discourse analysis
Overview
Discourse Analysis is a critical approach to studying language in use, examining how language constructs meaning, identity, and social relations within specific contexts. It moves beyond individual sentences to analyse extended stretches of communication, both written and spoken. This lesson introduces key theories and methodologies for deconstructing and understanding discourse.
Introduction to Discourse Analysis
Discourse Analysis (DA) is a broad field that investigates how language is used in real-world contexts. Unlike traditional grammar, which often focuses on isolated sentences, DA examines **extended stretches of communication** – whether a conversation, a newspaper article, a political speech, or a n...
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Key Concepts
- Discourse: Extended stretches of language, written or spoken, that have meaning and purpose within a social context.
- Context: The surrounding circumstances, including social, cultural, historical, and situational factors, that influence the production and interpretation of discourse.
- Cohesion: Linguistic features that create textual unity and link sentences and paragraphs together (e.g., pronouns, conjunctions, lexical chains).
- Coherence: The underlying meaningfulness and logical flow of a text, allowing it to be understood as a whole, even without explicit linguistic links.
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Exam Tips
- →When analysing a text, always consider the **context** (who, what, where, when, why) first, as it dictates meaning and purpose.
- →For cohesion and coherence, explicitly identify and label specific **linguistic devices** (e.g., 'The pronoun 'it' refers anaphorically to the 'previous statement', creating a cohesive link') and explain their effect.
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