The Context-Text Connection

1. The Context-Text Connection Lone Albrecht HHÅ

2. All meaning is situated • in a context of situation • in a context of culture Introduction to TA October 04

3. ’Just put it beside those other ones.’ • Meaning clear or obscure? • Someone is moving house - it’s a carton full of household goods • Meaningful within the context of situation • Meaningful within the context of culture? Introduction to TA October 04

4. Context of Culture - determines what we can mean through • being ’who we are’ • doing ’what we do’ • saying ’what we say’ Introduction to TA October 04

5. Context of Situation - specified through the register variables: • FIELD • TENOR • MODE Introduction to TA October 04

6. Register Variables: • Field: experiential/ideational meaning • Tenor: interpersonal meaning • Mode: textual meaning Introduction to TA October 04

7. Field - refers to what is going on, including • activity focus (nature of social activity) • object focus (subject matter) Introduction to TA October 04

8. Field - cont. • Activity focus/object focus: • Participants - NPs in S & C • Processes - VP • Circumstances - A & Adv Introduction to TA October 04

9. Field - Ideational meaning • Reference to: • phenomena – things • living and non-living • abstract and concrete • the circumstances surrounding these happenings and doings • realised in wordings through participants (N), processes (V) and circumstances (A) Introduction to TA October 04

10. Tenor - refers to the social relationships between those taking part • Tenor: interpersonal meaning: • status or power (agent roles, peer or hierarchic relations) • affect (degree of like, dislike or neutrality) • contact (frequency, duration and intimacy of social contact) Introduction to TA October 04

11. Interpersonal meaning – tenor of discourse • Expresses a speaker’s attitudes and judgements • acting upon and with others • realised in wordings through • mood and modality • adjectives, adverbs Introduction to TA October 04

12. Mood • Declarative: we inspect the growing plants every week • Imperative: Brock, get those plants inspected right now! • Interrogative: did you get those plants inspected? • Degree of informality or formality • Attitudinal lexis: ‘incompetent fool’ Introduction to TA October 04

13. Modality • Attitude or judgement, adverbs: Fortunately/unfortunately • Modal verbs: the crop might be inspected; the crop should be inspected Introduction to TA October 04

14. Mode - refers to how language is being used • Mode: textual meaning • Cohesion/sequencing • The channel of communication - spoken or written • language is being used as a mode of action or reflection Introduction to TA October 04

15. Textual meaning • Theme/rheme • Cohesion: • lexical • grammatical • lexico-grammatical • Antonymy, hyponymy Introduction to TA October 04

16. A Text Specimen …we supervise the planting and inspect the harvest. And we buy only the pick of the crop. Our experienced buyers look for lack of blemish, minimum number of eyes, pure white ‘meaty’ interiors with firm consistency… Introduction to TA October 04

17. Analysis • What is the topic of the text? • Who/what kind of person produced the text? For whom? • Do you think it was written or spoken? Introduction to TA October 04

18. Answers • Genre: • advertisement • Field: • potatoes for McDonald’s french fries • Tenor: • Representative of McD.’s or adv. Copy writer for McD. Writing for adult customers • Mode: • written, as a tray liner Introduction to TA October 04

19. Context - Text • Field : ideational features • Process: (what goes on) • Participant: (who/what participates) • Circumstance (under what circumstances) • Tenor: interpersonal features • mood & modality • roles, attitudes • Mode: textual/theme, • Cohesion/theme-rheme Introduction to TA October 04

20. THE END Introduction to TA October 04