Discourse analysis of biblical Hebrew texts : a stylistics based on systemic linguistics for textual analysis
The thesis is written against a fairly recent background of dispute and acrimony centring on the analysis and interpretation of secular texts using either the long-established, literary-critical approach, or the newer, stylistics approach based on modern linguistics. Linguistic stylistics seeks to relate the observations of literary criticism rigorously to the linguistic infra-structure. The thesis sets out to test a form of stylistics based on systemic linguistics, a linguistics originating with J.R. Firth and developed especially by M.A.K. Halliday. It is ideally suited to the interpretation of all kinds of texts, because it is based on a semanticized grammar, i.e. it relates grammar to meaning and to social context and use. The thesis explores how the language of a text constructs meaning, and stylistics is offered as a methodology to evaluate the detailed data of linguistic analysis and to articulate the relationship between the given of a text and the intuitions of the reader. It does not eschew polysemy, which is of the very nature of texts, especially literary ones, and a major constituent in the pleasure of reading, but explores the limits set by the language to interpretation. I have applied it to
Payne, Geoffrey
Discourse analysis of biblical Hebrew texts : a stylistics based on systemic linguistics for textual analysis. The thesis is written against a fairly recent background of dispute and acrimony centring on the analysis and interpretation of secular texts using either the long-established, literary-critical approach, or the newer, stylistics approach based on modern linguistics. Linguistic stylistics seeks to relate the observations of literary criticism rigorously to the linguistic infra-structure. The thesis sets out to test a form of stylistics based on systemic linguistics, a linguistics originating with J.R. Firth and developed especially by M.A.K. Halliday. It is ideally suited to the interpretation of all kinds of texts, because it is based on a semanticized grammar, i.e. it relates grammar to meaning and to social context and use. The thesis explores how the language of a text constructs meaning, and stylistics is offered as a methodology to evaluate the detailed data of linguistic analysis and to articulate the relationship between the given of a text and the intuitions of the reader. It does not eschew polysemy, which is of the very nature of texts, especially literary ones, and a major constituent in the pleasure of reading, but explores the limits set by the language to interpretation. I have applied it to
discourse_analysis biblical_hebrew text stylistics base systemic linguistics textual_analysis write fairly recent background dispute centre analysis_interpretation secular text use either long_established literary critical new stylistics base modern_linguistics linguistic stylistics seek relate observation literary_criticism rigorously linguistic structure set_test form stylistics base systemic linguistics linguistics originate develop especially halliday ideally suit interpretation kind texts base grammar relates grammar mean social_context use explores language text construct mean stylistics offer evaluate detail data linguistic_analysis articulate relationship give text intuition reader eschew polysemy nature text especially literary one_major constituent pleasure reading explore limit set language interpretation apply