National open university of nigeria school of arts and social sciences
Unit 3: Discourse in Use (Discourse and Society)
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| Unit 3: Discourse in Use (Discourse and Society) Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Main Content 3.1 Discourse and Culture 3.2 Discourse and Gender 3.3 Discourse and Racism Self-assessed Exercises 3.4 Discourse and Conflict 4.0 Conclusion 5.0 Summary 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 7.0 References/Further Reading 1.0 Introduction In Unit 19, we looked at discourse in newspapers and how it is used to represent the imbalance of power in the society. Discourse is asocial phenomenon, so the meaning of any form of discourse can only be traced back to the society in which it evolves. This unit will examine the various ways discourse is used to reflect and discriminate against the people who belong to the same culture, gender and race. In addition, we shall also see how discourse is used to engage in conflict and how it can be used to resolve conflict. 2.0 Unit Objectives At the end of this unit, you should be able to do the following • show how discourse is used to reflect gender and how it is used to discriminate against a particular gender • identify the link between discourse and gender • explain the use of discourse to show bias for people of different race • discuss the relationship between discourse and conflict 3.0 Main Content 3.1 Discourse and Culture Discourse and culture are very close in terms of relationship, because discourse is used to express culture in so many ways. It is always the case that a group of language speakers constitute a discourse community and their discourse reflects their agreed 117 ways of life. This is why discourse varies for instance with the context in which it is practiced. We can therefore on the basis of this identify various kinds of discourse. The classroom discourse, which takes place between the teacher and the pupils is characterized by certain discursive practices that set it apart from other kinds of discourse. For instance, the classroom culture demands that the teacher initiate the lesson and the pupils respond to their initiation, while the teacher gives the feedback see Unit 10). The culture of some discourse types demands strictly that turns are properly taken, while others do allow interruption. A group of people who have the same ethnic background share and express the same culture when they participate in discourse. That is why the Yoruba culture constrains the speaker to behave in a particular way when they practice their discourse. For instance the norms for greeting differs form one language to another. In Yoruba , the norm is that a younger male person prostrates when greeting adults, while a younger female person kneel when greeting adults. From our discussion so far, we have seen that cultural practices are closely intertwined with discursive practices. Cultural practices are sometimes expressed verbally, like in the Yoruba use of the honorific forms é or èyin for adults or people they are not too familiar with. Culture can also be expressed in discourse non-verbally through gestures. For instance, gaze direction. In the Yoruba culture, young persons being scolded are not expected to look straight into the eyes of the adult who is scolding them. Likewise, young children are not expected to stay where adults are discussing or even contribute to the discussion. Download 0.49 Mb. Share with your friends:
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