ABSTRACT |
This paper outlines a methodological approach based on a combination of
lexico-grammatical and discourse-semantics strata in order to deal with
the analysis of the concept of social inequality. Martin’s (1992)
statements concerning the relevance of participants on a
three-dimensional scale offer the parameters for the examination of
social inequality. However, an exploration of Martin’s ideas reveals how
his discourse-semantics paradigms still remain mainly lexico-grammatical
and how the seemingly correspondence between these discourse systems and
Halliday’s (1994) metafunctions on a lexico-grammatical level has to be
questioned. As this methodological proposal illustrates, establishing
connections between theoretical statements and methods of analysis
represents a valuable resource to rediscover systemic grammar in terms
of its close links with critical discourse analysis and to pose the
question as to whether or not we are taking full advantage of what
systemicists suggest.
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