Title: Written and spoken discourse

Discourse
Discourse is a set of utterances which constitute any
recognizable speech unit and it is a behavioural unit
which has pre-theoretical status in linguistics. It is a
general term used in pragmatics to refer to language
that has been produced as the result of an act of
communication. In another words, it stands for a
stretch of language which is unified, meaningful and
purposive.
Example: conversations, interviews, compositions etc.

Discourse can be both spoken and written. The study

of spoken and sometimes written discourse is called
discourse analysis.
Features of Discourse analysis:
B.     Presupposition: To Given (1979)
The discourse analyst describes what the speaker and presupposition is “defined in terms of assumptions
the hearer do rather than the relationship existing the speaker makes about what the hearer is likely to
between sentences. To do so, he/she has to consider four accept without challenge”. It means, accepting
discoursal features as discussed below: something without challenge is defined through the
term of assumption. To Selinker, presupposition is
the common ground of the participants in the
A. Reference: According to Lyons (1968) reference is the ‘words refer to conversation.
things’. Here, the speaker refers by using vocabulary to refer something
with appropriate expressions. It is an act on the part of the speaker. In
Example:
short, reference is something that someone can use an expression to do.
a.      My uncle is coming home from Canada.
Example: b.      My uncle is not coming home from Canada
Speaker I: My uncle’s coming home from Canada on Sunday +he’s due c.       I have an uncle.
in+
Speaker II: How long has he been away for or has he just been away? Here, sentence (b) is unnecessary, while sentence
Speaker I: Oh no they lived in Canada he was married to my mother’s (c) is presupposition of the speaker in uttering
sister++well she’s been dead for a number of years. sentence (a).
Here, ‘he’ is used to refer to ‘my uncle’ and ‘she’ to my mother’s sister.
C.    Implicature: The term implicature is used by
Grice (1975) account for what a speaker can imply,
suggest or mean, as distinct from what the speaker Features of
literary says. There are two types of implicature:

a.      Conventional: It is determined by the

Discourse analysis:
conventional meaning of the words used, for example:
He is an English man, he is therefore, brave.
b.      Conversational: It is derived from a general
D.    Inferences: The process is used to arrive at an
principle plus a number of maxims which speakers will
normally obey. The general principle is called the co- interpretation for utterances or for the connection
operative principles. The conversational conventions between utterances-
which support co-operative principle are as follows:
Example:
         i.      Quantity: Make your contribution as is In the kitchen there was a huge dresser and when anyone
required. Do not make your contribution informative went in you see + the hats and coats were all dumped on
than it required. this dresser.
        ii.      Quality: Do not say what you believe to be
false. Do not say which you lack adequate relevance.
       iii.      Relation: should be relevant. Here the inferences are:
       iv.      Manner: be perspicuous, brief, orderly & a.      The hats and coats belong to the visitor to the
avoid ambiguity and obscurity of expression. house.
b.      The house has the dresser and
c.       The dresser is in the kitchen.
 Spoken Language
Spoken language is a vast subject, and little is known in hard
statistical terms of the distribution of different types of speech
in people’s everyday lives. If we list at random a number of
different types of speech and consider how much of each day
or weak we spend engaged in each one, we can only roughly
guess at some sort of frequency ranking other than to say that
casual conversation is almost certainly the most frequent for
most people. The rest will depend on our daily occupation and
what sorts of contacts we have with others. Some different
types of speech might be:

·         Telephone calls (business or private)

·         Service counters (shops, tickets, offices)
·         Interviews (jobs, journalistic in official setting etc.)
 Advantage of Spoken Disadvantage of Spoken
Language: Language:

1.      Spoken language takes in some context of situation

and hence is supported by extra-linguistic elements 1.      It does not maintain strict grammatical rules. So,
including all in the surrounding. grammatical mistakes are occurred often.
2.      In a face to face interaction, the interlocutor can 2.      It is devoid of the transactional function of the
reformulate his/her language according to the situation language.
or taking into consideration the reaction shown by the 3.      Spoken language cannot express emotions,
other interlocutor. sentiments and feelings.
3.      While speaking, the speaker has available to 4.      Spoken language cannot be checked, changed or
him/her the full range of ‘voice quality’ efforts as well reformulated if it is once uttered.
as paralinguistic expressions. 5.      It is the primary form of language. So, it is non-
4.      In a conversation, non-linguistic events naturally visible and it has no written document to prove.
contribute to spoken language and make it lively. 6.      Spoken language is less planned rather than
5.      Spoken language is only interactional. written language. So it would be affected on listeners if
6.      Finally, spoken language contains interactive it is badly uttered.
markers and planning ‘filers’ and thus makes
communication effective.
Written Language
Written language is the secondary form of a language.
It is visible, written or printed and hence more
permanent.
 Advantage of Written Disadvantage of Written
Language: Language:

1.      Written language is the secondary form

of language.  1.      It fails to establish and maintain direct
2.      As written language is strictly governed role of relationships with the reader.
by grammatical rules, non-native users are 2.      In written language there is no
usually more aware of the rules of written proximity between the writer and reader.
language. 3.      Written language does not take place in
3.      We can express our feelings, ideas, some context of situations. So it is not
emotions, sentiments, and so forth more supported by extra linguistics elements
freely in spoken language because the reader including all is the surrounded.
cannot show direct and immediate reaction. 4.      Written language does not contain
4.      It may be checked, changed or interactive markers and planning filler and
reformulated if necessary grammatically and thus makes the communication less
pragmatically. effective.
5.      It performs both transactional and 5.      It misses the para-linguistic expression
interactional functions of language. and immediate reaction of the situation. So
its effect is slow.