beyondthediscourse

[beyondthediscourse]

Beyond the Discourse

An introduction to discourse analysis:

Since this blog is dedicated to discourse analysis, it is only logical to explain what discourse analysis is before venturing to other subjects. In short, DA studies the ways sentences and utterances (speech) go together to make texts and interactions and how those texts and interactions fit into our social world. It can be defined in three different ways:

- Language beyond the level of a sentence.

- Language behaviors linked to social practices.

- Language as a system of thought.

There are many dimensions to analyzing any kind of discourse, no matter the length. Even something as short as the word ‘no’ can carry implications that go beyond its meaning on the surface level, only those who are socially savvy can pick up on it— and discourse analysts, of course. Which is what sparked my fascination with the field, resulting in the birth of this blog! That, and the fact that this blog is part of my assessment for the discourse analysis course that I am currently taking. 

Why the name “beyond the discourse?”

I felt like it was a fitting name, since the word ‘discourse’ does not simply mean ‘conversation’ alone, it goes beyond that. It includes things like social contexts, the person who is using the language and under what conditions it is being used, the receiver and many more aspects. I also chose it as part of a chain my friends and I decided to do as one named her blog “Beyond the Word” and the other named it “Beyond the Sentence”.

I will be sharing my analysis of discourse that either occurred in my day to day life or appears in things I find interesting. So basically, discourse analysis with my personality sprinkled on top.