Cover not available
Part of
Dialogicity in Written Specialised Genres
Edited by Luz Gil-Salom and Carmen Soler-Monreal
[Dialogue Studies 23] 2014
► pp. 87–112

Chapter 3. Multivoiced interaction in English and Italian academic review discourse

A cross-cultural perspective

| University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

The study presented in this chapter is based on an analysis of historical book review articles in English and Italian and investigates the way the genre across national academic cultures represents the typical discursive procedures through the activity of the reviewer and of other voices in the texts. The analysis reveals interesting linguistic features which can shed light on the dialogic and argumentative dimension of the genre under examination. As a result of the analysis carried out, it emerges that both English and Italian historical book review articles are characterised by a plurality of textual voices involved in argumentative dialogue with the reviewer – reviewed book author, discourse community, reader. These voices are powerfully active in the interaction and become the reviewer’s partners in a scientific ‘conversation’.

Published online: 10 July 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.23.05dia
References
Bakhtin, Mikhail M
1981 “Discourse in the novel”. In The Dialogic Imagination, Michael Holquist (ed), 259–422. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Bazerman, Charles
1988 Shaping Written Knowledge. The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Billig, Michael
1991 Ideology and Opinions: Studies in Rhetorical Psychology. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Bondi, Marina
1999 English across Genres: Language Variation in the Discourse of Economics. Modena: Il Fiorino.Google Scholar
2004 “ ‘If you think this sounds very complicated, you are correct’: Awareness of cultural difference in specialized discourse”. In Intercultural Aspects of Specialized Discourse, Maurizio Gotti and Christopher Candlin (eds), 53–78. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
2005 “Metadiscursive practices in academic discourse: Variation across genres and disciplines”. In Dialogue within Discourse Communities, Metadiscursive Perspectives on Academic Genres, Julia Bamford and Marina Bondi (eds), 3–28. Tübingen: Niemeyer. 
 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2007a “Authority and expert voices in the discourse of history”. In Language and Discipline Perspectives on Academic Discourse, Kjersti Fløttum (ed), 66–88. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
2007b “Historical research articles in English and in Italian: A cross-cultural analysis of self-reference in openings”. In Lexical Complexity: Theoretical Assessment and Translational Perspectives, Marcella Bertuccelli Papi, Gloria Cappelli, and Silvia Masi (eds), 65–83. Pisa: Edizioni Plus.Google Scholar
2009 “Polyphony in academic discourse. A cross-cultural perspective on historical discourse”. In Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Academic Discourse, Eija Suomela-Salmi and Fred Dervin (eds), 83–108. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John ­Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012a “Voice in textbooks: Between exposition and argument”. In Stance and Voice in Written Academic Genres, Ken Hyland and Carmen Sancho Guinda (eds), 101–115. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
2012b “Historians at work: Reporting frameworks in English and Italian book review articles”. In Academic Evaluation: Review Genres in University Settings, Ken Hyland and Giuliana Diani (eds), 179–196. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Bondi, Marina, and Silver, Marc S
2004 “Textual voices. A cross-disciplinary study of attribution in academic discourse”. In Evaluation in Spoken and Written Academic Discourse, Laurie Anderson and Julia Bamford (eds), 121–141. Rome: Officina Edizioni.Google Scholar
Bondi, Marina, and Mazzi, Davide
2009 “Writing history: Argument, narrative and point of view”. In Analizando el Discurso. Homenaje a Adriana Bolívar, Martha Shiro, Paola ­Bentivoglio and Frances de Erlich (eds), 611–626. Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela.Google Scholar
Breigeva, Kjersti R., Dahl, Trine, and Fløttum, Kjersti
(eds) 2002 “Traces of self and others in research articles. A comparative pilot study of English and Norwegian research articles in medicine, economics and linguistics”. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 12 (2): 218–239. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Calaresu, Emilia M
2000 Il Discorso Riportato: Una Prospettiva Testuale. Modena: Il Fiorino.Google Scholar
Caldas-Coulthard, Carmen R
1994 “On reporting reporting: The representation of speech in factual and factional narratives”. In Advances in Written Text Analysis, Malcolm Coulthard (ed), 295–308. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Casanave, Christine P
2004 Controversies in Second Language Writing: Dilemmas and Decisions in Research and Instruction. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Charles, Maggie
2006 “Phraseological patterns in reporting clauses used in citation: A corpus-based study of theses in two disciplines”. English for Specific Purposes 25 (3): 310–331. 
 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, Herbert H., and Gerrig, Richard J
1990 “Quotations as demonstrations”. Language 66 (4): 764–805. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coffin, Caroline
1996 Exploring Literacy in School History. Sydney: Metropolitan East Disadvantaged School Program, Erskineville, NSW.Google Scholar
1997 “Constructing and giving value to the past: An investigation into secondary school history”. In Genres and Institutions: Social Processes in the Workplace and School, Frances Christie and James R. Martin (eds), 196–230. London: Pinter.Google Scholar
2006 Historical Discourse. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Connor, Ulla
1996 Contrastive Rhetoric. Cross-cultural Aspects of Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002 “New directions in contrastive Rhetoric”. TESOL Quarterly 36 (4): 493–510. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2004 “Intercultural rhetoric research: Beyond texts”. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 3 (4): 291–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coulmas, Florian
1986 Direct and Indirect Speech. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. 
 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dahl, Trine
2004 “Textual metadiscourse in research articles: A marker of national culture or of academic discipline?” Journal of Pragmatics 36 (10): 1807–1825. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Diani, Giuliana
2004 “A genre-based approach to analysing academic review articles”. In Academic Discourse, Genre and Small Corpora, Marina Bondi, Laura Gavioli and Marc Silver (eds), 105–126. Rome: Officina Edizioni.Google Scholar
2007 “The representation of evaluative and argumentative procedures: Examples from the academic book review article”. Textus 20 (1): 37–56.Google Scholar
2009 “Reporting and evaluation in English book review articles: A cross-­disciplinary study”. In Academic Evaluation: Review Genres in University Settings, Ken Hyland and Giuliana Diani (eds), 87–104. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Ducrot, Oswald
1984 “Esquisse d’une théorie polyphonique de l’énonciation”. In Le Dire et le Dit, Oswald Ducrot (ed), 171–233. Paris: Minuit.Google Scholar
Fløttum, Kjersti
2003 “Bibliographical references and polyphony in research articles”. In Academic Discourse. Multidisciplinary Approaches, Kjersti Fløttum and François Rastier (eds), 97–119. Oslo: Novus Press.Google Scholar
2005 “The self and the others: Polyphonic visibility in research articles”. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 15 (1): 29–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2007 Language and Discipline Perspectives on Academic Discourse. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Fløttum, Kjersti, and Rastier, François
(eds) 2003 Academic Discourse. Multidisciplinary Approaches. Oslo: Novus Press.Google Scholar
Fløttum, Kjersti, Dahl, Trine, and Kinn, Torodd
2006 Academic Voices. Amsterdam: John ­Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fløttum, Kjersti, Kinn, Torodd, and Dahl, Trine
2006 “ ‘We now report on…’ versus ‘let us now see how…’: Author roles and interaction with readers in research articles”. In Academic Discourse across Disciplines, Ken Hyland and Marina Bondi (eds), 203–224. Bern: Peter Lang. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gea-Valor, Maria-Lluïsa
2010 “The emergence of the author’s voice in book reviewing: A contrastive study of academic vs. non-academic discourse”. In Constructing Interpersonality: Multiple Perspectives on Written Academic Genres, Rosa Lorés-Sanz, Pilar Mur-Dueñas and Enrique Lafuente-Millán (eds), 117–135. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Giannoni, Davide S., and Maci, Stefania M
. (eds) 2008 Identity Traits in English Academic Discourse.Special issue of Linguistica e Filologia 27.Google Scholar
Gotti, Maurizio
(ed) 2012 Academic Identity Traits. A Corpus-Based Investigation. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Groom, Nicholas
2005 “Pattern and meaning across genres and disciplines: An exploratory study”. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 4 (3): 257–277. 
 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hunston, Susan
2000 “Evaluation and the planes of discourse. Status and value in persuasive texts”. In Evaluation in Text: Authorial Stance and the Construction of Discourse, Susan Hunston and Geoff Thompson (eds), 176–207. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Harwood, Nigel
2005 “ ‘We do not seem to have a theory… the theory I present here attempts to fill this gap’: Inclusive and exclusive pronouns in academic writing”. Applied Linguistics 26 (3): 343–375. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, Ken
1999 “Academic attribution: Citation and the construction of disciplinary knowledge”. Applied Linguistics 20 (3): 341–367. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2000 Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
2001a “Humble servants of the discipline? Self-mention in research articles”. English for Specific Purposes 20 (3): 207–226. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2001b “Bringing in the reader: Addressee features in academic articles”. Written Communication 18 (4): 549–574. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002a “Authority and invisibility: Authorial identity in academic writing”. Journal of Pragmatics 34 (8): 1091–1112. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002b “Directives: Argument and engagement in academic writing”. Applied Linguistics 23 (2): 215–239. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2005 Metadiscourse. Exploring Interaction in Writing. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
2008 “Disciplinary voices: Interactions in research writing”. English Text Construction 1 (1): 5–22. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, Ken, and Bondi, Marina
(eds) 2006 Academic Discourse across Disciplines. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Hyland, Ken, and Diani, Giuliana
(eds) 2009 Academic Evaluation. Review Genres in University Settings. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Hyland, Ken, and Sancho Guinda, Carmen
(eds) 2012 Stance and Voice in Written Academic Genres. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Janssen, Theo, and Wurff van der, Wim
1996 Reported Speech. Forms and Functions of the Verbs. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuhn, Deanna
1992 “Thinking as argument”. Harvard Educational Review 62 (2): 155–178.Google Scholar
Kuo, Chih-Hua
1999 “The use of personal pronouns: Role relationships in scientific journal articles”. English for Specific Purposes 18 (2): 121–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ivanič, Roz, and Camps, David
2001 “ ‘I am how I sound’: Voice as self-representation in L2 writing”. Journal of Second Language Writing 10 (1–2): 3–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lorés Sanz, Rosa
2009 “(Non-)critical voices in the reviewing of history discourse: A cross-cultural study of evaluation”. In Academic Evaluation. Review Genres in University Settings, Ken Hyland and Giuliana Diani (eds), 143–160. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Lucy, John A
1993 Reflexive Language. Reported Speech and Metapragmatics. Cambridge: ­Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Matsuda, Paul K., and Tardy, Christine M
2007 “Voice in academic writing: The rhetorical construction of author identity in blind manuscript review”. English for Specific Purposes 26 (2): 235–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mauranen, Anna
1993a “Contrastive ESP rhetoric: Metatext in Finish-English economics texts”. English for Specific Purposes 12 (1): 3–22. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1993b Cultural Differences in Academic Rhetoric. A Textlinguistic Study. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
2001 “Descriptions or explanations? Some methodological issues in contrastive rhetoric”. In Academic Writing in Context, Martin Hewings (ed), 43–54. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press.Google Scholar
Mizzau, Marina
1994 “La finzione del discorso riportato”. In Fra Conversazione e Discorso. L’Analisi dell’Interazione Verbale, Franca Orletti (ed), 247–254. Rome: La Nuova Italia Scientifica.Google Scholar
Mortara Garavelli, Bice
1985 La Parola d’Altri. Palermo: Sellerio.Google Scholar
Myers, Greg
1989 “The pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles”. Applied Linguistics 10 (1): 1–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poos, Deanna, and Simpson, Rita
2002 “Cross-disciplinary comparison of hedging. Some findings for the Michigan corpus of academic spoken English”. In Using Corpora to Explore Linguistic Variation, Randi Reppen, Susan M. Fitzmaurice and Douglas Biber (eds), 3–23. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plantin, Christian
2005 L’Argumentation: Histoire, Théories et Perspectives. Paris: PUF.Google Scholar
Poppi, Franca
2004 “Pragmatic implications of the use of ‘we’ as a receiver-including and receiver-excluding pronoun”. In Understanding and Misunderstanding in Dialogue, Karin Aijmer (ed), 229–242. Tübingen: Niemeyer.Google Scholar
Roulet, Eddy, Auchlin, Antoine, Mœschler, Jacques, Rubattel, Christian, and Schelling, ­Marianne
(eds) 1985 L’Articulation du Discours en Français Contemporain. Berne: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Samraj, Betty
2002 “Introductions in research articles: Variations across disciplines”. English for Specific Purposes 21 (1): 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scott, Mike
2008 WordSmith Tools. Version 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shaw, Philip
1992 “Reasons for the correlation of voice, tense and sentence function in reporting verbs”. Applied Linguistics 13 (3): 302–319. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Silver, Marc S., and Bondi, Marina
2004 “Weaving voices. A study of article openings in historical discourse”. In Academic Discourse. Linguistic Insights into Evaluation, Gabriella Del Lungo and Elena Tognini Bonelli (eds), 141–160. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Stati, Sorin
1994 “Passive moves in argumentation”. In The Syntax of Sentences and Text, Světla Čmejrková and František Stícha (eds), 259–271. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 
 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002 Principi di Analisi Argomentativa: Retorica, Logica, Linguistica. Bologna: Pàtron Editore.Google Scholar
Swales, John M
1990 Genre Analysis. English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Swales, John M., Ahmad, Ummul K., Chang, Yu-Ying, Chavez, Daniel, Dressen, Dacia F., and Seymour, Ruth
1998 “Consider this: The role of imperatives in scholarly writing”. Applied Linguistics 19 (1): 97–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tang, Ramona, and John, Suganthi
1999 “The ‘I’ identity: Exploring writer identity in student academic writing through the first person pronoun”. English for Specific Purposes18 (S1): S23–S39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Sarah, and Hawes, Thomas P
1994 “Reporting verbs in medical journal articles”. English for Specific Purposes 13 (2): 129–148. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Geoff
1996 “Voices in the text: Discourse perspectives on language reports”. Applied Linguistics 17 (4): 501–530. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Geoff, and Ye, Yiyun
1991 “Evaluation in the reporting verbs used in academic papers”. Applied Linguistics 12 (4): 363–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Paul
2000 “Citation practices in PhD theses”. In Rethinking Language Pedagogy from a Corpus Perspective, Lou Burnard and Tony McEnery (eds), 91–102. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
2005 “Aspects of identification and position in intertextual reference in PhD theses”. In Strategies in Academic Discourse, Elena Tognini Bonelli and Gabriella Del Lungo (eds), 31–50. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ventola, Eija, and Mauranen, Anna
(eds) 1996 Academic Writing. Intercultural and Textual Issues. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Walton, Douglas N
1989 Informal Logic. A Handbook for Critical Argumentation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Zwicky, Arnold M
1971 “On reported speech”. In Studies in Linguistic Semantics, Charles J. ­Fillmore and Terence D. ­Langendoen (eds), 73–77. New York: Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Ibáñez O., Romualdo & Fernando Moncada N.
2017. ElResumende artículos de investigación científica. Spanish in Context 14:2 ► pp. 273 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 may 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.