This long, excellent discussion over the last few days reminds me of how interesting these academic list dialogues are (in terms of the history of dialogue in academia/science), as a type of text for study - I don't have the time myself, but is there someone ready to take on the task of studying the contemporary online academic dialogue (sysfling, sysfunc etc.)? (and the lack of intonation and rhythm in English orthography will be a crucial consideration, of course, whenever dialogue and debate/argument are involved).
I suspect researchers may find our strings more interesting interpersonally than ideationally.eliciting a further response from Bradley Smith at 18:21:
yes, that is what is interesting about written dialogic debate
Blogger Comments:
This particular researcher finds the extended discussions on the sysfling and sys-func lists fascinating, both interpersonally and ideationally. On the one hand, in terms of the enactment of intersubjective relations, it is challenging and rewarding to use SFL theory to identify the linguistic techniques used by some interlocutors to bluff, counter-bluff and bully. On the other hand, in terms of the construal of language as theory, it is challenging and rewarding to analyse the nature of the theoretical misunderstandings involved, and to devise the means of making effective pedagogical use of them on this blog.
