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Summary The Study of Language - chapter 11,12,16,17,18,19
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Summary study book The Study of Language of George Yule - ISBN: 9780521749220, Edition: 4, Year of publication: 2010
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The Study of Language - chapter 2,5,6,7,9,10
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Chapter 11 – Discourse analysisWhen we ask how we make sense of what we read, how we can recognize well-constructed texts as
opposed to those that are jumbled or incoherent, how we understand speakers who communicate
more than they say and how we successfully take part in that complex activity called conversation,
we are undertaking what is known as discourse analysis.
Discourse analysis
Discourse is the language beyond the sentence. We have the ability to create complex discourse
interpretations of fragmentary linguistic messages. Example:
Trains collide, two die – we know what happened in the first part is the cause of what happened in
the second part.
Interpreting discourse
The effort to interpret (or to be interpreted), and how we accomplish it, are the key elements
investigating in the study of discourse. To arrive at an interpretation, we rely on linguistic forms.
Interpreting discourse – cohesion
Cohesion is the ties and connections that exist within texts. An number of types of cohesive ties:
- Words to maintain reference to the same people/thing: he, it, they, that car.
- Number of terms that share a common element of meaning: bought – saving – penny – sold.
- Use of connectors: however, and, then.
- Agreement of verb tenses gives an indication of the time.
The connectedness we experience in our interpretation is not only based on connection between
words.
Interpreting discourse – coherence
The key to the concept of coherence (“everything fitting together well”) is not something that exists
in words, but in people who “make sense” of what they read or hear. People try to arrive at an
interpretation that is in line with their experience of the way the world is. You would have to create
meaningful connections that are not actually expressed by the words and sentences.
Interpreting discourse – speech events
There is an enormous variation in what people say in different circumstances. In order to begin to
describe the source of the variation, we would have to take account of a number of criteria:
- Specify the roles of speaker and hearer
- Specify their relationship
- Describe the topic of the conversation.
Conversation analysis
English conversation can be described as an activity in which, for the most part, two or more people
take turns at speaking. For the most part, participants wait until one speaker indicates that he/she is
finished by signaling a completion point (asking a question, pausing at the end). Other participants
can indicate they want to speak by making short sounds or body language/facial expressions.
Conversation analysis – turn-taking
One way to “keep the turn” is to not pause at the end, use connectors (and, but, however) or fill the
pause with a hesitation marker, also known as filled pauses (er, em, uh, ah). These strategies should
not be considered as undesirable of domineering, but a way of organizing turns and negotiating the
social interaction via language.
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