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Discourse Analysis

The document discusses discourse analysis, emphasizing the distinction between locutionary and illocutionary meanings of utterances, which can vary based on context. It highlights the importance of sociolinguistic factors and the structural, functional, and discoursal levels of communication. Additionally, it defines pragmalinguistics and pragmatics, focusing on the relationship between language use and its effects in communication.

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23 views2 pages

Discourse Analysis

The document discusses discourse analysis, emphasizing the distinction between locutionary and illocutionary meanings of utterances, which can vary based on context. It highlights the importance of sociolinguistic factors and the structural, functional, and discoursal levels of communication. Additionally, it defines pragmalinguistics and pragmatics, focusing on the relationship between language use and its effects in communication.

Uploaded by

mica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
This view of language leads us to analyse discourse beyond the level of the sentence. The emphasis lies on how
meaning is generated between sentences.
Utterances have two levels of meaning:

1- locutionary meaning = propositional meaning: the basic literal meaning of the utterance conveyed by the
particular words and structures of the utterance

2- illocutionary meaning = functional value of an utterance, the purpose or intention underlying the
structure of the utterance

For example, the same utterance may have different illocutionary meanings in different contexts:

(bedtime at home) (about to go to the cinema) (in class)


Mother: It’s 10 o’clock. Husband: It’s 10 o’clock. Student: It’s 10 o’clock.

Son: I’m brushing my teeth, Mom. Wife: I’m almost ready. Teacher: This class finishes at 10:10.

Function / Illocutionary meaning:


Asking a child to go to bed. Asking somebody to hurry up and Asking a teacher to finish a class.
leave home.

Locutionary meaning / propositional meaning: Telling the time

The variations of meaning of the same utterance form one context to another depend on different factors:

- sociolinguistic context: who is speaking to whom, the relationship between the participants;

- the reason they have for speaking, i.e., why they are speaking

- discoursal meaning: the meaning an utterance takes on the stretch of discourse in which it appears.

All communication has a structural level, a functional level and a discoursal level, which are
not mutually exclusive, but complementary.

The theory of speech acts and discourse analysis are inscribed within the scope of Pragmalinguistics.

Speech act: it is an utterance as a functional unit of communication.


2

More definitions

“Pragmalinguistics investigates: (a) the pragmatic properties of speech expressions (i.e., the use of words,
constructions, utterances) as well as units of the language system at various levels (morphemes, words, word
combinations, sentences), (b) the rules and regularities of the pragmatic functioning of language unites in speech, and
above all (c) in typical extralinguistic situations, (d) with respect to typical social aims and tasks, (e) with respect to social
and psychical types of subjects (speakers) and receivers”. (Kiseleva 19978: 99, in Prucha, 1983: 47)

Pragmatics: Lišková (1977) defines the field of study of language pragmatics as “the discipline focusing on studies of
language effects: it explains the ability of linguistic means either to support or to restrict the process of achieving the aim
which the author of the message intends to achieve” (in Prucha, 1983: 48) Yule defines Pragmatics as:

 The study of the relationship between linguistic forms and the users of the forms

 The study of speaker meaning

 The study of contextual meaning

 The study of how more gets communicated than is said. 

The study of the expression of the relative distance

Leech (1983:6), pragmatics is the study of meaning in relation to a speech situation.

Prucha, Jan (1983) Pragmalinguistics: East European Approaches Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company

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