Phil, I struggle with Appraisal Analysis. I too appreciate what it makes
possible in terms of surveying the landscape of discourse -- providing a
typology of the sort of interpersonal meanings set up by different genres.
But Appraisal Analysis doesn't escape what Jay critiqued as the limitation
of categorial analysis for dealing with affect, &, I'd add, judgement.
Some problems invite analysis, murder by dissection, that achieves clean
slices. Others invite us to consider how we might have sliced the body
otherwise -- try cutting it up this way; no, over here; how about that way
--- these more perspectival issues lead us to make a mush of the flesh or to
withhold the knife.... sorry not to explore this point with an example but I
have to get on with real work.
judy
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