The Grammar of Discourse

by Robert E. Longacre

Monologue Typology and Salience. Monologue Plot and Plot as Notional Structure. Combinations of Predications. Intersentential ETIC Paragraph Types. Dialogue Paragraphs. Cases or Roles. Case Frames. Surface Structure of Clauses. A Framework for Discourse Analysis. Appendix. Index.

Genres: Linguistics

384 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1995

Reviews

[Fred Kohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert E. Longacre seems to be one of the pioneers in applying discourse analysis to scripture, and this seemed to be a primary text on this type of analysis. I was disappointed that the book was not primarily about scriptural analysis. That’s ok, though, since I found that much of the book is quite applicable to analyzing scripture. For example, there is a bizarre cult-like movement called Israel Only (IO) that thinks the salvation discourse applies only to ancient Israelites. A favorite scripture of theirs is Matthew 15.24: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” which they rip out of context to make their point. But Longacre aptly notes, "A discourse of any size and complexity is never a simple linear sequence of sentences. Sentences cluster and clump into units of various size." Since Matthew 15.24 is part of a dialogue, the chapter on dialogue came in very handy in analyzing this pericope.

A disadvantage I had in reading this book is that it assumes more than a passing knowledge of linguistics. So when I hit the chapter on dialogue I found that I needed to look up some of the technical language, such as surface structure and notional structure, and to reread some earlier chapters. A couple of the later chapters I just skimmed through because the material was technical and for the most part irrelevant to my purposes. I’m not sure this book is worth the effort for someone like me that simply wants to dive a little deeper into discourse analysis as it applies to biblical exegesis, but I sure did appreciate the chapter on dialogue.

[Lu Tsun · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Longacre's method succeeds, we can teach computers to speak in human languages. Too technical.