Class on Discourse Analysis

Presented by
Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
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 Definition of Discourse
 Classifications of Context
 Speech Act and Discourse Analysis
 Practice Session
 Summing up Session
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 Discourse (from Latin discursus means “running
to and from”)
 It is segments of language which may be bigger or
smaller than a single sentence but the adduced
meaning is always beyond the sentence.
 John is on his way to University.
 “No Second Troy”
 Ulysses, “Ulysses”, Ulysses
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 According to the Formalists discourse is ‘language
above the sentence or above the clause’.
 Functionalist views discourse as ‘language use.’ This
definition observes the relationship that the discourse
has with the context.
 A third definition of discourse attempts to bridge the
formalist-functionalist dichotomy. The relationship
between form (structure) and function (usages) is an
important issue in discourse analysis.
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 Linguistic context
 Situational context
 Cultural context
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The relationship between the words, phrases, sentences and
even paragraphs
 Deictic: Pronouns
 Co-text: References/Allusions
Achilles’ Heel
Mir Jafar
 Collocation: refers to how words go together and form
fixed relationships.
heavy rain-thick rain
high temperature-tall temperature
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refers to the environment, time and place, etc. in which the
discourse occurs, and also the relationship between the
participants.
 Field: IUBAT Campus
 Tenor: Teacher-student Relationship
 Mode: Formal as in teaching
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refers to the culture, customs and background in which the
speakers participate.
Culture of IUBAT: Language, dressing codes, Behavioral
patterns, Festivals and all academic and non-academic
performances
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Eliminating Ambiguity:
 Lexical ambiguity
 Structural ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity: mostly caused by homonymy. For
example, these four words, right, rite, write and wright, are
all pronounced as [rait], but they are quite different from
each other.
Structural ambiguity: the phrase young men and women
can be analyzed as either “young /men and women/” (i.e.
both are young) or “/young men/ and women” (i.e. only
the men are young).
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I like Bill more than Mary.
This sentence can mean “I like Bill more than Mary does.”
or “I like Bill more than I like Mary.” In such examples, a
given context can indicate what the sentence exactly
means.
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Speaker: a young mother
Hearer: her mother –in-law
Place: park by a duck pond
Time: sunny afternoon in 14 February 2020
They are watching the young mother’s two-year-old son
chasing ducks and the mother-in-law has just remarked
that her son, the child’s father, was rather slow at his age.
The young mother says:
I do think Adam is quick
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Speaker: a student
Hearer: a set of students
Place: sitting round a coffee table in the cafeteria
Time: evening in February, 2020
John, one of the group members, has just told a joke.
Everyone laughs except Adam. Then Adam laughs.
One of the students says:
I do think Adam is quick
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Simply speech act indicates an utterance as functional unit
in communication.
In broadest sense speech acts mean all the acts performed
through speaking.
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 Austin, J. L. How to Do Things with Words. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press, 1962.
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 John L. Austin (Proposed)
 J. R. Searle (Developed)
They believe that language is not only used to inform or to describe
things, it is often used to “do things”, to perform acts.
For Example:
• You’re fired.
• “There is a policeman on the corner.”
This could be a warning, a hint, or a reminder to go and take your
car out of the handicapped space you have parked in.
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 “I promise I’ll be there tomorrow.”
 This could be a threat or a promise, depending on whether his
presence tomorrow is a disadvantage or an advantage to the
listener.
 “If you don’t behave, I promise you there’s going to be trouble.”
This sentence says it’s a “promise,” but it’s a “threat.”
(Searle: Speech Acts 58)
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In speech act theory, utterances have two kinds of
meaning:
1. Propositional meaning
2. Illocutionary meaning
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This is the basic literal meaning of the utterance which is
conveyed by the particular words and structures that the
utterance contains.
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This is the effect the utterance or written text has on the
reader or listener.
Example: I am thirsty.
The propositional meaning is what the utterance says
about the speaker’s physical state.
The illocutionary meaning is the effect the speaker wants
to have on the listener.
It may be intended as a request for something to drink.
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Austin suggests three kinds of acts:
I. Locutionary act
II. Illocutionary act
III. Perlocutionary act
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1. Locutionary act: the act of saying, the literal meaning
of the utterance
2. Illocutionary act: the extra meaning of the utterance
produced on the basis of its literal meaning
3. Perlocutionary act: the effect of the utterance on the
hearer, depending on specific circumstances.
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It’s stuffy in here.
• The locutionary act is the saying of it with its literal
meaning “There isn’t enough fresh air in here”.
• The illocutionary act can be a request to the hearer to
open the window.
• The perlocutionary act can be the hearer’s opening the
window or his refusal to do so.
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John R. Searle has established a five part classification of
speech acts:
1. Directives
2. Commissives
3. Representatives
4. Declaratives
5. Expressives
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A speech act that has a function of getting the listener to do
something, such as a suggestion, a request, or a command.
Examples:
• Always speak the truth.
• Never tell a lie.
• Could you give me your pen, please?
• May I have some soda? Is there any milk left?
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A speech act that commits a speaker to doing something in
the future, such as a promise or a threat or a refusal.
Examples:
• Maybe I can do that tomorrow.
• Don’t worry, I’ll be there.
• If you don’t stop fighting, I’ll call the police.
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It describes states or events, such as an assertion, a claim, a
report etc.
Example:
• I went to the national painting exhibition. There are about
twenty paintings on display. Some are very classic and
extraordinarily awesome. (a report)
• This is a German car. (an assertion)
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A speech act that changes the reality in accord with the
proposition of the declaration.
Examples:
• Class is dismissed. (Students get up and leave.)
• I now pronounce you husband and wife. (During
wedding ceremony the act of marriage is performed
when it is uttered.)
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In this speech act, the speaker expresses feeling and
attitudes about something, such as an apology, a complaint,
to thank someone, to congratulate someone etc.
For example:
• I am very disappointed.
• What a great day!
• Oh my God, that’s horrible!
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Indirect speech acts are often felt to be more polite ways of
performing certain kinds of speech act, such as requests
and refusals.
Examples: It’s cold outside.
• I hereby tell you about the weather.
• I hereby request to you to close the door.
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• I promise not to keep this promise.
• Do not read this sign.
• You did a great job, and I’m not being polite.
• George Lakoff wrote a book entitled, Don’t Think of an
Elephant.
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• Discourse can be anything from a grunt or single expletive,
through short conversations and scribbled notes right up to
Tolstoy’s novel, War and Peace, or a lengthy legal case.
• It can be a sign, symbol, picture, painting or anything having a
proper meaning.
• Locutionary act refers to the act of saying something.
• Illocutionary act means an action performed in saying something.
• A perlocutionary act is the result or effect produced by means of
saying something.
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Class on Discourse Analysis

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