Page 270 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes 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.
• 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.
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.
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.
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 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.

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