HOW LEXICAL MEANS OF GRADUATION CONTRIBUTE TO EVALUATION IN RUSSIAN AN GERMAN SCIENTIFIC TEACHING PRACTICE

Abstract

The present article examines evaluation strategies in scientific teaching practice and focuses on graduation as an evaluative tool. Graduation is thought of as an additional qualificative meaning which is superimposed on the main evaluation component and aims at intensifying or down-toning the degree of author’s intent. The textual analysis is carried out within the framework of the theory of communication practices. It allows to distinguish the text type of university textbook which is a basis for the empirical material of the study. The linguistic methodology of the theory of evaluation is chosen to examine the manifestation of evaluative strategies in university textbooks. The analysis of German- and Russian-language textbooks on sociology shows that the use of graduation in the evaluative function is a common evaluation strategy (20 % of all evaluative acts in German-language textbooks and 19 % in Russian-language textbooks). Three groups of graduators are emphasizers, intensifiers, and hedgers. Intensifiers have similar use frequency both in German and Russian scientific teaching practice whereas emphasizers are spread more widely in Russian textbooks. Russian and German authors in scientific teaching practice tend to graduate knowledge according to its relevance emphasizing most important information and intensifying their evaluative judgements. The use of mitigation markers is rather uncommon here since the goal of scientific teaching practice is to provide students with most relevant information.