Unit 8

Unit 8
Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language
Semantics:
Pragmatics
and Discourse analysis
Table of contents
Scheme 3
Key ideas 4
8.1. How to study this unit? 4
8.2. Pragmatics 4
© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)
8.3. Discourse analysis 10

8.4. Bibliographical references 17
8.5 Master class 19
In Depth 20
Test 24
Semantics
Pragmatics and Discourse analysis
Pragmatics Discourse analysis
Context Speech acts Information structure: Spoken and

theme/rheme written discourse
Reference Politeness
Macro and micro-structures in
text organisation

Scheme
Unit 8. Scheme
3
Key ideas
8.1. How to study this unit?
In order to study this unit you should read:
Escandell-Vidal, V. (1998). Politeness: A Relevant Issue for Relevance Theory. Revista

Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses 11, 45-57. Available at the virtual campus under the art.
32.4 of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law.
I
n this unit we will discuss the main concepts related to two interrelated fields of
research in linguistics: pragmatics and discourse analysis.
 Firstly, we will introduce pragmatics and its approach to the study of meaning.
 Secondly, we will focus on the four main concepts pragmatics is concerned with,
namely context, reference, speech acts, and politeness.
 And finally we will see how information can be organised at micro- and macro-
levels and, from a more practical perspective, the difference between speech and
writing.
8.2. Pragmatics
T
here is an ongoing debate about the similarities and differences between
pragmatics and discourse analysis. Pragmatics is concerned with utterance

comprehension and focuses on meaning interpretation, in particular the
ways in which context contributes to meaning. The relation between pragmatics and
discourse analysis is complex and there might be more similarities than differences
between them. Pragmatics studies the “implicit” meaning, how a language user

4
Unit 8. Key ideas
might mean more than the literal meaning of the words he utters, i.e. the intention
of a particular utterance. Discourse analysis is seen by some as a wider field that can
include narrative analysis, conversation analysis, ethnomethodology, and
pragmatics, among others. Continental linguists, like Jef Verschueren, consider
pragmatics an approach as wide as discourse analysis. He defines pragmatics as “the
study of language use, or [. . .] the study of linguistic phenomena from the point of
view of their usage properties and processes. This base level definition does not
introduce a strict boundary between pragmatics and some other areas in the field of
linguistics, such as discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, or conversation analysis”
(1999, p. 1). Verschueren also argues that pragmatics is “by definition
interdisciplinary”, for as it studies “the link between language and human life in
general”, it is also “the link between linguistics and the rest of the humanities and
social sciences” (1999, p. 6-7).
Context
To construct and interpret the meaning of an utterance, the speaker and the listener
rely on a shared knowledge of the context.
If the speaker says: I sing like Pavarotti, he assumes that the listener will understand
the message properly, because of their shared non-linguistic knowledge. John I.
Saeed explores the relation between context and inference, beginning with deixis.
“Deictic devices in a language commit a speaker to set up a frame of reference around
herself” (Saeed, p. 173), for instance in the sentence The conference will be held here,
the adverb here points to the place, indicating proximity. The adverb here is a
reference to the physical context. Saeed also points to “knowledge” as context,
“discourse” as context, and “mutual knowledge” as context (For example, see
Conversation 1 below).

5
Unit 8. Key ideas
Reference
The term reference points at “the ways discourse and its meaning are related to the
real or imaginary events that people talk about, namely its so-called referents” (Van
Dijk, 1997, p. 10, italics in original). The speaker uses reference to help the listener
identify something. Proper nouns (Leonard Cohen, Oscar Wilde), noun expressions
with a definite article (the Queen, the government), and pronouns (we, she) are
common referring expressions. The choice of referring expressions is determined by
what the speaker assumes that the listener knows, i.e. linguistic reference is
collaborative (both the speaker and the listener assume shared knowledge on a
topic). Collaboration means that “there is a basic ‘intention-to-identify’ and a
‘recognition-of-intention’” (Yule, 2008, p. 19). The text below from Rudyard Kipling’s
“At the end of the passage” displays a variety of referring expressions.
After breakfast they smoked a pipe in silence to the memory of the dead. Then Spurstow said
absently –
‘ ‘Tisn’t in medical science.’
‘What?’
‘Things in a dead man’s eye.’
‘For goodness’ sake leave that horror alone!’ said Lowndes. ‘I’ve seen a native die of pure fright
when a tiger chivied him. I know what killed Hummil’
‘The deuce you do? I’m going to see.’ And the doctor retreated into the bath-room with a Kodak
camera. After a few minutes there was the sound of something being hammered to pieces, and
he emerged, very white indeed.
‘Have you got a picture?’ said Mottram. ‘What does the thing look like?’
‘It was impossible, of course. You needn’t look, Mottram.’
Excerpt from Kipling’s “At the end of the passage” (1967, p. 101)

6
Unit 8. Key ideas
Speech acts
In Unit 6 we mentioned the four basic speech acts and their corresponding clause
types and saw that there isn’t a steady correlation between them. The origin of the
Speech Acts theory were the William James Lectures delivered at Harvard in 1955 by
John Austin. Later they were published as a book entitled How to Do Things with
Words (1962). Austin’s approach to language has been developed by a number of
scholars, the most important of them being the philosopher John R. Searle. The
essence of Austin’s theory is his focus on the social function of an utterance. His
theory also pointed to the importance of the listener, his linguistic knowledge about
grammar, his cultural background, and his knowledge about the local context. Austin
observed that not all the sentences that have the form of a declarative are used to
make a statement. He introduced the term illocutionary act, which refers to an act
when a speaker utters a sentence in a certain context and with a certain intention.
Some examples are promises, questions, and commands, among others. Austin
classifies the utterances into 5 types according to their illocutionary force:
Giving of a verdict, as the name implies, by a jury, arbitrator, or

Verdictives
umpire, for example, an estimate, reckoning, or appraisal.
The exercising of powers, rights, or influence, for example,
Exercitives
appointing, voting, ordering, urging, advising, warning.
Promising or otherwise undertaking; they commit you to doing
Commissives something, but include also declarations or announcements of
intention.
Have to do with attitudes and social behaviour, for example,
Behabitives apologizing, congratulating, commending, condoling, cursing,
and challenging.
Make plain how our utterances fit into the course of an
Expositives
argument or conversation, how we are using words.
Table 1. Austin’s five types of utterance.
Illocutionary forces can be realised in different ways such as intonation, stress, word
order, etc.

7
Unit 8. Key ideas
Politeness
Politeness studies are closely connected to other fields of study, such as conversation
analysis, sociolinguistics, or second language acquisition, hence linguists’ growing
interest in the potential of politeness principals to describe language use.
Conversational strategies and indirect speech acts are among the phenomena
politeness is concerned with. In “Perspectives on politeness”, Bruce Fraser claims that
“upon entering into a given conversation each party brings an understanding of some
initial sets of rights and obligations that will determine, at least for the preliminary
stages, what the participants can expect from the others” (1990, p. 232). In general
terms, politeness can be viewed as the choice of the speaker to create a situational
context that matches the listener’s expectation or understanding of how he should
be addressed. Culture, social conventions, status or power are some of the factors
that determine basic notions in the relationship between the speaker and the
addressee. To understand a message properly, we need to know the culture-sensitive
context. A simple social act like greeting can be awkward, if we don’t know what is
socially adequate in a certain context: a kiss, a handshake, or a hug? “Politeness can
be, thus, conceived of as a matter of social adequacy,” according to Victoria
Escandell-Vidal. “Polite is the word we use to refer to (linguistic) behaviour
conforming to a given set of cultural norms” (1998, p. 47). Mastering a foreign
language involves learning how to transmit and interpret message, and, in this sense,
behave as those in that culture do. Some scholars refer to politeness in computer-
mediated communication as e-politeness and the term netiquette (net + etiquette)
was coined for the rules of behavior on the Internet.

8
Unit 8. Key ideas
The basic rules of behaviour on the Internet
1. Refrain from personal abuse.

2. Don’t spam.
3. Write clearly and succinctly.
4. Remember that your posts are public.
5. Stay on-topic, especially when you’re new.
6. Don’t expect other people to do your homework for you. If you’re looking for technical help,
for example, don’t ask questions you could easily answer yourself by reading the manual or online
help provided with the product.
7. Do not post copyrighted material to which you do not own the rights.
8. The site’s owner, perhaps assisted by one or more moderators, has the final say in enforcing
the rules.
Source: adapted from bbc.co.uk.

Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-netiquette
Key Figures in the History of Linguistics.
Figure 1. Joseph H. Greenberg (1915-2001).

Source: The National Academies Press.
For further information about Joseph H. Greenberg, visit:

https://www.nap.edu/read/12562/chapter/8

9
Unit 8. Key ideas
8.3. Discourse analysis
G
rammar analysis deals with the formal properties of the language,
independent of the use of these formal structures. It takes sentences and
sentence combinations uncontextualised and only functional grammar is
concerned with the communicative function of larger stretches of spoken or written
language that occur naturally in communication. On the other hand, discourse
analysis studies language in communication, taking into account the social context
and how it affects the meaning of a sentence. Before outlining the main components
of discourse analysis, let us look at the notion of discourse. For Teun Van Dijk, “the
term ‘discourse’ usually refers to a form of language use, public speeches or more
generally to spoken language or ways of speaking, for instance when we refer to ‘the
discourse of former President Ronald Reagan’” (1997, p. 1). In the media, the term
discourse is sometimes used informally to mean not only the language used, but also
the ideas related to it, e.g. “the discourse of neo-liberalism”. Discourse analysts
include other essential components in the concept: “who uses language, how, why
and when” (Van Dijk, 1997, p. 2, italics in original).
Van Dijk (1997) distinguishes three main dimensions of discourse:
a) Language use: involves written texts and spoken language.

b) The communication of beliefs (cognition): shared knowledge about sociocultural
beliefs and ideologies. Some of these acts can be performed at the same time.
Cognitive psychology deals with the mental processes involved in language use.
Van Dijk mentions the importance not only of individual cognition, but also of
sociocultural cognition in discourse analysis.
c) Interaction in social situations: presenting oneself, agreeing, disagreeing, taking

turns and other types of interaction in conversation.

10
Unit 8. Key ideas
Can you identify the above mentioned three dimensions in the following dialogues?
What are the culture-specific features in these interactions?
Conversation 1
A. If only we could just fly off that island.

B. That would be fantastic. I’d sit on a beach and read all day.
A. I’d just sleep forever. I can’t remember a full night’s sleep.
B. Yeah. Sometimes I wish I’d never had kids. I mean, not really, but . . .
A. I know what you mean. No – you can’t have an ice-cream. I said NO.
Conversation 2
A. Look, I know I shouldn’t have parked here but I was only gone two minutes.
B. I’ve already written the ticket.
A. Surely you could cancel it if you wanted? It was literally one minute.
B. One minute, two minutes. You can’t park here, it’s as simple as that.
A. But I just had to dash into the chemist to collect a prescription for my sick grandmother.
Supposing you cancelled it just this once?
B. I don’t care what you were doing. I can’t cancel a ticket – it’s more than my job’s worth.
You’ve got two weeks to pay.
Table 2. Interactions with culture-specific features. Source: adapted from New Headway Upper-Intermediate by
Liz and John Soars, 2009, p. 137.
Critical discourse analysis investigates interactions and their effects on social

structures. The most important scholars working in this field are Norman Fairclough,
Gunther Kress, Roger Fowler, and Teun Van Dijk.
1. Problem-oriented.
2. An explicitly critical approach in studying text and talk.
3. Focuses on the relations between discourse and society.
4. Part of a broad spectrum of critical studies in the humanities and the social sciences.
5. May pay attention to other semiotic dimensions, such as pictures, film, music, etc.
6. Especially focuses on group relations of power, dominance, and inequality
7. Much work in CDA is about the underlying ideologies that play a role in the reproduction
of or resistance against dominance.

8. Specifically focuses on discursive ways to influence the minds of people in the interest
of the powerful.
Table 3. Main characteristics of Critical Discourse Analysis. Source: adapted from Van Dijk, 1995, p. 17-18.

11
Unit 8. Key ideas
Look at Donald Trump’s tweet below and answer the following questions:
 What is the role of the utterer of the tweet?

 What is his intention, purpose, goal?
 What is the target audience (primary and secondary)?
 What power relations are involved in communication?
 What is the role of the interpreter?
 How does the event time determine this utterance?
 Are there any spatial or temporal constraints on the production of discourse?
 What mental state is expressed?
 Is the tweet personal or it represents American citizens?
 Trump displays aggressive and unapologetic masculinity, which he overtly relates
to power and authority. How calling the North Korean leader “short and fat” shows
how mighty and successful Trump is?
Figure 2. Donald Trump’s tweet. Source: Vox. Retrieved from:

https://www.vox.com/2017/11/12/16639462/trump-kim-north-korea-russia-twitter

12
Unit 8. Key ideas
Macro and micro-structures in text organisation
One semantic notion that is crucial for discourse analysis is coherence or “how do the
meanings of sentences – that is, propositions – in a discourse ‘hang together’ (Van
Dijk, 1997, p. 9).
 Macro level of analysis: “the meaning of discourse as a whole” (Van Dijk, 1997, p.
9).
 Micro level of analysis: “coherence relations for sentences that immediately
follow each other” (Van Dijk, 1997, p. 9).
The notion of topic is essential for achieving coherence at macro level. Gillian Brown
and George Yule argue that “the notion of ‘topic’ is clearly an intuitively satisfactory
way of describing the unifying principle which makes one stretch of discourse ‘about’
something and the next stretch ‘about’ something else” (1983, p. 70). Some aspects
of the context are directly reflected in the text and they help us interpret the text.
Some other elements that determine the topic can be established before the
discourse begins; they are part of the context of a speech event. Another aspect to
be taken into account are all those places, people, facts that have already been
activated for the participants in the conversation in the preceding discourse (For
example, see Conversation 1). Within this topic framework there is a presupposition
pool, i.e. information based on general knowledge or on the completed part of the
discourse (For example, see Conversation 2). Thus, the topic framework “represents
the area of overlap in the knowledge which has been activated and is shared by the
participants at a particular point of discourse” (1983, Brown & Yule p. 83). In written
discourse, the topic-shift is usually marked by the beginning of a new paragraph.
In their work Cohesion in English, first published in 1976, Halliday and Hasan regard
the text as a “semantic unit: a unit not of form but of meaning”. For them, “a text
does not consist of sentences; it is realized by, or encoded in sentences” (2013, p. 2).
They examine focus on four main cohesive devices that provide the unity of a text:

13
Unit 8. Key ideas
Reference: the speaker uses a word to help the listener identify the referent.
Those books are mine. (The demonstrative those refers to the location of the
books.)
Ellipsis: the absence of a linguistic element.

My two sisters play the piano. Both are very talented.
Substitution: an element can be replaced by another in the text.

A. I will go the party on Saturday.
B. So will I. (Clausal substitution. The auxiliary verb will substitutes the A
clause.)
Conjunction: marks the relationship between segments of the text.

I am studying English, because I would like to find a better job.
Information structure: theme/rheme
One of the most studied phenomena in discourse analysis is “how sentence forms
signal the distribution of information throughout a discourse” (Van Dijk, 1997, p. 8,
italics in original). Sometimes the term content is used to mean information. It is
important to analyse what information is conveyed and how the word order
influences the understanding of this information. In semantics, the meaning of the
whole clause or sentence is called proposition.
It is essential to distinguish between the thematic organisation of a sentence and its

syntactic structure. Each simple sentence has a theme and a rheme. The theme is the
starting point of the sentence, the point of departure, and the rheme is the rest. As
Angela Downing and Philip Locke define it, “theme is the clause constituent which,
whatever its syntactic function, is selected to be the point of departure of the clause
as a message. What goes in initial position is important for both the speaker and the
listener” (2006, p. 223). We can say: Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet or Romeo
and Juliet was written by Shakespeare. The passive structure has a marked effect. The

14
Unit 8. Key ideas
speaker draws our attention to the play and the new information is placed at the end
of the sentence. It is important to note that “when Theme conflates with Topic and
Subject, it can be called topical Theme” (Downing & Locke, 2006, p. 222).
Example:
Midsummer Night’s Eve occurs on June 23rd.
Midsummer Night’s Eve →theme
occurs on June 23rd →rheme
Spoken and written discourse
When we analyse the properties of written and spoken discourse, we should take
into account that there isn’t a clear distinction between the two and there aren’t two
clearly distinguished blocks of discourse that all the speakers of a language use. A
number of factors, such as how the discourse is produced and received or the
purpose of the writer or speaker determine the main differences between the two
types of discourse.
The manner of production
 Channel: (Means of transmission, such as electronic screens, printed books,

graffiti, etc.)
 Medium: (The method of transmission. In face-to-face conversations, the medium
is the articulatory organ that takes part in the production of the sounds. Other
media are a film soundtrack, radio transmissions, etc.)
 Relative speed of production.
In May 1997, Wallace Chafe and Jane Danielewicz published Technical Report 05.
Properties of Spoken and Written Language, a brief but representative work, in which
they discuss the difference between speech and writing. The authors examine the
level of vocabulary, the clause construction, and the speed of production and

15
Unit 8. Key ideas
conclude that “speakers chain intonation units together, often connecting them with
‘and,’ stopping occasionally to insert a sentence-final falling pitch”, while “writers
connect intonation units in more complex ways, sculpting them into planned
sentences which [. . .] tend towards a mean length of 24 words” (p. 18).
Intonation units → the natural units of speaking.

Sentences → the natural units of writing.
The relation between the producer of the language and the audience:
involvement detachment
speech writing
Figure 3. The relation between the producer of the language and the audience.
In spoken language, the audience is present and able to respond. The producer
interacts with his audience. For Chafe and Danielewicz “spoken language contains
indications of the speaker’s involvement with the audience, as well as of the
speaker’s involvement with himself, and [. . .] with the concrete reality of what is
being talked about” (1997, p. 19). Written language lacks involvement, the audience
is often unknown.

16
Unit 8. Key ideas
Speakers Writers
Can revise all the text or

Can use paralinguistic
parts of it.
Advantages features: voice facial
expression, gestures, etc. Can edit and correct the
text.
Have to speak clearly and

concisely. Do not have feedback
Disadvantages from the readers in real
Have to respond immediately. time.
May expose their feelings.
Table 4. Advantages and disadvantages of speakers and writers.
8.4. Bibliographical references
Austin, J. L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Chafe, W. & Danielewicz, J. (May, 1997). TR 05. Properties of Spoken and Written
Language. Berkley: University of California & Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University.
Downing, A. & Locke, Ph. (2006). English Grammar: A University Course. London &
New York: Routledge.
Escandell-Vidal, V. (1998). Politeness: A Relevant Issue for Relevance Theory. Revista

Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses 11, 45-57.
Fraser, B. (1990). Perspectives on Politeness. Journal of Pragmatics 14 (2), 219-236.

Halliday, M. A. K. & Hasan, R. (2013). Cohesion in English. London & New York:
Routledge.

17
Unit 8. Key ideas
Kipling, R. (1967). At the End of the Passage. In Christopher Dolley (Ed.), The Penguin
Book of English Short Stories. (pp. 82-102). London: Penguin Books.
Saeed, J. I. (1997). Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell.
Soars L. & J. (2009). New Headway Upper-Intermediate. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1995). Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis. Japanese Discourse 1, 17-
27.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1998). The Study of Discourse. In Teun A Van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse as
Structure and Process. Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction. Volume 1.
(pp. 1-34). London: Sage Publications.
Verschueren, J. (1999). Understanding Pragmatics. New York: Oxford University

Press.
Yule, G. (2008). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


18
Unit 8. Key ideas
8.5 Master class
Semantics: semantic roles and lexical relations
The master class offers a brief overview of two areas of research in linguistics:
pragmatics and discourse analysis. Notions such as context, reference, speech acts,
and politeness, are explained and illustrated with examples. We also look at discourse
analysis and some practical aspects of the language use, such as the organisation of
information and the advantages and disadvantages of speech and writing.
Access to the master class through the virtual campus


19
Unit 8. Key ideas
In Depth
Theme
Jajiková, E. (2017). Theme. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics Review.
In this article, Eva Jajiková offers an overview of several interpretations of the term
theme, depending on the approach to the notion. She points to the abundance of
terms and approaches to the information structure of the sentence. Her diachronic
overview of the different schools of thought and their contribution to the
understanding of the concept of theme starts with psychologically-oriented studies
through the Prague Theory to contemporary approaches such as Meaning-Text
Theory and focuses eventually on thematic roles.
Access to the document through the virtual campus or following this link:
http://linguistics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.0001/a
crefore-9780199384655-e-216

20
Unit 8. In Depth
Politeness in Pragmatics
Kádár, D. Z. (2017). Politeness in Pragmatics. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics

Review.
Dániel Kádár examines the notion of politeness and the valences it involves and
argues that politeness reveals information about broader social and cultural values.
His work focuses broadly on two politeness-related aspects: methodological and
theoretical changes within politeness research and key phenomena politeness
research deals with.
Available at the virtual campus under the art. 32.4 of the Spanish Intellectual
Property Law.
Pragmatics and Gricean Maxims
This short video provides an introduction to pragmatics and the four Gricean
principles: quality, manner, relevance, and quality. The author looks at the way these
maxims rule a conversation.
Access to the video through the virtual campus or the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO4WQB1BIq0&index=3&list=PLNRhI4Cc_Qm
vBzEBJFiOUfmMR4ew9TFwO

21
Unit 8. In Depth
Pragmatic competence and social power awareness: The case of written and
spoken discourse in non-native English environments
Pérez-Sabater, C. & Montero-Fleta, B. (2014).Pragmatic competence and social power

awareness: The case of written and spoken discourse in non-native English environment.
International Journal of English Studies 14 (2), 21-38.
The authors of this article carry out a study with 60 students of English, whose level
of English is B1. The starting point of their study is pragmatic competence as
defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Their
study centered on the difference between powerful and powerless speech styles
through negotiation, co-planning, and goal-oriented communication.
This article is available at UNIR virtual library


22
Unit 8. In Depth
Impoliteness: Using and Understanding the Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC) Language of Offence
Jonathan Culpeper’s academic website is dedicated to impoliteness, i.e. language

that is considered anti-social or rude. The author offers a range of definitions of
impoliteness and explains some general terms, such as verbal aggression, abusive
language and rudeness. Culpeper also discusses how emotions, contexts, and
cultures relate to impoliteness.
Access to the webpage through the virtual campus or following this link:
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/impoliteness/myths.htm

23
Unit 8. In Depth
Test
1. Choose the correct answer. Pragmatics studies
A. The explicit meaning of an utterance.
B. The implicit meaning of an utterance.
C. The relationship between the speaker and the listener.
2. Choose the correct answer:
A. Pragmatics and discourse analysis are interrelated fields in linguistics.

B. Pragmatics and sociolinguistics are interrelated fields in linguistics.
C. Both A and B are correct.
3. In the sentence You needn’t look, Mottram.

A. You is a referring expression.
B. Mottram is a referring expression.
4. Choose the correct answer: ordering, urging, advising, promising, apologising are
A. Speech acts.
B. Clause types.
5. Choose the correct answer.

A. The relationship between the speaker and the addressee is determined by
social factors, such as culture or power roles.
B. Politeness comprises linguistic and non-linguistic behaviour.


24
Unit 8. Test
6. The three main dimensions of discourse are
A. Topic, reference, and communication of beliefs.
B. Language use, communication of beliefs, and interaction.
C. Language use, speech acts, and interaction.
7. Choose the correct answer. Ellipsis and substitution are

A. Cohesive devices.
B. Manners of production of an utterance.
C. Channels of transmission of a message.

A. Detachment is characteristic for written discourse.
B. Involvement is characteristic for spoken discourse.

A. Critical discourse investigates language and power relations.
B. Critical discourse investigates language and ideology.

A. The theme is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
B. The rheme is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
C. Both A and B are wrong.

25
Unit 8. Test

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Unit 8

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

8.3. Discourse analysis 10

Pragmatics and Discourse analysis

Pragmatics Discourse analysis

Context Speech acts Information structure: Spoken and

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

8.1. How to study this unit?

In order to study this unit you should read:

Escandell-Vidal, V. (1998). Politeness: A Relevant Issue for Relevance Theory. Revista

pragmatics and discourse analysis. Pragmatics is concerned with utterance

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Giving of a verdict, as the name implies, by a jury, arbitrator, or

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

1. Refrain from personal abuse.

Source: adapted from bbc.co.uk.

Key Figures in the History of Linguistics.

Figure 1. Joseph H. Greenberg (1915-2001).

Source: The National Academies Press.

For further information about Joseph H. Greenberg, visit:

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Van Dijk (1997) distinguishes three main dimensions of discourse:

a) Language use: involves written texts and spoken language.

c) Interaction in social situations: presenting oneself, agreeing, disagreeing, taking

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

A. If only we could just fly off that island.

Critical discourse analysis investigates interactions and their effects on social

of or resistance against dominance.

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

 What is the role of the utterer of the tweet?

Figure 2. Donald Trump’s tweet. Source: Vox. Retrieved from:

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Ellipsis: the absence of a linguistic element.

Substitution: an element can be replaced by another in the text.

Conjunction: marks the relationship between segments of the text.

Information structure: theme/rheme

It is essential to distinguish between the thematic organisation of a sentence and its

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Spoken and written discourse

The manner of production

 Channel: (Means of transmission, such as electronic screens, printed books,

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Intonation units → the natural units of speaking.

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Can revise all the text or

Have to speak clearly and

Table 4. Advantages and disadvantages of speakers and writers.

8.4. Bibliographical references

Escandell-Vidal, V. (1998). Politeness: A Relevant Issue for Relevance Theory. Revista

Fraser, B. (1990). Perspectives on Politeness. Journal of Pragmatics 14 (2), 219-236.

Morphosyntax and Semantics in the English Language

Saeed, J. I. (1997). Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Soars L. & J. (2009). New Headway Upper-Intermediate. Oxford: Oxford University

Verschueren, J. (1999). Understanding Pragmatics. New York: Oxford University

Yule, G. (2008). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.