MODULE 2
Meaning and discourse in English
DISCOURSE TOPIC AND
ORGANISATION
Lesson 16
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PART 1
DISCOURSE TOPIC
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The problem of deciding what
something “is about”


Where does one part of a conversation end
and another begin?
For DA the notion of topic is “an intuitively
satisfactory way of describing the unifying
principle which makes one stretch of
discourse “about” something and the next
stretch “about” something else” (Brown &
Yule, 1983: 70)
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What is “topic”?

Nunan (1993: 125). Topic is “the subject
matter of a text.”

The concept of topic is elusive; different
scholars use it to refer to different
phenomena, from a constituent of a clause to
propositions of a text.

There is no widely accepted definition.
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Existing definitions of Topic
Defining topic
from the
viewpoint of
form, structure
Defining topic
from the
viewpoint of
content
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Form/structure-based definitions

1. Grammar: topic = subject

2. Structural boundaries
(paragraphs / paratones)
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1. Topic = Subject

A traditional grammatical analysis of a
sentence: subject and predicate :
Example 1
Subject
Mary

Predicate
saw John.
Topic and comment are related to the subject
and the predicate of the sentence:
Example 1
Topic
Mary
Comment
saw John.
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2. Structural boundaries
Analysts have been attempting to identify chunks
that can represent different topic - topic
boundaries which indicate the start and the
completion of different topics or topic shifts.

Written discourse – paragraphs.
BUT Paragraphs can be formed for the sake of
appearance and design of the page.
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Content-based definitions

Summative topic

Topic framework
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Semantic approach
summative topic

Keenan & Schieffelin: discourse topic is not simply a NP or a
sentence. It is the proposition (expressed as a phrase or a
sentence), about which the claim is made or elicited (similar to the
title of discourse).
Example 2
Peter is going to Paris next week
Van Dijk:
discourse topic summarizes, reduces, organizes and categorizes the
semantic information of discourse:
Semantic representation of the topic of this sentence:
go to (Peter, Paris e & next week (e).
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Problem with summative topic
This semantic approach is like writing a proposition/headline
which summarises a text. However, it is sometimes difficult to
do this kind of summary….
Example 3
The original title:
Pedestrians look away as stabbed man bleeds.

If there is a large number of different ways of expressing the
topic of even a short text, how can we determine which one
is the correct one?
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Discourse approach
Topic framework

Brown and Yule: the idea of topic
framework;

A topic framework depends on which feature
of context becomes activated in a particular
piece of discourse.
Example 4
(From the movie “Schindler’s List”)
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Topic framework


What is the topic of the episode?: ”Schindler needs
some space?” “Germans decline the offer?”
The speakers discuss several things: Schindler’s
products, Schindler’s problem of space, Germans
inability to help, Schindler offers to buy, Christmas
presents
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Topic framework for this episode

Schindler’s factory, 4 participants:
Schindler (has a factory, produces
goods for the German Army), Kuhnpast
and Hohne (army offices, have no
space), Stern (secretary), lack of space,
K. and H. can’t help, S. offers to buy, K
and H decline, Christmas presents
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Topic framework

The final topic framework would
represent a combination of elements
derived from the activated physical context
(time and place, facts about the speaker
and the hearer), and from the discourse
fragment itself (people, places, entities,
events, facts, etc.) often previously
mentioned in the discourse.
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How topics are developed
Speaking topically vs. speaking
on the topic
Gender and discourse topic
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Relevance of conversational
contributions

Once topic framework elements and the
correlation between the elements have
been identified, judgments about
relevance of contributions to the
conversation by the participants can be
made.
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Relevance of conversational
contributions

Gricean maxim of relevance: participants of
the conversation have to make their
contributions relevant in terms of the existing
topic framework or they are expected to be
speaking topically;

Participants are speaking topically when they
pick up the phrases form the preceding
speaker and include them into their
contribution.
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Example of speaking topically
Example 5
A: When did you last speak to Jan?
B: I’m not sure. About a week ago.
Why?
A: I’ve heard from C that she has got
engaged /…/
(participant A provides the reason)
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Relevance of conversational
contributions

Lexical cohesion is a sign that the discourse topic is
being maintained
Example 6
Seals are carnivorous with a difference. Most
carnivorous live on land. Seals, however, live in the
water, coming on land only to test and to breed. There
are some seals that actually mate in water but even so,
the females have to come on land to give birth to their
young, which are called pups. When seals come out
of land in large numbers to mate and to give birth,
those places are called rookeries.
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Speaking topically and
speaking on the topic


There are situations, where participants
have to concentrate on a particular
issue (e.g. a debate, the President’s
speech).
When participants ignore the previous
speaker’s contribution, they are often
speaking on the topic.
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Development of topic

Topics are often not negotiated
beforehand.

Schiffrin:
the structure “there + be + ITEM” helps
to manage transition from one topic to
another (see example)
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Topic Shift
moving from topic to topic
Example 8 (Schiffrin, 1994: 262)






I mean, in those days there was no such thing as
relief.
You had to make a livin’, y’ know.
And they had free soup houses.
There’s a place up on Francis Avenue here, oh about
three miles up.
That’s still in existence yet.
They se- they go in there and they make- give you
soup, for free.
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Gender influence on choice of
topic

Some topics are more interesting to women than to men
and vice versa

Women are normally more interactive than men. What
one woman proposes as a topic is progressively built
upon by another woman.

Women normally put more effort into maintaining
solidarity during interaction than men: they try to
avoid conflict and minimize face threats.

Women concentrate more in general on the
expressive implications of what is said than men do.
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What to look for when analysing
topic




Physical context and topic framework (as
“activated” physical context)
Speaking topically and deviations from
speaking topically (focus on why the
participants deviate from speaking topically)
Development of topic in a conversation; topic
boundaries
Gender and the choice of topic by the
speakers
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PART 2
DISCOURSE
ORGANISATION
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Perspective

Every text or image has a perspective
(or point of view) and the discourse
analyst needs to understand what that
perspective is
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Controlling perspective



Topicalisation
Thematisation
Staging
This refers to the way in which the speaker/writer
controls perspective on what is spoken/written
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Controlling perspective - what
is the ‘point of departure’?

‘Every clause, sentence, paragraph,
discourse is organised around an
element that is taken as its point of
departure’
When you analyse a text you need to
decide what this ‘point of departure’ is
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Controlling perspective Marking



Writers and speakers want to control
perspective and so they highlight certain
things
This highlighting is called ‘marking’
It is important for the text analyst to
identify what is marked and what is
unmarked
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Linearization problem




One speaker can only produce one word at a
time.
The speaker/writer orders the words into
clauses, clauses into sentences, sentences
into texts.
The speaker faces the so-called linearization
problem – choosing the beginning point.
The interpretation of discourse will vary
depending on what information comes first.
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Primacy

Often the first elements in a text are
marked

We tend to focus on what comes first in
a text (primacy effect) so analysing the
first elements in a text is very important
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Marking the perspective (1)
1.
2.
Jim borrowed Fred’s hammer
This is about Jim
Fred lent Jim his hammer
This is about Fred
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Marking the perspective (2)
3. Mary entered the restaurant. The
waiter was polishing the glasses.
This is about Mary
4. A customer came into the restaurant.
Alphonse was polishing glasses.
This is about Alphonse
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How is the perspective
changed in n.3 and 4?

Use of names (Mary, Alphonse) instead of
noun phrases (a customer, the waiter)
Use of verbs expressing point of view
entered = perspective OUTSIDE the room (i.e.
from Mary’s point of view)
came = perspective INSIDE the room (i.e. from
Alphons’es point of view

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The effect of previous text the co-text
I like Sally Binns. She’s tall and thin and walks like
a crane.
We have a positive interpretation because of I like

I dislike Sally Binns. She’s tall and thin and walks
like a crane.
We have a negative interpretation because of I
dislike

NO SENTENCE IS NEUTRAL. A PREVIOUS TEXT ALWAYS HAS AN
EFFECT ON OUR INTERPRETATION
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MARKED AND UNMARKED
It was lunchtime. A storm was arriving.
The farmer called the ducks
“the farmer” is marked
Nobody knew what the farmer wanted to do.
What the farmer did was call the ducks.
“what the farmer did” is marked
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CLEFT SENTENCES



IDENTIFYING - “what is disturbing the American
administration at the moment is …”
SUMMARY - “what I have tried to show you is …
CONTRAST - “Many religions are attractive. What is
unique about Catholicism is …”
Cleft sentences are used in three main ways
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NARRATIVE

Late that afternoon she received a telegram

Without hesitating, Betty replied ….

An hour later, a pleasant middle-aged woman
arrived
…
The thematic structure is based on TEMPORAL
ORDERING using time adverbials
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OBITUARY
The obituary is a particular type of text (a genre)




Mr William Selby, who died aged 85 on Sept. 20,
was ….
He went to school …
During the 2nd World War he …
In 1926 he married
The thematic structure of the obituary is based on TIME
(the chronological order of events)
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HOLIDAY BROCHURE
another particular type of text (genre)





On some islands it is best if you …
In Greece and Turkey you are …
In all other places …
In some centres we have …
On a few islands you have
The thematic structure of the holiday brochure
is based on PLACE
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Mary Queen of Scots was executed by the
English Queen

Mary was assassinated by the English

Mary of Scotland was murdered by her cousin
Elizabeth
Who
do you think is the writer in each case?
Why do writers make different lexical
choices?
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LEXICAL SELECTION



Mary Queen of Scots vs. Mary vs. Mary of Scotland
executed vs. assassinated vs. murdered
The English Queen vs. The English vs. her cousin
Elizabeth
Texts are not neutral. Words are always chosen by writers,
whether in a conscious or unconscious way
Lexical choice controls the EMPATHY of the
reader/listener.
This is very important in political discourse (e.g. the
arguments about history textbooks)
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SAME EVENTS - DIFFERENT RESPONSE
TEXT



Mary Queen of Scots …
INTERPRETATION
Legal process sanctioned by
constitutional monarch
Mary was ….
Political motivation,
attributed to nation
Mary of Scotland was …
Mary represents Scotland,
illegal act, worse because of
family obligations

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CONTROLLING PERSPECTIVE
(Staging)







TITLES (to prepare reader expectations)
FIRST UTTERANCE/LEFTMOST WORD
THEME/TOPIC (what text is about)
FIRST PARAGRAPH
SEQUENCING (what come first, second ..)
LEXICAL SELECTION
SYNTACTIC SELECTION
You need to consider all these organisational factors
when you are analysing a text
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