“This property offers much character and charm”: evaluation in the discourse of online property advertising

Abstract

“Evaluation” may be expressed through varying context-dependent and, therefore, often unpredictable lexico-grammatical operators. Its analysis relies, at least partly, on “local” grammars or categories (Hunston and Sinclair, A local grammar of evaluation, Oxford University Press, 1999). The aim of this paper is to outline a systematic approach to the identification of evaluative meaning in the discourse of online property advertising, which can be applied to the analysis of evaluation in other types of promotional discourse. The online descriptions of three established estate agencies in the East of England are explored in terms of appraisal choices, specifically appreciation (Martin and White, The language of evaluation, Plagrave, 2005). The appraisal framework is reviewed with particular reference to the study of property advertising carried out by Pryce and Oates (Housing Studies 23: 319–348, 2008) and general advertising theories (e.g., Darley and Smith, Journal of Marketing 57: 100–113, 1993). Revised categories of positive evaluation are identified in correspondence with different values of subjectivity, affect, and explicitness. The analysis reveals similarities and differences in the nature and distribution of the evaluative options across the three sets of descriptions. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and approach are discussed in the final section.