Problems of Boundary: Reflections upon the Connections between Discursive and Extradiscursive Orders within French Discourse Analysis

Abstract

French Discourse Analysis (FDA) aroused as a line of analysis when positing that both an intersection between linguistics and history and a link to the theory of ideologies as raised by Althusser are necessary to understand discourse. This proposal unveiled a real theoretical problem concerning the relationship between discourse and its exterior. We will develop such problem taking two proposals for analysis into consideration: one centered on the concept of “interdiscourse” and the other, on the categories of discursive practice and event. Thus, we will consider the tensions and challenges posed by this relation in the conceptual and methodological level.