Language of appraisal in book reviews

ǂa ǂcase study

Katja Časar (Author), Katja Plemenitaš (Mentor)

Abstract

This master's thesis presents an analysis of appraisal in the case of ten book reviews. Their selection is based on several criteria that make them representative of this text type. The selected texts evaluate novels, novellas and short stories that were ranked top 300 according to the Open Syllabus Project 2.0 online data base. This means that they fall into the category of the most often assigned books in educational institutions. The authors of the selected texts are editors, journalists and writers, and there is an even number of male and female reviewers. The purpose of the study is the appraisal analysis of the contemporary English language; therefore, only the recently published texts were selected. The main methodology used in this master's thesis is the appraisal theory developed by James Martin and Peter White (Martin and White). This theory evolved in the systemic functional linguistics, and it relies on the theoretical concepts of Michael Halliday (Halliday). The appraisal analysis was conducted with help of the analytical tool Catma 5.0, which enables annotation of texts, their analysis and the visualization of data. The results of the research show that the most frequently used attitudinal resources are the expressions of appreciation. Therefore, the evaluation of the story and everything associated with it is in the foreground of the book reviews. The analysis of the selected texts reveals that evaluation is mostly explicit, meaning that the reader is directly invited to engage with the book. The findings indicate that the attitudinal resources are graded more according to intensity and quantity and less according to prototypicality and marginality. This conclusion draws attention to the variety of lexical and grammatical structures in the selected texts that are assumed to be characteristic of this text type in general. The results also show that the reviewers do not include many external sources into the text, which consequently narrows down the dialogistic space and excludes alternative views and attitudes. The appraisal analysis points toward the text-structural and semantic characteristics of book reviews in general. The structure of the selected texts consists of the following elements: information about the author and the book, the plot summary and evaluation of these elements, which are often intertwined. Some reviews also include personal accounts, book details and/or numeric ratings. The most significant semantic characteristic of evaluation expressed in the selected book reviews is the critique of the Western oppressor. The reviewers judge crimes against humanity and question Western perspectives. They also imply the complicity of the readers because they are viewed as members of the Western identity. Additionally, the results of the analysis show that the book reviews are contextual and intertextual text types, which include various means for the realization of appraisal. A vast spectrum of lexical and grammatical structures makes book reviews an interesting research topic with many possibilities for further research.

Keywords

master theses;evaluative language;systemic functional linguistics;appraisal theory;appraisal analysis;book review;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2020
Typology:	2.09 - Master's Thesis
Organization:	UM FF - Faculty of Arts
Publisher:	[K. Časar]
UDC:	811.111'27(043.2)
COBISS:	19556867
Views:	646
Downloads:	113
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary title:	Analiza jezika vrednotenja v knjižnih recenzijah
Secondary abstract:	Pričujoče magistrsko del se ukvarja z analizo jezika vrednotenja na primeru desetih knjižnih recenzij. Njihov izbor temelji na več kriterijih, ki prispevajo k reprezentativnosti te besedilne vrste. Izbrana besedila vrednotijo romane, novele in kratke zgodbe, ki so uvrščene med najboljših 300 v spletni podatkovni bazi Open Syllabus Project 2.0. To pomeni, da spadajo v kategorijo najpogosteje dodeljenih knjig v izobraževalnih ustanovah. Avtorji izbranega korpusa so uredniki, novinarji in pisatelji, med katerimi sta oba spola zastopana v enakem številu. Izbrana so bila le besedila, objavljena pred kratkim, saj je predmet magistrskega dela analiza vrednotenja sodobnega angleškega jezika. Glavna metodologija, ki je uporabljena v magistrskem delu, je teorija vrednotenja, ki sta jo razvila James Martin in Peter White (Martin in White). Teorija je bila osnovana znotraj sistemskega funkcionalnega jezikoslovja in se nanaša na teoretične koncepte Michaela Hallidayja (Halliday). Analiza jezika vrednotenja se je izvedla s pomočjo analitičnega orodja Catma 5.0, ki omogoča komentiranje besedil, njihovo analizo in vizualizacijo podatkov. Rezultati analize kažejo, da so najbolj številčni primeri sredstev vrednotenja primeri presoje oz. odnosa do stanj, procesov in entitet (ang. appreciation). Iz tega izhaja, da je vrednotenje zgodbe in vsega, kar je z njo povezanega, v ospredju knjižnih recenzij. Nadalje analiza razkriva, da je vrednotenje v večji meri neposredno in je bralec direktno povabljen k branju knjige. Jezikovna sredstva odnosa (ang. attitude) se v izbranih besedilih stopnjujejo bolj glede na stopnjo in količino in manj glede na proto tipičnost in marginalnost. Rezultati kažejo tudi, da recenzenti ne vključujejo veliko zunanjih virov v besedila in posledično zaprejo dialoški prostor za drugačne vidike in stališča. Analiza jezika vrednotenja opozarja tudi na nekatere besedilno strukturne in semantične značilnosti knjižnih recenzij kot besedilne vrste. Izbrana besedila vsebujejo informacije o avtorju in knjigi, obnovo zgodbe ter ovrednotenje omenjenih elementov, ki se velikokrat prepletajo. Nekatere recenzije vsebujejo še osebne pripovedi, podrobnosti o knjigi in/ali numerično oceno. Najpomembnejša tematska značilnost vrednotenja v izbranih knjižnih recenzijah je kritika zahodnega zatiralca. Recenzenti obsojajo zločine proti človeštvu in dvomijo v zahodnjaške poglede, ki jih očitajo tudi bralcu, v katerem vidijo pripadnika omenjene identitete. Poleg tega rezultati analize kažejo, da so knjižne recenzije sobesedilna in medbesedilna vrsta, v kateri je vrednotenje realizirano na mnogo načinov. Obravnavana besedila in knjižne recenzije na splošno vsebujejo širok spekter leksikalnih in slovničnih struktur, zaradi česar predstavljajo zanimivo raziskovalno temo.
Secondary keywords:	magistrska dela;jezik vrednotenja;sistemsko funkcionalno jezikoslovje;teorija vrednotenja;analiza jezika vrednotenja;knjižna recenzija;
Type (COBISS):	Master's thesis/paper
Thesis comment:	Univ. v Mariboru, Filozofska fak., Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko
Pages:	XI f., 103 str., [24] f. pril.
ID:	11736872