Beyond the prison-house of language: Discourse as a sociological concept

A properly sociological definition of the concept of discourse does not exist because the notion has never been detached from the linguistic sphere. Not only linguists and semiologists, but also sociologists, use the word primarily as a linguistic category. This article attempts to define the concept of discourse sociologically. It is argued that a sociologically defined notion should be dissociated from the linguistic realm. As a linguistic category, 'discourse' is either used as a synonym for language or text, or is closely associated with one of these notions. 'Discourse' in a sociological sense should refer to a class of texts. This definition confers upon the concept of discourse an intertextual dimension. Defined in this way, the category can not only become an operative sociological concept, but it also becomes autonomous and is no longer reducible to linguistic or para-linguistic conceptual entities, such as text or language. No longer confined to the linguistic realm, the concept can designate a particular entity which possesses its own existence. Discourse can become a thing in itself. The argument is presented in three parts. The first is a critique of the current definitions of the concept 'discourse'. The second proposes, as an alternative, a sociological definition of discourse. Finally the third part applies this new definition in a sociological analysis of journalism.