Abstract
Negation is a means by which writers take their readers into account, anticipate their expectations and what inferences they may make, and dismiss those which are in conflict with their own. This is a pilot study comparing negation in argumentative writing in English by Swedish advanced learners, British students and professional writers in the British broadsheet press. The findings suggest that Swedish advanced learners use negation to negate interpersonal meanings (i.e. interactional and attitudinal meanings) more frequently than British students, a tendency which can be attributed to a high degree of subjective involvement generally found in Swedish advanced learners‟ essays. In comparison to the professional writers, both categories of student writers use negation less frequently to negate meanings on the content level of their texts. This can be attributed to the difference in the tenor relations which professional and student writers have to their readers.
Highlights
According to Grice‟s cooperation principle, and the first maxim of quantity which states that communicators should “Make your contribution as informative as is required‟ (Grice 1975:45), negative utterances are issued when speakers believe they have caused a proposition which is false to be presupposed by their addressee (Tottie 1982:101)
Texts may be seen as consisting of different levels of meaning, i.e. a propositional information content level, which refers to actions, events, states of affairs or objects in the world portrayed by the text, and a writer-reader level, where the writers interact with their readers by commenting on the writing process itself, explicitly guiding the reader through its structure and organisation or by expressing their opinions and beliefs concerning its informational content
If we compare the samples by the two groups of student writers (SWICLE and Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS)) with each other, we find similar numbers of negations on the content level of their texts
Summary
According to Grice‟s cooperation principle, and the first maxim of quantity which states that communicators should “Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange)‟ (Grice 1975:45), negative utterances are issued when speakers believe they have caused a proposition which is false to be presupposed by their addressee (Tottie 1982:101). There are, a small number of negations (8 instances each in the SWICLE and LOCNESS samples, respectively, and 5 instances in the COMMENT sample) which are explicit denials, i.e. they occur in response to affirmative positions which are expressed in the preceding discourse (Tottie 1991:21-24). These explicit denials set up an internal dialogue within the text itself, with one utterance acting to replace the other. I will go on to compare what kinds of meanings the negations in the corpus samples are used to negate
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
