Discourse Syntax

Discourse Syntax is the study of syntax that requires an understanding of the surrounding text and the overall discourse situation, including considerations of genre and modality. Using corpus data and insights from current research, this book is a comprehensive guide to this fast-developing field. It takes the reader 'beyond the sentence' to study grammatical phenomena, like word order variation, connectives, ellipsis, and complexity. It introduces core concepts of Discourse Syntax, integrating insights from corpus-based research and inviting the reader to reflect on research design decisions. Each chapter begins with a definition of learning outcomes, provides results from empirical articles, and enables readers to critically assess data visualization. Complete with helpful further reading recommendations as well as a range of exercises, it is geared towards intermediate to advanced students of English linguistics and it is also essential reading for anyone interested in this exciting, fast-moving discipline.

Heidrun Dorgeloh is Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Düsseldorf with many years of experience in teaching English syntax, discourse analysis, and the corpus-based study of language use. She has published books and journal articles on word order, syntactic variation, and genre and register.

Anja Wanner is the Enid H. Anderson Professor of English and an award-winning teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A syntactician by training, she teaches classes on the structure of English and grammar in use. She has published two monographs and two co-edited collections on English syntax, syntactic variation, and genre.