Discourse

In a nutshell

Discourse is another language level you should be familiar with. It refers to units of meaning longer than a single sentence, and different types of discourse can be classified depending on the structure this meaningful unit takes on. In this summary, you will learn about different types of discourse and how to apply discourse analysis to a text.

Discourse structure

Whenever a spoken or written text becomes longer than one sentence, it becomes discourse. Discourse structure is the analysis of a text by the way it is structured, according to the typical features of that text’s genre.

Spoken discourse

Since it usually extends beyond one sentence, all spoken conversation is discourse. It can be helpful to think about the conversational goals when analysing the discourse structure of spoken texts: for example, is one interlocuter asking a question to the other? Are they trying to recount a story?

Adjacency pairs

One recognisable feature of spoken language is the adjacency pair. This refers to types of sentences that often co-occur, e.g. the question and answer, or greeting and reply, structure:

Question

Would you like a cup of tea, dear?

Answer

Oh, no thank you. I’ve been told to cut down on caffeine.

Greeting
Alright, Jim?

Reply
Ah, hey Max! How are you doing?

Narrative discourse

Remember, narrative refers to the way a story is told. Written narratives usually follow a fundamentally similar structure to each other, and the same is true of spoken storytelling. William Labov (1972) came up with six narrative categories to break down the discourse structure of spoken narratives.

Labov’s narrative categories

Abstract

The abstract is where the conversation partner signals that they are about to begin a story.

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Orientation

The setting (time and place) of the story is disclosed.

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Complicating action

The bulk of the story is recounted. This is where details come in.

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Resolution

The story is rounded off.

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Evaluation

There is some reflection of the story.

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Coda

The story is signed off and the conversation partner indicates it is another person’s turn to speak.

Discourse analysis

Analysing discourse is simply investigating the meanings of the language used in a text via its aims/functions. Try to answer the following questions in your discourse analysis:

What are the interlocuter’s/author’s goals?
What is the function of the language used?
How is meaning constructed in this context?

Remember, discourse analysis is all about language in use. Try to think about extralinguistic cues and paralinguistic features that run parallel to the text’s mere words.

Discourse and power

A spoken text contains elements of language that can be examined in their own right: the way somebody talks can tell you about their dialect, accent, which words and phrases are stressed, etc. However, in discourse analysis, the sociocultural context of the conversation should be at the forefront of your mind – we might make informed assumptions about a person’s class, gender, sexuality through different marked features in their speech which is particular to that social group. Think also in terms of hierarchy: somebody with lots of power is likely to interact with others differently from someone with little social power.

Example

Below is a conversation between the CEO of a company (A) and an intern (B):

A: Good morning! Lovely to meet you.

B: Hi… Good morning! Nice… Lovely to meet you too, sir!

A: Ha… no need to call me sir. What is it you’re up to today, then?

B: I’m just… I’ve been told to come downstairs and say hello to–

A: Well! I’m glad you did. Pleasure meeting you. On you go.

B: Thanks, lovely to… lovely meeting you too.

The context of this conversation suggests a power imbalance between the high-flying CEO and an intern at the start of their career – and the discourse analysis shows this. Notice how the intern has more false starts than the CEO, with more pauses in their speech, suggesting uncertainty or nervousness, compared to the more assertive CEO with no pauses. Notice too how the CEO interrupts the intern before they can give a full answer, suggesting he may be rushed or otherwise flouting the conversational cues that the intern has not finished speaking, reflecting a reduced need to show politeness.

References

Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.