Evaluative Language in Conclusion Sections of Vietnamese Linguistic Research Articles
Main Article Content
Abstract
Evaluative language has recently been of great concern as, according to Hunston, “evaluation is one of the most basic and important functions of language worth studying deeply” (2011, p. 11). However, the term seems to be rather new in Vietnamese linguistic community. In order to shed further light on the use of evaluative language in Vietnamese, this article is to examine how evaluative language is exploited by Vietnamese linguists in the conclusion section of their research articles. This study combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse the ways explicit evaluative language is used in the corpus of 30 Vietnamese empirical research articles in three reputable journals of linguistics in Vietnam. More specifically, the study investigates various evaluative acts classified in the three systems of the Appraisal Framework (by Martin & White, 2005) including Attitude, Engagement and Graduation. Findings are expected to show outstanding patterns of evaluative language used in this section of linguistic research articles such as the salient occurrence of certain evaluative domains or sub-systems, etc. Results of the study are hoped to be of reference for article writers as well as to enrich literature materials for the fields of evaluative language and academic writing pedagogy in Vietnam.
Article Details
Keywords
evaluative language, conclusion, attitude, engagement, graduation
References
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Liu, X. (2010). An application of appraisal theory to teaching college English reading in China. Journal of Language Teaching And Research, 1(2), 133-135.
Marcinkowski, M. (2009). Persuasive features in academic writing. Topics in Linguistics, (4), 68-72.
Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave/ Macmillan.
Mazlum, F., & Afshin, S. (2016). Evaluative language in political speeches: A case study of Iranian and American presidents’ speeches. International Journal of Linguistics, 8(4), 166-183. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v8i4.9398
McEnery, T., & Kifle, N. A. (2002). Epistemic modality in argumentative essays of second-language writers. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 182-195). Pearson Education Limited.
Myskow, G. (2017). Surveying the historical landscape: The evaluative choice of history textbooks. Functional Linguistics, 4(7), 1-15.
Myskow, G. (2018). Changes in attitude: Evaluative language in secondary school and university history textbooks. Journal of Linguistics and Education, 43, 53-63.
Ngo, T. B. T. (2013). The deployment of the language of evaluation in English and Vietnamese spoken discourse [PhD thesis, University of New England]. https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/16973
Nguyễn, T. H. T. (2018). Đối chiếu phương tiện rào đón trong văn bản khoa học tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh [A contrastive analysis of hedges in Vietnamese and English scientific writing] [Doctoral dissertation, Graduate academy of Social sciences].
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.
Taboada, M., & Carretero, M. (2010, September 30-October 2). Labelling evaluative language in English and Spanish: The case of attitude in consumer reviews [Conference presentation]. The 6th international contrastive linguistics conference, Berlin.
Tucker, P. (2003). Evaluation in the art-historical research article. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2(4), 291-312.
White, P. R. R. (2002). Appraisal - the language of evaluation and stance. In J. Verschueren, J. Östman, J. Blommaert & C. Bulcaen (Eds.), The handbook of pragmatics (pp. 1-27). John Benjamins.
Wu, S. M. (2005). Investigating evaluative language in undergraduate argumentative essays [PhD Thesis, National University of Singapore]. ScholarBank@NUS Repository.
Bang, M.-H., & Shin. S-I. (2012). A corpus-based study of green discourse in the South Korean press in comparison with the US press. Sociolinguistics, 20(1), 79-110.
Bang, M.-H., & Shin. S-I. (2013). Comparing evaluative language in the corpora of South Korean government and NGO documents on environmental issues. Language Research, 49(3), 725-757.
Benson, F., Chik, A., Gao, X., Huang, J., & Wang, W. (2009). Qualitative research in language teaching and learning journals, 1997-2006. The Modern Language Journal, 93, 79-90.
Chen, H. (2010). Contrastive learner corpus analysis of epistemic modality and interlanguage pragmatic competence in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, 17, 27-51. https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jslat/article/id/245/
Coffin, C. (2006). Historical discourse: The language of time, cause and evaluation. Continuum.
Dontcheva-Navratilova, O. (2009). Analyzing genre: The colony text of UNESCO resolutions. Masaryk University.
Đỗ, X. H., & Nguyễn, V. N. (2013). Tựa đề bài báo nghiên cứu ngành ngôn ngữ: Độ dài và kết cấu phổ biến [Titles of linguistic research articles: Popular length and structure]. Journal of Science, Can Tho University, (26), 13-21.
Fryer, D. L. (2013). Exploring the dialogism of academic discourse: Heteroglossic engagement in medical research articles. In G. Andersen & K. Bech (Eds.), English corpus linguistics: Variation in time, space and genre: Selected papers from ICAME 32 (pp. 183-207). Rodopi.
Gabrielatos, C., & McEnery, T. (2005). Epistemic modality in MA dissertations. In F. Olivera & P. Antonio (Eds.), Lengua y sociedad: Investigaciones recientes en lingüística aplicada (pp. 311-331). Universidad de Valladolid.
Gao, Y., Li, L., & Lu, J., (2001). Trends in research methods in applied linguistics: China and the West. English for Specific Purposes, 20, 1-14.
Geng, Y., & Wharton, S. (2016). Evaluative language in discussion sections of doctoral theses: Similarities and differences between L1 Chinese and L1 English writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 22, 80-91.
Giles, D., & Busseniers, P. (2012). Student writers’ use of evaluative language in undergraduate ELT research reports in two Mexican BA programmes. Mextesol Journal, 36(2), 1-8.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold.
Hu, G., & Choo, L. (2015). The impact of disciplinary background and teaching experience on the use of evaluative language in teacher feedback. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 22(3), 329-349.
Hunston, S. (1989). Evaluation in experimental research articles [PhD thesis, University of Birmingham]. https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/912/
Hunston, S. (1994). Evaluation and organization in a sample of written academic discourse. In M. Coulthard (Ed.), Advances in written text analysis (pp. 191-218). Routledge.
Hunston, S. (2011). Corpus approaches to evaluation: Phraseology and evaluative language. Routledge.
Hunston, S., & Sinclair, J. (2000). A local grammar of evaluation. In S. Hunston & G. Thompson (Eds.), Evaluation in text: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse (pp. 75-100). Oxford University Press.
Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2004). Metadiscourse in academic writing: A reappraisal. Applied linguistics, 25, 156-176.
Jalilifar, A., & Savaedi, Y. (2012). They want to eradicate the nation: A cross-linguistic study of the attitudinal language of presidential campaign speeches in the USA and Iran. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 4(2), 59-96. http://www.sid.ir/en/VEWSSID/J_pdf/125320120203.pdf
Khamkhien, T. (2014). Linguistic features of evaluative stance: Findings from research article discussions. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 54-69.
Kochetova, L. A., & Volodchenkova, O. I. (2015). Evaluative language in English job advertisements in diachronic perspective. Review of European studies, 7(11), 292-302.
Kong, K. C. C. (2006). Linguistic resources as evaluators in English and Chinese research articles. Multilingua – Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 25(1-2), 183-216.
Lancaster, Z. (2011). Interpersonal stance in L1 and L2 students’ argumentative writing in Economics: Implications for faculty development in WAC/WID programs. Across the Disciplines, 8(4), 51-76. https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2011.8.4.22
Liu, X. (2010). An application of appraisal theory to teaching college English reading in China. Journal of Language Teaching And Research, 1(2), 133-135.
Marcinkowski, M. (2009). Persuasive features in academic writing. Topics in Linguistics, (4), 68-72.
Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave/ Macmillan.
Mazlum, F., & Afshin, S. (2016). Evaluative language in political speeches: A case study of Iranian and American presidents’ speeches. International Journal of Linguistics, 8(4), 166-183. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v8i4.9398
McEnery, T., & Kifle, N. A. (2002). Epistemic modality in argumentative essays of second-language writers. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 182-195). Pearson Education Limited.
Myskow, G. (2017). Surveying the historical landscape: The evaluative choice of history textbooks. Functional Linguistics, 4(7), 1-15.
Myskow, G. (2018). Changes in attitude: Evaluative language in secondary school and university history textbooks. Journal of Linguistics and Education, 43, 53-63.
Ngo, T. B. T. (2013). The deployment of the language of evaluation in English and Vietnamese spoken discourse [PhD thesis, University of New England]. https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/16973
Nguyễn, T. H. T. (2018). Đối chiếu phương tiện rào đón trong văn bản khoa học tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh [A contrastive analysis of hedges in Vietnamese and English scientific writing] [Doctoral dissertation, Graduate academy of Social sciences].
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.
Taboada, M., & Carretero, M. (2010, September 30-October 2). Labelling evaluative language in English and Spanish: The case of attitude in consumer reviews [Conference presentation]. The 6th international contrastive linguistics conference, Berlin.
Tucker, P. (2003). Evaluation in the art-historical research article. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2(4), 291-312.
White, P. R. R. (2002). Appraisal - the language of evaluation and stance. In J. Verschueren, J. Östman, J. Blommaert & C. Bulcaen (Eds.), The handbook of pragmatics (pp. 1-27). John Benjamins.
Wu, S. M. (2005). Investigating evaluative language in undergraduate argumentative essays [PhD Thesis, National University of Singapore]. ScholarBank@NUS Repository.