Discourse and Pragmatics

Genre Analysis

Genre?
Romeo and Juliet Harry Potter Yuan Liang Dibiao Wode Xin Yat But Ao Siu (The Weakest Link) Facebook Page Moshing

Genres
Movie Genres

What Genre are they?

The development of the concept of Genre

Literary Studies Film Studies Stylistics Genre Analysis

Genre

Genre Analysis:
Genre Analysis is an approach that attempts to explain regularities in texts in terms of shared communicative purposes within discourse communities. It is usually associated with John Swales's analysis of the move structure of article introductions by North American and British academics. But since 1990, it has taken on other forms of analysis (rhetorical structure, analysis of variation, Systemic Functional Linguistics), other discourses (popular genres and legal genres as well as academic texts), different cultures (the academic writing of Finland, Czechoslavakia, or Germany), and different modes (in studies of pictures, electronic texts, and activities).

Genre Analysis: Genre and Purpose

John Swales Text types are historically and culturally situated attempts to explain regularities in texts in terms of shared communicative purposes within discourse communities. Genre is SOCIAL ACTION

Genre
Communicative Events

Communicative Purposes

Discourse Communities

Discourse Community
A group of people who join together to pursue common goals Intercommuinication among members Owns a set of genres Membership depends of adherence to generic conventions Membership=literacy

What discourse communities do you belong to?

Community Goals Genres/ Purpose

Moves (academic introductions)

The four moves of academic introductions: 1. Establishes the field in which the writer of the study is working. 2. Summarizes the related research or interpretations on one aspect of the field. 3. Creates a research space or interpretive space (a "niche") for the present study by indicating a gap in current knowledge or by raising questions. 4. Introduces the study by indicating what the investigation being reported will accomplish for the field.
Adapted from: John Swales. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge University Press, 1990.

What are the features and moves in these texts?

Genre
Communicative event Set of clear communicative purposes Discourse community Structured and conventionalized Constraints on allowable contributions
Intent Positioning Form Function

Expert members

Analyzing Stories
Labovs Narrative Analysis Abstract Orientation Complication Evaluation Result Coda

Example: Recovery Stories

Introduction Complication Bottom (Failed Reform) Transformation (Relapse) Evaluation Coda

Recovery Stories: Features

Very stable structure Set phrases themes: helplessness, control, hope, fear, strength Bottom Higher power

Genre
Tactical aspects of genre
Discriminative strategies

Genres are not static, but rather dynamic social processes Genres define, organize and structure social reality Genre is a type of social action Genres signal Membership

Mixing Genres
Relationship with intertextuality Fairclough
Intertextuality Interdiscursivity

Want Ad 1 Want Ad 2

Mixing Genres

Mixing Genres

Mixing Genres

Bhatias 7 Steps for Genre Analysis

Determine the situational context Survey literature Refining the contextual analysis
Speaker/Writer and Hearer/Audience History of discourse community Network of texts Subject/Topic

Select corpus Study how the genre is used

Bhatias 7 Steps for Genre Analysis (Continued)

Choose focal level for analysis
Lexico-grammatical features Textualization (text-patterning) Structural analysis
cognitive move structure (focus on purpose)

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Task
Text Analysis Job Application

Genres and Culture

Chinese vs. American Business Letters Chinese vs. American Television Commercials Chinese vs. American Tabloids

Genres and Power

Genres link producers, consumers, topics, mediums and occassions Within a kind of framework Which establishes constraints on what is acceptable And controls the roles and responsibilities of producers and consumers Reflects social roles (ideology) Example

Question for an Analysis of Genre

Context (where will the text be encountered and how does context affect interpretation?) What generic label/s would you give to this text? What kinds of expectations do you have about this genre? Does the text meet or not meet those expectations? What purposes does this genre serve? What discourse communities is it associated with? What ideological assumptions are embedded in the text? How does this genre construct the reader? How does this genre construct the writer? How is the reader meant to respond to this text? How open to negotiation is your response? What relationship does the text have with other texts/genres?

Questions for Genre Analysis

What ideological assumptions are embedded in the text? How does this genre construct the reader? How does this genre construct the writer? How is the reader meant to respond to this text? How open to negotiation is your response?

Expectations
Repertories of expectations Genres are never clearly defined New texts may require new genre categories