9 - Grammar and Genre

Summary

Chapter 9 of Discourse Syntax (Grammar and Genre) deals with patterns of English grammar as tied to the situational settings of a register or the conventions of a genre. It notes that a feature of grammar, such as the passive voice in academic discourse, may either be pervasive in some as compared to other registers, or that it can be typical, like a hashtag in tweets. The chapter also refers to the modality of the discourse situation and distinguishes between conceptually oral and written language. For a written genre, it discusses the scientific abstract and the various grammatical forms of expressing agentivity that typically occur in it. It also examines the way in which scientific genres show a condensation of information through syntactic complexity, particularly within the noun phrase, and how to study that type of complexity based on a sample of attestations retrieved from an electronic corpus. The chapter also discusses digital genres and the use of hashtags in discourse on social media platforms as well as the “because X” construction as a characteristic case of linguistic innovation within that medium.