Approaches to Specialized Genres

Approaches to Specialized Genres provides a timely update of the field of genre studies, with 14 cutting-edge contributions split into five sections using and integrating an exceptionally wide variety of methods and perspectives (such as ESP genre research, corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics, ethnographic and multimodal research) to analyse genres in written, spoken, visual and auditory modes across a multiplicity of pedagogic, professional and digital settings. It highlights and illustrates the growing trend of a multiperspective and inter-theoretic approach to genre studies and demonstrates how such methodological rigour can extend our knowledge of language, in general, and genres, in particular. It also examines a rich variety of underexplored genres such as the digital genre of synchronous videoconferencing, instructional slides, video ads, engineers' training log book entries, the narrative story genres, fundraising letters and retraction notices. It demonstrates not only the prominent value of genre research, but wide applications of genre knowledge in various educational and professional domains. The book brings together experts spreading across the world, including countries in South-East Asia, Europe, America, West Africa and South America. Accordingly, it will appeal to readers of diversified socio-cultural backgrounds working in all the aforementioned inter-related fields of applied linguistics and communication studies.

Kathy Ling LIN is a lecturer at the Research Centre for Corpora and Intercultural Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She received her Ph.D. from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is contributor to 'Corpus-based Approaches to Grammar, Media and Health Discourses' (Springer, 2020). Isaac N. Mwinlaaru is Lecturer at the Department of English, University of Cape Coast, and was Visiting Lecturer at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His award-wining PhD thesis is a discourse-based grammar of Dagaare. He is contributor to 'The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics' (2018). Dennis Tay is Associate Professor at the Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He holds a PhD in Linguistics and MSc in Quantitative Analysis and Computational Mathematics. His most recent book is 'Time Series Analysis of Discourse. Method and Case Studies' (Routledge, 2019).

Introduction: Genre research into the 21st century - Goals, approaches and applications Kathy Ling Lin, Isaac N. Mwinlaaru and Dennis Tay PART Theory and concepts 1. Towards a meta-theory of genre Isaac N. Mwinlaaru PART Rhetorical and generic structure 2. English-language abstracts in Chinese-language academic journals: A comparative analysis of rhetorical moves Ning Zhao & Nicholas Groom 3. Macro-structural development of empirical research articles in Applied Linguistics and Civil Engineering (1980-2010): Textual evidence and insider perspectives Kathy Ling LIN 4. Categories of narrative instances in Systemic Functional Linguistics: Exploring a more flexible generic structure for 'recounts' Grisel S. Salmaso 5. Retraction notices as a high-stakes academic genre: A move analysis Shaoxiong (Brian) Xu & Guangwei Hu 6. Rhetorical analysis of philanthropic fundraising letters in a Ghanaian university Joseph B. A. Afful PART Lexicogrammatical resources 7. A corpus-based study of discourse markers in secondary student talk Ivy W. S. Chan & Jim Y. H. Chan 8. Construing symbolic exchange in academic registers of Spanish: Sayers and projection in linguistics articles in Colombian journals Jesús David Guerra Lyons & Gillian Moss PART Multisemiotic analysis 9. Genre, pedagogy, and PowerPoint design: A multimodal move analysis of linguistics lecture slides Dezheng (William) Feng 10. The multimodal genre of synchronous videoconferencing lectures: An eclectic framework to analyse interaction Mercedes Querol-Julián 11. Identifying creative metaphor in video ads Molly Xie Pan & Dennis Tay PART Genre in pedagogic and professional settings 12. Combining genre analysis and corpus consultation in class: Using do-it-yourself corpora to explore the literature review Maggie Charles 13. When the office meets textbooks: Juxtaposing multiple perspectives to develop teachers' knowledge of workplace genres and to enhance the teaching of workplace writing An Cheng 14. Hybridity in a specialized genre: Training log book entries in professional construction engineering Cindy Tsui Ying Yu & Christoph A. Hafner