The Grammatical Metaphor in the Construction of Discursive Positioning

Abstract

In this paper, the discursive-semantic potential of the grammatical metaphor is descriptively addressed, which can be defined as a non-congruent coding resource in the field of systemic functional grammar. Our adherence to this functional theory implies understanding language as a semiotic reality where lexicogrammar is a stratum developed to construct texts, primary and priority realizations of language and languages. Grammatical metaphors are systemic options of lexicogrammar and as such they are resources available to structure texts and display senses, ideational and interpersonal, at both the clause level and at the discursive-semantic level. In this study, we systematize grammatical metaphor options in a discursively conceived matrix that we apply in the exploration of a corpus of classroom interaction collected from a sixth-year basic history class focused on the violation of human rights committed in the civil-military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). The results verify that the grammatical metaphor is utilized to encode a wide variety of meanings produced by the systems of transitivity and mode, respectively. The strengthening of this resource is also verified in the instantiation of discursive positions that configure patterns of representation of relevant actors, process and circumstances of the historical period.