11. Archeology of Discourse

This web page is associated with a book called called Reverse Engineering the Universe.

The book can be bought at: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Dr_Jerome_Heath_Reverse_Engineering_the_Universe?id=_OvqBQAAQBAJ

The book gives a more complete explanation of these issues and includes a number of related topic discussions. The combination develops the understanding of these concepts from a number of viewpoints.

The beginning process in archeology is to divide the artifacts into segments. These segments also belong to layers of artifacts. The beginning and ending of each segment is an important issue. The more closely you can recognize where such a segment begins and ends the better you will be able to understand exactly what layer it is part of. Sometimes there are announcements of the beginning of a segment. The ending of a segment is seldom announced. The analyst must use style and focus as the key to the boundary of a segment.

A particular issue in this is how various parts of the discourse relate to each other. As we define segments we also need to simplify the relationships as much as we can without trivializing the problem. Emphasis and cross reference is an obvious method of developing relationships. Similarities and word usage can also be a method of defining segments that are related. This is the archeology of the process. When types and cases are similar the segments have a clear relationship.

In archeology these types of similarity imply a similarity in time. They also show similarity of place even though the layers are quite far apart in normal interpretation. Then the place refers to a philosophical relationship. In archeology these factors can also be used to examine development. As change occurs there may be trends that are duplicated even if the substance is quite different. Development is a time relationship of artifacts.

These all relate to layers of discourse. The analyst should use these concepts of archeology to analyze and understand the layers. This perspective can help develop a tradition of discourse analysis that will aid in the difficult work of providing an understanding of our writings.

Jerome Heath