20/12/2011
Language, Function, Cognition:
Week 6: Appraisal: The Speaker’s evaluation of things in the text
Mick O’Donnell
1
6. Appraisal Theory 6.1 What is Appraisal • NOTE: Most of these slides lift content directly from: J.R. Marin and P. White 2005. The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave. The author of these slides makes no claim of original contribution. Consider every slide to be surrounded by quotation marks.
2
1
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.1 What is Appraisal • Appraisal Theory is used to analyse how the speaker/writer values the entities (people and things) within the text that they produce. • Developed by Peter White (a journalist who got interested in SFL) and Jim Martin (one of the main Systemicists). • Developed during the 1990s. • Now used worldwide. • Just starting: getting computers to automatically assess appraisal in text. 3
6. Appraisal Theory 6.2 Main components of Appraisal
•
ATTITUDE: encompasses different options for expressing positive or negative evaluation. • a good man; etc.
•
ENGAGEMENT addresses options for expanding and contracting space for other voices (how much does the writer endorse the statements of others): • He claims/states/informs us etc.
•
GRADUATION: adjustments of attitude and engagement in terms of strength. • A very good man; I was reasonably happy. 4
2
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude • Attitude is divided between: – Affect: Emotional evaluation of things, processes or states of affairs (e.g., like/dislike) – Judgement: Ethical evaluation of human behaviour (e.g., good/bad) – Appreciation: Aesthetic or Functional evaluation of things, processes and states of affairs (e.g., beautiful/ugly, useful/useless). 5
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude
6
3
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude
Emotion
Ethics
Aesthetics
Affect
Judgement
Appreciation
7
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect • Attitude: Affect – Evaluates an entity, process or state emotionally: • That makes me happy. • This building bores me. • John was happy. – But note: A BORING building is APPRECIATION:REACTION
8
4
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect • Attitude: Affect – Not only coding the writer’s own emotions, but also the emotions of those within the text. Jack Aubrey’s heart had been sealed off – Can be an explicit stated: He was happy. – or can be realised via a statement of the bodily reaction that the emotion causes: He wept.
9
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect: Realisation • Grammatical Realisations of Affect Type
Grammatical Function
Example
Quality
Epithet Attribute Circumstance
a happy man He was sad. He left happily
Process
He liked her. She pleased him He smiled.
Comment
Modal Adjunct
Happily, he won.
Nominalisations
Subject, Object, …
Sadness, Grief, etc.
Process -mental -behavioural
10
5
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect: Kinds • Main subclasses of Affect (from Martin and White) UN/HAPPINESS
Behaviour
Disposition
unhappiness -misery -antipathy (directed)
whimper/cry/wail rubbish/abuse/revile
happiness -cheer -affection
chuckle/laugh/rejoice cheerful/bouant/jubilant shake hands/hug/embrace be fond of/love/adore
IN/SECURITY
Behaviour
down/sad/miserable dislike/hate/abhor
Disposition
insecurity -disquiet -surprise
restless/twitching/shaking uneasy/anxious/freaked out start/cry out/faint started/jolted/staggered
security -confidence -trust
declare/assert/proclaim delegate/commit/entrust
together/confident/assured comfortable with/confident in 11 /trusting
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect: Kinds DIS/SATISFACTION dissatisfaction -ennui -displeasure satisfaction -interest -pleasure
Behaviour fidget/yawn/tune out caution/scold/castigate
Disposition flat/stale/jaded cross with/angry with/furious bored with/sick of/fed up with
attentive/busy/industrious involved/absorbed/engrossed pat on the back satisfied/pleased/chuffed /compliment/reward impressed/charmed/thrilled
12
6
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect: Exercise • Identify the Attitude tokens in the following, and their type The Prime Minister surprised the House of Commons yesterday by admitting that he was not happy with the policy, which has caused outrage among countryside groups, MPs and members of the public. Mr Cameron has been shocked by the hostility to the sell-off of state-owned forestry and has admitted defeat.
13
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Affect: Exercise
Red: negative Blue: positive Italic: dis/satisfaction Bold: un/happiness Underline: in/security
• Identify the Attitude tokens in the following, and their type The Prime Minister surprised the House of Commons yesterday by admitting that he was not happy with the policy, which has caused outrage among countryside groups, MPs and members of the public. Mr Cameron has been shocked by the hostility to the sell-off of state-owned forestry and has admitted defeat.
14
7
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Judgement Judgement: Evaluates human behaviour ethically: – Morally: – Legally:
• language which criticises or praises, which condemns or applauds the behaviour (the actions, deeds, sayings, beliefs, motivations etc. of human individuals and groups). E.g., “this is a miserly administration” (they don’t spend money) 15
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Judgement Judgement: Two types: Social Esteem
Social Sanction
• ‘normality’ (how unusual someone is) • ‘capacity’ (how capable they are) • ‘tenacity’ (how resolute they are)
• ‘veracity’ (how truthful someone is) • ‘propriety’ (how ethical someone is).
Tends to be policed in the oral culture, through chat, gossip, jokes and stories of various kinds.
Most often codified in writing, as edicts, decrees, rules and laws about how to behave as surveilled by church and state – with penalties and punishments as levers against those not complying with the code.
Sharing values in this area is critical to the Sharing values in this area underpins formation of social networks (family, civic duty and religious observances. friends, colleagues, etc.). 16
8
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Appreciation Attitude: Appreciation • Evaluates things, processes and states of affairs aesthetically.
– Reaction: • Impact: • Quality:
Did it grab me? Did I like it? (it is nice, ugly, etc.)
– Composition: • Balance: Did it hang together? • Complexity: Was it hard to follow? • Valuation: Was it worthwhile? 17
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Appreciation • Distinguishing from Judgement: – Judgement if assessing human behaviour: – Appreciation if assessing the human itself: the assessment does not directly focus on the correctness or incorrectness of behaviour, but rather the appearance of the person
18
9
20/12/2011
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Appreciation Distinguishing from Affect: • Affect construes the emotions someone feels, • Appreciation ascribes objects the power to trigger such feelings: – AFFECT: “I find this building boring” – APPRECIATION: “It’s an extremely BORING building – AFFECT: “The view depresses me” – APPRECIATION: “A DEPRESSING sight met our eyes” – AFFECT: “The song bought tears to my eyes” – APPRECIATION: “A SAD song” • (but Affect: “A sad man”) 19
6. Appraisal Theory 6.3 Attitude: Summary Summary • Judgement and Appreciation talk about qualities of entities or behaviour (he is good, it is boring, …) • Judgement: Social qualities • Appreciation: Aesthetic qualities • Affect concerns someone’s reaction to the thing, behaviour or event (He pleases me, I am bored of your talk)
20
10
