defining Discourse

[Cynthia Roy]

Deborah Schiffrin, a sociolinguist and student of Labov,
now a full professor at Georgetown University, has written
numerous articles and several books about discourse/discourse analysis.
In her 1994 book "Approaches to Discourse" (Cambridge Press, I believe)
she has an excellent chapter on defining discourse, citing numerous sources
for definitions.
Schiffrin has written about discourse markers, coherence, arguing
as sociability, and many other aspects of discourse.  Her chapter, if not
her book, should be required for students of discourse.

I hesitate to summarize her argument here as it is complex so I leave
it to you to read and discuss...

Cynthia
Roy