Discourse Analysis and Systemic Functional Linguistics

1. Discourse Analysis and Systemic Functional Linguistics AP Language and Composition 2012

2. What is Discourse Analysis? • Sees language as constructing and being constructed by social life. • A discourse analysis not only looks at what is said but what (and who) is left out • Believes that language is not “transparent,” and any use of language(spoken, written, electronic) involves complex social, cultural, political, cognitive, and linguistic meaning • It sets out to make visible, through analysis, and to criticize, connections between elements of language texts and society (ideologies, power relations) which are generally not obvious to people who use and interpret the language.

3. Why is conducting a DA valuable? • By conducting a discourse analysis we can investigate how people get helped or harmed by how people actually use and respond to language. • Focuses on exposing hidden connections and causes while intervening by providing the disadvantaged with resources to change it • DA provides a “systematic and verifiable” method to support claims of social inequality. • Denaturalize the givens of a language system and create awareness of a community’s discourse conventions and their effects so that they can no longer manipulate you. • By understanding the disabling effects of language you can work to change them.

4. What is Systemic Functional Linguistics? • SFL is an analysis tool to conduct a DA. • Focuses on how language is designed and used. • Sees grammar as a set of choices made by an author to produce a specific effect rather than simply a set of “rules.” • SFL provides us with the tools and the language to express the connections we see between language and society.

5. Appraisal Analysis • Focuses on the attitudes negotiated in a text and analyzes the strength of feelings involved. • Attitude has to do with evaluating things, people’s character and their feelings • In an appraisal analysis we can closely evaluate 3 kinds of attitude: Affect Judgment Appreciation

6. Affect • Explores how people express positive or negative feelings/emotions These emotions can be expressed directly: “I hate you.” “I love you.” There is no question as to what emotion is being expressed Or they can be implied: He was very quiet and sat motionlessstaring out the window. We know that something’s up, but what emotion is he feeling? Sadness? Grief? Regret? Rejection?

7. Affect Practice “Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair” (Rowling 2).

8. Affect “Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair” (Rowling 2).

9. Judgment • Explores personal judgments of admiration (positive) or criticism (negative)and moral judgments of praise (positive) or condemnation (negative). These judgments can be made explicitly or implicitly Examples: Personal explicit: He was intelligent. Personal implicit: He worked at a top law firm. Moral explicit: He was guilty of conspiracy. Moral implicit: He thought he was above the law.

10. Judgment Practice “Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills” (Rowling 1). “Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDurlyish as it was possible to be” (Rowling 2) “Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern” (Rowling 6).

11. Judgment Practice “Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, (personal implicit) which made drills” (Rowling 1). “Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as (personal direct) unDurlyish as it was possible to be” (Rowling 2). (personal implicit) “Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly (moral explicit) changed their sleeping pattern” (Rowling 6).

12. Appreciation • Appreciation includes our attitude about culture (T.V., paintings, performances, etc.) and feelings about nature or the abstract (sunrises, marriage) • They can also be positive or negative Positive appreciation: It was a very serious issue. Negative appreciation: The frivolous question was an unsuccessful attempt to stall the proceedings. Appreciations can also be amplified: It was a very serious issue. It was an especiallyclever response.

13. Appreciation Practice “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number 4, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much” (Rowling, 1). “He made several important telephone calls” (Rowling, 4).

14. Appriciation Practice “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number 4, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much” (Rowling, 1). “He made several important telephone calls” (Rowling, 4).

15. So what? • How does an appraisal analysis make visible and give us the ability to critique connections between elements of language and society?

16. Perform an appraisal analysis using affect, judgment, and appreciation on all of the below sentences. 1. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number 4, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much” (Rowling 1). 2. “Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills” (Rowling 1). 3. “Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair” (Rowling 2). 4. “Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDurlyish as it was possible to be” (Rowling 2). 5. “Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door’s problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word (“Won’t!”)” (Rowling 6).

17. Use the chart to track your findings

18. What do we learn about the Dursleys and how they view the Potters?

19. Language and Society • Based on your findings, what does Rowling (and our society) view as a “normal” family? How does society see the construct of “family”? • What is considered “abnormal”? • According to the analysis, what can be said about the expected social roles of men and women? • How did SFL facilitate your ability to answer these questions? Can they be disputed based on the evidence your analysis provides?