Discourse description : diverse linguistic analyses of a fund-raising text

Bibliographic Information

Discourse description : diverse linguistic analyses of a fund-raising text

edited by William C. Mann, Sandra A. Thompson

(Pragmatics & beyond : new series, 16)

J. Benjamins Pub. Co., 1992

  • : eur
  • : us
  • : eur : pbk
  • : us : pbk

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Note

Includes bibliographical references

Description and Table of Contents
Volume

: us ISBN 9781556192821

Description

Discourse Description presents in one convenient volume a variety of approaches to text description that have been proposed in the linguistic literature in the last decade or so. The book is organized to make it easy to understand and compare the various approaches. Since all of the researchers are analyzing the same text, their differences are readily seen. The text they analyze is a letter, mailed in bulk by a Washington-based lobbying organization which is supported by contributions from donors. Far from simply informing the readers, the letter seeks to appeal to them on many levels, intellectual, emotional, and financial. It is a fascinating study in how texts do their work. Discourse Description is expected to serve both as a research document and as a case textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in discourse and text analysis, as well as a resource for text analysts.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. I. Text Organization
  • 3. Text as Purposive Communication: A Meaning-based Analysis (by Callow, Kathleen)
  • 4. Rhetorical Structure Theory and Text Analysis (by Mann, William C.)
  • 5. An Analysis of a Plea for Money (by Meyer, Bonnie J.F.)
  • 6. The Discourse Strategy of an Appeals Letter (by Longacre, Robert E.)
  • 7. The Notion of Unspecific versus Specific as one Way of Analysing the Information of a Fund-Raising Letter (by Winter, Eugene)
  • 8. An Integrated Three-Pronged Analysis of a Fund-Raising Letter (by Jordan, Michael P.)
  • 9. How I Understand a Text - via the Structure of the Happenings and the Telling of Them (by Pike, Evelyn G.)
  • 10. II. Lexico-Grammatical Approaches to the Text
  • 11. The Flow of Ideas in a Sample of Written Language (by Chafe, Wallace)
  • 12. The ZPG Letter: Subjects, Definiteness, and Information-status (by Prince, Ellen F.)
  • 13. Some Lexicogrammatical Features of the Zero Population Growth Text (by Halliday, M.A.K.)
  • 14. Macro-Proposals: Meaning by Degree (by Martin, J.R.)
  • 15. Collocation and Field of Discourse (by Benson, James D.)
Volume

: us : pbk ISBN 9781556192883

Description

This book is about a theory of language that combines two observations (1) that language is based on an extensive cognitive infrastructure (cognitivism) and (2) that it is functional for its user (functionalism). These observations are regarded as two dimensions of one phenomenon that both need to be accounted for, simultaneously and coherently, in accounting for language. Chapter 1 presents the cognitivist and functionalist points of view and their interrelation and discusses the integration of language research under a cognitive umbrella; the issue of defining 'functions of language', and the formalism-functionalism debate. Chapter 2 criticizes the Chomskyan formalist conception of language and cognition from the perspective of cognitive-pragmatic theory. The focus is on different aspects of the competence-performance dichotomy, and in particular on the nature of linguistic knowledge. The ontogenesis and phylogenesis of language are also discussed. Chapter 3 deals with the potential contribution of a functional-linguistic grammar to an integrated conception of the cognitive systems of language, viz. Dik's Functional Grammar, and introduces the concept of a Functional Procedural Grammar as a more integrative model for language production. Special attention is also paid to the nature of conceptual knowledge and the relationship between language production and interpretation. The debate is illustrated by an analysis of negative-raising.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Elements of the theory
  • 3. Linguistic knowledge and language use: Chomsky revisited
  • 4. Linguistic and conceptual systems in language processing
  • 5. Notes
  • 6. References
  • 7. Subject Index
  • 8. Index of Names
Volume

: eur ISBN 9789027250261

Description

Discourse Description presents in one convenient volume a variety of approaches to text description that have been proposed in the linguistic literature in the last decade or so. The book is organized to make it easy to understand and compare the various approaches. Since all of the researchers are analyzing the same text, their differences are readily seen. The text they analyze is a letter, mailed in bulk by a Washington-based lobbying organization which is supported by contributions from donors. Far from simply informing the readers, the letter seeks to appeal to them on many levels, intellectual, emotional, and financial. It is a fascinating study in how texts do their work. Discourse Description is expected to serve both as a research document and as a case textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in discourse and text analysis, as well as a resource for text analysts.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. I. Text Organization
  • 3. Text as Purposive Communication: A Meaning-based Analysis (by Callow, Kathleen)
  • 4. Rhetorical Structure Theory and Text Analysis (by Mann, William C.)
  • 5. An Analysis of a Plea for Money (by Meyer, Bonnie J.F.)
  • 6. The Discourse Strategy of an Appeals Letter (by Longacre, Robert E.)
  • 7. The Notion of Unspecific versus Specific as one Way of Analysing the Information of a Fund-Raising Letter (by Winter, Eugene)
  • 8. An Integrated Three-Pronged Analysis of a Fund-Raising Letter (by Jordan, Michael P.)
  • 9. How I Understand a Text - via the Structure of the Happenings and the Telling of Them (by Pike, Evelyn G.)
  • 10. II. Lexico-Grammatical Approaches to the Text
  • 11. The Flow of Ideas in a Sample of Written Language (by Chafe, Wallace)
  • 12. The ZPG Letter: Subjects, Definiteness, and Information-status (by Prince, Ellen F.)
  • 13. Some Lexicogrammatical Features of the Zero Population Growth Text (by Halliday, M.A.K.)
  • 14. Macro-Proposals: Meaning by Degree (by Martin, J.R.)
  • 15. Collocation and Field of Discourse (by Benson, James D.)
Volume

: eur : pbk ISBN 9789027250315

Description

Discourse Description presents in one convenient volume a variety of approaches to text description that have been proposed in the linguistic literature in the last decade or so. The book is organized to make it easy to understand and compare the various approaches. Since all of the researchers are analyzing the same text, their differences are readily seen. The text they analyze is a letter, mailed in bulk by a Washington-based lobbying organization which is supported by contributions from donors. Far from simply informing the readers, the letter seeks to appeal to them on many levels, intellectual, emotional, and financial. It is a fascinating study in how texts do their work. Discourse Description is expected to serve both as a research document and as a case textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in discourse and text analysis, as well as a resource for text analysts.

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Details
  • NCID
    BA14300618
  • ISBN
    • 902725026X
    • 1556192827
    • 9027250316
    • 1556192886
  • LCCN
    91046957
  • Country Code
    ne
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Amsterdam ; Philadelphia
  • Pages/Volumes
    xiii, 409 p.
  • Size
    23 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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