Примењена лингвистика у част Ранку Бугарском - Језик у

Igor Lakić
WHAT IS ACTUALLY DISCOURSE ANALYSIS?
UDK 81`42
Abstract: This paper discusses the definitions and scope of discourse analysis and
related disciplines. I start with different definitions of discourse analysis and propose
the terms of spoken discourse and written discourse as two terms that best
reflect the fields they deal with. This paper puts forth the idea that discourse analysis
can be formally placed above the sentence in the language hierarchy. However,
it does not refer to the level above the sentence only, but to the levels below as
well. Inevitably, it comes down to the sentence, clause, and phrase, but also takes
into consideration the phonological level. The relationship goes in both directions,
in such a way that discourse is also created by lower levels of language structure.
In addition, the above-sentence level introduces a wide field of disciplines, such
as anthropology, sociolinguistics and the ethnography of speaking, which have
greatly impacted the development of discourse analysis. The paper concludes with
the idea that discourse is actually language used in general, including not only linguistic
forms below the sentence, but the whole context that determines the nature
and function of linguistic forms. From this perspective, one can see that discourse
is an approach that tackles language in different aspects and directions.
Keywords: discourse analysis, spoken discourse, written discourse, pragmatics,
ethnography of speaking, sociolinguistics, context, language use.
1. Introduction
Discourse analysis has been of interest to linguistics since the 1970s, although the
first efforts in moving from sentence to discourse level date back to the 1930s.
It has developed into a comprehensive field of linguistics, covering all aspects
of written and spoken language use. Many linguists see it as the highest level of
language structure. It is also understood as the level beyond the sentence which
provides a context for the full understanding of the meaning of sentences that
make up discourse. The question is whether these claims are limited in scope and
nature.
It is the purpose of this paper to first define discourse analysis and position
it among other linguistic disciplines such as pragmatics, stylistics and rhetoric.
The paper also refers to the terminology used in discourse analysis, which has
not been fully standardised yet. In the next section, I will look into the scope of
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