Name Anam

Rollnumber (021,326)
Semester BS.English 8th Semester
Topic Discourse Transaction and
Discourse Moves
Submitted to Mam Sonia

Discourse Transaction:
Discourse:
Originally the word “discourse” comes from Latin,
‘discursus’ which denoted ‘conversation’, ‘speech’.
In Linguistic, a unit of language longer then a single
sentence is called discourse.
According to Stubbs:
Discourse is “language above the sentence or above the
clause”.
According to Widdowson:
 “discourse is viewed as a process. meaning is drived
through the reader’s interaction with the text.

Transactional discourse:
The basic aim of this discourse is to convey the message
in such a way that is clearly understood without any
confusion. Whatever is said has no ambiguity-everything
is clear for the reader. Usually, this type of discourse is in
active voice.
Examples include instructions, guidelines, manuals,
privacy policies, and patient instructions as written by
doctors.
Transactional discourse is concerned with the
transmission of information.
The function which language serves in the expression of
‘content’ will be described as Transactional.

Transactional view:
In primarily transactional language assume that what the
speaker or writer has primarily in mind is the efficient
transference of information.
Message-Oriented (The important is the recipient
gets the information detail correct).
Example:
Policeman gives directions to a travellers
Scientists describes an experiment
Transactions:
Transactions manage the longer stretches of talk.
-boundary marker
Marking out opening and closing in
conversation.
Example: Right, Now, So, Okay,…...
Hello, What’s new? , anyway I must go…
 Task-based learning:
A task is an activity where target language is used forby
the learner for a communicative purpose I order to
achieve an outcome.
 Task: How to arrange a room for a school open day.
 Description: Dividing class in to groups, each
group has to discuss to decide where they put
furniture for the class room
During their discussion, they employ opening and closing
boundary markers.
An example conversation:
A: Now (high key)… Where shall we have the table?
B: On the right corner.
A: Okay.And the projector should be on the left of the
blackboard.
C: All right (low key).
Generating the natural use of transaction markers.
 Topping -and – tailing activity:
The begning and the ending sentences are removed by a
“middle” dialogue.
Students then discuss dialogue to add the beginning and
ending sentences like they meet & talk, then apart .
The activity generates: greeting (opening markers),
leave-taking (close marker).
 Topics:
 What is a topic?
Topics as stretches of talk bounded by certain topic
and /or transactions markers.
Topic as the titles for the ‘subject matter’ of speech
events.
Topics can be the reason for talk.
Topic-shift: Is a point in discourse at which the topic is
shifted from one to another
Topic-shift occur in the vicinity of short silences,
indicated by’….’in the transcript.

Discourse moves:
Moves: A move is “the smallest free unit although it has
structure in terms of acts”. ( Sinclair and Coulthard).
Five classes of moves are identified and described.
1. Framing move
2. Focusing move
3. Opening move
4. Answering move
5. Follow-up move
Framing and focusing moves, which realize boundary
exchange; and opening, answering and follow-up moves,
which realize teaching exchange.
 Framing moves consist of a closed set of words, such
as “well” or “ok”, which signify that a new part of
the lesson is about to begin.
  Focusing moves consist of meta-statements
pertaining to what the next part of the lesson will be
about.
 Opening moves “cause others to participate in an
“exchange” by “passing on information, directing an
activity or eliciting a fact”.
Each opening move is followed by answering move,
which is “an appropriate response in the term laid down
by the opening move” (Sinclair and Coulthard).
 Follow-up moves are subsequent to answering
moves, and their purpose is to “let the pupil know
how well he/she has performed”.
Table below summarizes the notion and functions of the
moves identified in the S&C (1975) of method of analysis.
Move type Notation Function
Framing move Frame to signify the
beginning of a new
part(transaction) of
the lesson.
Focusing move Focus to summarize what
the next part
 (transaction) of the
lesson will be about.
Opening move Opening to cause others to
Participate in an
Exchange.
Answering move Answering to respond
Appropriately to an
Opening move.
Follow-up move Follow-up to let pupil know
Well they have
performed (in their
answering move).