Positive evaluation in the language of human resources: Textbooks versus reality

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to focus on the language of Human Resources (HR) as one of the subfields of English for business purposes in respect of positive evaluation and stancetaking and to identify to what extent evaluative language common in real-life situations is reflected in currently available textbooks of English for HR (EHR). Authentic language is taken from blogs and interviews with prominent HR managers on www.thehrdirector.com, which is a global online magazine dedicated to HR professionals. The corpus created from these texts is analysed from the point of view of evaluative language and the data ascertained are put into contrast with the language presented in three commonly available HR English textbooks. The analysis focusses on the lexical level of language and is based on the Appraisal framework (and the system of Attitude) of Systemic Functional Linguistics. Even though the present study is intended as qualitative rather than quantitative, the findings are quantified in order to shed some light on the commonality and frequency of some of the phenomena ascertained and their reflection in the textbooks. The outcomes of the analysis might serve as food for thought and inspiration for tertiary-level teachers of general business English courses as well as highly specialised courses focusing on the language of human resources.