Which term describes the variable that refers to the subject matter of the discourse?

Which term describes the variable that refers to the subject matter of the discourse?

• A. Field
• B. Channel
• C. Mode
• D. Tenor

Answer: (A)

Field in Systemic Functional Linguistics describes the subject matter of the discourse—the topics, actions, and phenomena being talked about. That focus on what the text is about makes it the best term for describing the subject matter of the discourse. Channel, by contrast, is about the medium through which the message is delivered (spoken versus written, or electronic versus face-to-face). Mode concerns how the message is organized and the level of formality or immediacy, essentially the function and structure of the discourse. Tenor refers to the social roles, relationships, and power dynamics between participants. So, when you’re pinpointing what the discourse is about, field is the term that captures the subject matter itself. This helps explain vocabulary choice and content-driven language features you’ll notice in the text.

Field in Systemic Functional Linguistics describes the subject matter of the discourse—the topics, actions, and phenomena being talked about. That focus on what the text is about makes it the best term for describing the subject matter of the discourse. Channel, by contrast, is about the medium through which the message is delivered (spoken versus written, or electronic versus face-to-face). Mode concerns how the message is organized and the level of formality or immediacy, essentially the function and structure of the discourse. Tenor refers to the social roles, relationships, and power dynamics between participants. So, when you’re pinpointing what the discourse is about, field is the term that captures the subject matter itself. This helps explain vocabulary choice and content-driven language features you’ll notice in the text.