Pre-discursive functioning and textual strategies

Abstract

In this work, we aim to show how a textual analysis deals with discursive "anteriorities". Pre-discourse refers to ideas, beliefs and narratives that circulate in a society or social group and that influence the production and interpretation of discursive uses (Paveau, 2013 [2006]). These pre-discourses must be considered in the linguistic analysis of the text since they affect individual perspectives and positions in relation to different issues. We analyzed two humorous cartoons to understand the dynamics of social and cultural influences that permeate textual production and interpretation. By taking pre-discourses into account in textual analysis, we admit that meaning is not only a result of the internal characteristics of the text but is also influenced by the broader context in which the text occurs. We justify why the analytical criteria of textual linguistics, such as, text plan, intertextuality and referencing, consider argumentative strategies assuming the distributed cognition.