Heteroglossic (dis)engagement and the construal of the ideal readership
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Carmen Pérez-Llantada
Abstract
Appropriating White’s (2003) distinction of ‘heteroglossic engagement/disengagement’ modes of expression, this paper analyses a sample of grammatical patterns and their rhetorical functionality for the expression of intersubjective stance in research articles written in English by scholars from two cultural contexts (an Anglophone-based context and a Spanish context) and articles written in Spanish by Spanish scholars. Results show that the scholars from the Anglophone context prefer patterns that construct a heteroglossic disengagement mode, suggesting the construal of their readership as sharing similar values, beliefs and attitudes. The texts in Spanish display patterns that create a heteroglossic engagement mode, indicating that writers conceive their readership as having potentially dissenting views. Remarkably, the texts written in English by the Spanish scholars strategically combine a heteroglossic disengagement mode with a heteroglossic engagement mode, hence creating a hybrid dialogic space for writer/reader interaction.
Abstract
Appropriating White’s (2003) distinction of ‘heteroglossic engagement/disengagement’ modes of expression, this paper analyses a sample of grammatical patterns and their rhetorical functionality for the expression of intersubjective stance in research articles written in English by scholars from two cultural contexts (an Anglophone-based context and a Spanish context) and articles written in Spanish by Spanish scholars. Results show that the scholars from the Anglophone context prefer patterns that construct a heteroglossic disengagement mode, suggesting the construal of their readership as sharing similar values, beliefs and attitudes. The texts in Spanish display patterns that create a heteroglossic engagement mode, indicating that writers conceive their readership as having potentially dissenting views. Remarkably, the texts written in English by the Spanish scholars strategically combine a heteroglossic disengagement mode with a heteroglossic engagement mode, hence creating a hybrid dialogic space for writer/reader interaction.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Specialized languages 1
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Section one. Research based on corpora
- The historical shift of scientific academic prose in English towards less explicit styles of expression 11
- Heteroglossic (dis)engagement and the construal of the ideal readership 25
- Structure, content and functions of calls for conference abstracts 47
- Summarizing findings 71
- The use of adverbial hedges in EAP students’ oral performance 95
- Integrating approaches to visual data commentary 115
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Section two. Research based on meta-analysis and applications in LSP
- Some dichotomies in genre analysis for Languages for Specific Purposes 139
- English for legal purposes and domain-specific cultural awareness 155
- The Talking Cure 175
- UrgentiAS, a lexical database for medical students in clinical placements 191
- Using natural language patterns for the development of ontologies 211
- Notes on contributors 231
- Index 237
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Specialized languages 1
-
Section one. Research based on corpora
- The historical shift of scientific academic prose in English towards less explicit styles of expression 11
- Heteroglossic (dis)engagement and the construal of the ideal readership 25
- Structure, content and functions of calls for conference abstracts 47
- Summarizing findings 71
- The use of adverbial hedges in EAP students’ oral performance 95
- Integrating approaches to visual data commentary 115
-
Section two. Research based on meta-analysis and applications in LSP
- Some dichotomies in genre analysis for Languages for Specific Purposes 139
- English for legal purposes and domain-specific cultural awareness 155
- The Talking Cure 175
- UrgentiAS, a lexical database for medical students in clinical placements 191
- Using natural language patterns for the development of ontologies 211
- Notes on contributors 231
- Index 237
