A Systemic-functional Approach to a Variety of Discourse:
An Illustration of Genre and Register in British National Newswriting
María José González Rodríguez
Universidad de La Laguna
The language of newspapers is usually explored by linguists because it is undoubtedly the most widely genre read in Western countries. Systemic linguistics provides useful tools for analyzing newswriting, identifying grammatical and lexical elements that are functional for achieving particular purposes in media discourse. The aim of this study is to explore to what extent situational and cultural context determines the linguistic features used in British national newswriting. More specifically, through a systemic functional approach to language, we illustrate how the most distinctive feature of news discourse, the lead, is itself structured for a particular use and how register variables impact into that language use.
María José González es graduada en Filología (sección germánica-inglés) y Doctora en Filología Inglesa por la Universidad de La Laguna (Tenerife, Islas Canarias). En la actualidad imparte docencia de Lengua Inglesa y Análisis del Discurso en esta universidad. Su línea de investigación se centra en el área de la Lingüística Aplicada, el Análisis del Discurso y Sociolingüística, campos en los que ha publicado numerosos artículos y libros. María José González Rodríguez has a degree in English Philology and a PhD in English from the University of La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). She is currently teaching English Language and Discourse Analysis at the University of La Laguna. Her research focuses on the field of applied linguistics, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics, fields in which she has published numerous articles and books.
ISBN 9783862886784. LINCOM Studies in Communication 12. 39pp. 2015.
