John Benjamins Publishing Company
Bulgarian ‘we’ and audience involvement in academic writing
Abstract
The present paper examines the functions of the audience-involving pronoun ‘we’ in Bulgarian academic writing, more specifically in reviews of linguistics books. The analysis is based on a modified version of speech-act theory combined with discourse production strategies. A comparison is also made with the use and functions of the academic ‘we’ in the genre of the research article. Special attention is paid to the various linguistic means of expressing reference to the first person plural which are available in Bulgarian as a pro-drop language. The conclusions deal with some issues of review authors’ motivation for writing (or not writing) reviews, as well as with the academic standards concerning the choice of evaluation – positive or negative.
Abstract
The present paper examines the functions of the audience-involving pronoun ‘we’ in Bulgarian academic writing, more specifically in reviews of linguistics books. The analysis is based on a modified version of speech-act theory combined with discourse production strategies. A comparison is also made with the use and functions of the academic ‘we’ in the genre of the research article. Special attention is paid to the various linguistic means of expressing reference to the first person plural which are available in Bulgarian as a pro-drop language. The conclusions deal with some issues of review authors’ motivation for writing (or not writing) reviews, as well as with the academic standards concerning the choice of evaluation – positive or negative.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Preface ix
- Constructing collectivity with ‘we’ 1
-
Part I. Semantic and pragmatic perspectives on ‘we’
- Referentiality, predicate patterns, and functions of we -utterances in American English interactions 23
- Singular perception, multiple perspectives through ‘we’ 45
- Referential and functional aspects of the Norwegian first person plural vi 65
- Grammar, interaction, and context 83
- The pragmatics of first person non-singular pronouns in Norf’k 105
-
Part II. Interactional perspectives on ‘we’
- ‘We’ as social categorization in Cha’palaa, a language of Ecuador 135
- Replying with the freestanding ‘we’ in Greek conversations 159
- Establishing social groups in Hebrew 187
- Why ‘we’? 207
- Children’s use of English we in a primary school in Wales 227
-
Part III. Genre-specific perspectives on ‘we’
- “Nail polish – We’ve chosen the nicest shades for you!” 247
- Author positioning and audience addressivity by means of ‘we’ in Greek academic discourse 265
- Bulgarian ‘we’ and audience involvement in academic writing 287
- On the use of ‘we’ in Flemish World War II interviews 309
- “Judge us on what we do” 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 353
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Preface ix
- Constructing collectivity with ‘we’ 1
-
Part I. Semantic and pragmatic perspectives on ‘we’
- Referentiality, predicate patterns, and functions of we -utterances in American English interactions 23
- Singular perception, multiple perspectives through ‘we’ 45
- Referential and functional aspects of the Norwegian first person plural vi 65
- Grammar, interaction, and context 83
- The pragmatics of first person non-singular pronouns in Norf’k 105
-
Part II. Interactional perspectives on ‘we’
- ‘We’ as social categorization in Cha’palaa, a language of Ecuador 135
- Replying with the freestanding ‘we’ in Greek conversations 159
- Establishing social groups in Hebrew 187
- Why ‘we’? 207
- Children’s use of English we in a primary school in Wales 227
-
Part III. Genre-specific perspectives on ‘we’
- “Nail polish – We’ve chosen the nicest shades for you!” 247
- Author positioning and audience addressivity by means of ‘we’ in Greek academic discourse 265
- Bulgarian ‘we’ and audience involvement in academic writing 287
- On the use of ‘we’ in Flemish World War II interviews 309
- “Judge us on what we do” 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 353
