A Transparently False Claim

Martin (1992: 559):

Not in passing that wave patterns are very commonly reflected in the labelling given to beginning and end stages across genres, reflecting the peaks and troughs of prominence that open and close a text; a number of these are reviewed in Table 7.17.

Table 7.17 Culminative prominence and generic structure

	beginning (initial prominence)	end (final prominence)
Mitchell (1957)	Auctioneer’s Opening	Conclusion
Hasan (1977)	Greeting	Summary ^ Finis
Hasan (1985)	Sale Initiation	Purchase Closure
Hasan (1984)	Initiating Event	Finale
Ventola (1979)	Greeting	Leave-taking ^ Goodbye

Blogger Comment:

As the table demonstrates, this claim is wholly bogus.  Not one of the labels "reflects" the notion of a wave peak or trough.