Discourse as a category of modern theoretical linguistics

Abstract

The article considers the theoretical questions connected with the establishment of the ontology of discourse as one of the central categories of cognitive discursive paradigms of humanitarian knowledge. When determining the essence of discourse, the difficult, multidimensional nature of this phenomenon of mental-speech activity of the speaking subject is considered. Equating the discourse and the text, widespread in modern linguistics, leads not only to narrowing of the concept of discourse, but it also doesn’t promote the establishment of the essence of discourse. The article considers other concepts of discourse, beginning with understanding of discourse as the analog of functional style of language and finishing with the interpretation of discourse as special language, «language in language» or «language in operation». Thus, extralinguistic factors (pragmatic, sociocultural, psychological, etc.) are considered which in many respects define a communicative component of discourse. These parameters are built over linguistic characteristics, thereby promoting the formation of the multilateral and complete idea of discourse, of this difficult interdisciplinary concept of modern science.