John Benjamins Publishing Company
The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species
Abstract
This chapter explores the role of negative-modal synergies in the expression of authorial stance and intersubjective positioning in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. As markers of stance, both negation and modality contribute to the expression of evaluation in discourse, though little attention has been paid to the co-occurrence of both types of markers. Drawing on corpus-based methods, I first identify the recurrent discourse pattern which gives rise to a semantic prosody of negative-modal meaning throughout The Origin of Species as compared to Voyage of the Beagle. Second, I discuss how this discourse pattern reflects Darwin’s positioning in the presentation of his Theory of Natural Selection. An analysis of the resources which express intersubjective positioning reveals the tension between conflicting goals in Darwin’s presentation of his new theory, namely, the expression of certainty regarding his insights and discoveries and the need to be cautious in communicating them. Thus, the various patterns of (co)-occurrence of negation, modality and personal pronouns construe specific authorial positions against the backdrop of competing scientific theories and in anticipation of readers’ potential disagreement.
Abstract
This chapter explores the role of negative-modal synergies in the expression of authorial stance and intersubjective positioning in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. As markers of stance, both negation and modality contribute to the expression of evaluation in discourse, though little attention has been paid to the co-occurrence of both types of markers. Drawing on corpus-based methods, I first identify the recurrent discourse pattern which gives rise to a semantic prosody of negative-modal meaning throughout The Origin of Species as compared to Voyage of the Beagle. Second, I discuss how this discourse pattern reflects Darwin’s positioning in the presentation of his Theory of Natural Selection. An analysis of the resources which express intersubjective positioning reveals the tension between conflicting goals in Darwin’s presentation of his new theory, namely, the expression of certainty regarding his insights and discoveries and the need to be cautious in communicating them. Thus, the various patterns of (co)-occurrence of negation, modality and personal pronouns construe specific authorial positions against the backdrop of competing scientific theories and in anticipation of readers’ potential disagreement.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface xi
-
Section 1: Introduction
- The many faces and phases of evaluation 3
-
Section 2: Theoretical considerations and approaches to evaluation
- The emergence of axiology as a key parameter in modern linguistics 27
- AFFECT and emotion, target-value mismatches, and Russian dolls 47
- Appraising Appraisal 67
- The evaluative palette of verbal irony 93
- The implementation of the axiological parameter in a verbal subontology for natural language processing 117
- The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction 137
- Prosody, information structure and evaluation 153
- The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish 179
-
Section 3: Evaluation in different contexts
- “An astonishing season of destiny!” Evaluation in blurbs used for advertising TV series 197
- Graduation within the scope of Attitude in English and Spanish consumer reviews of books and movies 221
- Register diversification in evaluative language: the case of scientific writing 241
- The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species 259
- Exploring academic argumentation in course-related blogs through ENGAGEMENT 281
- Multimodal analysis of controversy in the media 303
- The expression of evaluation in weekly news magazines in English 321
- Evaluative phraseological choice and speaker party/gender 345
- Evaluation in emotion narratives 367
- Evaluative discourse and politeness in university students' communication through social networking sites 387
- Index 413
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface xi
-
Section 1: Introduction
- The many faces and phases of evaluation 3
-
Section 2: Theoretical considerations and approaches to evaluation
- The emergence of axiology as a key parameter in modern linguistics 27
- AFFECT and emotion, target-value mismatches, and Russian dolls 47
- Appraising Appraisal 67
- The evaluative palette of verbal irony 93
- The implementation of the axiological parameter in a verbal subontology for natural language processing 117
- The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction 137
- Prosody, information structure and evaluation 153
- The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish 179
-
Section 3: Evaluation in different contexts
- “An astonishing season of destiny!” Evaluation in blurbs used for advertising TV series 197
- Graduation within the scope of Attitude in English and Spanish consumer reviews of books and movies 221
- Register diversification in evaluative language: the case of scientific writing 241
- The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species 259
- Exploring academic argumentation in course-related blogs through ENGAGEMENT 281
- Multimodal analysis of controversy in the media 303
- The expression of evaluation in weekly news magazines in English 321
- Evaluative phraseological choice and speaker party/gender 345
- Evaluation in emotion narratives 367
- Evaluative discourse and politeness in university students' communication through social networking sites 387
- Index 413
