Discourse analysis

INTRODUCTION

This paper is a result of a keen and long-lasting interest of its author in applied linguistics in
combination with the factors that enable people to interpret sophisticated texts in both native
and foreign language. All in all, although many coursebooks authors try to include genuine
texts in their publications, activities that accompany them are generally limited. Tasks which
would not only check the understanding of the gist or key vocabulary, but also important
details are scarce. The question is whether on the basis of discourse analysis theories it is
possible to make it easy for foreign language learners to read texts with full comprehension.
The reader of this diploma paper should bear in mind that following the authorities on
discourse analysis the author of this work uses the terms 'discourse' and 'text' synonymously.

This paper is divided into two parts: theoretical, where a scholarly set of ideas is presented,
and practical, devoted to the account of the study conducted by the author of this paper in
order to either undermine or support the ideas presented in the first chapter. The former
section is subdivided into three chapters. The first of them provides a thorough description of
the term 'discourse' itself, including examples of its various types and functions. The second
one presents a historical background of how scholars became interested in the use of
language, the manners in which they examined speech and writing, as well as it depicts the
division of discursive devices. The last chapter of the theoretical part describes the ways of
applying the theory to teaching various aspects of language, such as grammar or vocabulary,
however, the emphasis is put on the interpretation of written texts.

The practical part of this paper describes the study conducted on a group of Polish learners of
English. The focus of this component was brought to finding lexical chains in texts - a type of
exercise which is not to be found in ordinary coursebooks. That variety of tasks was
deliberately chosen so as to expand the knowledge of discursive devices to which most
teachers pay close attention, namely linking words and phrases, by an additional set of useful
tools. Moreover, in spite of the fact that the study was to check the perception and
implementation of lexical chains in written texts, it might also be found useful in
understanding long speeches, which makes them even more useful for learners. The
assignments, together with the key of answers, which were used in the study are included in
the appendices section

1. DEFINITION OF DISCOURSE

Since its introduction to modern science the term 'discourse' has taken various, sometimes
very broad, meanings. In order to specify which of the numerous senses is analyzed in the
following dissertation it has to be defined. Originally the word 'discourse' comes from Latin
'discursus' which denoted 'conversation, speech'. Thus understood, however, discourse refers
to too wide an area of human life, therefore only discourse from the vantage point of
linguistics, and especially applied linguistics, is explained here.

There is no agreement among linguists as to the use of the term discourse in that some use it
in reference to texts, while others claim it denotes speech which is for instance illustrated by
the following definition: "Discourse: a continuous stretch of (especially spoken) language
larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit such as a sermon, argument, joke, or

1
narrative" (Crystal 1992:25). On the other hand Dakowska, being aware of differences
between kinds of discourses indicates the unity of communicative intentions as a vital element
of each of them. Consequently she suggests using terms 'text' and 'discourse' almost
interchangeably betokening the former refers to the linguistic product, while the latter implies
the entire dynamics of the processes (Dakowska 2001:81). According to Cook (1990:7)
novels, as well as short conversations or groans might be equally rightfully named discourses.

Seven criteria which have to be fulfilled to qualify either a written or a spoken text as a
discourse have been suggested by Beaugrande (1981). These include:

 Cohesion - grammatical relationship between parts of a sentence essential for its

interpretation;
 Coherence - the order of statements relates one another by sense.
 Intentionality - the message has to be conveyed deliberately and consciously;
 Acceptability - indicates that the communicative product needs to be satisfactory in
that the audience approves it;
 Informativeness - some new information has to be included in the discourse;
 Situationality - circumstances in which the remark is made are important;
 Intertextuality - reference to the world outside the text or the interpreters' schemata;

Nowadays, however, not all of the above mentioned criteria are perceived as equally
important in discourse studies, therefore some of them are valid only in certain methods of the
research (Beaugrande 1981, cited in Renkema 2004:49).

 Features of discourse.

Since it is not easy to unambiguously clarify what a discourse is it seems reasonable to

describe features which are mutual to all its kinds. To do it thoroughly Saussurean concepts of
langue and parole are of use. Ferdinand de Saussure divided the broad meaning of language
into langue, which is understood as a system that enables people to speak as they do, and
parole - a particular set of produced statements. Following this division discourse relates more
to parole, for it always occurs in time and is internally characterized by successively
developing expressions in which the meaning of the latter is influenced by the former, while
langue is abstract. To list some additional traits: discourse is always produced by somebody
whose identity, as well as the identity of the interpreter, is significant for the proper
understanding of the message. On the other hand langue is impersonal that is to say more
universal, due to society. Furthermore, discourse always happens in either physical, or
linguistic context and within a meaningful fixed time, whereas langue does not refer to
anything. Consequently, only discourse may convey messages thanks to langue which is its
framework (1).

1.2 Types of discourse

Not only is discourse difficult to define, but it is also not easy to make a clear cut division of
discourse as such. Therefore, depending on the form linguists distinguish various kinds of
communicative products. A type of discourse might be characterized as a class of either
written or spoken text, which is frequently casually specified, recognition of which aids its
perception, and consequently production of potential response (Cook 1990:156). One of such
divisions, known as the Organon model, distinguishes three types of discourse depending of

2
the aspect of language emphasized in the text. If the relation to the context is prevailing, it
conveys some knowledge

thus it is an informative type of discourse. When the stress is on a symptom aspect the
fulfilled function is expression, as a result the discourse type is narrative. Last but not least in
this division is argumentative discourse which is characterized by the accent on the signal
aspect.

This distinction due to its suitability for written communicative products more than for spoken
ones, faced constructive criticism whose accurate observation portrayed that there are more
functions performed. Consequently there ought to be more types of discourse, not to mention
the fact that these often mix and overlap. Thorough examination of the matter was conducted,
thus leading to the emergence of a new, more detailed classification of kinds of spoken texts.

The analysis of oral communicative products was the domain of Steger, who examined
features of various situations and in his categorization divided discourse into six types:
presentation, message, report, public debate, conversation and interview. The criteria of this
division include such factors as presence, or absence of interaction, number of speakers and
their relation to each other (their rights, or as Steger names it 'rank'), flexibility of topic along
with selection and attitude of interlocutors towards the subject matter.

However, it is worth mentioning that oral discourse might alter its character, for instance in
the case of presenting a lecture when students start asking questions the type changes to
interview, or even a conversation. Using this classification it is possible to anticipate the role
of partakers as well as goals of particular acts of communication.

The above mentioned typologies do not exhaust the possible division of discourse types, yet,
nowadays endeavor to create a classification that would embrace all potential kinds is being
made. Also, a shift of interest in this field might be noticed, presently resulting in focus on
similarities and differences between written and spoken communication (Renkema 2004:64).

1.2.1 Written and spoken discourse

Apart from obvious differences between speech and writing like the fact that writing includes
some medium which keeps record of the conveyed message while speech involves only air,
there are certain dissimilarities that are less apparent. Speech develops in time in that the
speaker says with speed that is suitable for him, even if it may not be appropriate for the
listener and though a request for repetition is possible, it is difficult to imagine a conversation
in which every sentence is to be rephrased. Moreover, talking might be spontaneous which
results in mistakes, repetition, sometimes less coherent sentences where even grunts, stutters
or pauses might be meaningful. The speaker usually knows the listener, or listeners, or he is at
least aware of the fact that he is being listened to, which enables him to adjust the register. As
interlocutors are most often in face-to-face encounters (unless using a phone) they take
advantage of extralinguistic signals as grimaces, gesticulation, expressions such as 'here',
'now', or 'this' are used. Employment of nonsense vocabulary, slang and contracted forms
(we're, you've) is another feature of oral discourse. Among other significant features of speech
there are rhythm, intonation, speed of uttering and, what is more important, inability to
conceal mistakes made while speaking (Crystal 1995:291, Dakowska 2001:07).

3
In contrast, writing develops in space in that it needs a means to carry the information. The
author of the text does not often know who is going to read the text, as a result he cannot
adjust to readers' specific expectations. The writer is frequently able to consider the content of
his work for almost unlimited period of time which makes it more coherent, having complex
syntax. What is more, the reader might not instantly respond to the text, ask for clarification,
hence neat message organization, division to paragraphs, layout are of vital importance to
make comprehension easier. Additionally, owing to the lack of context expressions such as
'now' or 'here' are omitted, since they would be ambiguous as texts might be read at different
times and places. One other feature typical of writing, but never of oral discourse, is the
organization of tables, formulas, or charts which can be portrayed only in written form
(Crystal 1995:291).

Naturally, this division into two ways of producing discourse is quite straightforward, yet, it is
possible to combine the two like, for example, in the case of a lesson, when a teacher explains
something writing on the blackboard, or when a speaker prepares detailed notes to be read out
during his speech. Moreover, some of the foregoing features are not so explicit in the event of
sophisticated, formal speech or a friendly letter.

 Discourse expressed formally and informally.

The difference in construction and reception of language was the basis of its conventional
distinction into speaking and writing. Nevertheless, when the structure of discourse is taken
into consideration more essential division into formal and informal communicative products
gains importance. Formal discourse is more strict in that it requires the use of passive voice,
lack of contracted forms together with impersonality, complex sentence structure and, in the
case of the English language, vocabulary derived from Latin. That is why formal spoken
language has many features very similar to written texts, particularly absence of vernacular
vocabulary and slang, as well as the employment of rhetorical devices to make literary-like
impact on the listener.

Informal discourse, on the other hand, makes use of active voice mainly, with personal
pronouns and verbs which show feelings such as 'I think', 'we believe'. In addition,
contractions are frequent in informal discourse, no matter if it is written or spoken.
Consequently it may be said that informal communicative products are casual and loose,
while formal ones are more solemn and governed by strict rules as they are meant to be used
in official and serious circumstances.

The relation of the producer of the message and its receiver, the amount of addressees and
factors such as public or private occasion are the most important features influencing selecting
either formal or informal language. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that the
contemporary learner, who may easily travel and use his linguistic skills outside class, will
encounter mainly informal discourse, which due to its flexibility and unpredictability might be
the most difficult to comprehend. Accordingly, it seems rational to teach all varieties of
language relying on authentic oral and written texts (Cook 1990:50).

2. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS - ITS ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT

Discourse analysis is a primarily linguistic study examining the use of language by its native
population whose major concern is investigating language functions along with its forms,
produced both orally and in writing. Moreover, identification of linguistic qualities of various

4
genres, vital for their recognition and interpretation, together with cultural and social aspects
which support its comprehension, is the domain of discourse analysis. To put it in another
way, the branch of applied linguistics dealing with the examination of discourse attempts to
find patterns in communicative products as well as and their correlation with the
circumstances in which they occur, which are not explainable at the grammatical level (Carter
1993:23).

2.1 Starting point of discourse analysis

The first modern linguist who commenced the study of relation of sentences and coined the
name 'discourse analysis', which afterwards denoted a branch of applied linguistics, was
Zellig Harris (Cook 1990:13). Originally, however, it was not to be treated as a separate
branch of study - Harris proposed extension of grammatical examination which reminded
syntactic investigations (2).

The emergence of this study is a result of not only linguistic research, but also of researchers
engaged in other fields of inquiry, particularly sociology, psychology, anthropology and
psychotherapy (Trappes-Lomax 2004:133). In 1960s and 1970s other scholars, that is
philosophers of language or those dealing with pragmatics enormously influenced the
development of this study as well. Among other contributors to this field the Prague School of
Linguists, whose focusing on organization of information in communicative products
indicated the connection of grammar and discourse, along with text grammarians are worth
mentioning (McCarthy 1991:6).

A significant contribution to the evolution of discourse analysis has been made by British
and American scholars. In Britain the examination of discourse turned towards the study of
the social functions of language. Research conveyed at the University of Birmingham fruited
in creating a thorough account of communication in various situations such as debates,
interviews, doctor-patient relations, paying close attention to the intonation of people
participating in talks as well as manners particular to circumstances. Analysis of the factors
essential for succession of decently made communication products on the grounds of
structural-linguistic criteria was another concern of British scholars. Americans, on the other
hand, focused on examining small communities of people and their discourse in genuine
circumstances. Apart from that, they concentrated on conversation analysis inspecting
narratives in addition to talks and the behavior of speakers as well as patterns repeating in
given situations. Division and specification of types of discourse along with social limitations
of politeness and thorough description of face saving acts in speech is also American scholars'
contribution (McCarthy 1991:6).

 Sphere of interest of discourse analysts.

The range of inquiry of discourse analysis not only covers linguistic issues, but is also
concerned with other matters, such as: enabling computers to comprehend and produce
intelligible texts, thus contributing to progress in the study of Artificial Intelligence. Out of
these investigations a very important concept of schemata emerged. It might be defined as
prior knowledge of typical situations which enables people to understand the underlying
meaning of words in a given text. This mental framework is thought to be shared by a
language community and to be activated by key words or context in order for people to
understand the message. To implement schemata to a computer, however, is yet impossible
(Cook 1990:69).

5
Discourse analysts carefully scrutinize universal circumstances of the occurrence of
communicative products, particularly within state institutions. Numerous attempts to
minimize misunderstandings between bureaucrats and citizens were made, resulting in user-
friendly design of documents. The world of politics and features of its peculiar
communicative products are also of concern to discourse analysts. Having carefully
investigated that area of human activity scholars depicted it as characterized by frequent
occurrence of face saving acts and euphemisms. One other sphere of life of particular interest
to applied linguists is the judicature and its language which is incomprehensible to most
common citizens, especially due to pages-long sentences, as well as peculiar terminology.
Moreover, educational institutions, classroom language and the language that ought to be
taught to enable learners to successfully comprehend both oral and written texts, as well as
participate in real life conversations and produce native-like communicative products is the
domain of discourse analysis. Last but not least, influence of gender on language production
and perception is also examined (Renkema 2004, Trappes-Lomax 2004).

2.2.1 Spoken language analysis

The examination of oral discourse is mainly the domain of linguists gathered at the University
of Birmingham, who at first concentrated on the language used during teacher - learner
communication, afterwards altering their sphere of interest to more general issues. However,
patterns of producing speech characteristic of communities, or members of various social
classes within one population were also of ethnomethodologists' interest. A result of such
inquiries was discovering how turn taking differs from culture to culture as well as how
standards of politeness vary. In addition, manners of beginning discussions on new topics
were described (McCarthy 1991:24).

What is more, it was said that certain characteristics are common to all societies, for instance,
indicating the end of thought or end of utterance. The words that are to point the beginning or
the closing stages of a phrase are called 'frames'. McCarthy (1991:13) claims that it is thanks
to them that people know when they can take their turn to speak in a conversation. However,
in spite of the fact that frames can be noticed in every society, their use might differ, which is
why knowledge of patterns of their usage may be essential for conducting a fluent and natural
dialogue with a native speaker. Moreover, these differences are not only characteristic of
cultures, but also of circumstances in which the conversation occurs, and are also dependent
on the rights (or 'rank') of the participants (McCarthy 1991:13).

Apart from that, it was pointed out that some utterances are invariably interrelated, which can
enable teachers of foreign languages to prepare learners adequately to react as a native
speaker would. Among the phrases whose successors are easy to anticipate there are for
instance: greeting, where the response is also greeting; apology with the response in the form
of acceptance or informing - and acknowledging as a response. Such pairs of statements are
known as adjacency pairs. While the function of the reply is frequently determined by the
former expression its very form is not, as it depends on circumstances in which the
conversation occurs. Thus, in a dialogue between two friends refusal to provide help might
look like that: no way! I ain't gonna do that!, but when mother asks her son to do something
the refusing reply is more likely to take different form: I'm afraid I can't do that right now,
can you wait 5 minutes? Frequently used phrases, such as "I'm afraid", known as softeners,
are engaged when people want to sound more respectful. Learners of a foreign language
should be aware of such linguistic devices if they want to be skillful speakers (McCarthy
1991:121).

6
2.2.2 Written texts analysis

Since the examination of written language is easier to conduct than the scrutiny of oral texts,
in that more data is available in different genres, produced by people form different
backgrounds as well as with disparate purposes, it is more developed and of interest not only
to linguists but also language teachers and literary scholars. Each of them, however,
approaches this study in a different way, reaching diverse conclusions, therefore only notions
that are mutual for them and especially those significant for language methodology are
accounted for here. What is worth mentioning is the fact that in that type of analysis scholars
do not evaluate the content in terms of literary qualities, or grammatical appropriateness, but
how readers can infer the message that the author intended to convey (Trappes-Lomax
2004:133).

Apart from differences between written and spoken language described beforehand it is
obviously possible to find various types and classes of discourse depending on their purpose.
Written texts differ from one another not only in genre and function, but also in their structure
and form, which is of primary importance to language teachers, as the knowledge of
arrangement and variety of writing influences readers' understanding, memory of messages
included in the discourse, as well as the speed of perception. Moreover, written texts analysis
provides teachers with systematic knowledge of the ways of describing texts, thanks to which
they can make their students aware of characteristic features of discourse to which the
learners should pay particularly close attention, such as cohesion and coherence. In addition,
understanding these concepts should also improve learners' writing skills as they would
become aware of traits essential for a good written text (3).

One of the major concerns of written discourse analysts is the relation of neighboring
sentences and, in particular, factors attesting to the fact that a given text is more than only the
sum of its components. It is only with written language analysis that certain features of
communicative products started to be satisfactorily described, despite the fact that they were
present also in speech, like for instance the use of 'that' to refer to a previous phrase, or clause
(McCarthy 1991:37). As mentioned before (1.2.1) written language is more integrated than
the spoken one which is achieved by more frequent use of some cohesive devices which apart
from linking clauses or sentences are also used to emphasize notions that are of particular
importance to the author and enable the reader to process the chosen information at the same
time omitting needless sections (3, Salkie 1995:XI).

2.3 Links within discourse

Links in discourse studies are divided into two groups: formal - which refer to facts that are
present in the analyzed text, and contextual - referring to the outside world, the knowledge (or
schemata) which is not included in the communicative product itself (Cook 1990:14). Since it
is difficult to describe the processing of contextual links without referring to particular
psychological inquiries, therefore, this section is devoted to representation of formal links.

By and large five types of cohesive devices are distinguished, some of which might be
subdivided:

 Substitution: in order to avoid repeating the same word several times in one
paragraph it is replaced, most often by one, do or so. So and do in its all forms might

7
 also substitute whole phrases or clauses (e.g. "Tom has created the best web directory.
I told you so long time ago".)
 Ellipsis: it is very similar to substitution, however, it replaces a phrase by a gap. In
other words, it is omission of noun, verb, or a clause on the assumption that it is
understood from the linguistic context.
 Reference: the use of words which do not have meanings of their own, such as
pronouns and articles. To infer their meaning the reader has to refer them to something
else that appears in the text (Tom: "How do you like my new Mercedes Vito?" -
Marry: "It is a nice van, which I'm also thinking of buying".).
 Conjunction: specifies the relationship between clauses, or sentences. Most frequent
relations of sentences are: addition ( and, moreover e.g. "Moreover, the chocolate
fountains are not just regular fountains, they more like rivers full of chocolate and
sweets."), temporality ( afterwards, next e.g. "He bought her perfume at a local
perfume shop and afterwards moved toward a jewelry store.") and causality ( because,
since).
 Lexical cohesion: denotes links between words which carry meaning: verbs, nouns,
adjectives. Two types of lexical cohesion are differentiated, namely: reiteration and
collocation. Reiteration adopts various forms, particularly synonymy, repetition,
hyponymy or antonymy (. Collocation is the way in which certain words occur
together, which is why it is easy to make out what will follow the first item.

It is clear from the analysis of written language that when people produce discourse they
focus not only on the correctness of a single sentence, but also on the general outcome of their
production. That is why the approach to teaching a foreign language which concentrates on
creating grammatically correct sentences, yet does not pay sufficient attention to regularities
on more global level of discourse, might not be the best one (Cook 1990, McCarthy 1991,
Salkie 1995).

3. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

AND LEARNING

To attain a good command of a foreign language learners should either be exposed to it in

genuine circumstances and with natural frequency, or painstakingly study lexis and syntax
assuming that students have some contact with natural input. Classroom discourse seems to be
the best way of systematizing the linguistic code that learners are to acquire. The greatest
opportunity to store, develop and use the knowledge about the target language is arisen by
exposure to authentic discourse in the target language provided by the teacher (Dakowska
2001:86).

Language is not only the aim of education as it is in the case of teaching English to Polish
students, but also the means of schooling by the use of mother tongue. Having realized that
discourse analysts attempted to describe the role and importance of language in both contexts
simultaneously paying much attention to possible improvement to be made in these fields.

It has also been settled that what is essential to be successful in language learning is
interaction, in both written and spoken form. In addition, students' failures in communication
which result in negotiation of meaning, requests for explanation or reorganization of message
contribute to language acquisition. One of the major concerns of discourse analysts has been
the manner in which students ought to be involved in the learning process, how to control

8
turn-taking, provide feedback as well as how to teach different skills most effectively on the
grounds of discourse analysis' offerings (Trappes-Lomax 2004:153).

3.1 Application of discourse analysis to teaching grammar

There are a number of questions posed by discourse analysts with reference to grammar and
grammar teaching. In particular, they are interested in its significance for producing
comprehensible communicative products, realization of grammar items in different languages,
their frequency of occurrence in speech and writing which is to enable teaching more natural
usage of the target language, as well as learners' native tongue (McCarthy 1991:47).

While it is possible to use a foreign language being unaware or vaguely aware of its
grammatical system, educated speakers cannot allow themselves to make even honest
mistakes, and the more sophisticated the linguistic output is to be the more thorough
knowledge of grammar gains importance. Moreover, it is essential not only for producing
discourse, but also for their perception and comprehension, as many texts take advantage of
cohesive devices which contribute to the unity of texts, but might disturb their understanding
by a speaker who is not aware of their occurrence.

Anaphoric reference, which is frequent in many oral and written texts, deserves attention due
to problems that it may cause to learners at various levels. It is especially important at an early
stage of learning a foreign language when learners fail to follow overall meaning turning
much attention to decoding information in a given clause or sentence. Discourse analysts have
analyzed schematically occurring items of texts and how learners from different backgrounds
acquire them and later on produce. Thus, it is said that Japanese students fail to distinguish the
difference between he and she, while Spanish pupils have problems with using his and your.
Teachers, being aware of possible difficulties in teaching some aspects of grammar, should
pay particular attention to them during the introduction of the new material to prevent making
mistakes and errors (McCarthy 1991:36).

The most prominent role in producing sophisticated discourse, and therefore one that requires
much attention on the part of teachers and learners is that of words and phrases which signal
internal relation of sections of discourse, namely conjunctions. McCarthy (1991) claims that
there are more than forty conjunctive words and phrases, which might be difficult to teach.
Moreover, when it comes to the spoken form of language, where and, but, so, then are most
frequent, they may take more than one meaning, which is particularly true for and.
Additionally, they not only contribute to the cohesion of the text, but are also used when a
participant of a conversation takes his turn to speak to link his utterance to what has been said
before (McCarthy 1991:48).

The foregoing notions that words crucial for proper understanding of discourse, apart from
their lexical meaning, are also significant for producing natural discourse in many situations
support the belief that they should be pondered on by both teachers and students.
Furthermore, it is advisable to provide learners with contexts which would exemplify how
native users of language take advantage of anaphoric references, ellipses, articles and other
grammar related elements of language which, if not crucial, are at least particularly useful for
proficient communication (McCarthy 1991:62).

3.2 Application of discourse analysis to teaching vocabulary

9
What is probably most striking to learners of a foreign language is the quantity of vocabulary
used daily and the amount of time that they will have to spend memorizing lexical items.
Lexis may frequently cause major problems to students, because unlike grammar it is an
open-ended system to which new items are continuously added. That is why it requires close
attention and, frequently, explanation on the part of the teacher, as well as patience on the part
of the student.

Scholars have conducted in-depth research into techniques employed by foreign language
learners concerning vocabulary memorization to make it easier for students to improve their
management of lexis. The conclusion was drawn that it is most profitable to teach new
terminology paying close attention to context and co-text that new vocabulary appears in
which is especially helpful in teaching and learning aspects such as formality and register.
Discourse analysts describe co-text as the phrases that surround a given word, whereas,
context is understood as the place in which the communicative product was formed
(McCarthy 1991:64).

From studies conducted by discourse analysts emerged an important idea of lexical chains
present in all consistent texts. Such a chain is thought to be a series of related words which,
referring to the same thing, contribute to the unity of a communicative product and make its
perception relatively easy. Additionally, they provide a semantic context which is useful for
understanding, or inferring the meaning of words, notions and sentences. Links of a chain are
not usually limited to one sentence, as they may connect pairs of words that are next to one
another, as well as stretch to several sentences or a whole text. The relation of words in a
given sequence might be that of reiteration or collocation, however, analyst are reluctant to
denote collocation as a fully reliable element of lexical cohesion as it refers only to the
likelihood of occurrence of some lexical items. Nevertheless, it is undeniably helpful to know
collocations as they might assist in understanding of communicative products and producing
native-like discourse (McCarthy 1991:65).

Since lexical chains are present in every type of discourse it is advisable to familiarize
learners with the way they function in, not merely because they are there, but to improve
students' perception and production of expressive discourse. Reiteration is simply a repetition
of a word later in the text, or the use of synonymy, but what might require paying particularly
close attention in classroom situation is hyponymy. While synonymy is relatively easy to
master simply by learning new vocabulary dividing new words into groups with similar
meaning, or using thesauri, hyponymy and superordination are more abstract and it appears
that they require tutelage. Hyponym is a particular case of a more general word, in other
words a hyponym belongs to a subcategory of a superordinate with narrower meaning, which
is best illustrated by an example: Brazil, with her two-crop economy, was even more severely
hit by the Depression thanother Latin American states and the country was on the verge of
complete collapse (Salkie 1995:15). In this sentence the word Brazil is a hyponym of the
word country - its superordinate. Thus, it should not be difficult to observe the difference
between synonymy and hyponymy: while Poland, Germany and France are all hyponyms of
the word country, they are not synonymous. Discourse analysts imply that authors of
communicative products deliberately vary discursive devices of this type in order to bring the
most important ideas to the fore, which in case of English with its wide array of vocabulary is
a very frequent phenomenon (McCarthy 1991, Salkie 1995).

One other significant contribution made by discourse analysts for the use of vocabulary is
noticing the omnipresence and miscellaneous manners of expressing modality. Contrary to

10
popular belief that it is conveyed mainly by use of modal verbs it has been proved that in
natural discourse it is even more frequently communicated by words and phrases which may
not be included in the category of modal verbs, yet, carry modal meaning. Lexical items of
modality inform the participant of discourse not only about the attitude of the author to the
subject matter in question (phrases such as I believe, think, assume), but they also give
information about commitment, assertion, tentativeness (McCarthy 1991:85).

Discourse analysts maintain that knowledge of vocabulary-connected discourse devices

supports language learning in diverse manners. Firstly, it ought to bring students to organize
new items of vocabulary into groups with common context of use to make them realize how
the meaning of a certain word might change with circumstances of its use or
co-text. Moreover, it should also improve learners' abilities to choose the appropriate
synonym, collocation or hyponym (McCarthy 1991:71).

3.3 Application of discourse analysis to teaching text interpretation

Interpretation of a written text in discourse studies might be defined as the act of grasping the
meaning that the communicative product is to convey. It is important to emphasize that clear
understanding of writing is reliant on not only what the author put in it, but also on what a
reader brings to this process. McCarthy (1991) points out that reading is an exacting action
which involves recipient's knowledge of the world, experience, ability to infer possible aims
of discourse and evaluate the reception of the text.

Painstaking research into schemata theory made it apparent that mere knowledge of the world
is not always sufficient for successful discourse processing. Consequently, scholars dealing
with text analysis redefined the concept of schemata dividing it into two: content and formal
schemata. Content, as it refers to shared knowledge of the subject matter, and formal, because
it denotes the knowledge of the structure and organization of a text. In order to aid students to
develop necessary reading and comprehension skills attention has to be paid to aspects
concerning the whole system of a text, as well as crucial grammar structures and lexical items.
What is more, processing written discourse ought to occur on global and local scale at
simultaneously, however, it has been demonstrated that readers employ different strategies of
reading depending on what they focus on (McCarthy 1991:168).

3.3.1 Top-down and bottom-up text processing

Distinguishing noticeably different approaches to text processing led to distinction of manners

of attending to written communicative products. Bottom-up processes are those which are
involved in assimilating input from the smallest chunks of discourse: sounds in speech and
letters in texts, afterwards moving to more and more general features. This technique is
frequently applied by lower-level learners who turn much attention to decoding particular
words, thus losing the more general idea, that is the meaning of a given piece of writing. In
the same way learning a new language begins: first the alphabet, then words and short
phrases, next simple sentences, finally elaborate compound sentences. While it is considered
to be a good way of making learners understand the language, a wider perspective is
necessary to enable students to successfully produce comprehensible discourse (Cook 1990,
McCarthy 1991).

Alternatively, top-down processing starts with general features of a text, gradually moving to
the narrower. This approach considers all levels of communicative products as a total unit

11
whose elements work collectively, in other words, it is more holistic. Not only does the
information in a text enable readers to understand it, but it also has to be confronted with
recipient's former knowledge and expectations which facilitate comprehension. It is important
to make students aware of these two ways of dealing with written discourse and how they
may be exploited depending on the task. When learners are to get acquainted with the main
idea of a particular communicative product they should take advantage of top-down approach,
while when answering detailed true-false questions they would benefit from bottom-up
reading (Cook 1990, McCarthy 1991).

3.3.2 Types of text

Obviously, all texts have a certain feature in common, namely they are indented to convey
some meaning. This function, however, might be fulfilled in a number of different ways: a
road sign 'stop', and a six hundred pages long novel are both texts which might serve that
purpose, yet, there are certain characteristics that distinguish them. The above example
presents the idea somewhat in the extreme, although, enumerating several other common
types of texts might affirm that the notion of text is a very broad one and is not limited to such
varieties as those that can be found in language course books (Cook 1990, Crystal 1995).

Differences between texts might be striking, while menu is usually easy to read, legal
documents or wills are not. All of them, however, have certain features that others lack, which
if explained by a qualified teacher might serve as a signpost to interpretation.Additionally, the
kind of a given text might also provide information about its author, as for example in the
case of recipes, warrants or manuals, and indirectly about possible vocabulary items and
grammar structures that can appear in it, which should facilitate perception of the text. Having
realized what kind of passage learners are to read, on the basis of its title they should be able
to predict the text's content, or even make a list of vocabulary that might appear in the
communicative product. With teacher's tutelage such abilities are quickly acquired which
improves learners' skills of interpretation and test results (Cook 1990, McCarthy 1991, Crystal
1995)

3.3.3 Patterns in text

Having accounted for various kinds of associations between words, as well as clauses and
sentences in discourse, the time has come to examine patterns that are visible throughout
written communicative products. Patterning in texts contributes to their coherence, as it is
thanks to patterns that writing is structured in a way that enables readers to easily confront the
received message with prior knowledge. Salkie (1995) indicates that the majority of readers
unconsciously makes use of tendencies of arranging texts to approach information.

Among most frequently occurring patterns in written discourses there are inter alia claim-
counterclaim, problem-solution, question-answer or general-specific statement arrangements.
Detailed examination of such patterning revealed that problem-solution sequence is frequently
accompanied by two additional parts, namely background (in other words introduction) and
evaluation (conclusion). While in some elaborate texts the background and the problem might
be presented in the same sentence, in other instances - when reader is expected to be familiar
with the background, it might not be stated in the text itself. Although both cohesive devices
and problem-solution patterns often occur in written communicative products only the former
are designated as linguistic means, since patterning, when encountered, has to be faced with
assumptions, knowledge and opinion of the reader (McCarthy 1991, Salkie 1995).

12
One other frequently occurring arrangement of texts is based on general-specific pattern
which is thought to have two variations. In the first one a general statement is followed by a
series of more specific sentences referring to the same broad idea, ultimately summarized by
one more general remark. Alternatively, a general statement at the beginning of a paragraph
might be followed by a specific statement after which several more sentences ensue, each of
which is more precise than its predecessor, finally going back to the general idea (McCarthy
1991:158).

As McCarthy (1991) points out, the structure of patterns is fixed, yet the number of sentences
or paragraphs in a particular part of a given arrangement might vary. Furthermore, one written
text might contain several commonplace patterns occurring consecutively, or one included in
another. Therefore, problem-solution pattern present in a text might be filled with general-
specific model within one paragraph and claim-counterclaim in another. As discourse analysts
suggest making readers aware of patterning might sanitize them to clues which enable proper
understanding of written communicative products (McCarthy 1991:161).

Anthropological linguistics
By Kamil Wiśniewski Aug 17th, 2007

Anthropological linguistics is more often considered to be a sub discipline of anthropology

than linguistics and historically that is where it comes from. The primary concern of
anthropologic linguistics was with the unwritten languages in America and their recording in
order to preserve them in case the number of speakers started to decrease drastically.
Moreover, the languages were seen as a vital part of culture so the knowledge of language
was required to be able to completely understand the analyzed culture.

Anthropological linguistics deals with describing many languages and issues such as the
influence of language on the behavior of the community that uses it. The well known Sapir-
Whorf hypothesis is a result of such investigations. According to this theory the language
that people use has strong influence on the perception of the world. Therefore,
anthropolinguists deal with problems such as how it happens that peoples sharing a culture
might speak different languages and peoples who have different cultures sometimes share a
language.

Also finding a systematic way of putting down previously unwritten languages in a way that
would reflect all linguistic peculiarities and phonetic phenomena is the task of anthropologic
linguists. Such undertakings not only lead to preserving endangered languages, but are also
important from the point of view of culture. To find appropriate way of writing in a language
that has only been spoken linguists seek the phonetic patterns. It is also important to provide a
way of symbolizing speech sounds in such a way as to enable the native speakers to read it in
order to verify if the linguists’ assumptions are correct. When this task is accomplished the
analysis of morphemes begins and later on also of syntax.

As anthropologic linguistics works on the assumption that communities’ cultures are reflected
by language change it investigates synchronic and diachronic language change – that is it
analyses various dialects and if it is possible the historical development. Moreover, the
emergence and evolution of pidgins and creoles is also within the scope of interest of
anthropologic linguistics. What is more, language acquisition in children is also studied by

13
anthropolinguists, however, not the stages of language development are examined, but how
the acquisition of linguistic abilities is perceived by the community. It turns out that in certain
cultures parents do not interfere with the process, while in others caretakers put a lot of effort
in teaching verbal etiquette.

Cognitive linguistics
By Kamil Wiśniewski Aug 17th, 2007

Cognitive linguistics is still a very young discipline which had its beginnings in the 1970s,
and whose quick development and extension of investigated issues dates to the mid-1980s.
Since then the scope of interest of this branch of science started to include various areas such
as syntax, discourse, phonology and semantics, all of which are looked upon as the
representation of conceptual organization in language.

Probably the most developed idea that emerged from cognitive linguists’ efforts is that of the
cognitive grammar. The aim of cognitive grammar is to formulate a theory of meaning and
grammar which would be cognitively probable and would fulfill the following requirements
that the only structures allowed in the grammar are:

 Symbolic, semantic, or phonological structures usually occurring in linguistic

expressions (Saussurean ‘sign’)
 Schemas for such structures (acquired by exposure to multiple examples of the
pattern)
 Categorization of relationships among the above mentioned elements.

Apart from that, cognitive linguistics is interested in issues such as processes by which and
patterns in which conceptual content is arranged in language. Therefore, the structuring of
concepts like scenes and events, space and time, force and causation, together with motion
and location attract the cognitive linguists’ interest. Moreover, the ideational and affective
categories ascribed to cognitive agents such as expectation and affect, volition and intention,
as well as attention and perspective are examined.

By and large, the cognitive linguists’ intentions are to ascertain the integrated organization of
conceptual structuring in language by approaching such issues as the semantic structure of
lexical and morphological forms, together with syntactic patterns. Also interrelationships of
conceptual structures, as in the gathering of conceptual categories into large structuring
systems are investigated.

Language and culture

By Kamil Wiśniewski, Aug. 12th, 2007

Linguists are concerned with many important issues such as various aspects of speech, turn-
taking, models of analysis of discourse and how human brain makes such examinations.
Moreover, scholars are interested not only in the differences between languages, but also in
the influence of language on culture and culture on language in different communities
throughout the world. As the first language acquisition process is unconscious similarly the

14
acquisition of culture (which might begin even before acquiring a language) is what people
are unaware of. Culture in linguistics is described as socially acquired knowledge of the
world, as well as attitudes towards it.

With the acquisition of a mother tongue people acquire a system of categorizing the entities in
the surrounding world and terms used for describing personal experiences. A category is a set
with some common properties, and it is said that when new vocabulary is learnt it is in fact
inheriting sets of category labels. Therefore, depending on the culture in which a speaker was
brought up the amount of words available in language for describing certain phenomena
might vary. For example in Norwegian there is a distinction between ‘male parents mother; -
farmor; and ‘female parent’s mother’ – mormor, while both of those terms are expressed by
one English word – grandmother.

The examination and classification of culture-dependant words can be made thanks to the
grammatical markers called classifiers which show the type or class of the words. In Swahili
there are different prefixes for nouns denoting humans, non-humans and artifacts. In
Australian language Dyirbal men and women belong to different conceptual categories, just as
countable and uncountable nouns in the English language.

The analysis of numerous similar instances of differences in many languages led to the
development of the linguistic relativity theory known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis with its
two versions. According to the linguistic relativity theory language used in a given
community with its predetermined categories influences the perception of the world to some
extent. There is also a strong version of this theory called linguistic determinism which
states that people can only think in the categories provided by language.

Also language change is culturally dependant what can be clearly seen on the example of the
American and British Englishes. Although in the history they derive from common origins the
changes that take place in their development set them apart. In American English there has
been a culturally led tendency to substitute words such as policeman and fireman with more
‘acceptable’ terms such as police officer and firefighter, while the former forms are still in use
in British English.

Language and environment

By Kamil Wiśniewski Aug 27th, 2007

Language has been studied by scholars dealing with practically all the liberal arts such as
psychology, pedagogy, linguistics and philosophy. Some of the recent trends in language
studies have focused on the correlation between the biological processes of the brain and
language (neurolinguistics), as well as the mental processes occurring in mind and their
influence on the linguistic system (cognitive linguistics). Lately also the relationship between
the people’s environment and their language arouse linguists’ interest.

The first ideas concerning language and environment were expressed by Edward Sapir and are
now known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which states that the language a person speaks
influences the way the world is perceived and interacted with. Now there are four different
approaches to the relationship between languages and their environments and all of them
emerge from different schools of linguistic thought. As said by Chomsky and cognitive

15
linguists the human language is independent of the environment, according to one other
theory the language is constructed by the world. Structuralists and poststructuralists claim that
the world is constructed by the language, while ecolinguists suggest that the language is
interconnected with the environment as language constructs it and is constructed by it.

All of the above mentioned possibilities are considered by a recently emerging discipline of
ecolinguistics, however linguists put different emphasis on different types of relationships of
language and environment. What is generally agreed is that with the growing awareness of the
influence of human activities on global environment there has been a surge in the number of
words describing those issues. Most of the neologisms originate in the English language and
are very technical and thus abstract, they are often multiword formations of Greek or Latin
origin. It has been pointed out that many terms are introduced to mislead the public attention
about problematic practices as in the following examples: substituting wetland drainage with
‘land reclamation’, or wild animals hunting with ‘game management’.

Although the analysis of grammar in respect of its influence on human behavior connected
with environment has been conducted, such studies are still not very frequent. What has been
hitherto discovered, however, is that including animals in the same gender class as humans
emphasizes the solidarity of people with their environment. Moreover the amount of changes
made in the environment of people speaking languages in which the cause-effect relationship
is difficult to encode is smaller than in communities using other languages.

Analyses of large texts are also performed in order to check what attitudes towards the natural
environment might be developed by their readers. Usually focusing on the choice of lexis
linguists emphasize that the same issues might be portrayed in a quite different way by people
from opposite parties. Opposing groups use different words to describe the same notions as
for example in the case of environmentalists and developers talking about the same piece of
land. In spite of the fact that the described entity is the same, because of different approaches
in texts readers of the environmentalists’ version will have a different notion of the landscape
than readers of developers’ text.

First language acquisition

By Kamil Wiśniewski July 26th, 2007

First language acquisition is a complex process, not fully accounted for yet, with as many
facts discovered as questions that still remain to be answered. Although it seems that the
majority of children acquire a mother tongue without any major difficulties there are certain
conditions that have to be fulfilled in order for young people to learn to speak. One such
requirement is that a child cannot be deaf, as exposure to some linguistic input pays a major
role in the language acquisition process. Moreover, the exposure to language needs to occur
before certain age, otherwise no oral communication will take place.

On the other hand, when the language acquisition takes place it usually follows a schedule,
whatever language is to be learned. Thus contrary to popular belief the process does not start
when the child utters its first word. At the age of one month most children are able to
distinguish between their mother’s voice and the voices of other people, as well as some
differences in the rhythm of speech and intonation. In many cases it is apparent that children
are able to understand the tone of voice as early as at the age of two to four months,

16
differentiating between joyful, angry, or soothing tones. When the child is between six and
nine months old some simple utterances of parents are associated with situations in which
they are used, and thus infants learn the meanings of the first words. By the end of the first
year babies usually understand more or less 20 words.

Communication with children seem vital for their acquisition of language, however, what is
characteristic of that interaction is that very often adults do not use normal sentences that they
would use while conversing with another adult. When parents talk to their children they
frequently use simplified vocabulary, they speak slower and with exaggerated intonation. This
type of speech is called caregiver speech or motherese and is also characterized by a
common use of questions, slow speed of speech and numerous long pauses. It seems that such
a type of speech is used in order to facilitate interaction which stimulates the language
acquisition process.

The ability to communicate develops gradually since the very beginning of the infant’s life.
The first stage of developing linguistic competence is called cooing as the sounds that
children make resemble [k] or [g] and it lasts until about fourth or fifth month of life, when
children also start to hear the differences between some vowels. When the child begins to
produce combinations of sounds – at about six and eight month this stage of language
development is called babbling, which lasts till about twelfth month with more and more
complex combinations produced. Then at between twelfth and eighteenth month a
holophrastic or one word stage begins. It is characterized by the use of whole words, yet
often not to refer to one entity, but to a whole phrase. When a child reaches the age of about
eighteen to twenty months the two-word stage usually starts, and the child usually knows
about fifty words.

The next stage is called telegraphic speech as children do not use almost any grammatical
constructions and utter strings of words such as food now. When such speech brings desired
results such as requested behavior or reply from adults children start using it more and more
and with time some prepositions and grammar inflections start to appear and the vocabulary is
quickly expanding.

As a general rule correcting children’s grammar at such an early age does not bring any
results. While if a child uses a wrong word it can be quickly corrected, but when it comes to
grammar even repetitive corrections of a similar mistake might not make the child to say a
correct form. It seems that such mistakes vanish with time as infants participate in natural
conversations.

Second language acquisition

By Kamil Wiśniewski July 26th, 2007

The second language acquisition process differs from the first language acquisition in most
cases. Apart from the situations in which a child is raised by parents using two different
languages on everyday basis, or in a country in which there are two languages in common
use, the most usual situation is learning a second language not from infancy, but at school, or
even later. therefore, the very circumstances of language acquisition are different, and thus the
process itself shows certain distinctive features.
In applied linguistics and language methodology various manners of second language

17
learning/acquisition are acknowledged. Therefore, if a person learns a language in a
community that uses a different mother tongue, then the process is called foreign language
learning, so a German child learning English in a school in Germany learns it as a foreign
language, because English is not usually used on everyday basis outside the classroom.
However, if a German child living in Britain in a German-speaking community learns English
the process is called learning English as a second language, since English is not foreign in
Britain.
Moreover, linguists and language teachers distinguish between learning and acquisition.
Hence, the term learning is used to describe a conscious process that includes thorough
explanation of grammar rules, practice of those rules, as well as memorizing lists of
vocabulary. Learning is what we usually experience during classroom lessons. Acquisition, on
the other hand, is an unconscious process which does not involve tutelage and is more
dependent on the amount of exposure to language and interaction.

There are numerous factors affecting the process of second language acquisition. It most
frequently occurs in a classroom situation, which means fewer hours in which learners are
exposed to language comparing to first language acquisition. Moreover, there are many things
happening in classes that disturb the process, such as embarrassment and fear of making
mistakes, lack of motivation to learn or unwillingness to sound foreign because of lack of
sympathy towards the target language culture. When factors such as stress or self-
consciousness also occur linguists tend to talk of affective factors which influence the entire
process.

What is characteristic of second language acquisition, but not of the first language acquisition
process is so called transfer. This term denotes the act of trying to apply the pronunciation,
word order, vocabulary or some expression form the mother tongue to the target language
learnt at the moment. When the transfer is successful, for example a word from the learners’
native language has been used while using the target language and such a word indeed exists
in the target language (either with different pronunciation, or not) the learner has benefited
from a positive transfer. However, when in a similar attempt the learner tries to use a
structure, or a word from the native language, but such a word, or structure does not exist in
the target language the learner makes use of the negative transfer.

When students learn some foreign language they do it gradually. They start with simple words
and grammar constructions and proceed to more complex structures. The methods that are
most frequently used to teach foreign languages stress that certain factors in the process
resemble the process of the first language acquisition. Therefore, errors are often perceived as
natural indication that the process of the second language acquisition occurs. As in the first
language acquisition certain errors are predictable and determined by the current level of
proficiency. However, there is also a large number of errors that cannot be accounted for as
negative transfer, because the forms used do not exist in learners’ mother tongue, but also do
not exist in the target language. That supports the idea that learners create a sort of in-between
system of their own while learning a foreign language called interlanguage.

Studies show that the earlier the process of second language acquisition begins the better the
results will be. Although there are some exceptions to this rule usually people who started
learning second language as young children have better linguistic competence. Most of the
people learning a foreign language reach a certain level of fluency, or use some phrases that
would not be used by the native users of the target language. Thus it is said that learners’

18
interlanguage fossilizes, which means that it does not improve anymore. Fossilization is most
likely to occur in pronunciation as after puberty it is difficult to learn to sound like a native
speaker.

Sociolinguistics
By Kamil Wiśniewski Aug 2nd, 2007

Sociolinguistics is a quickly developing branch of linguistics which investigates the

individual and social variation of language. Just as regional variation of language can give a
lot of information about the place the speaker is from, social variation tells about the roles
fulfilled by a given speaker within one community, or country. Sociolinguistics is a practical
scientific discipline researching the language that is actually used either by native speakers, or
foreigners, in order to formulate theories about language change.

There are numerous factors influencing the way people speak which are investigated by
sociolinguistics:

 Social class: the position of the speaker in the society, measured by the level of
education, parental background, profession and their effect on syntax and lexis used
by the speaker;
 Social context: the register of the language used depending on changing situations,
formal language in formal meetings and informal during meetings with friends for
example;
 Geographical origins: slight differences in pronunciation between speakers that point
at the geographical region which the speaker come from;
 Ethnicity: differences between the use of a given language by its native speakers and
other ethnic groups;
 Nationality: clearly visible in the case of the English language: British English differs
from American English, or Canadian English;
 Gender: differences in patterns of language use between men and women, such as
quantity of speech, intonation patterns.
 Age: the influence of age of the speaker on the use of vocabulary and grammar
complexity

An important factor influencing the way of formulating sentences is according to

sociolinguists the social class of the speakers. Thus, there has been a division of social classes
proposed in order to make the description accurate. Two main groups of language users,
mainly those performing non-manual work and those with more years of education are the
‘middle class’, while those who perform some kind of manual work are ‘working class’.
Additional terms ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ are frequently used in order to subdivide the social
classes. Therefore, differences between upper middle class can be compared with lower
working class.

It is notable that people are acutely aware of the differences in speech patterns that mark their
social class and are often able to adjust their style to the interlocutor. It is especially true for

19
the members of the middle class who seem eager to use forms associated with upper class,
however, in such efforts the forms characteristic of upper class are often overused by the
middle class members. The above mentioned process of adopting own speech to reduce social
distance is called convergence. Sometimes, however, when people want to emphasize the
social distance they make use of the process called divergence purposefully using
idiosyncratic forms.

Sociolinguistics investigates the way in which language changes depending on the region of
country it is used in. To describe a variety of language that differs in grammar, lexis and
pronunciation from others a term dialect is used. Moreover, each member of community has a
unique way of speaking due to the life experience, education, age and aspiration. An
individual personal variation of language use is called an idiolect.

There are numerous factors influencing idiolect some of which have been presented above,
yet two more need to be elucidated, namely jargon and slang. Jargon is specific technical
vocabulary associated with a particular field of interest, or topic. For example words such as
convergence, dialect and social class are sociolinguistic jargon. Whereas slang is

a type of language used most frequently by people from outside of high-status groups
characterized by the use of unusual words and phrases instead of conventional forms.

Psycholinguistics
By Kamil Wiśniewski, Aug. 12th, 2007

Psycholinguistics is a branch of study which combines the disciplines of psychology and

linguistics. It is concerned with the relationship between the human mind and the language as
it examines the processes that occur in brain while producing and perceiving both written and
spoken discourse. What is more, it is interested in the ways of storing lexical items and
syntactic rules in mind, as well as the processes of memory involved in perception and
interpretation of texts. Also, the processes of speaking and listening are analyzed, along with
language acquisition and language disorders.

Psycholinguistics as a separate branch of study emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s as a
result of Chomskyan revolution. The ideas presented by Chomsky became so important that
they quickly gained a lot of publicity and had a big impact on a large number of contemporary
views on language. Consequently also psycholinguists started investigating such matters as
the processing of deep and surface structure of sentences. In the early years of development of
psycholinguistics special experiments were designed in order to examine if the focus of
processing is the deep syntactic structure. On the basis of transformation of sentences it was
initially discovered that the ease of processing was connected with syntactic complexity.
However, later on it became clear that not only syntactic complexity adds to the difficulty of
processing, but also semantic factors have a strong influence on it.

All the same, certain principles of sentence processing that were formulated at that time are
still valid. One of them, namely the principle of minimal attachment means that when
processing a sentence which could have multiple meanings people most frequently tend to
choose the simplest meaning, or the meaning that in syntactic analysis would present the
simplest parse tree with fewest nodes. Thus, a sentence ‘Mary watched the man with the

20
binoculars’ by most language users would be interpreted that it was Mary, and not the man,
who was using binoculars. One other principle worth noting is the principle of late closure
which states that there is a tendency to join the new information to the current phrase, or
clause, which explains why in a sentence such as ‘John said he will leave this morning’ the
phrase ‘this morning’ would be understood as relating to the verb ‘leave’ and not to ‘said’.

Other psycholinguistic investigations into how processing of texts occurs led to conclusions
that complex sentences with multiple clauses are interpreted faster and with less mental effort
when the clauses are not reduced. When it comes to speech the experiments show that the
interpretation of sentences can vary depending on the placing of pauses, or disfluencies.
Additionally, is has been proven that visual contact between speakers also has a strong
influence on the ease, or difficulty of processing texts. During experiments subjects were
listening to some sentences and those who saw the speaker could understand what the speech
was about better, while those who did not see him often had difficulties with it.

The recent tendencies in psycholinguistics show increasing interest in discourse processing,

and in particular in the ways readers create a mental representation of the narrative world. The
focus of interest is on the role of readers’ schemata and the problem of inferences about the
read subject matter. It has been proved that certain inferences are made in the very process of
reading, while others are made later in order to resolve some problems or inconsistencies. The
issues of background knowledge and automaticity of drawing inferences are still being
investigated.

21