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Introduction
The given paper presents the analyses of ideational and interpersonal meanings construed in two samples of written discourse selected at random from different sites. The reason I have chosen those texts is that both samples provide similar themes and ideas but are presented in different ways. Therefore, my major objective is to identify the existed similarities as well as differences delivered in both examples. Particularly, I want to examine the presentation of the texts in terms of interpersonal meaning presented in the two texts, including such elements as Engagement, Attitude, and Graduation. I also plan to examine the devices in which the two authors expound reality, their position in ideational terms. Further, the focus will be made on the participants involved, the events taking place, and the circumstances presented.
The first text under analysis presents the information about research on sleeping problems arising among infants and the way they affect their mothers, whereas the second text in question enumerates the books devoted to the same topic. The texts will be further referred as to Text A and Text B correspondently.
To define the similarities and differences between Text A and Text B, it is necessary to examine methods enabling to contrast and compare the genres and the way they construe interpersonal and ideational meaning. In that regard, a peculiar consideration requires the analysis of readers’ position and of the way different discourses are presented. Further, different kinds of meanings should be examined, including stresses influencing the meaning and interpretation of the discourse.
Genre of the Analyzed Texts
Before getting down to the analysis of the texts, it is obligatory to consider the peculiarities of the genres both texts belong to. Genre identification will contribute to the analysis of interpersonal and ideational meaning. Particularly, it can define the social purposes of texts’ construction and their connection with the context. According to Martin and Rose (2002), the genre also serves to “different types of texts that enact various types of social contexts” (p. 7). Interpreting this, the meaning of the texts is intertwined with the patterns established in social realm. Referring to genres as to social construct, the first text under analysis refers to a non-literary genre serving to inform the reader rather than to entertain. In particular, the given research provides information about sleep problems among babies and the way they affect their mothers’ psychological and physical states. It should be stressed that the problem is considered from scientific point of view with the involvement of statistical analysis. In contrast, the second text refers to literary style, which is called a book report. Therefore, the information presented in the text serves to entertain rather than to inform. Both papers are well structured and are concentrated on the subject. Genre analysis contributes greatly to further analysis of the samples since it helps to place our texts within a general model of social context and language (Martin and Rose, 2008)
Interpersonal meaning
While many contemporary studies are dedicated to issues of evaluative language, few ones consider the theory of interpersonal meaning in discourse as an integrated theoretical framework. In particular, Schiffrin et al. (2003), refer to interpersonal meaning as “enactment of social relations (social reality) – tenor” (45). However, Martin and Rose (2007) have proposed the first integrated theory on interpersonal meaning in book called The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. To be more precise, the study is dedicated to linguistic realization of judgments, attitudes, and emotions and the way these evaluations are negotiated in a text. According to Martin and Rose, appraisal theory is analyzed through three perspectives: attitude, engagement, and graduation.
Relying on the figure presented above, I will examine how these three dimensions are presented in both texts under consideration. I will also provide a comparative-contrastive analysis of the aspect of interpersonal meanings presented in both texts.
According to Martin and Rose (2002), engagement “covers resources that introduce additional voices intro a discourse, via projection, modularization, or concession; the choice here is one voice (monoglots) or more than one voice (heteroglossia)” (p. 54). In this respect, both texts can be considered as monoglots since they do not represent other voices within one work. For example, in Text A we can find the sentence: “Dr. Harriet Hossok and Dr. Melissa Wake, researchers from the Centre for Community Health…decided to research this question” is monologic since it is not represented by another person (Raising Children Network, 2008). The same examples can be encountered in Text B. Besides, both writers do not provide the potential for interacting with the reader, which is another sign of monoglots representation.
However, Text A represents the research provides some of the questions in sub-headings and establishes counter-expectancy markers. This might be regarded as evidence of heteroglossia relations but still such question does not involve other voices in discourse.
Regarding the attitudinal dimension of the Appraisal theory, it is necessary to emphasize the role of attitude in the development of social relationships. Hence, I am more focused on the way Attitude is revealed in two samples of discourse.
For contemplating the results of the interpersonal analysis of discourse, one should compare and contract both samples in detail:
Text A:
1. The program was effective…
2. Sleep problems …significant….
Sleep problems …were less severe…
3. Intervention… was also effective…
4. Research… has realbenefits…
Text B
1. Parents …are sleep-deprived…
Parents…are exhaustive …
2. Infants…feel anxious…
Infants …highlydepressed…
Viewing the examples from the Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, we can see the attitude in bold type and graduation in italics. Both texts provide a sufficient amount of inscribed and invoked attitudes. However, the first text contains more examples of implicit expressed attitudes, as it is required by its genre. In contrast, the second text provides more explicitly expressed attitudes since the author is less limited by genre constraints.
Considering the types of attitudes, it should be stressed that Text A is overwhelmed with appreciation of objects and events. Therefore, one can firmly state that the research is more focused on the problems and programs rather than on people participating in the research. Text B is person-oriented, as it is more attached to judgment and effects. One more slight difference consists in the quality of the attitude. Hence, positive attitudes prevail in the first text whereas the second text reveals negative and positive values equally. This can be explained by the fact that both writers are implying different purposes and ideas of their discourse.
Addressing the graduation, both samples of discourse provides examples of focus and force graduation. But in the first text they are more expressed because a research paper provides the minimum of interpersonal meaning instead of making an accent on reporting and informing rather than on judging. Certainly, in some cases the grading can be perceived as an objectively evaluating method. Hence, according to Hood (2006), “grade a meaning is not itself attitudinal, that is where they grade some objective meaning of …they give that meaning a subjective slant” (p. 46).
A thoughtful analysis of what has been appraised in the samples and how it has been appraised is presented in Appendices 1 and 2. The first column includes the objects that should be evaluated whereas the second one contains the extracts bearing an emotional and interpersonal meaning. The instances are identified as invoked or inscribed; positive or negative, as effect, Appreciation, and Judgment.
Ideational Meaning
While analyzing ideational meanings, we should refer to their main components, such as processes, participants, their qualities, and circumstances. Thus, Martin & Rose (2008) distinguish three main kinds of lexical relations of the above-presented components: taxonomic relations (between clauses), nuclear relations (within a clause), and activities sequences (between a series of clauses).
Text A and Text B (appendix 3 and appendix 4 accordingly) provide some interesting examples from the samples revealing processes, participants, classes and circumstances, including all phases of the two texts.
Judging according to the participants of the first text, the discourse identifies three dominant participants: mothers, program, and research, which are closely associated with the topic and purpose of the research and genre of the text. Text B provides the names of authors of different books, namely Ms. Gethin and Ms. Macgregor, Steve Biddulph, the names of organizations, and the titles of books. The dominant participants also conform to the purpose and genre of discourse since the text reports on different books are dedicated to one problem. Further on, both Texts are more concentrated on concrete participants (mother, parents), whereas abstract participants are presented less explicitly. Still, Text A places a greater emphasis on abstract participants, like report, program, plan, or intervention. In addition to this, both texts do not involve the writers’ concrete participation in the text since they are presented interpersonally.
The character of the participants is closely connected with the quality of process carried out by them. Nevertheless, both texts predominantly contain the processes of being and doing. This is explained by the idea that both texts are of informative character. Still, the process of sensing as presented in the second phase of Text B is connected with concrete participants whereas abstract and metaphorical ones are attached to the process of being and doing. In addition to it, the first phases of Text A and that of Text B are presented by concrete participants mostly where the second phases provide the number of abstract and metaphorical participants. Finally, I have noticed that Tex A, specifically the first phase, contains a less amount of attributed qualities than Text B does, since here an emphasis is placed on the analysis of participants and their actions. But the third phase of Text B provides more qualities attributed to the participants. Text A, its first phase, comprises the foci of qualities and circumstances since this paragraph is aimed at involving the readers in the problem. As for the rest of the phases, they contain a fewer amount of concrete participants.
Apart from the analysis of the participants, processes, and circumstances, I propose to analyze the taxonomic relations, that is, configuration and modification between the clauses. Such relation shows a mutual bond between the clauses and their logical connections. Let us consider those ties on the examples from both samples:
Text A:
If infant sleep problems and maternal depression are associated, it’s possible that helping parents resolve sleep problems might also have a positive effect on a mother’s mood and wellbeing…They wanted to find out whether simple behavioral strategies – controlled comforting and camping out – would be effective in reducing both sleep problems in infants and symptoms of depression in mothers.(Raising Children Network, 2008, n. p.).
Based on the discourse, we can build a logical chain of meanings that can define how, for instance, infant sleep problems, maternal depression, parents’ and mother’s moods are connected. Is it connected with behavioral strategies? Apparently, we can construct the following chain:
e. g. Infant sleep problems – contrast– maternal depression – contrast – a mother’s wellbeing – contrast – sleep problems in infants – simple behavioral strategies.
This chain shows that the writer of the discourse deliberates on the problems and their solutions. Such relations reveal contrastive bonds between the participants.
The same can be presented in Text B:
“For years, sleep-deprived parents of young babies have sworn by it as a cure for harrowing nights. But now “controlled crying” – teaching babies by leaving them to cry – is accused of causing serious long-term damage to children” (Teutsch, 2007, n. p.).
The lexical relation will be looked at as follows:
Sleep-deprived parents –scale – harrowing nights – scale – controlled crying – scale – long-term damage.
At a first glance, one cannot notice the relation between the given notions. However, a closer consideration reveals the scale of damage for the participants concerned. This is why these lexical relations may be considered as contrastive as well.
An in-depth analysis of both sample discourses shows that nuclear relations between the participants and processes provide some inherent connections between them. The clauses of both texts construe the experience and semantic ground in terms of the participants concerned and the processes involving a different kinds of participants.
Conclusion
A comparative and contrastive analysis of Text A and Text B have been conducted by their metafunctional meanings: interpersonal and ideational. Hence, interpersonal meaning provides a practical application of the Appraisal theory disclosing the relationship between the writers and the readers based on the construction of attitudes and values. Further, ideational meaning analysis involves the consideration of the kinds of words represented in both samples of discourse. It has provided the information about the participants involved, the processes undertaken and the qualities attributed to the participants. The semantic analysis of the texts has greatly contributed to discourse unveiling the interaction between the readers and the writers.
Appendix 1: The Analysis of Attitude for Text A.
Appendix 2: The Analysis of the Attitude in Text B.
Appendix 3: The Analysis of Participants, Processes, Qualities, Classes and Circumstances for Text A
Appendix 4: The Analysis of Participants, Processes, Qualities, Classes, and Circumstances for Text B
Reference List
- Hood, S. 2006. Persuasive power of prosodies: Radiating values in academic writing. Journal of English for Specific Purposes. (5), pp. 37-49.
- Martin, J. R., and Rose, D. 2002. Working with discourse: through context, beyond the cause. US: Continuum International Publishing Group.
- Martin J. R., and Rose, D. 2007. The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. US: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Martin, J. R., and Rose, D. 2008. Genre relations: mapping culture. US: Equinox Pub.
- Schiffrin, D., Tannen, D., and Hamilton, H. E. 2003. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. US: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Step-by-step guide for settling and waking problems: what is the evidence? 2008. Raising Children Network.
- Teutsch, D. 2007.Despairing mums told to ditch controlled crying. Web.
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