code ENG 467

Division 58
Course Credits 3
Level 8
Assessment First Mid-Term 20; Second Mid-Term 20
Quiz 5; Assignment 5; FINAL 50
Textbook Coulthard, M. (1985). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis
Course Instructor Dr Gibreel Alaghbary
Instructor Office Hours
Sunday 11.00-01.50
Monday 11.00-01.50
 Discourse Analysis
?What is discourse
A continuous stretch of language larger than a sentence, often constituting a “
coherent unit, such as sermon, argument, joke or narrative.” (Crystal:1992)

stretches of language perceived to be meaningful, unified and purposive.” “

Cook (1989)

Common Features
It is a stretch of language longer than a sentence
It is meaningful and coherent
It communicates and has a purpose
It maybe spoken or written
 Discourse Analysis

?When did the study of discourse begin

.In the 1970s

?What is the difference between text and discourse

Some linguists define discourse as “the study of texts in contexts”. In this view,
discourse is language in action (or interaction) and the text is the grammatical and
.meaningful record of that interaction

?What is the context

The context of a text is the information needed to interpret the text and make sense
of it. This includes information about the interlocutors (speaker and listener), the
.setting (time and place) of the speech event, and the purpose of the interaction
 Discourse Analysis
Example

.A: That’s the telephone

B: I’m in the bath
.A: O.K

?How do both the speakers manage to make sense of what the other says

.The 1st speaker makes a request for the 2nd speaker to perform action
.The 2nd speaker state reason why he cannot comply with the request
.The 1st speaker undertakes to perform the action

Thus language users must have a lot of knowledge (non-linguistic) of how conversation 
.works that is not simply ‘linguistic’ knowledge
 Discourse Analysis

Examples of Discourse

Spoken Discourse
Conversations
Lectures
Sermons
Interviews
Jokes
Speeches

Written Discourse
Reports
Political texts
Legal texts
Literature
Newspaper articles
Newspaper headlines
 Discourse Analysis

Emergence of Discourse Analysis

Discourse Analysis emerged in the 1970s as a reaction to the exclusive concern
with the idealized native speaker-hearer knowledge (and the formal features
of language) in Chomsky’s tradition to the exclusion of considerations of
.context

.There was a new interest in conversation and meaning beyond language

 Discourse Analysis

Functional Linguistics Formal Linguistics

s – Present 1970 1920s – 1960s Period of
popularity
The content and Linguistic form – how a word is Prime concern
communicative function of pronounced, how it is structured,
the linguistic form outside and where it occurs in a sentence
language
Performance – the speaker’s Competence – the internalized, ideal Subject of
actual use of language in native speaker-hearer knowledge of study
speech situations language, which is error-free
Naturally-occurring language Invented examples Data
To describe (descriptive) To theorize (theoretical) Purpose
Firth, Halliday, Grice, Austin Bloomfield, Chomsky Major
proponents
 Discourse Analysis

Speech Act Theory

?Who proposed the theory and when
.The theory was introduced by the Oxford philosopher Austin in the year 1962
Austin gave a series of lectures at Harvard University which were later published
.in the book How to Do Things with Words

?What was Austin’s main argument

Austin observed that there are sentences that look like statements but have
:functions other than ‘stating’ a state of affairs. These are
,Constatives
,ethical propositions
performatives, and
.expositives
 Discourse Analysis
Speech Act Theory
?What is the difference between constatives, ethical propositions, performatives, and expositives

A statement: a sentence that is intended to record or impart information and that has truth-value (i.e.,
.can be proved true or false). Example: Saudi Arabia is in Asia

A constative: a sentence that is not intended to record or impart information and that has no truth-value
.(i.e., can be proved true or false) because it has no referent. Example: The King of France is bald

An ethical proposition: is a sentence that is intended to prescribe conduct and regulate human behavior.
.It may be value-laden but not in the same way as statement. Example: You must tell the truth

A performative: is a sentence in which the saying of the words constitutes the performing of an action.
.Example: I name this boy Ali

An expositive: is a sentence that satisfies all the criteria for performatives but which has truth-value (i.e.,
can be proved true or false). Example: I argue that Discourse Analysis is easy. Expositives have the
.structure (subject + simple present verb + that)
 Discourse Analysis

More examples

Expositives Performatives Ethical propositions Constatives Statements

I admit that I I sentence you .Big boys don’t lie The President .I live in Methnab
broke the .to death of Saudi Arabia
.window You should come on .is tall .I am 30 years old
.I apologize .time
I testify that he A bachelor: My
.killed the girl I divorce you. wife is
(in Muslim .American
countries)

.I resign
 Discourse Analysis

?What is a speech act

A speech act is an utterance that has a performative function. Example: I order you to do the
. dishes
?What are the common functions of speech acts
The functions of speech acts often include such acts as suggesting, ordering, promising, warning,
.greeting, apologizing, inviting and congratulating

?Are there conditions that a speech act must satisfy in order to qualify as a performative
.There are two conditions, at least
There must exist an accepted conventional procedure. For example, a woman cannot be .1
.divorced if she is not married, and we name babies but not houses
The procedure must be executed by the right person. For example, only the husband can .2
.divorce his wife, and only a judge can sentence the defendant to imprisonment

These are called felicity conditions. If these conditions are not satisfied, we say that the speech
.act misfires
 Discourse Analysis

.Give example of speech acts that disqualify as performatives (or misfire)

.Stranger to woman: I divorce you .1
.Guest holding your newborn: I name this boy David .2
.Plaintiff to defendant in the court of law: I sentence you to death .3

?What are the types of speech acts

.There are two types of speech acts: direct and indirect

A direct speech act is one where the content of the communication is identical, or alomost identical, to the
function intended by the communication. Example: If you cross that line, I will shoot you. (a threat); I
.promise to come on time. (promise)

An indirect speech act is one where the content of the communication is different from the function
intended by the communication. Example: It is hot in here. (a request to open the window); Do you have to
stand in front of the TV? (A request to move aside). “Me” in response to ‘Who can help me?’ (an offer to
help)
 Discourse Analysis

?How does Austin define a speech act

Austin offers a three-fold definition of a speech act. In issuing an utterance, Austin argues, a speaker
.can perform three acts simultaneously (at the same time)

Perform an act of saying something (the actual utterance) - locutionary act .1

Perform an act in saying something (the pragmatic force of the utterance) - illocutionary act .2
Perform an act of saying something (the actual effect of the utterance) – perlocutionary act .3

:Example
?Would you close the door, please
”?locutionary act the act of saying the utterance “would you close the window, please
.Illocutionary act the speaker’s intention behind the locution, in this case requesting
Perlocutionary act the effect the speaker wants to exercise on the listener, in this case getting the
.listener to close the window
 Discourse Analysis

Grice’s Cooperative Principle (CP), Maxims of Conversation and Conversational Implicature

H.P. Grice (1975) introduces the ‘Cooperative Principle’ approach to describe how conversation operates.
He also introduces the concept of ‘Conversational Implicature’ to describe how we infer unstated
.meanings in ordinary conversations

The Cooperative Principle (CP)

When we speak to one another in ordinary conversation, we try to ‘cooperate’ in order for our
.conversation to proceed successfully and meaningfully

One way of ‘cooperating’ is by following some rules in conversations. Grice calls these rules ‘maxims of
:conversation’. These are four
Maxim of Quantity
Maxim of Quality
Maxim of Relation
Maxim of Mannar
 Discourse Analysis

The Maxim of Quantity

Make your contribution as informative as required (Don’t say too much or too little)
The Maxim of Quality
Don’t say what you believe to be false
The Maxim of Relation
Be relevant (stay on the topic)
The Maxim of Manner
Be clear
Avoid ambiguity

These maxims may be followed or violated (not followed) in conversations. If they are followed,
conversation is meaningful; if they are not, the listener will need to cooperate in order to make
.them meaningful
 Discourse Analysis
:Examples
A conversational exchange that follows all the maxims of conversation
?A: What’s your name
.B: My name is Gibreel

A conversational exchange that violates the maxim of quantity

?A: Where are you
B: In my clothes

?A: Did you enjoy the party last night

B: There was a lot of oriental food on the table, lots of flowers all over the place, people hanging around chatting
.with each other

A conversational exchange that violates the maxim of quality

.A teacher to a late student: You’re such a punctual guy. Welcome to class

A conversational exchange that violates the maxim of relation

?A: Have you done your homework
.B: My car broke down yesterday

A conversational exchange that violates the maxim of manner

?A: What are your plans for this afternoon
B: I am thinking of taking you to the Z-O-O. (in the presence of children)
 Discourse Analysis
When a maxim of conversation is flouted, it leads the listener to infer something that is
.meant but not said. Grice calls this a conversational implicature

:Example 1
?John: Where is Dr Gibreel
.Mary: He is in class or in the teachers’ room
Maxim Violated: Quantity (saying more than required)
.Implicature: Mary does not know which of the two place Dr Gibreel is

:Example 2
?John: You really love me
.Mary: I like Ferrari, college football, and things that go really fast
Maxim Violated: Relation (Mary is changing the topic)
.Implicature: Mary does not want to answer, or the answer is no
 Discourse Analysis
:Example 3
.John: A lot of people are depending on you
.Mary: Thanks, that really takes the pressure off

Maxim Violated: Quality (knowing that “a lot of people are depending on

you” does not, in fact, take the pressure off. Mary is saying something
obviously untrue.)
Implicature: By saying something clearly untrue, Mary is implying that the
opposite is true (sarcasm). The true meaning being expressed here is
probably more like “That really puts a lot of pressure on me” and perhaps,
”.by extension, “Stop pressuring me
 Discourse Analysis

The Ethnography of Speaking

is the systematic description of speech. Speech is described in terms of three components: the speech
.community, speech styles, and the speech event

The Speech Community

is any group of speakers that shares a linguistic code and rules for interpreting that code, e.g., the Indian
.community in Methnab, the Egyptian community in Onizah

Speech Styles
are the linguistic options available to the speech community. Saudis, for example, have a choice of two
major varieties – a local dialect and the standard Arabic. By contrast, Americans have a choice not
between major varieties but between five different degrees of formality within the one standard
.language
 Discourse Analysis

Speech Styles
according to the topic and context-specific lexis according to the level of formality
Register Informal Formal
:Examples With equals With senior people
The Chemistry register to show respect
The Linguistics register

according to the social class according to the region

Social dialect Regional dialect
:Examples ,.E.g
The dialect of the upper class vs. the dialect of The dialect of North Saudi Arabia
the lower class The dialect of West Saudi Arabia
 Discourse Analysis

The speech event

:is described in terms of six components

Setting: the place and time at which the event takes place
Participants: traditionally speech is described in terms of speaker and hearer
Purpose: all speech acts have a purpose – to give information, express emotions,
.etc
.Key: is the tone in which an event is performed – serious, joyful, sad, sarcastic, etc
Channel: the choice of oral or written communication
Message content: the topic of the speech event
 Discourse Analysis

Face
In discourse studies, face is our public self-image – or in other words, our sense of dignity
.or prestige in social contexts

The principle whose purpose is to consider others’ feelings and establish levels of mutual comfort is
.called the Politeness Principle

Many speech acts, however, constitute a threat to the face of the listener. Such speech acts are
.called Face Threatening Acts (or FTAs)

A Face Threatening Act (FTA) may be made in four ways. It may be made off record – it is made
.indirectly so that if challenged, the speaker can deny that he meant it
Example
?A: Can you change a tyre
.B: I am busy
A: I was just wondering if you CAN. (denies that he was asking for help)
 Discourse Analysis

Face
A Face Threatening Act (FTA) may be also be made on record– it is made directly and
in conformity with Grice’s maxims of conversation. These speech acts further
.subdivide into FTAs without redressive action and FTA with redressive action

FTA without redressive action are made baldly, such as direct imperatives and
.warnings
Example
.Sit down .1
.Shut up .2
.Don’t come late .3
 Discourse Analysis
Face
FTA with redressive action take account of the listener’s positive face, his need to feel appreciated.
:Three strategies that are used to appeal to the positive face of the listener are

Complement the listener .1

Example
?Nice car. Can I possibly borrow it for a few minutes

Claim common ground .2

Example
.It’s been a long class and we must be hungry. Let’s go eat

Play down disagreement .3

Example
?A: That’s where you live, Riyadh
.B: That’s where I was born
 Discourse Analysis
Face
FTA with redressive action also take account of the listener’s negative face, his need to have freedom of action. Four
:strategies that are used to mitigate FTAs are

.Minimize the content by diminutives .1

Example
?Can you have a little look at this

.Use hedging expressions to minimize the strength or threat of the imposition .2

Example
.I wonder if you can help me with this exercise

.Minimize the speaker’s responsibility by attributing agency to others or to no one .3

Example
.The students want to put off the test
.All passengers must fasten their seat belts

.Acknowledge the imposition and apologize for it .4

Example
.I am sorry I am coming without an appointment but I need your advice on this
 Discourse Analysis
Conversation Analysis
.Conversation is organized in and through turns – one person speaking at a time

:Conversations are structured in the following ways

An Adjacency Pair .1
An adjacency pair has two utterances produced successively and in order by two different speakers.
The first part of the adjacency pair often includes a question, a greeting, an offer, a request, a
complaint, an invitation, or an announcement. The second part is reciprocal, i.e., offers the answer,
.greeting, justification, apology, etc. Adjacency pairs are the basic structural units in conversation

Examples
.Hi there
.Hi

?Why did you come late

.I am sorry
 Discourse Analysis

An Insertion Sequence .2
.In an insertion sequence, one pair is embedded in (occurs inside) another pair
Example
?A: Do you know where pizza hut is
?B: Well, where do you live
.A: I live on King Abdulaziz road
.B: It is not far from you

An Side Sequence .3
.In a side sequence, one pair which is irrelevant, is embedded in (occurs inside) another pair
Example
?A: Do you know where pizza hut is
.B: Let me take this call and I will get back to you
.A: Sure
.B: It is on King Abdullah road
 Discourse Analysis
An Opening Sequence .4
.An adjacency pair used to open a conversation
A Pre-closing Sequence .5
.An adjacency pair used before closing a conversation
A Closing Sequence .6
.An adjacency pair used to close a conversation

An Extended Example
.A: Morning
.B: Morning
?A: Do you have a minute
.B: I am busy. Sorry
.A: Ok
.B: Yeah
.A: See you
.B: See you
 Discourse Analysis
Features of Naturally-Occuring Conversations
Pauses .. a very short period of silence (e.g., I went to [silence] London.)
Pause Fillers .. sounds or words used to avoid silence in conversations, such as um, er, uh, I mean, y’know,
like (e.g. I went to um London.)
False starts … a start that a speaker realizes is wrong and amends or repairs (e.g., I went ..um.. Indeed my
wife and I went to London.)
Recycling … a repaired false start (e.g., Indeed my wife and I in the previous example)
Back channel support … a word or an expression the listener uses to indicate they are following or
,.indicate interest in the conversation (e.g
… A: I went to London
.B: Ok
.A: … and had a lot of fun
,.Interruption … to stop a speaker from finishing their turn (e.g
… A: I went to
.B: I have to go now. Bye
Overlap … happens when two speakers talk at the same time. It may be intentional (when the listener
does not want to listen to the speaker for some reason) and it may be unintentional, which is often
resolved by one of the two participants yielding or offering the floor – giving the right to the other
.participant to continue
 Discourse Analysis

Terminology
Linguistic competence is defined as a speaker-hearer’s ability to speak and
understand language in a grammatically-correct manner (Ottenheimer,
.2006, p. 95)

Canale and Swain (1980) argue linguistic competence is not enough and that
:there is a communicative competence defined in terms of four components
Grammatical competence the ability to use words and rules correctly .1
Sociolinguistic competence the ability to use language appropriately .2
Discourse competence the ability to use language cohesively and .3
coherently
Strategic competence the ability to use appropriate communication .4
strategies
 Discourse Analysis

Inference
An inference is additional information used by the listener to create a
.connection between what is said and what must be meant

Example
?Can I look at your Chomsky
The listener has to operate with the inference: ‘if X is the name of the
writer of a book, then X can be used to identify a copy of a book by that
’writer
.Jennifer is wearing Calvin Klein
 Discourse Analysis
Presupposition
What a speaker (or writer) assumes is true or known by a listener (or
.reader) can be described as a presupposition

Example
.Your brother is waiting outside
.Here there is an obvious presupposition that you have a brother
?Why did you arrive late
?When did you stop smoking
?Okay, Mr. Smith, how fast were you going when you ran the red light
Questions like this have in-built presuppositions, and they are useful devices
.for interrogators or trial lawyers
 Discourse Analysis

Cohesion in English
Cohesion is a property of a text by means of which different
parts of a text are linked and connected. Halliday and Hasan
(1976) distinguish five major types of grammatical cohesive
ties: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical
.ties
 Discourse Analysis

Reference .1
Pronouns, demonstratives, and comparatives may be used
.as cohesive links

Examples
.If a student needs help, he can always meet me in office .1
This is why John is the best footballer in town. Anaphorics .2
If you are buying a care, you should know this.
Cataphoric
.This car is good but that one is better .3
 Discourse Analysis

Substitution .2
Substitution is the process of replacing a lexical item with
.another at the nominal, verbal and clausal levels

Examples
.Nominal Do you want the apples? Yes, I’ll take one
.Verbal Did you go? Yes, I did
.Clausal The apples are getting back. Yes, they are
 Discourse Analysis

Ellipsis .3
Ellipsis is the process of replacing a lexical item with a
.“zero” tie at the nominal, verbal and clausal levels

Examples
.Nominal They are small. Take two (apples)
.Verbal Were you reading? No, I wasn’t (reading)
Clausal I don’t know how to drive a car. I’ll have to learn
.how (to drive a car)
 Discourse Analysis

Conjunction .4
These are linkers used to indicate a relationship between
.sentences or parts of a sentence

Examples
.Contrast I bought ten apples. However, I didn’t eat any
.Causal Her work was finished, so she turned off the laptop
.Temporal After the prayer, we went home
.Logical sequence I lost all my money. Then, I sold my house
 Discourse Analysis

Lexical Ties .5
This involves the use of lexical items to link different parts
of the text via repetition, synonymy, superordinate, and
.general words

.Repetition Sue is in the race. I believe Sue will win the race
Synonymy I saw a young boy. The lad was wearing a T-shirt.
.Superordinates I bough carrot. It’s my favorite vegetable
.General word She’s a single mom but a great parent indeed
 Discourse Analysis

Questions and Parallel Structures .6

Aluminum alloys are now more important in the
automobile industry than ever before. But why are
they important? They are significant because they are
light and fuel efficient in comparison to the heavy, fuel-
consuming steel alloys. The government is pressuring
the industry to replace traditional iron-based alloys with
aluminum-based alloys but apparently the industry is
not willing to. Iron-based alloys are now more
infrequently used in the automobile industry than ever
.before
 Discourse Analysis

An extended example
I saw a boy in the garden. What was he doing? The boy
was climbing a tree but I was not. I was worried about the
child. The poor lad was obviously not up to it. The idiot
was going to fall off the tree. He did. Then, I rushed him
to the nearest hospital. You would not believe this. He
was totally ok. This was a big surprise to me. The boy
promised never to do it again.
 Discourse Analysis

Coherence
My father bought a Lincoln convertible. The car driven by
the police was red. That color doesn’t suit her. She
consists of three letters. However, a letter isn’t as fast as
a telephone call.

What is wrong with this text?

 Discourse Analysis

Coherence

Coherence means the connection of ideas at the idea

level (whereas cohesion is the connection of ideas at
the sentence level).
 Possible Patterns (1)
topic1 comment1

topic2 comment2

topic3 etc.

Lasers have found widespread application in medicine.

One of these applications is the human eye. The eye is
ideally suited for laser surgery because most of the
.eye tissue is transparent
 Possible Patterns (2)
topic1 comment1

topic1 comment2

topic1 etc.

Lasers have found widespread application in medicine.

They play an important role in the treatment of eye
disease and the prevention of blindness. Lasers have
.also found application in the food industry
 Possible Patterns (3)
topic1 comment1 + comment2

topic2 comment3

topic3 comment4

Last evening, I met John and Mary. John was upset

because of the exam result. Mary, however, did not
.really care about it
 Application

Which two sentences in the following text are awkward

.(disturb the logical connection between the ideas)
The ancient Egyptians buried their pharaohs in tombs 1
called pyramids. 2 The most famous pyramids are in Giza,
near Cairo.3 Some pyramids are made of more than two
million blocks of stone.4 Teams of workers dragged them
into place.5 The pyramids were built to house the body
of the pharaoh.6 Inside each pyramid is a secret chamber.7
The tomb where the mummy of the pharaoh was laid is
this .8 Most of these mummies have been stolen by
.robbers
 COHESION

Cohesive Devices

Lexical Grammatical Rhetorical

Lexical Repetition Pronouns Questions

Lexical Chains Substitution Parallel Structures
Synonyms and Antonyms Ellipsis
Coordinators and
Subordinators
Comparison
Tense
Lexical Devices

Grammatical
Devices

Rhetorical
Devices