本书综合介绍国外近十年来最新的语篇分析理论及研究成果，共分八章：第一章，从理论上回顾语篇分析发展的历程，着重讨论对语篇、语篇分析的不同界定、语篇的特征、语篇分析的原则及常用方法；第二章探讨语篇的功能及语篇的主要形式；第三章，主要从宏观上论述与语篇结构相关联的线性化问题、语篇起首及演示、信息结构等问题，重点实例分析记叙文和议论文的篇章结构；第四章，以韩礼德的“Cohesion in English”为主要依据，综合近几年国内外学者的有关语篇衔接与连贯的相关理论，全面介绍语篇衔接手段及影响连贯的因素；第五章，从语言、文化和认知的角度探讨语境的概念，并探讨语境在语篇分析中的作用；第六章，从社会和文化的层面分析语篇，探讨语篇与社会、文化之间的关系；第七章，从心理的层面分析语篇，是语篇的深层次分析，重点讨论语篇与认知的关系及相关认知模式；第八章，简要介绍：Portter & Wetherell提出的语篇分析“十步法(10 stages)”。

该书内容新颖，语料翔实，可以作为英语专业本科生、研究生语篇分析学课程的教材来使用，也可供对该领域研究有兴趣者参考。

Chapter 1 Discourse and Discourse Analysis

  1.1 What Is Meant by "Discourse" ?

   1.1.1 Terminology: Discourse/Text

   1.1.2 Discourse and Grammar

   1.1.3 Discourse and Sentence

   1.1.4 Discourse in Context

   1.1.5 Discourse as Verbal Structure

   1.1.6 Discourse as Action and Interaction in Society

   1.1.7 Seven Criteria for Textuality

  1.2 What Is Meant by "Discourse Analysis"?

   1.2.1 The Origins of Discourse Analysis 

   1.2.2 The Scope of Discourse Analysis

   1.2.3 Principles of Discourse Analysis

   1.2.4 Major Approaches to Discourse Analysis

Chapter 2 Linguistic Forms and Functions

  2.1 Language Functions

   2.1.1 Halliday's Theory of Metafunctions

   2.1.2 Jakobson's Macro-function

   2.1.3 Brown and Yule's Conception

  2.2 Spoken Discourse

  2.3 Conversation

   2.3.1 Rules of Turn-taking

   2.3.2 Strategies of Turn-taking

   2.3.3 Adjacency Pairs

   2.3.4 The Cooperative Principle

   2.3.5 Violation of the Maxims

  2.4 Written Discourse

   2.4.1 Types of Written Discourse

   2.4.2 The Patterns in Written Discourse

  2.5 Distinctions Between Spoken Discourse and Written Discourse

   2.5.1 Differences in the Manner of Production and Reception

   2.5.2 Differences in Form

   2.5.3 Differences in Function

   2.5.4 Differences in Linguistic Characteristics

Chapter 3 Diseourse Structure

  3.1 The Linearization Problem

  3.2 Information Structure

  3.3 Thematization and Staging

   3.3.1 Thematization

   3.3.2 Staging

  3.4 Rank Structure

   3.4.1 Lesson

   3.4.2 Transaction

   3.4.3 Exchange

   3.4.4 Move

   3.4.5 Act

  3.5 Narration

   3.5.1 The Concept of Narration

   3.5.2 The Labov Model

   3.5.3 Analyzing a Narrative Discourse

  3.6 Argumentation

   3.6.1 The Concept of Argumentation

   3.6.2 The Basic Reasoning Pattern in Argumentation

   3.6.3 The Basic Structure of Argumentation

   3.6.4 Analyzing an Argumentative Discourse

Chapter 4 Cohesion and Coherence in Discourse

  4.1 Cohesion

   4.1.1 Text and Texture

   4.1.2 Cohesion and Cohesive Ties

   4.1.3 Classification of Cohesive Ties

  4.2 Coherence

   4.2.1 Topics in Discourse

   4.2.2 General Knowledge

   4.2.3 Principle of Analogy

   4.2.4 Speech Act

   4.2.5 Conversational Implicature

Chapter 5 Discourse Context

  5.1 Notions of Context

   5.1.1 From the Perspective of Linguistics

   5.1.2 From the Perspective of Culture

   5.1.3 From the Perspective of Cognition

  5.2 Functions of Context

   5.2.1 Restrictive Function

   5.2.2 Explanatory and Filtering Function

   5.2.3 Designing Function

Chapter 6 Discourse, Culture and Society

  6.1 Discourse and Culture

   6.1.1 Definitions of Culture

   6.1.2 Culture as Knowledge 

   6.1.3 Culture as Communication

   6.1.4 Culture as Behavior

   6.1.5 Culture as a System of Practices

   6.1.6 Discourse in Culture and Culture in Discourse

   6.1.7 Speech Communities

   6.1.8 Discourse Communities

  6.2 Discourse and Society

   6.2.1 Discourse in Society and Society in Discourse

   6.2.2 Discourse and Power

   6.2.3 Discourse and Ideology

Chapter 7 Discourse and Cognition

  7.1 Discourse Comprehension 

   7.1.1 World Knowledge

   7.1.2 Top-down and Bottom-up Processing

   7.1.3 Knowledge Structure: Schemata, Frames and Scripts

  7.2 Social Cognitiori

   7.2.1 Mentalist Social Cognition

   7.2.2 Sociocultural Cognition

  7.3 Cognition and Cognitive Models

   7.3.1 Cognition

   7.3.2 Categorization

   7.3.3 Prototypes and Prototype Effects

   7.3.4 Idealized Cognitive Models (ICMs)

   7.3.5 Cognitive Models of Discourse Comprehension

Chapter 8 How to Analyze Discourse

  8.1 Stage One: Research Questions

  8.2 Stage Two: Sample Selection

  8.3 Stage Three: Collection of Records and Documents

  8.4 Stage Four: Interviews

  8.5 Stage Five: Transcription

  8.6 Stage Six: Coding

  8.7 Stage Seven: Analysis

  8.8 Stage Eight: Validation

  8.9 Stage Nine: The Report

  8.10 Stage Ten: Application 

Bibliography