1887
Volume 15, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1878-9714
  • E-ISSN: 1878-9722
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Different from previous linguistic studies on rhetoric, which primarily concern the ideational semantics and the logic of sentences, this article attempts to deal systematically with the interpersonal semantics of rhetoric by drawing on the comprehensive appraisal framework of systemic functional linguistics (Martin and White 2005) and explores the mechanism of rhetorical persuasion in science communication via appraisal through a case study of the gene-modification (GM) debate in China. It first examines the rhetorical appeals of the subsystems of appraisal and then based on a self-constructed and coded corpus of GM debate discourses, it compares how institutional (the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the Greenpeace Organization) and individual stakeholders (Cui Yongyuan and Fang Zhouzi) of different ideological interests in the GM debate mobilize the interpersonal semantic resources to rhetorical effects to persuade the audience of the safety/danger of the GM technology and products. The analysis reveals that while the opinion leaders choose ‘soft’ persuasion by heavily using affect and judgement resources, the institutions opt for ‘hard’ persuasion by utilizing more appreciation resources. The four parties all prefer contracting resources over expanding resources of engagement, which restricts the space of negotiation. Their communicative motives are interpreted through the lens of the rhetoric theory, and the implications and consequences for science communication in the post-truth era are discussed. Theoretically, the paper contributes to understanding the persuasion mechanism of appraisal and to understanding the science vs. society, and government vs. citizens relationship.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ps.21011.che
2023-04-06
2025-02-16
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Amossy, Ruth
    2009 “The New Rhetoric’s inheritance: Argumentation and discourse analysis.” Argumentation231: 313–324. 10.1007/s10503‑009‑9154‑y
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-009-9154-y [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson, Alison, Stuart Allan, Alan Petersen and Clare Wilkinson
    2005 “The framing of nanotechnologies in the British newspaper press.” Science Communication27 (2): 200–220. 10.1177/1075547005281472
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547005281472 [Google Scholar]
  3. Augoustinos, Martha, Shona Crabb and Richard Shepherd
    2010 “Genetically modified food in the news: Media representations of the GM debate in the UK.” Public Understanding of Science19 (1): 98–114. 10.1177/0963662508088669
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662508088669 [Google Scholar]
  4. Bednarek, Monika and Changpeng Huan
    2018 “Key principles for analyzing appraisal.” Foreign Languages Research, 11: 39–45.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Burke, Kenneth
    1969A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkley, CA: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Cheng, Martha S.
    2008 “Ethos and narrative in online educational chat.” InRhetoric in Detail: Discourse Analyses of Rhetorical Talk and Text, ed. byBarbara Johnstone and Chris Eisenhart, 195–226. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/dapsac.31.13che
    https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.31.13che [Google Scholar]
  7. Cook, Guy, Elisa Pieri and Peter T. Robbins
    2004 “The scientists think and the public feels: Expert perceptions of the discourse of GM food.” Discourse & Society15 (4): 433–449. 10.1177/0957926504043708
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926504043708 [Google Scholar]
  8. Cook, Guy, Peter T. Robbins and Elisa Pieri
    2006 “Words of mass destruction: British newspaper coverage of the genetically modified food debate, expert and non-expert reactions.” Public Understanding of Science151: 3–29. 10.1177/0963662506058756
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506058756 [Google Scholar]
  9. Crowhurst, Marion
    1990 “Teaching and learning the writing of persuasive/argumentative discourse.” Canadian Journal of Education151: 348–359. 10.2307/1495109
    https://doi.org/10.2307/1495109 [Google Scholar]
  10. Fairclough, Norman
    1992Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Halliday, M. A. K.
    1978Language as Social Semiotic. London: Edward Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Halliday, M. A. K., and Christian M. Matthiessen
    2004An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Halmari, Helena and Tuija Virtanen
    2005Persuasion Across Genres: A Linguistic Approach. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 10.1075/pbns.130
    https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.130 [Google Scholar]
  14. Henderson, Alison, C. Kay Weaver and George Cheney
    2007 “Talking ‘facts’: Identity and rationality in industry perspectives on genetic modification.” Discourse Studies9 (1): 9–41. 10.1177/1461445607072105
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445607072105 [Google Scholar]
  15. Higgins, Colin and Robyn Walker
    2012 “Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports.” Accounting Forum361: 194–208. 10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003 [Google Scholar]
  16. Holmgreen, Lise-Lotte and Torben Vestergaard
    2009 “Evaluation and audience acceptance in biotech news texts”. Journal of Pragmatics411: 586–601. 10.1016/j.pragma.2008.06.005
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.06.005 [Google Scholar]
  17. Humphrey, Sally
    2010 “Enacting rhetoric in the civic domain.” English in Australia45 (3): 9–20.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Hyland, Ken
    2000Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. London: Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. 2005 “Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse.” Discourse Studies7 (2): 173–192. 10.1177/1461445605050365
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365 [Google Scholar]
  20. Jenkins, Richard
    2000 “Categorization: Identity, social process and epistemology.” Current Sociology48 (3): 7–25. 10.1177/0011392100048003003
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392100048003003 [Google Scholar]
  21. Kennedy, George A.
    2007Aristotle on Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse (George A. Kennedy, translator). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Kuhn, Thomas S.
    1962The Structure of Scientific Revolution. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Lassen, Inger
    2006 “Is the press release a genre? A study of form and content.” Discourse Studies8 (4): 503–530. 10.1177/1461445606061875
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445606061875 [Google Scholar]
  24. 2008a “Construing hope in gene modification discourse.” InTowards Humane Technologies: Biotechnologies, New Media and Ethics, ed. byNaomi Sunderland, Phil Graham, Peter Isaacs and Bernard McKenna, 133–150. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. 10.1163/9789087904463_011
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087904463_011 [Google Scholar]
  25. 2008b “Commonplaces and social uncertainty: Negotiating public opinion.” Journal of Risk Research11 (8): 1025–1045. 10.1080/13669870802323379
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13669870802323379 [Google Scholar]
  26. Lukin, Annabelle
    2019War and Its Ideologies: A Social-semiotic Theory and Description. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑13‑0996‑0
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0996-0 [Google Scholar]
  27. Maeseele, Pieter
    2015 “Risk conflicts, critical discourse analysis and media discourses on GM crops and food.” Journalism16 (2): 278–297. 10.1177/1464884913511568
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884913511568 [Google Scholar]
  28. Martin, Jeanette R.
    2000 “Beyond exchange: Appraisal systems in English.” InEvaluation in Text: Authorial Stance and the Construction of Discourse, ed. bySusan Hunston and Geoff Thompson, 142–175. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Martin, Jeanette R. and Peter R. White
    2005The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230511910
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230511910 [Google Scholar]
  30. Miller, Carolyn R. and Ashley R. Kelly
    eds. 2017Emerging Genres in New Media Environments. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑40295‑6
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40295-6 [Google Scholar]
  31. Motion, Judy and C. Kay Weaver
    2005 “The epistemic struggle for credibility: Rethinking media relations.” Journal of Communication Management9 (13): 246–255. 10.1108/13632540510621579
    https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540510621579 [Google Scholar]
  32. Murray, Elwood
    1944 “The semantics of rhetoric: A dialogue on public speaking in 1944.” Quarterly Journal of Speech30 (1): 31–41. 10.1080/00335634409380948
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335634409380948 [Google Scholar]
  33. Pérez-Llantada, Carmen
    2012Scientific Discourse and the Rhetoric of Globalization: The Impact of Culture and Language. New York: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Phillips, Louise, Anabela Carvalho and Julie Doyle
    eds. 2012Citizen Voices. Performing Public Participation in Science and Environment Communication. Chicago: Intellect Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Pinho, Fabiana
    2018 On logos, pathos and ethos in judicial argumentation. InAristotle on Emotions in Law and Politics, ed. byLiesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer and Nuno M. M. S. Coelho, 133–155. Cham: Springer. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑66703‑4_7
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66703-4_7 [Google Scholar]
  36. Poortinga, P. Wouter and Nick F. Pidgeon
    2005 “Trust in risk regulation”. Risk Analysis251: 199–209. 10.1111/j.0272‑4332.2005.00579.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0272-4332.2005.00579.x [Google Scholar]
  37. Priest, Susanna H.
    2006 “The public opinion climate for gene technologies in Canada and the United States: Competing voices, contrasting frames.” Public Understanding of Science151: 55–71. 10.1177/0963662506052889
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506052889 [Google Scholar]
  38. Priest, Susanna H. and Ten Eyck, Toby A.
    2003 “News coverage of biotechnology debates.” Society. 40 (6): 29–34. 10.1007/BF02712649
    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02712649 [Google Scholar]
  39. Rogers-Hayden, Tee and Nicholas F. Pidgeon
    2007 “Moving engagement ‘upstream’? Nanotechnologies and the royal society and royal academy of engineering’s inquiry.” Public Understanding of Science161: 345–364. 10.1177/0963662506076141
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506076141 [Google Scholar]
  40. Roper, Juliet, Ted Zorn and C. Kay Weaver
    2004Science Dialogues: The Communicative Properties of Science and Technology Dialogue. Hamilton, N. Z.: University of Waikato.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Schwarze, Steve
    2006 “Environmental melodrama.” Quarterly Journal of Speech92 (3): 239–261. 10.1080/00335630600938609
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630600938609 [Google Scholar]
  42. Suchman, Mark C.
    1995 “Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches.” The Academy of Management Review20 (3): 571–610. 10.2307/258788
    https://doi.org/10.2307/258788 [Google Scholar]
  43. Ten Eyck, Toby A.
    2005 “The media and public opinion on genetics and biotechnology: Mirrors,windows or walls?” Public Understanding of Science141: 305–316. 10.1177/0963662505052888
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662505052888 [Google Scholar]
  44. To, Vinh, Damon Thomas and Angela Thomas
    2020 “Writing persuasive texts: Using grammatical metaphors for rhetorical purposes in an educational context.” Australian Journal of Linguistics40 (2): 139–159. 10.1080/07268602.2020.1732867
    https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2020.1732867 [Google Scholar]
  45. Tourangeau, Wesley
    2018 “Power, discourse, and news media: Examining Canada’s GM Alfalfa protests.” Geoforum911: 117–126. 10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.02.024
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.02.024 [Google Scholar]
  46. White, Peter R.
    2001 Appraisal Website. www.grammatics.com/appraisal/
  47. Yamaguchi, Tomiko
    2007 “Controversy over genetically modified crops in India: Discursive strategies and social identities of farmers.” Discourse Studies9 (1): 87–107. 10.1177/1461445607072107
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445607072107 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.21011.che
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.21011.che
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): appraisal; interpersonal semantics; persuasion; rhetoric; the GM debate
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error