Sifat Binta Alam
Dr. A R M Mostafizar Rahman
Professor
Eng-5201
December 15, 2021
Function of Discourse Analysis
Before jumping into the function of discourse analysis, we need to know what discourse
analysis is. If it has to be known in a simple way, it may say that, discourse analysis is nothing
but a method of analyzing a discourse and discourse means communicative action in the medium
of language like “meaningful symbolic behavior” in any mode. According to discourse analysts,
Discourse analysis can be written texts of all kinds, and spoken data from conversation to highly
institutionalized forms of talk.
Discourse Analysis:
Discourse analysis is a method which is used in different both in qualitative and
quantitative data. It is used to analysis different types of discourse like text, interview, any type
of sign or picture and conversation as well. Before, traditional linguistic analyst thought that,
discourse analysis can be used in only written documents but the thought has been changed now
and discourse analysis can be used in any written or spoken data.
We can use discourse analysis as a method of analyzing research material in any field of
study such as linguistic, language, literature, social science and also socio-political phenomena
of the text. Therefore, we can reach in the end of the tunnel of definition of discourse analysis is
the scope of discourse analysis in the field of written and spoken data is vast.
Function of discourse analysis:
While analyzing a discourse we need to see how a particular sentence or text is different
from others and also see the formation of words that can be simple, complex or compound. If we
consider Elizabethan literature, we can notice a lot of coinage in those literature and if we
analyze those literature, we often question the formation of these coinage about the writer’s
choice. So, in analyzing those text, we are interested to analyze those coinage.
When it comes to analyze a discourse, we have to go beyond the level of structure of the
data as discourse analysis is more comprehensive and profound in its approach, what traditional
grammar fails to do and from the failure discourse analysis starts from there.
As discourse analysis is used to analyze oral data like interview, here the function of
discourse analysis works to analyze not only the speech of the interview but also the gesture,
posture, style of talking to find out the depth meaning or intention of these conversation. This
one is also an important function of discourse analysis in modern era.
Discourse analysis also emphasizes why people use different regional accent/ dialect in
different context and how do we accommodate those in conversation. If we see an example,
generally we see in Bangladeshi advertisement or drama, the characters use regional dialect to
express their feelings.
The function of discourse analysis is also used to analyze cultural rules and convention of
communication. While analyzing a text, we try to know different cultural rule, connection,
traditional values and try to find out what these conventions actually do in the text like different
cultural norms in different countries/context. We also take into consideration the values,
attitudes, ideology, assumption communicated through the text. We also want to know who the
speakers are and their identity. If we don’t understand the speaker’s identity, we can’t able to
understand their attitudes, values or ideology.
Discourse analysis helps to understand the extra-linguistics issues where the traditional
grammar fails to do that. Its function also helps to know the different method that interprets a
text from different perspective, how language functions and how meaning differ from text to text
and how to construct and deconstruct a text.
It makes us understand the social groups and their approaches like different people from
different culture with different geography area have different communicative style. We also
found social and cultural aspects of language in discourse analysis.
As I have said before the function of discourse analysis is vast, it also helps us to know
how meaning is created or constructed as different interpretations use different perspective.
Discourse analysis gives us multiple or multilayered meaning of text. It gives us hidden/in-depth/
indirect intention or communicative values of a text. As example: Are you tensed? Here, the
traditional grammar interprets it in a way that it is a question by the speaker to the listener. But a
discourse analyst interprets it in a way that may the listener looks something serious or looks
nervous. So, here discourse analyst goes beyond the sentence structure level and find out the
depth.
The function of discourse analysis covers all the field of data with structure and
organized way including depth analysis. So, if we want to get multiple meaning to see the in-
depth of a text, we need to go for discourse analysis not tradition grammar which gives the only
surface meaning.
Work Cited
McCarthy, Michael. Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers: Cambridge University Press,
1991.
Johnstone, Barbara. Discourse Analysis, 2nd ed. Blackwell Publishing, 2008.