Worlds of Written Discourse A Genre-Based View

by Bhatia, Vijay

• ISBN13: 9780826454461
• ISBN10: 0826454461
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-22
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Genre theory in the past few years has contributed immensely to our understanding of the way discourse is used in academic, professional and institutional contexts. Its development, however, has been constrained by the nature and design of its applications, which have invariably focused on language teaching and learning, or communication training and consultation. The book addresses this theme from the perspectives of four rather different worlds: the world of reality, the world of private intentions, the world of analysis and the world of applications. Using examples from a range of situations including advertising, business, academia, economics, law, book introductions, reports, media and fundraising, Bhatia uses discourse analysis to move genre theory away from educational contexts and into the real world.

Author Biography

Vijay K. Bhatia is Professor in the Department of English and Communication, City University of Hong Kong

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
General Editors' Preface	ix
Introduction	xiv
Overview	1	(26)
Perspectives on written discourse	3	(24)
History and development	3	(15)
Multi-perspective model of discourse	18	(4)
Genre-based view of discourse	22	(5)
The world of reality	27	(58)
Genres within specific domains	29	(28)
Registers, genres and disciplines	30	(3)
Disciplinary variation in genres within academic domains	33	(20)
Variation in genres within professional domains	53	(4)
Genres across domains: Genre colonies	57	(28)
Promotional genres	59	(6)
Academic introductions	65	(16)
Reporting genres	81	(4)
The world of private intentions	85	(68)
Appropriation of generic resources	87	(25)
Invasion of territorial integrity	87	(8)
Philanthropic fundraising	95	(10)
Public discourse: Memorandum of understanding	105	(7)
Generic integrity	112	(41)
Identifying generic integrity	114	(19)
Dynamics of generic integrity	133	(9)
Generic competence and professional expertise	142	(11)
The world of analytical perspectives	153	(30)
Integrating research methods	155	(28)
Investigation goals	157	(3)
Towards a multi-perspective model	160	(8)
Integrating perspectives	168	(15)
The world of applications	183	(31)
Applications of genre theory	185	(29)
The power and politics of genre	189	(9)
Genres in translation and document design	198	(4)
Genres in applied linguistics	202	(12)
References	214	(11)
Index	225