Discourse Analysis

What is Discourse Analysis?
(1) Discourse refers to "the discipline devoted to the investigation of the relationship between form and function in verbal communication" (Jan Renkem, Introduction to Discourse Studies, 2004) -

(2) In linguistics, discourse refers to a unit of language longer than a single sentence.

(3) More broadly, discourse is the use of spoken or written language in a social context.   (http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/discourseterm.html)

(4) The term discourse has several definitions. In the study of language, discourse often refers to the speech patterns and usage of language, dialects, and acceptable statements, within a community. (wisegeek.com)

(5) Discourse is language identified by the social conditions of  use, by who is using it and under what conditions. Language can never be 'neutral' because it bridges our personal and socialworlds."
(Frances Henry and Carol Tator, Discourses of Domination. University of Toronto Press, 2002)

(6) Analysis means to break something up into parts, pieces, reasons, or steps and look at how those pieces are related to each other.

(7) Analysis usually goes together with synthesis because first you break down a concept/idea into its important parts (analysis), so you can draw useful conclusions or make decisions about the topic or problem (synthesis).

(8) Discourse analysis is taken from written texts or tape recordings. It is rarely in the form of a single sentence. (G. Brown and G. Yule, Discourse Analysis. Cambridge University Press, 1983)

(9)Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyze written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event.

The objects of discourse analysis (writing, conversation, communicative event).

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_analysis.html)

(10) Discourse analysis is a broad term for the study of the ways in which language is used in texts and contexts. Also called discourse studies.(http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/discanalysisterm.html)

(11) Discourse analysis as concerned with the interactive or dialogic properties of everyday communication. (quotation from M. Stubbs' textbook (Stubbs 1983:1).

(12) Discourse analysis is concerned with "the use of language in a running discourse, continued over a number of sentences, and involving the interaction of speaker (or writer) and  reader in a specific

 (Abrams and Harpham, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 2005).

(13) Discourse analysis is not only about method; it is also a perspective on the nature of language and its relationship to the central issues of the social sciences. (Linda Wood and Rolf Kroger, Doing Discourse Analysis. Sage, 2000)

(14) Discourse analysis as concerned with the interrelationships between language and society and also  concerned with language use beyond the boundaries of a sentence/utterance. (quotation from M. Stubbs' textbook (Stubbs 1983:1).

(15). Discourse analysis defined as the analysis of language 'beyond the sentence'. This contrasts with types of analysis more typical of modern linguistics. Deborah Tannen

(From Linguistic Society of America web)

       So, the conclusion of discourse analysis is study about how to examine and analyze the language used by their nature, either verbal (conversations, spoken monologues,etc.) or written (news, political speeh,etc.) This method that has been adopted and developed by social constructionists.