ENG523 Important Terms

ENG523

1. Discourse Analysis

The study of language use beyond the sentence level, focusing on how meaning is constructed in different contexts and social interactions.

2. Text Grammarians

Experts who analyze written texts to understand relationships between linguistic elements, focusing on how these elements form coherent structures.

3. Functional Linguistics

An approach that examines language based on its social functions, emphasizing how grammar interacts with meaning and context.

4. Halliday’s Framework

A model by M.A.K. Halliday that views language as a system of choices influenced by social functions, focusing on thematic and informational structures.

5. Context and Culture in Language

The idea that language use is shaped by its context and cultural influences, affecting how it is interpreted and used.

6. Pragmatics

A branch of linguistics that studies how context influences the interpretation of meaning, including speaker intentions and implied meanings.

7. Speech Acts

Actions performed via language, such as requesting, apologizing, or commanding. Speech acts analyze what the speaker intends to accomplish.

8. Intonation in Discourse

The rise and fall of pitch in speech, which can change the meaning of a statement and reflect emotions or emphasis.

9. Cohesion

The linguistic connections within a text that link sentences together, such as pronouns, conjunctions, or lexical repetition.

10. Coherence

The logical and meaningful connection of ideas in a text, ensuring it "makes sense" to the reader or listener.

11. Turn-Taking

The structured process of managing conversational turns, ensuring participants know when to speak or listen.

12. Adjacency Pairs

Paired utterances in conversation where the first part predicts a specific type of response, like a question-answer or greeting-reply sequence.

13. Initiating Moves

The first action in an interaction, such as asking a question or making a statement, to start a conversational exchange.

14. Eliciting Exchanges

Interactions where one speaker seeks specific information, often seen in classroom settings, such as teacher questions and student responses.

15. Boundary Exchanges

Discourse structures that signal transitions or divisions within conversations, such as shifting topics or concluding segments.

16. Transactional Language

Language used to achieve specific tasks or exchange information, such as ordering food or asking for directions.

17. Interactional Talk

Language used for social purposes, like building relationships or maintaining communication, as in casual conversations.

18. Discourse Markers

Words or phrases, such as well, so, or you know, used to organize speech, manage turn-taking, or signal shifts in topic.

19. Genre vs. Text Type

Genres are culturally recognized categories like novels or essays, while text types (e.g., narrative, descriptive) focus on structural properties of texts.