The linguistic construction of business decisions

Abstract

This paper models analytical tools for identifying the linguistic resources at play in constructing business decision-making in high-scoring undergraduate business reports from a systemic functional linguistic perspective. Drawing on the discourse semantic system of appraisal and coupling theory in systemic functional linguistics, this paper illustrates a process for analysing the linguistic construction of investment opportunities and risks in undergraduate business reports through the ‘coupling’ of different types of discourse semantic meanings. This study has pedagogical implications for making explicit the key language resources critical for constructing business decisions in undergraduate business studies.