Presenting Unsupported Claims As A Survey: Contact & Discourse Semantics

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
discourse semantics	dialogue	monologue
	homophoric	endophoric
	implicit conjunction	explicit conjunction

Blogger Comments:

[1] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of 'dialogue' construes the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of 'monologue' construes the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

Leaving aside the difficulty this poses to uninvolved interlocutors trying to converse, the dialogue vs monologue distinction is one of context, not discourse semantics. The confusion is thus along two theoretical dimensions simultaneously: stratification (context vs semantics) and metafunction (interpersonal [tenor] vs textual [mode]).

[2] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of 'homophoric' construes the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of 'endophoric' construes the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

To be clear:

• homophoric reference is the type of exophoric (situational) reference that doesn't depend on the specific situation (Halliday & Hasan 1976: 71), whereas
• endophoric reference is text-internal reference (op. cit.: 33), and includes the types: demonstrative, personal and comparative reference.

(In SFL theory, the cohesive resource of reference is a system of the textual metafunction at the level of lexicogrammar, not discourse semantics.)

The claim can be falsified by concrete examples:

• homophoric reference such as the sun is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• endophoric reference such as the cat I mentioned earlier is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

[3] The claim here is that:

• the discourse semantic feature of 'implicit' conjunction construes the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• the discourse semantic feature of 'explicit' conjunction construes the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).

The claim can be falsified by concrete examples:

• He was a chain smoker — he died of lung cancer is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'involved' contact (a lot of previous contact between interlocutors), whereas
• He was a chain smoker — consequently he died of lung cancer is claimed to construe the tenor feature of 'uninvolved' contact (less previous contact between interlocutors).