The evolutionary causations of text and discourse

Text and discourse are popular terms specific to linguistics and literature, and there is still much debate about whether these concepts can replace each other. Some linguists consider the analysis of these two factors as a single process, while others use the two terms to define different concepts. Saying briefly, text is any written source that can be read. In the early 1970s, attempts were made to differentiate between text and discourse categories. At that time, the discourse was interpreted as “text + situation”, and the text as “discourse-situation” accordingly. To this day, the question of the interdependence of text and discourse in modern linguistics is controversial. Obviously, text and discourse are interrelated concepts. One branch of linguistics that is the intersection of different disciplines is considered as Discourse analysis or Discourse studies. For centuries, interlinguistic relations have been the subject of research in such areas as rhetoric, public speaking, stylistics, and literature. In the twentieth century, the so-called discourse analysis was formed as an independent field of science in order to distinguish speech from language. Although not all disciplines fully recognize that discourse analysis operates as an independent branch of linguistics, whilst, it is very likely that it will happen in the near future. This article discusses the history, types, and differences between discourse and critical discourse analysis.