Appraisal in history

Construals of significance, fortune, and status

Authors

  • Gordon Myskow Keio University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.20869

Keywords:

Appraisal framework, evaluative language, historical discourse, historical significance, history textbooks

Abstract

This article explores issues in applying Martin and White's (2005) Appraisal framework to historical discourse. It outlines several modifications to the existing set of Appraisal tools to account for the following key evaluative aspects of history texts: (1) significance (2) fortune and (3) status. Resources for construing Significance (Salience, Depth (of Impact), Quantity and Distribution) are located in the Appreciation region of the Attitude network. A high/low parameter is proposed to account for how significance is scaled in terms of degree. Resources for construing Fortune and Status are located in the Judgment framework as subcategories of 'Normality'. A 'cline of contentiousness' through the subcategories of Judgment is proposed to account for the gradation of contentiousness from the comparatively low-stakes evaluations of Fortune and Status to the highest-stakes judgments of Veracity and Propriety. Proposed revisions to the Appraisal framework are discussed in connection with key concepts in the literature of historiography.

Author Biography

  • Gordon Myskow, Keio University

    Gordon Myskow is Visiting Assistant Professor at Keio University Department of Law and Political Science. He teaches content-based courses on sociopolitical history to L2 learners and masters-level courses in TESOL. His work has appeared in Journal of English for Academic Purposes, ELT Journal, Linguistics and Education, and Functional Linguistics. He obtained his PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham (UK) and his MA in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University. His current research interests are in discourse analysis of history texts including political speeches, textbooks and student writing. He is also an advisor to the United Nations Association Test of English in Japan.

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Published

2019-01-23

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Myskow, G. (2019). Appraisal in history: Construals of significance, fortune, and status. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 12(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.20869

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