Tone as a Function of Presupposition in Technical and Business Writing

Gespeichert in:

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteiligte: Riley, Kathryn, Parker, Frank
In: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 18, 1988, 4, S. 325-343
veröffentlicht:
SAGE Publications
Medientyp: Artikel, E-Artikel

Nicht angemeldet

weitere Informationen
Umfang: 325-343
ISSN: 0047-2816
1541-3780
DOI: 10.2190/3pqx-nkb6-u72b-v1u3
veröffentlicht in: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Sprache: Englisch
Schlagwörter:
Kollektion: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Inhaltsangabe

<jats:p> Current treatments of tone rely on a hit-list approach in which writers are presented with lists of words to avoid and a few do and don't examples. Such treatments, however, do not constitute a theory of why certain linguistic elements create problems in tone. The linguistic concept of presupposition can be used to construct such a theory. Presuppositions are unstated propositions conveyed by the use of certain linguistic expressions called presupposition triggers. These presupposition triggers may convey the writer's beliefs about the truth of a proposition or the writer's value judgments about a proposition. Many problems in tone can be traced to one of two types of conflict between reader and writer: different beliefs about the truth of an implied proposition, and different attitudes toward a proposition whose truth is agreed upon. </jats:p>