关键词: 英国电视公益广告; 交通语篇; 态度意义; 认知评价理论; SPS模式; 多模态

Abstract:

Based on the Appraisal Theory in SFG, guided by the multimodal analytical framework of attitudinal meaning (an interdisciplinary theoretical construction of social semiotics and cognitive psychology) in video discourse, the paper conducts a multimodal attitudinal analysis of the self-made mini corpus of the traffic discourses of British TV public service advertising by means of Multimodal Analysis Video (MMAV), a software used for multimodal discourse (video) analysis. The study reveals the SPS progressive pattern of the traffic discourse of British TV public service advertising: Situation-Problem-Solution. It argues, from the perspective of the choice and allocation of the multimodal attitudinal resources, the triggers of the attitudinal meaning mainly take the form of visual resources, and the attitudinal expressions frequently put priority on the verbal language, intonation and facial expressions. As far as the Attitudinal appraisal is concerned, the videos generally begin with pictures of positive appraisal, followed by the ones of extreme negative appraisal with disastrous traffic crashes shocking the audiences, and end with positive appraisal with some imaginary happy pictures or friendly traffic reminders. The whole process is full of dramatic conflicts and contrasts, with the high purpose of embedding the strong sensuous contrasts into the audience’s minds, thus enabling them to change their attitudes initiatively.

Keywords: British television public service advertising; traffic discourse; attitudes; cognitive-appraisal theory; SPS model