LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF GEOLOGY TEXTBOOKS: PROCESS AND PRODUCT REVISITED

Abstract This paper examines some lexico-grammatical features of an introductory geology textbook, particularly the use of grammatical metaphor (Halliday 1985a) and the associated features of verb type, subject-noun phrase, and choice of thematization. These features are discussed in relation to the schematic organisation of information in the textbook, previously described in Love (1991), which suggested that the text was made up of a series of discourse “cycles” based on the interaction of geological “process” and geological “product.” Comparison is made with a second textbook, and the contribution of these lexico-grammatical features to establishing a model of the epistemology of geology is discussed. Suggestions are made for supporting ESL students in their efforts to process information in a new subject.