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ERIC Number: EJ1240406
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1345-8353
EISSN: N/A
Positive Appraisals through English Intensifiers in Café Reviews: A Corpus-Based Study
Techacharoenrungrueang, Suparak
Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, v23 n2 p37-57 2019
This study aims to analyze positive remarks linguistically manifested through English intensifiers, i.e. very and so, and their collocates in café reviews. The appraisal framework primarily focuses on the feelings or attitudes of speakers or writers. It plays a part in providing communicative resources whereby speech functions are performed subjectively, hence indicating involvement with entities that individuals experience. To understand intensifiers and positive remarks, the appraisal framework comes into play. Previous studies also suggest that intensifiers typically raise degrees of emotivity and evaluation. However, implementing a corpus method to this aspect, especially in such a popular genre as food reviews, should receive more attention. The online reviews of cafés in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from Tripadvisor.com were collected and then analyzed with the aid of a software program called AntConc 3.5.8.0 for Windows (64-bit). The results involve syntactic realizations as well as linguistic behaviors of very and so, along with semantico-pragmatic viewpoints of the English intensifiers in carrying positive attitudinal stances towards the cafés. The two intensifiers which are subsumed under the umbrella of GRADUATION are employed to intensify the review writers' feelings or emotions, together with the desirable qualities of owners or staff; food and drinks; prices of food, drinks, and services; and decoration and atmosphere. In this regard, it works with ATTITUDE including AFFECT, JUDGEMENT, and APPRECIATION to increase the volume of positive remarks. This pragmatically reflects a high degree of involvement. Additionally, there are some observations on the metaphorical nature of expressing positive remarks in the review language. The study also provides pedagogical implications on corpus methods in English Language Teaching, i.e. identifying common language patterns, encouraging language learners' exposure to real language data, providing valuable sources for language descriptions (e.g. nature of opinions), and using concordance as a crucial tool for text and genre analysis.
Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. Cheongji National University of Education. Main Bldg #506, 2065 Cheongnam-ro, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28690, Korea. e-mail: paaljournal@gmail.com; Web site: http://paal.kr/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Thailand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A