EL4252/E:4252HM Interactional Discourse

Semester 1, 2023/24

Lecturer

Dr Peter K W Tan (phone 6516 6038; email PeterTan <at> nus.edu.sg; office AS5/0604)

Prerequisites and conditions for enrolment

This module is available to students who have accumulated at least 28 modular credits (7 modules) in English Language, and have achieved a CAP of at least 3.2. Although the module might pick up themes discussed in various other modules (Semantics and Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis and Language Development), we will not assume that students have read these modules. This module is worth 5 modular credits for students from the 2000 cohort or earlier (coded as EL4252HM). For other students, this will be worth 4 MCs.

Aims

This module will focus on how we might analyse discourse as an interactional phenomenon – ie how discourse might be used to underline or negotiate social relations. Special emphasis will be given to spoken discourse; its representation and transcription; and the way it can be analysed. Although a variety of theoretical models, including ‘classical’ ones, will be discussed, we will mainly be concerned about their applicability to discourse.

Lecture time and venue

Monday 12.00 to 3.00 pm, AS4/0119

Examination

Wednesday, 29th November 2023, 1.00 to 3.00 pm (to be confirmed)

Contents

Among the topics considered in the module will be the following:

spoken v written English
genre and register
Gricean pragmatics (especially face and politeness)
exchange structure (Previously, speech-act theory and conversation analysis were also included.) You can go to the week-by-week schedule where you will find links to weekly notes.

Assessment

FOR EL4252 STUDENTS. Sixty per cent of the marks has been assigned as the continuous assessment component (CA) of this module. The CA component might include

· an online class test (20 marks); and

· a group report of the project (30 marks)

· oral presentation and class participation (10 marks)

The final examination will make up 40 per cent of the marks for this module. (See below for more details about the CA components and exam.)

FOR EL4252HM STUDENTS. A personal response paper worth 25 marks will also be required in addition to the elements mentioned above.

Module website

http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/honours/

Recommended texts

Some of the following might be useful general texts (arranged alphabetically). Cheepen, Christine and James Monaghan (1990), Spoken English: A Practical Guide (London: Pinter)

Culpeper, Jonathan (2011), Impoliteness: Using Language to Cause Offence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Coulthard, Malcolm (ed.) (1992), Advances in spoken discourse analysis (London: Routledge)
Eggins , Suzanne (2004), An introduction to systemic functional linguistics, 2nd edn (London: Continuum)
—— and Diana Slade (1997), Analysing casual conversation (London: Cassell)
Gee, Paul and Michael Handford (eds) (2023), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis, 2nd edn (London: Routledge)
Johnstone, Barbara (2002), Discourse analysis (Oxford: Blackwell)
Martin, J R and David Rose (2007), Working with discourse: meaning beyond the clause (London: Continuum)
Schiffrin, Deborah (1994), Approaches to discourse (Oxford: Blackwell)
Stenström, Anna-Brita (1994), An introduction to spoken interaction (London: Longman)
Thomas, Jenny (1995), Meaning in interaction (London: Longman)
Thornbury, Scott and Diana Slade (2006), Conversation: from description to pedagogy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

· Watts, Richard J (2003), Politeness (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

Journals

Students can also scan some journals that will contain articles relevant to this module: Journal of Pragmatics and Discourse and Society. The Central Library subscribes to them and articles can now be downloaded from the web in pdf format.