From the blog How to Study the Bible comes the entry "Interpretation: Discourse Analysis - part 1" by T.J. Friend.
Overview of the Process
Discourse analysis consists of 3 steps. Step 1 is finding the propositions. Step 2 is determining the relationships between the propositions. And step 3 is summarizing your results. The propositions are the small units that make up what a sentence or verse is saying. By identifying these small units you can synthesize verses down to their smallest pieces and then compare them together. Because the propositions are smaller, they are more manageable and can help us see the bigger picture more easily. Once we get the basic structure of a passage, then we can see how the smaller details fit in.
Finding the Propositions
Because this is such a complex topic, I wanted to break it down in to two parts. In this first part, I will go over the first step (finding the propositions). Next week, I will talk about step 2 (determining their relationships) then finish with step 3 (summarizing).
So, what is a proposition? A proposition is basically a statement. It has a verb and a subject (the person or thing doing the verb). Apart from that there are many things that are added onto the proposition to make it into a sentence. There can be an object that the verb is done on (direct object) or you can add adjectives and adverbs to describe things in more detail. There can be prepositions, indirect objects, and genitives all adding to the proposition and explaining it in someway or another.
In this first step we are simply looking for the propositions. Every proposition has a verb or verbal idea. Therefore, these verbs are the first things to look for to determine the propositions. Find every verb or verbal idea in your passage. As a general rule, each proposition only has one verb, although sometimes there are two verbs working together to make one verbal idea. You can see this with helping verbs (“He will be done at 5” is one proposition because “will” and “be” are part of the verb “done”). As you are looking for these verbs find the basic “heart” of the proposition (the verb and its subject), but you also need to see where it begins and ends. A lot of propositions end in either some type of punctuation, like a comma or a period, or they end with a conjuction (“and”, “but”, “therefore”, etc.).
examples of propositions
1. I went to the store. (To simplify this to its most basic part would be “I went”. This is the verb and its subject. The “to the store” just explains the proposition more.)
2. We drove to the mountains and went hiking. (In this example, there are 2 propositions: “we drove” and “we went hiking”. You can see that even though the word “we” is only used once it applies to both verbs.)
3. My big, fat, greedy brother ate my taco when I wasn’t looking. (Again this is 2 propositions: “my brother ate” and “I wasn’t looking”. All the other words, simply give more detail to the propositions.)
Always try and supply a subject to each proposition, even if one is not stated. The subject is sometimes stated earlier and you just need to find it and plug it in. Other times the subject is not stated at all. This is the case with imperatives like “Stop!” or “Don’t eat that” (both of these have the implied subject “you”).
When looking for propositions, don’t be fooled by: 1 – verbal ideas that describe nouns or 2 – verbs as part of clauses which describe nouns.
examples of #1
The girl petted the purring cat. (This is one proposition – “the girl petted”. “Purring” is describing the cat and so is not a separate proposition.)
The boy swatted the fly, buzzing by his head. (This is one proposition also – “the boy swatted the fly”. The word “buzzing” is describing the fly and is not part of a separate proposition.)
examples of #2
The girl who reads books likes to write. (The proposition here is – “the girl likes to write”. “Who reads books” is another adjectival phrase which describes the girl.)
I saw a generic, romantic, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl, comedy last night. (This is an extreme example of a phrase that is describing a noun and is not a separate proposition. The simplified proposition is – “I saw a comedy”.)
From the blog How to Study the Bible comes the entry "Interpretation: Discourse Analysis - part 2" by T.J. Friend.
Subordinate vs. Coordinate Relationships
Every proposition is related to another one in some way or another. The most basic way they are related is if they are coordinate or subordinate. Coordinating propositions are on the same level grammatically, while a subordinating conjunction is dependent on another proposition for its meaning. Coordinating propositions are related with the words “and” or “or”. Pretty much any other conjunction (but, so, therefore, when, if, etc.) will be for subordinating propositions. If there is no conjunction you will have to look at the logic to decide if its coordinate or subordinate. If I say: I went to the store and went for a bike ride. These are two coordinating conjunctions. Not only is there an “and” in between them, but they are two separate ideas that are not dependent on each other. But, if the sentence is: I went to the store by riding my bike. This is a subordinate relationship. “by riding my bike” does not make sense alone, it needs to have the first part of the sentence there in order for it to make sense.
Clauses can be connected grammatically or logically. Sometimes, you will have a word that shows how the clauses are related. As I mentioned earlier the words “and” or “or” are grammatical clues that help you see that the clauses are related coordinately. Subordinate clauses are marked with words like: “but”, “until”, “while”, “by”, “so that”, “in order to”, “because”, “as a result”, etc. These words are not absolutes, but just clues to help you see that you are most likely dealing with a subordinate clause. These are the grammatical clues. But, just because there are no connecting words, does not mean that the clauses are not related. Sometimes they are related logically, with no grammatical clues at all.
Take for example these two sentences:
Michael Jordan is really good at basketball. He would easily beat me in a one-on-one game.
These two sentences are related, but there is no conjunction between them. They could simply be coordinate clauses with no dependent relationship, but the second clause could also be subordinate. If you think about it, you could actually make one big sentence out of these two little ones, and put the word “therefore” in between them. Or you could start the first sentence with the word “because”. Either way the relationship would be more clear with a connecting word. But as they stand you can still see the logical relationship between them. “Because” MJ is so good at basketball, he would win in a game of one-on-one.
It is important to look for these logical relationships, because often there will be no words to help determine the relationship.
Coordinating Relationships
Once you decide if you are dealing with subordinate or coordinate clauses then you can see what type of relationship you are dealing with. Subordinate relationships are far more common and a little more difficult so we will start with the easier coordinating relationships. There are three types of coordinating relationships: Series (S), Progression (P) and Alternative (A). Each category has a letter or symbol which is used to abbreviate it. When you are actually doing Discourse Analysis you can just use the abbreviations.
Series (S) – 2 ideas that are related in a general way. I ate a sandwich and drank a glass of milk.
Progression (P) – 2 ideas that are related and are either building toward something or diminishing into something. The boy ran away from home. He stole a gun and held up a bank.
Alternative (A) – 2 ideas showing different possibilities. I could take a nap or I could clean my room.
Subordinate Relationships
Subordinating relationships are adverbial in nature. They tell when, where, why or how something is done. Therefore it is important to distinguish which clause/idea is the main idea and which one is helping to describe it. This is important because sometimes the main idea comes after the clause that is describing it. As you are going through the process of DA try and make a note of what these main ideas are. They will give you insight into what the passage as a whole is about.
Action-Manner (Ac/Mn) – A statement and the statement about how it was accomplished. I got ready for bed, by putting on my p.j.’s and brushing my teeth.
Comparison (Cf) – A statement that describes the main statement with a comparison. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.
Negative-Positive (-/+) – A statements where one is positive and one is negative. You are dead to sin, but alive in Christ.
Idea-Explanation (Id/Ex) – One idea is given and another idea explains it in more detail. It was a great day, the day I was born.
Question-Answer (Q/A) – A question and an answer. What book are you reading? I am reading the Bible.
Ground (G) – A statement that tells why something is. Mary and Joseph to Jesus to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill him.
Inference (the abbreviation for inference is a triangle of dots, just like the shorthand way of writing the word “therefore”) – A conclusion drawn from a statement. My t.v. is broken therefore I will not be watching it.
Action-Result (Ac/Res) – One action happens and another one results from that action (the second action is not planned). She laughed so hard that she snorted.
Action-Purpose (Ac/Pur) – One action that is designed so that another action will happen. I went to the store to buy some shoes.
Conditional (If/Th) – 2 statements where one is the “if” and one is the “then”. Sometimes the words “if” and “then” are not there, but the relationship is still there. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Temporal (T) – A statement that tells when something else is taking place. They went for a run while it was still light out.
Locative (L) – A statement that tells where something else is happening. I want to be where the people are.
Bilateral (Bi) – This is a statement that serves 2 purposes. It supports what comes before it, and what comes after it. Because I am thirsty, I need some water, so that I do not dehydrate.
Concessive (Csv) – This is something that happens in spite of something else. Even though it was cold, I went for a walk in the park.
Situation – Response (Sit/Res) – A statement in response to an idea. The people shouted “Surprise” and he fainted.
