The study of discourse is both fascinating and challenging. It provides a global or 'bird's eye view' of a language that is rather elusive if one examines only smaller structures such a phrase, clause or sentence.

I've done considerable research on Halbi discourse and some of those analyses will be accessible here.

During my PhD research on a Halbi myth in the late 1970's, I became aware that not only was there a fairly easily distinguishable narrative structure but another structure operating weaving its way through the myth at a much deeper level and where cultural values and norms were focal. This I called a didactic structure. Below is a link to an article describing the differences I noticed between the two.

 Click thumbnail to preview first page of article.

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Click the following link to download the full article (only available for logged in members):

pdf Narrative and Didactic Peaks in Halbi Discourse (244 KB)