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Article In:
Language, Context and Text
Vol. 6:2 (2024) ► pp.404–431

The linguistic construal of extreme behaviour

Hyperactivity-impulsivity in family and teaching communities

| University of Nottingham, England
Teaching and family communities usually have an active role in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity-Impulsivity Disorder diagnosis in childhood. Examining the construal of hyperactivity-impulsivity in teaching guidelines and online parental exchanges can elucidate common lay understandings of the trait. The study considers transitivity, with a focus on Relational and Behavioural clauses, lexical metaphors and appraisals. The linguistic descriptions have a potential to assist medical specialists in interpreting evidence presented by teaching and family communities in the complex task of diagnosing ADHD, facilitating communication and explaining the strategies used to avoid potentially stigmatising descriptions. The analysis supports the suitability of distinguishing Behavioural processes in transitivity and traces a parallelism between the metaphorical descriptions of extreme behaviour and those traditionally reported for strong emotions.
Keywords: ADHD, hyperactivity-impulsivity, transitivity , behavioural processes, relational processes, lexical metaphor, appraisal
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.ADHD and hyperactivity-impulsivity
  • 3.Systemic functional linguistics, metaphors and control
    • 3.1The linguistic construal of experience and a note on Behavioural processes
    • 3.2SFL, metaphor and interpersonal meaning
    • 3.3A note on ADHD and control-related lexical metaphors
  • 4.Data and methodology
  • 5.Construal of extreme behaviour
    • 5.1Overview
    • 5.2Relational clauses
      • 5.2.1Defining hyperactive-impulsive behaviour
      • 5.2.2Reporting typical characterisations
      • 5.2.3Regular behaviours as character attributes and possessions
    • 5.3Behavioural clauses: Absence of self-direction and excessive activity
      • 5.3.1Erratic and excessive behaviour
      • 5.3.2Lack of behavioural control
  • 6.Concluding discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
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