This document discusses the differences between discourse and text. Traditionally, discourse and text were used interchangeably to refer to written and spoken language. However, there is now a distinction where discourse analysis focuses on naturally occurring spoken language in conversations, interviews, etc., while text analysis examines written language in essays, signs, etc. Some scholars use the terms interchangeably or define discourse more broadly as language used in a social context. The document concludes that discourse subsumes text and provides a comprehensive view of communication that includes the message as well as the relationship between participants.

1. Submitted by: Hamid Mnati Dafir. Submitted to :
Assis. Prof. Adil Al Thamiry (Ph.D)
Basrah university / Iraq
2016

2.  In traditional (older) forms of discourse analysis
the term discourse was used interchangeably with
text, so the written text was referred to as written
discourse and vice versa.{Baker and Ellec 20011}
today there is distinction made between discourse
and text .”Discourse analysis concerned with the
construction of sentences but in recent years it
has been increasing interest in analysing the way
sentences work in sequence to produce coherent
stretches of language .”
• “Discourse analysis focuses on the structure of
naturally occurring spoken language , as found in
such discourses as conversations , interviews,
commentaries, and speeches.

3.  Where as “text analysis focuses on the structure of
written language , as found in such texts as essays,
notices , road signs , and chapters.”{Crystal,2006
:260)This distinction is not clear-cut .There are
many scholars (such as brown and yule)talk about
written and spoken text and others talked about
written and spoken discourse .Hawthorn (1992)says
“Text may be non- interactive whereas discourse is
interactive .This means text only convey some
meaning while discourse involves in both formal and
informal conversations or it is the use of written and
spoken language in a social context . Brown and
Yule, 1983:ix)refer to discourse as how human use
language to communicate” Stubb (1983:1) (as cited
in Baker and Ellec 2009: 32)refers to it (discourse)

4.  As attempt to study the organization of language above the
sentence or above the clause; and therefore to study large
linguistic units such as coversational exchanges or written texts .
 Some writers(such as van Dijk) refer to text analysis as discourse
analysis and some of discourse analysts focus on how meaning
and structure are signalled in text .others, especially since
the early 1990s, have used discourse analysis more critically to
examine issues relating to POWER, inequality and IDEOLOGY.{Baker
and Ellec, 2011:32}
 Brown and Yule defined text as the verbal record of a
communicative event.{Brown and Yule,1983:190}. They state that
“text depends on cohesive relationship within and between the
sentences , which create texture .Halliday and Hassen (as cited in
Brown and yule 1983) state that “a text has a texture and this is
what distinguishes it from something that is not text .Cohesive ties
between sentences stand out more clearly because they are the
only source of texture.{Baker and Ellec , 2011:195}

5.  A discourse is made up of utterances having the property
of coherence.
 We can conclude that Discourse is used in a very
comprehensive way for all those aspect of the situation
and context of communication not only the message
(spoken or written) but also the relation ship between the
addresser and addressee. In this sense discourse would
subsume the text , it is an umbrella which covers a wide
variety of actual research practices
with quite different aims and theoretical backgrounds. All
take language as
 their focus of interest’.Discourse involves the speaker’s
awareness of the audience and containing text which is
written to be orally delivered in a specific situation or
context.

6.  Baker.P and Ellec,S.(2011). Key Terms in
Discourse Analysis. New York:continuum.
 Brown, G and Yule, G.(1983).discourse analysis.
 Crystal, david.(2006).How language
works.Australia:penguin group.
 Johnstone , B.(2008).Discourse analysis.(second
edition),London :Blackwell publishing.
 The difference between text and discourse.(n.d)
retrievedfromhttp://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/con
tent/36/2/283.abstract

7. Thank you