Topics in Applied Linguistics ANIF MAGHFUR 2201409068 THURSDAY, 403-404
APPROACHES TO DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
I.
Speech Act Theory (Austin 1955, Searle 1969)
A logic-philosophic perspective on conversational organization focusing on interpretation rather than the production of utterances in discourse. From the basic belief that language is used to perform actions. Every utterance can be analyzed as the realization of the speaker’s intent (illocutionary force) to achieve a particular purpose.
Neither Austin nor Searle were concerned with the analysis of continuous discourse.
Unit of analysis: speech act (SA) or illocutionary force (IF). Principal problems: the lack of a one-to-one matchup between discourse function (IF) and the grammatical form. It provides the insight that the basic unit of conversational analysis must be functionally motivated rather than formally defined one. Systemic name: speech function (SF) – central issue in discourse structure.
II.
Interactional Sociolinguistics (Gumperz 1982, Goffman 1959-1981)
It grows out of the work of anthropologists. It is centrally concerned with the importance of context in the production and interpretation of discourse. Units of analysis: grammatical and prosodic features in interactions. Gumperz demonstrated that interact ants from different socio-cultural backgrounds may “hear” and understand discourse differently according to their interpretation contextualization cues in discourse. E.g. intonation contours, ‘speaking for another’, alignment, gender.
III.
Ethnography of Communication (Dell Hymes (1972b, 1974 )
Concerned with understanding the social context of linguistic interactions: ‘who says what to whom, when, where. Why, and how’. Prime unit of analysis: speech event.
Definition: ‘The speech event is to what analysis of verbal interaction what the sentence is to grammar … It represents an extension in the size of the basic analytical unit from the single utterance to stretches of utterances, as well as a shift in focus from … text to … interaction’. Speech event refers to ‘activities … that are directly governed by rules or norms for the use of speech’ (Hymes 1972:56).
IV.
Pragmatics (Grice 1975, Leech 1983, Levinson 1983)
Formulates conversational behaviour in terms of general “principles” rather than rules. At the base of pragmatic approach is to conversation analysis is Gricean’s cooperative principle (CP). This principle seeks to account for not only how participants
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Topics in Applied Linguistics ANIF MAGHFUR 2201409068 THURSDAY, 403-404 decide what to DO next in conversation, but also how interlocutors go about interpreting what the previous speaker has just done. This principle is the broken down into specific maxims: Quantity (say only as much as necessary), Quality (try to make your contribution one that is true), Relation (be relevant), and manner (be brief and avoid ambiguity).
V.
Conversation Analysis (CA) (Harold Garfinkel 1960s-1970s)
Garfinkel (sociologist) concern: to understand how social members make sense of everyday life. Sack, Schegloff, Jefferson (1973)tried to explain how conversation can happen at all. CA is a branch of ethnomethodology. Two grossly apparent facts: a) only one person speaks at a time, and b) speakers change recurs. Thus conversation is a ‘turn taking’ activity. Speakers recognize points of potential speekar change – turn constructional unit (TCU).
VI.
Variation Analysis (Labov 1972a, Labov and Waletzky1967)
L & W argue that fundamental narrative structures are evident in spoken narratives of personal experience. The overall structure of fully formed narrative of personal experience involves six stages: 1) Abstract, 2) Orientation, 3) Complication, 4)
Evaluation, 5) Resolution, 6) Coda where 1) and 6) are optional. Strength: its clarity and applicability. Problems: data was obtained from interviews. Variationists’ approach to discourse stems from quantitative of linguistic change and variation.
Although typically focused on social and linguistic constraints on semantically equivalent variants, the approach has also been extended to texts.
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