Simultaneous Emotion

Ngo, Hood, Martin, Painter, Smith & Zappavigna (2022: 123-4):

A further consideration in analysing and interpreting facial expressions is the potential for one feature of facial affect to transition very quickly into another in an animated expression. An instance in example (4) expresses both [surprise] and [spirit:up]. 

From a systemic functional perspective, rather than describing this as a blending or merging of emotions it is considered as the co-instantiation of two different emotions with each realised through particular parts of the face (e.g. eyes, eyebrows, mouth) and often in very quick succession. In (4) the raised curved eyebrows realise [surprise] and the upturned lips realise [spirit:up]. 

A facial expression of [surprise], interpreted as a perturbance (Martin, 2017a) typically has the briefest duration and often transitions quickly to the expression of another emotion, one which responds to the specific trigger of the perturbance.

Blogger Comments:

[1] From a systemic functional perspective, this blurs the axial distinction between simultaneous systems ('both', 'co-instantiation', 'and') and syntagmatic order ('transition', 'succession'). Moreover, if two emotions can be realised in the same facial expression, the system network needs to be redrawn to represent simultaneous (conjunct) systems. This the authors have not done.

[2] On the one hand, the claim that a facial expression of surprise typically has the briefest duration is an instance of the logical fallacy known as ipse dixit: a bare assertion unsupported by evidence, and is belied by synonyms for 'surprised' such as 'stupefied' and 'dumbfounded'. On the other hand, surprise is the emotion that is the response to what triggered it as a perturbance.

The Phonological System Of Tonicity

Ngo, Hood, Martin, Painter, Smith & Zappavigna (2022: 24-5):

The phonological system of TONICITY highlights a peak of informational prominence by positioning the major pitch movement of a tone group (its tone) on one or another of its salient syllables (its culminative salient syllable in the unmarked case). In example (59) the vlogger claps on the syllable realising the tone group’s major pitch movement – hair.

Blogger Comments:

This is recycled verbatim from Martin & Zappavigna (2019). Here are the comments from the review of Martin & Zappavigna (2019):  Misrepresenting Tonicity.

[1] To be clear, TONICITY is concerned with tonic prominence, not with the major pitch movement (TONE) of the tone group.

[2] To be clear, tonic prominence (phonology) realises the focus of New information (grammar).

[3] To be clear, in the unmarked case, tonic prominence falls on the salient syllable (the tonic syllable) of the last foot (the tonic foot) of a tone group; but there are many unmarked cases.  The 'culminative' syllable is the tonic syllable, wherever it occurs in a tone group.

[4] To be clear, in Cléirigh's model of linguistic body language, the clap on the tonic prominence is the expression plane realisation of the focus of New information in the grammar.

The Phonological System Of Tonality

Ngo, Hood, Martin, Painter, Smith & Zappavigna (2022: 24):

The phonological system of TONALITY organises spoken language into waves of information called tone groups, with one salient syllable carrying this tone movement. Gestures may be coextensive with this periodic unit. In examples (57) and (58) the vlogger makes a sweeping right-to-left gesture referencing past time; the gestures unfold in sync with the temporal extent of the tone group.

Blogger Comments:

This is recycled verbatim from Martin & Zappavigna (2019). Here are the comments from the review of Martin & Zappavigna (2019): Blurring The Distinction Between Linguistic And Epilinguistic Body Language.

[1] To be clear, here the authors confuse the content plane with the expression plane.  The phonological system of TONALITY is concerned with the duration of the tone group, a phonological unit.  The duration of the tone group realises the duration of the information unit, a grammatical unit.  It is the information unit that constitutes the "wave of information", not the tone group.  This is not a new confusion on Martin's part; Martin (1992: 384) mistakes the system of INFORMATION for a phonological/graphological system.

[2] This is a bare assertion unsupported by evidence, and falsified by the vast majority of gestures that do not extend for the duration of a tone group.  In Cléirigh's model, it is not that gestures tend to be co-extensive with the tone group, but that, when they do, the extent of the gesture has the same function as the extent of a tone group, namely: the realisation of the extent of an information unit.

[3] To be clear, in Cléirigh's model, a gesture that realises the meaning 'past' is epilinguistic body language, not linguistic body language.  In terms of Martin's rebrandings of his source, this is 'semovergent paralanguage', not 'sonovergent paralanguage'.  Metafunctionally, the meaning is interpersonal as well as experiential, since it also means 'past' relative to the time of the speech event.

[4] To be clear, in Cléirigh's model, it is only this aspect of the gesture, its co-extension with a tone group, that constitutes linguistic body language (rebranded by Martin as 'sonovergent paralanguage').  Metafunctionally, the meaning is textual, demarcating a unit of Given and New information.