discourse genres in a theory of practice

Abstract

In order to analyze language use within a theory of social practice, it is necessary to develop a coherent approach to speech genres. This paper contributes to such an approach, by treating genres as elements of linguistic habitus, consisting of stylistic, thematic, and indexical schemata on which actors improvise in the course of linguistic production. The empirical focus is “official” Maya language documents produced in 16th‐century colonial Yucatan. The rise of novel discourse genres in colonial society was part of the emergence of new, hybrid forms of action. [Mesoamerica, Maya, discourse analysis, social practice]

Key Concepts in Rhetorical Genre Studies: An Overview

“…Genre does not simply communicate meanings; rather, it mediates and maintains these meanings. As I have indicated in the review presented in the paper, genres are "inherently open-ended rather than complete wholes" (Hanks, 1987, p. 677) that shape rhetors as much as rhetors shape genres (Hanks, 1987;Schryer, 2000Schryer, , 2002.…”

“…Rhetors acquire genres in the context of a situation and, therefore, genres can be "expertly used by speakers even though they may be unaware of generic parameters" (Hanks, 1987, p. 681). The central premise of Bakhtin's theory of genre as reiterated by Hanks (1987) is that "human consciousness ... comes into contact with reality only through the mediation of ideology ... and every genre has its own value-laden orientation" (p. 671). Hanks (1987) stresses that this "value-laden" quality of genre doesn't allow it to be viewed as a finished product; genres "remain partial and transitional.…”

“…The central premise of Bakhtin's theory of genre as reiterated by Hanks (1987) is that "human consciousness ... comes into contact with reality only through the mediation of ideology ... and every genre has its own value-laden orientation" (p. 671). Hanks (1987) stresses that this "value-laden" quality of genre doesn't allow it to be viewed as a finished product; genres "remain partial and transitional. The actuality of discourse changes with its reception, and social evaluation is always subject to revision" (p. 681).…”

The Handbook of Narrative Analysis

“…The purpose of the chapter is to present genre analysis as a relevant perspective in the study of the social aspects of narration. 1 Genre and genre theories have lately inspired a wide range of research from literary theory (Frow 2006;Herman 2002;Pyrhönen 2007), linguistics (Swales 1990;Ventola 2006), sociolinguistics (Rampton 2006;, anthropology (Hanks 1987), New Rhetorics (Miller 1984;Devitt 2004), sociology (Squire 1999(Squire , 2012, linguistic anthropology , media studies (Lacey 2000), political communication (Cap and Okulska 2013), and oral history (Tonkin 1992;Chamberlain and Thompson 1998). Within this gamut of disciplines and approaches, no standard theory or consensus about genre prevails.…”

Handbook of Narrative Analysis

“…Genre and genre theories have lately inspired a wide range of research from literary theory (Frow 2006;Herman 2002;Pyrhönen 2007), linguistics (Swales 1990;Ventola 2006), sociolinguistics (Rampton 2006;, anthropology (Hanks 1987), New Rhetorics (Miller 1984;Devitt 2004), sociology (Squire 1999(Squire , 2012, linguistic anthropology , media studies (Lacey 2000), political communication (Cap and Okulska 2013), and oral history (Tonkin 1992;Chamberlain and Thompson 1998). Within this gamut of disciplines and approaches, no standard theory or consensus about genre prevails.…”