* In
systemic functional linguistics #
*
Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) is an approach to linguistics, among functional linguistics
Functional linguistics is an approach to the study of language characterized by taking systematically into account the speaker's and the hea ...
, the term ''tenor'' refers to the participants in a
discourse
Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. ...
, their relationships to each other, and their purposes.
In examining how context affects language use, linguists refer to the context-specific
variety of language as a
register. The three aspects of the context are known as field, tenor and mode. ''Field'' refers to the subject matter or content being discussed. ''Mode'' refers to the channel (such as writing, or video-conference) of the communication. By understanding these three variables, the kind of language likely to be used in a particular setting can be predicted — and,
Michael Halliday suggests, this is exactly what we do, unconsciously, as language users.
* In analysing the parts of a
metaphor, "tenor" has another meaning, unrelated to the meaning above. According to
I. A. Richards
Ivor Armstrong Richards CH (26 February 1893 – 7 September 1979), known as I. A. Richards, was an English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. His work contributed to the foundations of the New Criticism, a formalist movement ...
, the two parts of a metaphor are the ''tenor'' and ''vehicle''. The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the subject from which the attributes are derived. Thus, they are broadly equivalent to the notions of ''target'' and ''source domains'' in
conceptual metaphor theory.
[Danesi, Marcel (1993) ''Vico, metaphor, and the origin of language''. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, p. 126]
See also
*
Affect (linguistics)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenor (Linguistics)
Systemic functional linguistics
Grammar
Discourse analysis