Discourse analysis: A sample text

Abstract

This paper offers an example of how connected discourse can be formally analyzed in such a way as to reveal something of its structure. The method used here was described in a previous paper, Discourse analysis, Lg. 28.1–30 (1952). It consists essentially of the following steps: given a particular text, we collect those linguistic elements (morphemes or sequences of morphemes) which have identical environments within a sentence, and we call these equivalent to each other; thus, if we find the sentences AF and BF in our text, we write A = B and say that A is equivalent to B or that both are in the same equivalence class. We further collect those linguistic elements which have equivalent (rather than identical) environments, and we call these also equivalent to each other; if we find the sentences AF and BE , and if A = B (because BF occurs too), then F is secondarily equivalent to E , and we write F = E. (Note that in the sentence AF, A is the environment of F , and F is the environment of A. ) This operation enables us to collect many or all of the linguistic elements or sections of any particular text into a few equivalence classes. For example, if our text consists of the sentences AF: BE: CG: BF: ME: AG: NE: NG: MH , we set up two classes: one class to include A, B (because of AF and BF ), C (because of AG and CG ), M , and N (because of BE and ME and NE ); the other class to include F, E (because of BF and BE ), G (because of AF and AG ), and H (because of ME and MH ).

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