discourse analysis

SUMMARYContents4Whatcancountasdiscoursedata?1235Thegeneraldiscourse-analyticprincipleDiscourseandcontextConclusionLimitationsandproblemsAbriefreviewRecordingsandrecordscircumstancesWhatismostapproapriateforDA?Weshouldthinkofdiscourseinthebroadestsense.Discourse-analyticprincipleWedon’tgobehindthetexttolookforapriorreality-eventsintheworldorinternalcognitions.Discourseissituatedandmustbeviewedinitsowncontext.“Languageisalwaysobservedwithinasocialcontextofsomekind;theconceptofanunobserved,uncontaminatedspeechstyleisinfactanidealization”(Lee&Peck,1995,p.32)ThesignificanceofcontextWhatiscontext?Contexthasmeaningsattwolevels,namely,thelinguisticlevelandthenon-linguisticlevel.Atthelinguisticlevel,contextreferstoanylinguisticitemsorcontentsthatoccurbeforeand/orafteraword,aphrase,orevenanutteranceortext.Atthenon-linguisticlevel,contextreferstothesurroundingsituationinwhichanutteranceoradiscourseoccurs.Itisthebroadersocialsituationinwhichalinguisticitemisused.Now,ifweapplytheverbalphrase吃饭inthetwofollowingdifferentnon-linguisticcontexts,whatwillhappen?(1)(WangLanmeetshisclassmateLiMingatthegateoftheschool.)WL:你吃饭了吗？LM:我吃了。(2)（LiMinggoestoWangLan’shometoinvitehertogoforawalk.Atthattime,WangLan’sfamilyarehavingsupper.）WL:你吃饭了吗？LM:我吃了。FIRE!AsGillianBrownandGeorgeYulesayintheirbookDiscourseAnalysis,“inordertointerprettheseelementsinapieceofdiscourse,itisnecessarytoknow(atleast)whothespeakerandthehearerare,andthetimeandplaceoftheproductionofthediscourse”(2000:27).Thediscoursethatweanalyzecanonlybetakentorepresentitself;itcannotbetreatedasrepresentativeofdiscourseinanothercontext.Context-dependenceSituationalindependence???LaboratorystudiesConventionalinterviewsInconventionallaboratorystudies,thisproblemisdiscounted(situationalindependence)becauseoftheassumptionthatresearchersaregainingaccesstointernal,stablecharacteristicsofpersons(cognitions,traits)thattranscendsituations.Conventionalinterviewshavetreatedinterviewingactivityasdatacollection.Intervieweesareaskedtoprovidereportsordescriptionsaboutinteriorstatesorexternaleventsintheworldoutsidetheinterview.Thismethodologyoftenpresupposesthatsomereality—knowledge,beliefs,stories,perspectives—preexiststheinterview.Selectedelementsoftheinterviewee’sanswerscountasthedata,andtheseelementsareliftedoutoftheimmediatecontextoftheirproduction.Theyare,ineffect,decontextualised.Whyweusetheseinventeddiscourses?Researchersmaysometimesbeinterestedinlaboratorydiscourse,forexample,iftheirquestionsconcernresearchmethods,orwheretheyjudgelaboratorytalktohavecertainpracticaladvantages.Iftheresearchers’interestsinvolveinterpretiverepertoires,theymaywishtostudytalkin(researcher-instigated)interviewdiscourse.E.g.华中师范大学“两访两创”活动访谈学生记录表Comparisonoftwoquestionnaires您对学校、院系加强改进学生党建、教育管理、资助工作、就业指导有何建议？您对学校改进后勤服务、学习环境、安全保障有哪些建议？Areyousatisfiedwithyourdepartment’scoursedesign?(usepercentagetoshowyoursatisfactiondegree)Aabove90%B80-90%C70-80%Dbelow70%ConclusionMostofthetime,researcherswillbeinterestedindiscourseasitoccursoutsidethelaboratoryorfiction_andthereforeshouldbelookingfordiscoursethatisnotproducedthroughtheinstigationoftheresearcherandthatisnotexplicitlyfictional.EthicalandpracticalconcernsRequirethemodificationofidealpractices.Technicaldifficultiesinrecordingdiscourse(e.g.,outdoorconversations)EthicalconstrainsonrecordingwithoutinformingparticipantssolutionsTryourbesttoovercomethesedifficultiesNonetheless,certaintopicsmaybeimpossibleunlesswearewillingtoexaminenonnaturallyoccurringtalkornaturallyoccruingtalkofadifferentkind.Forexample,childsexualabuseOnemustrelyoninterviews,policydocuments,courtroomproceedings,andsoonandframeone’squestionsaccordingly.Still,werecommendthatinthefirstinstance,researchersmaketheirbestefforttoobtainnaturallyoccurringdiscourse.THANKYOU!