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"Managing expectations": Some reflections on the hybrid genre

McDowell, Peter D. (2013). "Managing expectations": Some reflections on the hybrid genre. In: Applied Linguistics Association of Australia National Conference 2012: Evolving Paradigms: Language and Applied Linguistics in a Changing World, Perth, WA, 12-14 November 2012.

Document type: Conference Paper

IRMA ID 84279116xPUB6
Author McDowell, Peter D.
Title "Managing expectations": Some reflections on the hybrid genre
Conference Name Applied Linguistics Association of Australia National Conference 2012: Evolving Paradigms: Language and Applied Linguistics in a Changing World
Conference Location Perth, WA
Conference Dates 12-14 November 2012
Conference Publication Title Refereed Proceedings: Applied Linguistics Association Annual Conference 2012
Place of Publication Perth, WA
Publisher School of Education, Curtin University
Publication Year 2013
ISBN 978-0-9874158-2-0   (check CDU catalogue open catalogue search in new window)
Start Page 367
End Page 393
Total Pages 27
HERDC Category E1 - Conference Publication (DIISR)
Abstract Through a sociosemiotic analysis of two, brief, illustrative texts drawn from the discourse of professional English language teaching—one text being a private language school’s teacher recruitment advice, the other a governmental handbook’s statement on quality teaching—the paper presents the principal grammatical features of an important, hybrid genre that might be termed ‘managing expectations’.

Formally manifesting itself as a hybrid of Report and Exposition, with hortation and analysis as variable rhetorical elements, this composite genre is shown to be both heteroglossic and tenor-oriented, with language users able to invoke noticeably different interpersonal resources to manipulate their respective audiences in comparable ways.

Variability in the use of the interpersonal metafunction (demonstrated through register analysis) is then correlated with opposing ideological standpoints, ideology being an important but relatively underdeveloped model of context within the systemic functional linguistic approach to discourse analysis.

The interrelationship between shared genre and the specific, tenor-based difference in register becomes enough to validate Martin’s early model of ideological crisis: in ‘managing expectations’, the governmental text is creating an issue to preserve its dominant power base, while the private language school’s text is resolving (or diffusing) an issue to enhance its emergent power base.
Keyword Discourse
Grammar
Genre
Register
Heteroglossia
Description for Link Link to conference homepage
Link to published version
URL http://www.promaco.com.au/events/ALAA2012/
http://humanities.curtin.edu.au/schools/EDU/education/alaa-proceedings.cfm
 
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Created: Thu, 07 Aug 2014, 16:40:46 CST