AN INVESTIGATION INTO “AFFECT”, “JUDGEMENT” AND “APPRECIATION” IN ENGLISH LECTURES BY NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATES

Abstract

Appraisal Theory is first put forward by linguistic scholars Martin & White in the 1990s and now used worldwide. Appraisal Theory is the development of functional grammar in terms of interpersonal meaning. This study aims at examining the linguistic features of the three sub-categories of “Attitude” namely “Affect”, “Judgement” and “Appreciation”in English Lectures by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (ELNPLs). The data for analysis are 395 samples of ELNPLs collected from the official website of the Nobel Prize in the period from the beginning of the 21st century to 2019. The methods mainly used in this study are qualitative and quantitative combined approaches which include the descriptive methods. This study focuses on analyzing syntactic realizations and semantic features of the three sub-categories “Attitude” in ELNPLs in the light of Appraisal Theory. In terms of the syntactic aspect, the “Attitude” sub-categories can be recognized in various groups in which Nominal Groups and Adjectival Groups are more noticeable than Verbal Groups, Adverbial Groups and Preposition Phrases . In terms of the semantic aspect, the findings obtained from both positive and negative values were shown in ELNPLs; however, the positive values were demonstrated more commonly than the negative ones. With regard to theory, the findings of the study can make a minor contribution to a better understanding of discourse features and language used in ELNPLs. With regard to practice, the findings will provide university students with an insight into the linguistic features of the three sub categories of “Attitude” as well as help to raise their awareness of the important function of evaluative category of “Attitude”.