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4 - Interpersonal Grammar in Mandarin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2021

By
Pin Wang
Edited by
J. R. Martin ,
Beatriz Quiroz  and
Giacomo Figueredo
J. R. Martin
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
Beatriz Quiroz
Affiliation:
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Giacomo Figueredo
Affiliation:
Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil
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Summary

This chapter is a text-based study of the enactment of interpersonal meaning in Mandarin, with particular focus on the MOOD system and structure, part of interpersonal grammar that is involved in the realisation of the discourse-semantic system of NEGOTIATION. The data considered is taken from the genres of criminal case courtroom discourse, realised interpersonally by a tenor of unequal social status and lack of reciprocity of linguistic choices among the speakers. The study adopts an axis-oriented trinocular perspective, foregrounding paradigmatic relations as the fundamental principle of linguistic organisation and reasoning about system-structure relations from above, round about and below. The analysis shows that MOOD in Mandarin is not only responsible for negotiating knowledge and action exchanges between moves in dialogue, but also closely interacts with MODALITY and POLARITY systems that are associated with the subsystem ENGAGEMENT of the discourse semantic system APPRAISAL. Therefore a complementary description of Mandarin MOOD is presented with a perspective oriented toward both NEGOTIATION and ENGAGEMENT.

Keywords

interpersonal grammarMandarinMOODNEGOTIATIONENGAGEMENT
Type
Chapter
Information
Interpersonal Grammar
Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory and Description
 , pp. 96 - 129
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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