Presenting Unsupported Claims As A Survey: Status & Discourse Semantics

Martin (1992: 529):

Table 7.10. Aspects of the realisation of unequal status
Unequal status non-reciprocity [grammar foregrounded]	dominate	defer
discourse semantics	negotiation:
	primary knower	primary actor
	initiating	responding
	challenging	tracking
	[not anticipate]	[anticipate]
	turn controlling	turn respecting
	initiate chains	elaborate chains (pronominal)
	initiate strings	elaborate strings (repetition)

Blogger Comments:

[1] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of "primary knower" construes the tenor feature of 'dominate', whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of "primary actor" construes the tenor feature of 'defer'.

The terms "primary knower" and "primary actor" are categorisations of rôles played by speakers and addressees.  That is, they are features of tenor, not discourse semantics.  The confusion is thus one of stratification.

[2] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of 'initiating' construes the tenor feature of 'dominate', whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of 'responding' construes the tenor feature of 'defer'.

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• the initiating moves of a journalist interviewing a political leader are claimed to construe the tenor feature 'dominate', whereas
• the responding moves of the interviewed political leader are claimed to construe the tenor feature 'defer'.

Moreover, the alignment of primary actor with 'responding' moves is inconsistent with Martin's model of negotiation. Martin (1992: 48):

The primary knower is defined as the person "who already knows the information" (Berry 1981: 126) and the primary actor as the person who "is actually going to carry out the action" (Berry 1981: 23).  Exchanges can be initiated by either party;

[3] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of "turn controlling" construes the tenor feature of 'dominate', whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of "turn respecting" construes the tenor feature of 'defer'.

The terms "turn controlling" and "turn respecting" are categorisations of the behaviour of speakers and addressees.  That is, they are not features of discourse semantics.

[4] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of "initiate chains" construes the tenor feature of 'dominate', whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of "elaborate chains (pronominal)" construes the tenor feature of 'defer'.

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• a reference chain initiated by a child when talking to a teacher is claimed to construe the tenor feature 'dominate', whereas
• elaborations of that reference chain by the teacher are claimed to construe the tenor feature 'defer'.

[5] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of "initiate strings" construes the tenor feature of 'dominate', whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of "elaborate strings (repetition)" construes the tenor feature of 'defer'.

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• a lexical string initiated by a child when talking to a teacher is claimed to construe the tenor feature 'dominate', whereas
• elaborations of that lexical string by the teacher are claimed to construe the tenor feature 'defer'.