Approaches to Discourse: Language as Social Interaction

I am writing this ostensibly in order to counter the unsubstantiated views of the previous reviewer. I have used this book to teach undergraduates about the range and relevance of the various methods used in analysing discourse - spoken and written. Deborah Schiffrin has provided a very useful addition to the study of discourse for students who might feel overwhelmed by the various - often mutually exclusive - approaches. The book starts with a well presented look at different definitions of Discourse - essential if we are to establish the relevance of competing methods. Part 2 of this textbook offers us 6 chapters covering 6 different methods - from the purist CA approach to Pragmatics - 1. Speech Act Theory; 2. Interactional Sociolingusitics; 3. The Ethnography of Communication; 4. Pragmatics; 5. Conversation Analysis; 6. Variation Analysis. As a springboard into the field of Critical Discourse Analysis, there is a lot to gain in terms of establishing the underlying principles of descriptive analysis in Schiffrin's work. Despite this being fairly old now by academic standards, I would certainly recommend the addition of this textbook to the reading lists of first year, and possibly second year undergraduates who are studying Text and Discourse Analysis.