Presenting Unsupported Claims As A Survey: Contact & Lexis

Martin (1992: 532):

A number of the key realisations for involved and uninvolved contact are surveyed below.

Table 7.12. Tenor — Aspects of the realisation of contact
Contact proliferation contraction [phonology foregrounded]	involved	uninvolved
lexis	specialised	core
	technical	non-technical
	slang	standard
	general words	specific words

Blogger Comments:

[1] The claim here is that:

• specialised and technical lexis construes the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• core and non-technical lexis construes the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• the specialised and technical lexis of two particle physicists, meeting for the first time at CERN, is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the core and non-technical lexis of a retired couple who have been married for 60 years is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

[2] The claim here is that:

• slang lexis construes the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• standard lexis construes the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• the slang lexis of labourers, meeting for the first time on a building site, is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the "standard" lexis of a lawyer and her long-time secretary is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

[3] The claim here is that:

• general words construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• specific words construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

This claim can be falsified by a concrete example:

• the general words of biological taxonomists, meeting for the first time at a conference, are claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the specific words of a regularly convened bird-watching club are claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).