The Modes of Discourse
The Modes of Discourse
The chapter discusses the various forms that communication through text takes in discourse, starting from the systematic groupings of discourse activities into speech events that differ across languages and cultures. One of the unifying principles that underlie this diversity is the use of mental patterns such as scripts and schemata, which help participants produce and interpret discourse. Other systematic groupings involve the notions of genre and discourse type, as well as the dichotomy between speech and writing, which is discussed and critically assessed. The discussion suggests that a useful means of categorising discourse is that of discourse modes and proposes the distinction between narrative and non-narrative modes as a fundamental one. This distinction forms the backbone of the rest of the book. The defining characteristics of the two modes are outlined and summarised here, although it is pointed out that the interaction between them is equally fascinating.
Keywords: speech event, schemata, genre, discourse type, discourse mode, speech, writing, narrative, non-narrative
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