Professional Genres from an Interpersonal Perspective

This volume brings together contributions focused on, and shaped by, two areas of linguistic research: genre analysis and the interpersonal component of language and discourse. It explores the interplay and interaction of genre and the interpersonal component, revealing potential connections and interdependencies between genre conventions and the realisation of interpersonal meanings, viewed from the perspective of the systemic functional approach to language and discourse analysis. The contributions focus on a variety of aspects of the interpersonal in selected genres of professional discourse, including not only communication among professionals, but also genres produced by professionals to address non-specialists.

The volume consists of nine chapters grouped into three sections, guiding readers through four major discourse domains, namely media discourse, academic discourse, institutional discourse, and promotional discourse. Institutional and promotional discourses are combined in a single section, reflecting the hybridism of the majority of the genres under investigation here: genres of institutional discourse typically exhibit features akin to advertising, not only presenting the institutions in terms of the scope of their activities and services, but also serving a clear promotional purpose. The studies document how omnipresent, varied and plentiful the strategies of intersubjective positioning are, and how significant their position in genres and discourses invariably is. The social and cultural grounding of genres requires them to be conventional, yet it also ensures their flexibility, continuous development and change—qualities which make genres a permanent challenge and inspiration for research and discussion.