DISCOURSOLOGY: TRENDS AND TASKS (theoretical overview)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the main directions and tasks of modern discourse as a branch of linguistics. The term "discourse" is used in different meanings and is the subject of study in different scientific areas. The purpose of the article is to provide a brief overview of the main directions of discourse analysis and to outline the main tasks of discoursology as a branch of linguistics. Depending on the methodological orientation, researchers distinguish the following areas of discourse research: formal, functional (represented by semiotic and situational approaches) and activity-based. The opposition of personality-oriented and status-oriented discourse is relevant. In the first case, communicators who know each other well take part in communication, in the second case, communication is reduced to a dialogue between representatives of one or another social group. Personal discourse is represented by two main varieties – existential and everyday discourses. The peculiarity of everyday discourse is the desire to compress the transmitted information as much as possible, to reach a special abbreviated code of communication. Existential discourse is designed to find and experience essential meanings, here we are not talking about obvious things, but about the artistic and philosophical comprehension of the world. Status-oriented discourse is an institutional communication, i.e. speech interaction of representatives of social groups or institutions with each other, with people who realize their status and role opportunities within existing social institutions, the number of which is determined by the needs of society at a particular stage of its development. Among its varieties are political, administrative, legal, military, pedagogical, religious, mystical, medical, business, advertising, sports, scientific, stage and media types of institutional discourse. The researchers note that the list may be supplemented or modified. The key problems of discourse analysis remain the structure and stratification of discourse, the establishment of its features, units, categories, types; elucidation of ways of organizing various discursive invariants, development of methods and procedures of analysis and description of discourses.