Using data from linguistic corpora, this book is a comprehensive guide to the fast-moving field of Discourse Syntax, the study of syntax in the context of discourse. Geared towards intermediate to advanced students of English linguistics, it is also essential reading for researchers in the field.
This volume examines the relationship between syntactic variation and genre, addressing how genres emerge and the role of syntax in their formation. It investigates why specific constructions are prevalent in particular text types, using genre as a framework for analyzing morpho-syntactic variation and change. The book presents theoretical overviews of genre and text type in linguistics alongside studies of syntactic phenomena in English, German, and selected Romance languages. Contributions draw on insights from text classification and rhetorical perspectives on genre, employing both quantitative, corpus-based methodologies and qualitative, text-based analyses. The texts analyzed encompass spoken, interactive, and written communication, including genres of computer-mediated communication. Corpus data is sourced from synchronic and diachronic linguistic corpora like LOB, Brown, FLOB, Frown, ARCHER, and ICE-Jamaica. This diverse approach aims to provide a theoretical foundation and a realistic perspective on the complexity of form-function relationships in syntax. Genre is treated as a relevant category across all levels of linguistic analysis, making the book valuable for linguists and graduate students in syntax, discourse analysis, and pragmatics, as well as sociolinguists and corpus linguists focused on register variation.