SIL Publications by Category
Text Linguistics

Analyzing Discourse: A Manual of Basic Concepts by Robert A. Dooley and Stephen H. Levinsohn, 2001, 173 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-115-2, $20.95

A practical introduction to discourse analysis for linguistic field workers addressing issues commonly confronted by field linguists.

Deictic Viewpoint in Biblical Hebrew Text: A Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Analysis of the Particle Ki, by Carl M. Follingstad, 2001, 683 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-113-8

A new linguistic analysis of the core function of kî. It is shown to be not a semantic logical/temporal conjunction, but rather a discourse deictic particle.

The Development of Textlinguistics in the Writings of Robert Longacre, ed. by Shin Ja J. Hwang, PTT 4, 2010, 444 pp. ISBN 978-1-55671-246-3, $46.00

This book brings together Robert Longacre’s articles on textlinguistics and discourse analysis scattered throughout journals and books. Longacre’s theory of textlinguistics focuses on the intersection of the morphosyntax and discourse structure.

A Discourse Analysis of First Corinthians by Ralph Bruce Terry, PL 120, 1995, 208 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-707-0, $26.95

Utilizes principles of discourse analysis, cultural anthropology and biblical studies to analyze First Corinthians.

Discourse Features of New Testament Greek: A Coursebook on the Information Structure of New Testament Greek, Second Edition, by Stephen H. Levinsohn, 2000, 330 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-093-3, $33.50

Discusses discourse features of Koine Greek from the perspective of descriptive linguistics.

Discourse Features of Ten Languages of West-Central Africa edited by Stephen H. Levinsohn, PL 119, 1995, 251 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-619-6, $31.50

Presents 12 papers on coherence, participant reference and Relevance Theory in Niger-Congo and Chadic languages of Cameroon.

Discourse Function of Conjoiners in the Pastoral Epistles by Jakob K. Heckert, 1996, 112 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-041-4, $24.95

Describes and compares six different conjoining particles in the Greek language.

Fifty Years in Brazil: A Sampler of SIL Work 1958–2008, eds by Mary Ruth Wise, Robert A Dooley, and Isabel Murphy, 2008, 416 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-220-3, $40.00

Samples of the products of fifty years of SIL International’s work in Brazil range; includes some out-of-print articles and others available for the first time in this volume. Approximately half of the book is in Portuguese.

Holistic Discourse Analysis by Robert E. Longacre and Shin Ja J. Hwang, 2012, 264 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-266-1, $39.95

The central idea of this volume is the simple insistence that the structure of a part of a discourse (or text) needs to be explained in light of the structure of the whole. The book can be used both as a textbook and field manual for discourse analysis.

Holistic Discourse Analysis, Second Edition by Robert E. Longacre and Shin Ja J. Hwang, 2012, 264 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-329-3, $48.95

The central idea of this textbook is that the structure of a part of a discourse needs to be explained in light of the structure of the whole. This second edition employs the color-coding of example texts to aide in understanding the discourse structure.

Logical Relations in Discourse edited by Eugene E. Loos, 1999, 267 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-040-7, $30.50

Discusses how the indicators used by speakers and hearers in a wide range of languages connect parts of discourse.

Modes in Dényá Discourse by Samson N. Abangma, PL 79, 1987, 139 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-007-1, $23.00

This study shows how discourse structure influences the use of verb forms. It looks at modes in narrative, procedural, expository, and hortatory discourse. The study includes five texts.

Switch Reference in Koasati Discourse by David P. Rising, PL 109, 1992, 98 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-813-8, $10.00

Contains a brief sociolinguistic note, a phonological description and a grammar outline of Koasati (Muskogean, TX).

Tense and Aspect in Obolo Grammar and Discourse by Uche Aaron, PL 128, 1999, 198 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-063-6, $30.50

Describes comprehensively and systematically the function of tense and aspect in the Obolo language (southeastern coastal Nigeria).

Vietnamese Classifiers in Narrative Texts by Karen A. Daley, PL 125, 1998, 221 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-021-6, $30.50

Presents a summary of classifiers and their function in languages of the world and is perhaps the first discourse study of Vietnamese classifiers.