Appraisal in evangelical sermons: the projection and functions of misguided voices

Abstract

This article examines evaluation—the language of opinion—in evangelical sermons. It uses the appraisal model to investigate a rhetorical feature which I have termed the misguided voice. A misguided voice is a representation of a point of view—for example through direct or indirect speech—which is, often dramatically and emphatically, contra-Christian. The article asks how speakers deploy appraisal so that these voices do not contradict, but rather work in harmony with, the speakers' evaluative positions and rhetorical purposes. The question is answered by isolating two stages of voice construction, which I have called framing and layering. The former concept relates to how the interpretation of a misguided voice is constrained by the preceding text. The latter relates to the claim that misguided voices have a complex evaluative function: the contra-Christian evaluation (the internal layer) simultaneously functions to imply another kind of evaluation (the external layer) which supports the evangelical purpose. After showing how these features work together in some extended examples, I conclude by relating misguided voices to evangelical ideology and history, and by suggesting some implications of the research for the appraisal model.