The Appraisal Stylistic Differences of English Prose: a comparison of English prose between two periods
This study is a tentative attempt of using Appraisal Theory to explore the appraisal stylistic differences of English prose between two periods: the 18th century and the 19th century to the early half of the 20th century. 42 pieces of English prose writings are collected and all the discrete appraisal meanings in them are identified and the relevant statistic work is carried out. The results show that the appraisal stylistic differences consist in the followings aspects. Firstly, within Attitude, there is a decrease of Judgment and an increase of Appreciation and Affect in the second period. Secondly, within Graduation, there is an increase of Soften and a decrease of Sharpen with little variance in Intensification and Quantification. Finally, within Engagement, Proclaim increases under the heading of Contraction on one hand, on the other hand, under the heading of Expansion, both of Entertain and Attribute decrease. It could be said that the present study provides a new perspective for the study of literary genre, especially for English prose.
appraisal theory appraisal stylistic differences English prose
CHEN Gangni
Centre for Functional Linguistics School of Foreign Languages & Literature, Beijing Normal University
国际会议
The 36th International Systemic Functional Congress(第36届国际系统功能语言学大会暨第十一届全国功能语言学研讨会ISFC36)
北京
英文
17-21
2009-07-14（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）