DISCOURSE AND ITS ROLE IN LINGUISTICS TYPES AND CLASSIFICATIONS
Abstract
This article examines discourse as situated language use and evaluates the criteria employed to classify it. It asks whether medium, institutional setting and communicative purpose can be treated as competing types within a single taxonomy. A conceptual comparison of linguistic approaches is combined with a transparent analysis of twelve constructed discourse cases. Each case is coded independently for medium, interaction, domain and dominant purpose, while published corpus documentation supplies a separate empirical reference point. The analysis shows how a classroom exchange, public announcement or online explanation can receive several compatible labels without becoming a contradictory case. The methodological contribution is a layered classification procedure that separates the object being described from the analytical perspective applied to it. The article recommends explicit coding rules, attention to mixed cases and cautious interpretation of numerical summaries drawn from illustrative material.
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