The Dynamics of Discourse Production: From Communication to Pragmatics

Abstract

This study attempts to trace the mechanism of discourse production and the manner in which it is formed through the concepts of communication and transaction, both of which constitute the main entry point to the objective of the research. Accordingly, the research problem lies in examining how each concept operates by determining the points of convergence and divergence between them. This is achieved by identifying the degree of difference between the two concepts in order to overcome the barrier of conceptual and perspectival incompatibility that may arise between them within certain limits.

The study argues that the two concepts sometimes diverge and other times converge. Their divergence lies in the fact that communication is broader than transaction with regard to intentionality: intentionality is not always required in communication, particularly in cases such as transmission produced by a radio device. In contrast, transaction relies on intentionality according to its established conditions. Their point of convergence, however, is that both communication and transaction theories fall within communicative theories whose aim is the delivery of discourse—regardless of whether intentionality is present or not.