'Interpretive genres' in natural history : a socio-cognitive perspective / Yee Chee Leong
This study is an interdisciplinary research that analyses written discourses in natural history through the genre analysis’ lens. Genres are explored and examined by drawing on insights gathered from different disciplines such as linguistics, communication and environmental humanities. Data co...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://pendeta.um.edu.my/client/default/search/results?qu=%27Interpretive+genres%27+in+natural+history+%3A+a+socio-cognitive+perspective+Yee+Chee+Leong&te= http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/3944/1/Title_page%2C_abstract%2C_table_of_contents.pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/3944/2/Full_chapters.pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/3944/3/Appendices_%26_references.pdf |
| Summary: | This study is an interdisciplinary research that analyses written discourses in natural
history through the genre analysis’ lens. Genres are explored and examined by drawing
on insights gathered from different disciplines such as linguistics, communication and
environmental humanities. Data collected comprise a corpus of selected natural history
texts published by the Malaysian Nature Society, Malaysia’s oldest non-governmental
environmental and conservation body. Multiple conceptual and analytical models are
combined to examine these resources from a socio-cognitive perspective: Bhatia’s
(2004) multidimensional and multi-perspective model for professional discourse
analysis and the notion of ‘generic integrity’; Tilden’s (1957) principles of
interpretation; and Leftridge’s (2002) introduction of ‘interpretive writing’ as a distinct
genre. Research methods employed for this study are text analysis and non- and
participatory observations. Findings reveal that a new breed of genre colony known as
‘interpretive genres’ exists among the discourses in natural history. Genres belonging to
this family serve to achieve communicative purposes that are both goal-directed and
pro-social, driven by disciplinary cultures and professional practices of the discourse
community. It seems that ‘interpretive genres’ do not merely communicate facts, but
also convey subtle meanings by making intellectual and emotional connections between
the inherent meanings in natural resources and audience interests and experiences.
Results discussed have practical implications for genre-based pedagogy, professional
training and development, environmental communication and interpretation, as well as
foster nature appreciation through public understanding of ‘interpretive genres’. |
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