Introducction to Applied

Linguistics

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS and

PRAGMATICS
Lesson 8

Mgs. Nina Nesterenko

 The Divorce
A judge was interviewing a woman regarding her pending divorce, and asked:
- “What are the grounds for your divorce?”
She replied:
- “ About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the
property with a stream running by ”.
- “ No,” he said, “ I mean what is the foundation of this case? ”
- “ It is made of concrete, bricks and mortar ”, she responded.
- “ I mean ”, he continued, “ What are your relations like? ”
- “ I have an aunt and an uncle living here in town, and so do my husband`s parents”.
A judge asked: “ Do you have a real grudge? ”
- “ No” , she replied, “ We have a two - car carport and have never really needed
one ”.
- “ Please ”, he tried again, “ is it there any infidelity in your marriage? ”
- “ Yes, both my son and daughter have stereo sets. We don`t necessarily like the
music, but the anser to your questions is yes. ”
- “ Ma`am, does your husband even beat you up? ”
- “ Yes ”, she responded, “about twice a week he gets up earlier than I do ”.
Finally, in frustration, the judge asked, “ Lady, why do you want a divorce? ”
-“ Oh, I don`t want a divorce, “ she replied. “ I have never wanted a divorce.
My husband does. HE SAID HE CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH ME.”
 D.A. is not a method for teaching languages.
D.A.is a general term for a number of approaches to analyze
written, spoken or signed language use.

1.Language use beyond the

sentence ( pragmatics)
2. Language in use
(Communicatice competence;
words have POWER! )
3. Verbal and non verbal
communication ( cultural
differences)
 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (D.A.) and PRAGMATICS

For a successful communication to take place

some other conditions should be present. Not only
is knowledge of grammar rules , vocabulary, and
pronunciation needed, but other elements of
speech act are also involved in communication
event ( Communicative Competence!)

Video : PRAGMATICS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xc0KUD1umw
 PRAGMATICS
Pragmatics Latin
from the GREEK
pragmaticus
πραγματικός
(pragmatikos),
It studies : meaning "fit for
action” "deed, act”.

The speaker's The influence

The study of the
meaning of a context on
meaning in context
the message

Can you open the window?(ability or request?)

What time is it? ( real time or hint for being late)

 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (D.A.) and
PRAGMATICS
Discourse Analysis is a
branch of linguistics that PRAGMATICS
focuses on language use
above and beyond the
- It is a subfield of
sentence. linguistics.
- It studies how the
transmission of
meaning depends not
only on the linguistic
knowledge (grammar ,
lexicon ,etc.) of the
speaker and listener,
but also on the context
of the utterance
The ability to understand another speaker's intended
meaning and use language effectively in an appropriate
context is called pragmatic competence.

"pragmatic competence refers to the

Anne Barron:
knowledge of the linguistic resources available in a
given language for realizing particular conversation ,
knowledge of the sequential aspects of speech acts
,, knowledge of the appropriate contextual use of the
particular language's linguistic resources."
 Concern of Pragmatics

People of different cultures may

react to the same situation
differently, and choose a certain
word or phrase according to their
cultural backgrounds .

In some countries it is
acceptable to answer to a
compliment with “ thank
you”, while in others, a
polite silence or compliment
“in return” might be more
appropriate.
 We need Pragmatics
Pragmatics
also focuses on
- to use language correctly , and cultural
- to avoid misunderstandings
about meanings and to be able to
differences in
communicate and interact with context during
speaker of other languages more the speech act.
naturally.
D.A. and Pragmatics

By comparing how people in

different cultures use
language, discourse analysis
contributes to improving
cross-cultural understanding.
 Engage in actions and
interactions with one
another

Organize thoughts into

communicative actions

Convey their
identities and
relationships
 Represent the world

Convey communicative
intentions

Arrange information so it is
accessible to others
Discourse is studied in a number of social science
disciplines:
linguistics
sociology
anthropology
social work

social psychology cognitive psychology

international
human geography relations
communication translation
studies studies
 Basics of DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

DISCOURSE
TURN- TAKINGS SPEECH ACTS MARKERS

“floor” holding Short words or

using linguistic interjections like
means as 'well', 'oh', 'but', and
intonation, 'and' that break our
pausing, and speech up into parts
phrasing. and show the relation
between parts.
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epXhseFva_M
PURPOSE of D.A. in EFL class

- Understand better the kinds of

discourse that learners are
exposed to outside the
classroom
- the language of service
encounters in shops, banks,
restaurants, etc.
- the language of newspapers

- the language of everyday

informal conversation
 The objects of D.A.

writing, talk, conversation, communicative event-

are analyzed in terms of coherent sequences of
sentences, propositions, speech acts or turns - at -
talk.
Discourse analysts analyze “ naturaly occuring ”
language use, and not invented examples.
 When analyzing written texts

- Who are the participants in the

discourse ( the writer and reader(s),
the speaker(s) and listener(s)?
- what is their relationship? (are they
equals?)
-are there any differences in power or
knowledge between participants?
- what are their goals?
 When analyzing written texts

- What does this piece of language

mean in this context?

- What does the speaker /writer

mean by this piece of language?

- What factors/clues enable us to interpret the

text?
- What do we need to know
about the context?
 Discourse Analysis :
Spoken language is a vast subject
Types of speech

Monologues - speeches,
class, stories, jokes
Language-in-action
( talk accompanying doing )

telephone calls

casual conversations ( friends, strangers

acquaintances, – the most frequent )
interviews( job, journalistic,
in official settings)

service encounters ( banks,

shops, travel agent, etc)

Rituals ( prayers,
cermons, weddings,
etc)

organizing and directing

people ( in the street, work,
home)

clssroom talk ( lectures,

classes, seminars, tutorials)
In spoken discourse, different kinds of processes work
together to produce coherence.
- verbalize thoughts
Goals - introduce new information
- repair errors in what we say
- take turns at talk
- think of others
- perform acts

We achieve these goals by using and connecting a range

of different units- speech acts, idea units, turns at talk,
and sentences.
GOAL analyze the social, cultural, and
linguistic properties of

SPEECH
ACT SPEECH
EVENT

SPEECH
SITUATION
Speech act- an action performed by
one person through speech.

a greeting
a request
a boast
a compliment
a complain, etc.
 Speech event – an interpretation between
two or more people in which more than one
speech act occurs.
Eaxmples:
-Sunday sermon
-inaugural address
- heart-to-heart talk
- salestalk
- talk man-to-man / woman-to-woman
- Chat
- Polite conversation,
- Greetings and farewells, etc.
 During the occasion, speech
Speech situation – a social
contributes to what happens,
occasion with more than one
but it is not necessarily all that
speech event.
happens.

Ex: a classroom
a party
a friends meeting , etc.
Conversation analysis is concerned with the detailed
organization of everyday interactions – dialogues, spoken
discourse of informal character.
- How people take turns in conversations.
- How people open and close
conversations.
- How people lunch new topics, close old
ones , shift topics, etc .
- How conversation generally progresses
satisfactorily from one utterance to the
next.
Sociolinguistic Approaches: Ethnography
of Communication ( subfield of linguistics)
Dell Hymes (linguist – antropologist) .
It is concerned with the studying effective
communication in contexts of everyday life
( the role of speech in human behaviour )
 Interest of Ethnography of speaking:
• kinship terms, numerals, pronouns, colours
• Address forms
• set of greetings , etc
Ex: It may range from "Hi" to "it's a damned
good thing you got here when you did, Jack.”
- initiation ( opening move) – question, statement, or
command, sometimes “ unreal” questions, ex: “What`s up?”
- response ( answering move) – words of action
- follow – up ( follow – up move)- may be extended further
Patterns may vary from culture to culture, from setting to
setting.

Diff. situations require diff. patterns , depending on roles of

participants, and settings.
 settings vary in their degree of structuredness, but the talk is not
disorganized.

SEQUENCES
Starter elicitation response comments follow –up
(initiation)

(
 EXCHANGES
Framing transaction words

right, OK, so, well , now

Follow- up moves
( not always translatable – culturally peculiar)

how nice, that`s interesting, oh, umm, oh dear, my god , how

awful, lucky you, oh no, umm.. I see, do / did you, right, really ?
,etc.

(Compare Spanish nomas) Task

 Part of a conversation where participants speak one at a time in
alternating turns.
It involves processes for constructing answers, responding to previous
comments, and transitioning to a different speaker, using a variety of
linguistic and non-linguistic cues

Ways of getting the next turn: (ss brainstorm)

- Nomination by the current speaker

(CNN presenters, - Joanna…. )
 Ways of getting the next turn:
Dropping intonation may signal that a
point is made, so a response is in order.

Making pauses for

breath may also be
taken as an opening.

Minimal silence ( 1-2 sec)

ending a clause with a connective,

such as and, therefore, so or but.
 Turn – Taking : ways to get the next turn
- If I may ask a question of / about …
- Can I speak?
- Shut up for goodness sake, I can`t get a word in!
- I wonder if I might …
- If I may…
- Can I ….
( Task) - SS brainstorm)
 Back – Channel Realizations

• Back – channel vocalizations (eh-eh, ah-ah, etc )

• Short words and phrases ( yes, no, well, ah , oh,
you see, I see, don`t tell me, etc.
• ( in Spanish: no cierto, mira, oye,bueno, etc.)
- Cultural differences
- Silence
- “ thinking time ” before a response
- Body language ( a turn-seeking signal,
eye contact, gesticulation)
 Turn- Taking in conversation
Basic rules in any language

Turn – taking is universal.

Turn-taking in conversation is guided by
two main rules:
- avoid speaking at the same time and
- avoid silence and overlap between turns.
The same factors explaining when silence occurs in turn
taking are at work in all languages – cooperative
responses are faster than uncooperative ones.
- Can I interrupt you for a moment ?
- Hang on a minute..
- I`ve got something to tell you…
- I will try to be brief, but ….
- Just few things, …
- And just one last point,…
- One more second and I will finish..
- One more second…
- One last thing, …
- And that`s it.
 Conversation Analysis:
Adjacency pairs
A.P are mutually dependant utterances

A.P.- basic pattern of conversation analysis – is

a pair of turns that mutually affect one
another, a question predicts an answer, next
answer presupposes next question.

AP are coordinated pairs of communicative acts.

 Examples of A P
Many actions in conversation are accomplished through established
adjacency pairs, examples of which include
greeting → greeting
Ex: "Heya!" → "Oh, hi!“
offer → acceptance/rejection
Ex: "Would you like to visit the museum with me this evening?" → "I'd
love to!"
request → acceptance/rejection
"Is it OK if I borrow this book?" → "I'd rather you didn't, it's due back at
the library tomorrow“
question → answer
"What does this big red button do?" → "It causes two-thirds of the
universe to implode"
complaint → excuse/remedy
"It's awfully cold in here" → "Oh, sorry, I'll close the window"
greeting → degreeting
"See you!" → "Yeah, see you later!"
 “ CONVERGING PAIRS”
Ex. A: Oh, I just love that green sweater!
B: Oh, so do I. Isn`t it great?
• 40% of communication is through tones.
• We communicate not only by the things we say but also
by the way we say them.
• When we speak we also use nuances which can be
more convincing to an audience than the facts.
• A speaker needs more than facts, however pertinent,
to look and sound convincing.

(For example , a lawyer speaking to an audience of parents wouldn`t

use the style of the courtroom to get her message across)
Effective speakers not only have a good
presentation style but they vary their style
according to the audience and the message.
 The Art of Conversation

The way you speak, act and react, shows a lot about your
personality.
Who do we have contact with?
Do we have a special preparation to speak?
 CONVERSATION STARTERS
Research shows that developing good communication
skills is far more important than getting good grades in
school.
 CONVERSATION HINTS

- When you start a conversation with someone you don’t know, it

helps to realize that they’re probably feeling just as awkward and
tongue - tied as you are.
- And, if they’re not, then they’ll more than likely have the good
manners to be gracious.
- Have some fun, jump right in and be the first to speak.
• To break the ice, you could make a positive remark
about the room, the food, the guest of honor or notice
something positive about what the other person is
doing, wearing or saying.
• Then you might offer a sincere compliment.
• Be friendly, upbeat and enthusiastic.

Be willing to chat about the weather, sports, movies, pets

or children. The point is to make the other person feel like
you’ve been waiting all week to meet them.
• Once you’ve broken the ice, follow up with
closed - end questions. Are you…? Do you…?
Who? Where? Which?
• Then continue with more open-ended questions.
What do you think…? How…? What…? or Why…?
•
You’ll know what to say next by listening
carefully for information the other person is
sharing with you – facts, feelings and
opinions.
•
Your job is to respond with sincere
interest. But be sure to always avoid topics
of politics or religion. (You can change the
subject, if necessary.)

.
And, naturally, you would never want to
argue about anything, even if you
disagree.
 Be willing to share positive, upbeat
personal information, but don’t talk too
• much about yourself.

Stay focused on finding out about and getting to know

the other person. The bottom line is, if you want people to
find you interesting, all you have to do is genuinely express
an interest in them. If you do, they might even leave the
conversation thinking you’re one of the most fascinating
people they ever met.
 Pay special attention to noticing when the
other person is ready to move on and always
end every exchange gracefully on a
positive note.

Use their name, pay a sincere compliment

when possible and always offer a smile or
your hand in friendship – “It was so nice
talking with you, John. I look forward to
seeing you again sometime.” Then say a
peasant goodbye.
 How to Get Smarter
1. or Look Smarter

1.Study a current topic and have an alternative view

2. Make it your conversation. Stick to topic you know something

about.
3. If there are things about which you are really knowledgeable,
steer the conversation towards those topics.

4. Use questions to which you know answer. Immediately follow the

other person`s answer with a clarification or another question,
and you will appear to have understood the issue very quickly.
 5. Spend time with intelligent people – other
will notice it.
6. Don`t say much, except to ask an occasional smart question.
7. Increase your vocabulary – a bigger vocabulary can impress
others.
8. Know how to use words – use them only when you are sure
your message is correct.
9. Openly appreciate other`s ideas- he or she will
think you are more intelligent.
10. Learn a little about a lot of topics - it can help
you get smarter as well.
 How to avoid the conversation DEAD ZONE

It is important to remember that WHAT is said during the first few

minutes doesn`t really matter. It is important to establish initial,
friendly connection with the other person.
Tips:

- ask about the day. How was it?

- aks about the work. .. How do they like it?
- ask about pets / children. Names? Ages?
How many?
- ask about hobbies, sports, music, etc.
 WEB LINKS
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_analysis
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn-taking
• http://turn-taking.blogspot.com/ ( adjacency pairs)
• http://books.google.com.ec/books?id=HrAqO8phLCkC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA
47&dq=turn+taking+elements&source=bl&ots=nRA-
y_cgfm&sig=G1rDLwKrN0qdyDQqme0qTYfv53c&hl=es&sa=X&ei=tfzXUrj
FFZSvsAT7toA4&ved=0CJkBEOgBMAk#v=onepage&q=turn%20taking%
20elements&f=false (book)

VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82a1FT5o88 (How to start speech)
http://www http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RjRZ9jMfs0 ( Taking turns in speaking)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBANs60a78
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boYygNVlJGQ ( how to start conversation )
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyE1Kz0e--0( Great openings and Closings)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DHcn7KXMZ0 ( secrets of body language )
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaj3Xl9vasc ( communication skills training)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7h2XnXvb4I ( body language secrets)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Oshkp7-m4 ( discourse analysis)

• hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlifMpIwPusttps://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=QlifMpIwPus (Cultural differences, team )
 WEB LINKS
• https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/discourse.htm
• http://www.eamonfulcher.com/discourse_analysis.html

• https://sites.google.com/a/sheffield.ac.uk/all-about-
linguistics/branches/discourse-analysis/what-is-discourse-analysis

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070611012958AA7s7mb
• Video:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5j0DFkbnE0
• hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlifMpIwPusttps://www.yo
utube.com/watch?v=QlifMpIwPus
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUeA0PEF_g4 (What is
Discourse Analysis?)
THANK YOU!

To be continued!!