Course Diploma in Speech and Drama Level Certificate Level

Module DSDTC 120Discourse Analysis I Topic Discourse analysis and

context
 What is discourse analysis?

• An approach to the analysis of language that looks at patterns of

language across texts as well as the social and cultural contexts in
which the texts occur.
 Words in
context Function

Discourse
Analysis
Emphasis on
structure of text

How words
relate to each
other within
text
Quality of being
meaningful
 Negative experience

C
Bad weather
O
N
Speech act
T
E
Conversation structure
X
T
• Facts that surrounds a particular event or situation.
• Anything that surrounds the production of a piece of communication.

Physical Knowledge of the

situation Participants communicators of Expected
their cultural behavior
norms
• These features help to interpret meaning appropriately.
01) Situational context
02) Background knowledge context
03) Co-textual context
** Situation serves to contextualize the phrase.

** Helps to determine how the message is

perceived.

** Defines the environment.

Three features of the context of a situation
(haliday and Hasan- 1989)
1) The field of discourse
2) The tenor of discourse
3) The mode of discourse
 • Refers to what is going on.

Field • Activity focus

• Object focus
 • Refers to the social relationships
between those taking part.

Tenor
• Specifiable in terms of
Status or power
Affect
Contact
 • Refers to how language is being
used.

Mode
• The channel of communication.
Spoken
Written
Background knowledge context
• Information that is not in a text, but it is used from memory by a
reader to understand the text.
• Often used to interpret what we hear and read.
• Critical part in discourse analysis.

Eg: Tom was on his way to school last Friday. He was really worried about the math lesson.
Last week, he had been unable to control the class. It was unfair of the math teacher to
leave him in charge. After all, it is not a normal part of a janitor’s duties.
The concept of schema and script
Schema
• A conventional knowledge which exists in memory.
Eg: Supermarket
School
Classroom
Bus
Script
• A dynamic schema in which conventional actions take place.
Eg: Taking the train
Eating at a restaurant
Co-texual context
• The context of the text itself.

Eg: My family consists of me, my father, mother, grandfather and one of my cutest little
sisters. We live happily in a village not far from the city.

Cohesion Coherence

Connections which have their Connection which can be made by the

manifestation in the discourse itself. reader or listener based on knowledge
outside the discourse.
Cohesion
• 1. Grammatical cohesion
Reference
Exophora Endophora
Depending on the context outside the text Depending on the text.
Anaphora – the pronouns that link back to something
that went before in the proceeding text.

Cataphora – the pronouns that link forward to a

reference in the text that follow.

Once upon a time Because his

* I cant play when the national anthem starts. there lived a tiger in actions that have
* I hope now you understand how others feel a jungle. He was been done are
when you hurt them. ferocious and detrimental, a
underestimated ferocious tiger
animals smaller wants to
than him. apologize.
Substitution
Eg. I hope now you understand how others feel when
you hurt them” said the girl.
“Yes, I do. Yes, I do,” cried the boy and pleaded the girl
to come out.

Ellipsis
Eg: I adopted from my friend, five ducks and two chicks then two hen
and a rooster, they are poultry and I will put them in a cage soon.
THANK YOU!