Attitudinal Positioning in Media DiscourseA Contrastive Analysis of Journalistic Commentary
- González Rodríguez, María José
- Hernández Hernández, Manuel Augusto
ISSN: 0211-5913
Year of publication: 2012
Issue Title: Evaluative Uses of Language: The Appraisal Framework
Issue: 65
Pages: 47-66
Type: Article
More publications in: Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses
Abstract
This paper reports on a study that investigates the expression of evaluative language in newspaper comment articles. The main focus of this study is to explore diff erences in the use of evaluations in two British national newspapers, the quality The Guardian and the popular The Sun. The expressions of evaluative language are analysed with reference to attitude. Attitude is one of three main components of the Appraisal System in language, which is concerned with the use of evaluative language. Appraisal theory has been developed within the broader theoretical framework of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and focuses on the interpersonal metafunction of language. In this context, the fi ndings of the study intend to show the role that evaluative meanings play in the dissemination of ideology, in the constitution of textual styles and authorial identities, and in the negotiation of writer/reader relationships