Discourse (2)

Ardita Dylgjeri, University of Elbasan "Aleksandër Xhuvani", Albania
ardita.dylgjeri@uniel.edu.al

Studying discourse in linguistics is essential because it helps us understand language as a social tool, not just as a system of rules. It bridges language, meaning, culture and communication, making it one of the most dynamic areas of linguistics today. Discourse is generally defined as written or spoken communication or debate on a particular topic. As such, it includes conversations, discussions, and dialogues where ideas are exchanged.

As a formal and orderly expression of thought, discourse refers to a connected series of utterances or writings on a particular subject or a conversation or discussion, especially one of a serious or intellectual nature, that delves into a specific topic. Additionally, it involves organising knowledge, ideas, or experience based on language and its concrete contexts such as political discourse, media discourse, or environmental discourse.

In Discourse Analysis, Brown and Yule refer to discourse as any form of ‘language in use’ or naturally occurring language. Stubbs conceives discourse as ‘language above the sentence or above the clause’ and makes a distinction between discourse, which is interactive, and text, which is a non-interactive monologue. Some scholars have conceived of discourse as related to particular topics, such as environmental discourse or colonial discourse (which may occur in many different genres). Foucault defines discourse more ideologically as ‘practices which systematically form the objects of which they speak’.

Potter and Wetherell have shown that people often appear to voice conflicting opinions around a topic, which they argue is due to them accessing a range of competing discourses in their talk. Discourses are therefore contradictory and shifting, and their identification is necessarily interpretative and open to contestation, particularly as it is difficult to ‘step outside’ discourse and view it with complete objectivity.

In Pragmatics, ‘Discourse’ can be defined as a series of connected utterances, producing either a written text or a spoken exchange; although on some conceptions it is more global, and also includes other texts in the same genre as the one being studied, previous conversations, etc.

Keywords: utterances, language, interaction

Related Entries: Communication, Discourse (1), Political Expression, Social Media

References:
Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambridge University Press.
Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. Pantheon books.
Potter, J., & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and social psychology: Beyond attitudes and behaviour. SAGE.
Stubbs, M. (1983). Discourse analysis: The sociolinguistic analysis of natural language. University of Chicago Press.