Plain language from the perspective of register theory
| dc.contributor.author | Doyle, Susan | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-13T20:18:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-13T20:18:40Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1995 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 1995 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Linguistics | |
| dc.degree.department | School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis applies a functional approach to "plain language" practice - a practice which assumes that the complexity of legal and bureaucratic language is a problem of form. The thesis argues that the linguistic form of a text is a function of its situational context; texts do not have accidental properties, but vary in form according to their function in a given context. A text analysis using M.A.K. Halliday's theory of functional variation, or register theory, is applied to two versions of an excerpt from the British Columbia Small Claims Act. The analysis demonstrates Halliday's theory of the non-arbitrary relationship between form and function, showing that differences in the situational contexts of the two texts predict their differences in their form. Register theory thus challenges the assumptions of plain language rewriting and suggests a reorientation of plain language guidelines to take into account the functional nature of linguistic form. | |
| dc.format.extent | 97 pages | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17643 | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.title | Plain language from the perspective of register theory | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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