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Discourse
Discourse (from Latin discursus, “running to and from”) denotes written and spoken communications:
In semantics and discourse analysis: Discourse is a conceptual generalization of conversation within each modality and context of communication.
The totality of codified language (vocabulary) used in a given field of intellectual enquiry and of social practice, such as legal discourse, medical discourse, religious discourse, et cetera.
In the work of Michel Foucault, and that of the social theoreticians he inspired: discourse describes “an entity of sequences, of signs, in that they are enouncements (énoncés)”, statements in conversation.As discourse, an “enouncement” (statement) is not a unit of semiotic signs, but an abstract construct that allows the semiotic signs to assign meaning, and so communicate specific, repeatable communications to, between, and among objects, subjects, and statements. Therefore, a discourse is composed of semiotic sequences (relations among signs that communicate meaning) between and among objects, subjects, and statements.
The term “discursive formation” (French: formation discursive) conceptually describes the regular communications (written and spoken) that produce such discourses, such as informal conversations. As a philosopher, Michel Foucault applied the discursive formation in the analyses of large bodies of knowledge, such as political economy and natural history.In the first sense-usage (semantics and discourse analysis), the term discourse is studied in corpus linguistics, the study of language expressed in corpora (samples) of “real world” text. In the second sense (the codified language of a field of enquiry) and in the third sense (a statement, un énoncé), the analysis of a discourse examines and determines the connections among language and structure and agency.
Moreover, because a discourse is a body of text meant to communicate specific data, information, and knowledge, there exist internal relations in the content of a given discourse; likewise, there exist external relations among discourses. As such, a discourse does not exist per se (in itself), but is related to other discourses, by way of inter-discursivity. Discourses are also perpetually differentiating toward each other in time. Therefore, in the course of intellectual enquiry, the discourse among researchers features the questions and answers of What is …? and What is not. …, conducted according to the meanings (denotation and connotation) of the concepts (statements) used in the given field of enquiry, such as anthropology, ethnography, and sociology; cultural studies and literary theory; the philosophy of science and feminism.
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Text (noun)
A writing consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences.
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Text (noun)
A book, tome or other set of writings.
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Text (noun)
A brief written message transmitted between mobile phones; an SMS text message.
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Text (noun)
Data which can be interpreted as human-readable text (often contrasted with binary data).
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Text (noun)
A verse or passage of Scripture, especially one chosen as the subject of a sermon, or in proof of a doctrine.
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Text (noun)
Hence, anything chosen as the subject of an argument, literary composition, etc.; topic; theme.
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Text (noun)
A style of writing in large characters; text-hand; also, a kind of type used in printing.
“German text”
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Text (verb)
To send a text message to; i.e. to transmit text using the Short Message Service (SMS), or a similar service, between communications devices, particularly mobile phones.
“Just text me when you get here.”
“I’ll text the address to you as soon as I find it.”
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Text (verb)
To send and receive text messages.
“Have you been texting all afternoon?”
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Text (verb)
To write in large characters, as in text hand.
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Discourse (noun)
Verbal exchange, conversation.
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Discourse (noun)
Expression in words, either speech or writing.
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Discourse (noun)
A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
“The preacher gave us a long discourse on duty.”
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Discourse (noun)
Any rational expression, reason.
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Discourse (noun)
An Michel Foucault).
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Discourse (noun)
Dealing; transaction.
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Discourse (verb)
To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.
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Discourse (verb)
To write or speak formally and at length.
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Discourse (verb)
To debate.
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Discourse (verb)
To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason.
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Discourse (verb)
To produce or emit (musical sounds).
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Text (noun)
a book or other written or printed work, regarded in terms of its content rather than its physical form
“a text which explores pain and grief”
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Text (noun)
a piece of written or printed material regarded as conveying the authentic or primary form of a particular work
“in some passages it is difficult to establish the original text”
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Text (noun)
written or printed words, typically forming a connected piece of work
“stylistic features of journalistic text”
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Text (noun)
data in the form of words or alphabetic characters.
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Text (noun)
the main body of a book or other piece of writing, as distinct from other material such as notes, appendices, and illustrations
“the pictures are clear and relate well to the text”
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Text (noun)
a script or libretto.
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Text (noun)
a written work chosen or set as a subject of study
“too much concentration on set texts can turn pupils against reading”
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Text (noun)
a textbook
“an organic chemistry text”
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Text (noun)
a passage from the Bible or other religious work, especially when used as the subject of a sermon.
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Text (noun)
a subject or theme for a discussion or exposition
“he took as his text the fact that Australia is paradise”
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Text (noun)
a text message
“just give us a call or send us a text”
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Text (noun)
fine, large handwriting, used especially for manuscripts.
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Text (verb)
send (someone) a text message
“if she was going to go she would have texted us”