This Power Point Presentation gives a short introduction to the field of Discourse Analysis and its interdisciplinary approach to the field.

1. Discourse Analysis
K.S. Shahanaaz Kowsar,
Research Associate
School of Social Sciences and
Languages
Department of English
VIT University

2. DiscourseAnalysis
Origin of the Word
“Discourse”
Field of Discourse
Analysis
Definition
Review of Literature
Inter-Disciplinary Approach
to DAIntroduction
References

3. Origin of the Word “Discourse”
Portmanteau Word
Late Middle English (denoting the process of reasoning): from Old French discours, from
Latin discursus ‘running to and fro’ (in medieval Latin ‘argument’), from the verb discurrere, from dis- ‘away’
+ currere ‘to run’; the verb influenced by French discourir.

4. Introduction:
• Discourse Analysis observes the colloquial, cultural and
human use of language.
• “Discourse Studies”
• The origin of Discourse Analysis started from 1970.
• The Study of Language, Public Speech, Literature and
Classical Rhetoric
• Language in social context, in particular with interaction or
dialogue between speakers.

5. Definition
“Concerns itself with the use of language in a running
discourse, continued over a sequence of sentences, and
involving the interaction of speaker (or writer) and
auditor (or reader) in a specific situational context, and
within a framework of social and cultural conventions.”
- M.H. Abrams & G. Harpham (66)

6. Review of Literature:
• Message as central to the communication process. Message have
three structural properties:
i) Relatively independent signs and symbols
ii) Language as a formal code
iii) Relatively interconnected discourse structures
- Jower Powers

7. • DiscourseAnalysis is stated as,
i) Concerned with language use beyond the boundaries of a
sentence/utterance.
ii) Concerned with the inter-relationships between language and
society.
iii) As concerned with the interactive or dialogic properties of
everyday communication.
- M.Stubbs’(1983:1)

8. Field of DiscourseAnalysis:
Three Types of Problem:
i) Problem Of Meaning
ii) Problem Of Action
iii) The Problem of Coherence
- Scott Jacobs

9. Inter-DisciplinaryApproach to DA:
Inter-Disciplines Proponents of the Discipline Approach to Language
Anthropology Dell Hymes (1972) Ethnographic study of
communicative events.
Linguistics Janas Petofi, Wolfgang Dresler,
Teon A. Van Dijt, Joseph Grimes,
Tom Givon, Sandra Tompson, Bill
Mann, Micheal Halliday.
Analysis of structures beyond the
sentence and the whole text for
instance to account for Anapora or
Coherence.
Formal Grammar (1970) Hans Kamp (1981) Discourse
Representation Theory, Richard
Montague
It states that discourse semantic is
dynamic and depends on context.
Pragmatic Austin (1962), John Searle (1969) Accounts for the function of
language in terms of speech acts,
implicatures and other aspects of
contextually based language use.
Semiotics Bill Labov (1972), Susan Ervin Tripp
(1972)
More insight into details of their
relation to the social context.

11. Reference :
 Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. (2011). A glossary of literary terms.
Cengage Learning.
 Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge
University Press.
 Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2010). Theories of human
communication. Waveland press.
 Van Dijk, T. A. (2007). The study of discourse: An
introduction. Discourse studies, 5.
Web Source:
 http://www.discourses.org/OldArticles/The%20study%20of%20discou
rse.pdf