The interpersonal metafunction in the 'report' and 'sentence' genres: linguistic contributions to teaching law course

Abstract

This paper analyzes the construction of the mode system in texts of report and sentence genres, produced by first semester students of law in a private faculty in Brasilia. The aim is to discuss the importance of interpersonal metafunction so that students understand how language shows social roles and identities, especially in the field of Law. To reach this goal, the choice of Systemic-Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY & MATTHIESSEN, 2014; FUZER & CABRAL, 2010; NEVES, 2007; VIAN JR, 2009 and SILVA, 2010) as the theoretical framework adopted in this research is justified. Then, according to this theory, the MODE system is defined, as well as the elements that constitute it (mode (finite + Subject) and residue (preacher + complement + adjunct)), and the discussion of modality is related to discursive genres (SILVA, 2010). In sequence, the development of the activity of writing in the classroom is contextualized, as well as the formation of the corpus. For the analysis of the results, these are crossed with the theoretical assumptions previously presented. The data showed that students, even before having theoretical explanations about the genres in question, have prior knowledge about interpersonal relations in these genres, especially in the sentence, where it is possible to better define the main actant: the judge. These results confirm the need to explore lexical-grammatical aspects linked to the production conditions of the genres in the classroom, as well as they suggest that the interpersonal metafunction can be a kick-start to discuss social roles with students who are starting their studies in higher education.