Towards Restorative Justice: A Study On Interpersonal Meaning In Community Correction Discourse

Community correction is alternative to conventional imprisonment.It can be conceived as an application of the ideas and principles of restorative justice since it is characterized by community-based and education-oriented.Preliminary assessment and correction-oriented education are both of the indispensable phases in community correction.These two phases,in essence,can be understood as verbal interaction between the social worker and the corrected.The study endeavors to explore interpersonal meaning construed in the discourse of the social worker as well as that of the corrected.The present study aims to address the following three research questions:(1)What linguistic resources are employed by social workers and the corrected in dialogic exchanges to realize interpersonal meaning?(2)How do linguistic resources exploited affect the role relationships between social workers and the corrected?(3)Why do social workers and the corrected construct such role relationships between each other by employing various linguistic resources?Drawing on the system of mood and modality in Halliday's Functional Grammar and the system of attitude in Martin's Appraisal Theory,the present study has formulated an integrated analytical framework applicable for community correction discourse.Transcriptions of the recordings of nine cases serve as the data to be analyzed in the study.Five of the cases took place in the phase of preliminary assessment while the remaining four were recorded in the later phase of correction-oriented education.Adopting a functional-appraisal approach,the study investigates interpersonal meaning construed in community correction discourse from the stratum of lexico-grammar and the stratum of discourse semantics.At the stratum of lexcio-grammar,it is found that the social worker,in both of the two phases,has employed more imperative,interrogative mood and more modality of median and low value.In contrast,the corrected has used more declarative mood and more high value modality.With the extensive use of imperative and interrogative mood,the social worker assumes control of the verbal interaction.The corrected,on the contrary,performs to be compliant with the frequent use of declarative mood in reply.Modality of median and low value has reduced the superiority of the social worker while modality of high value helps the corrected to act out a less passive speech role.At the stratum of discourse semantics,it is found that affect,judgment,and appreciation respectively have different impacts on the role relationships between the two parties.In both the phase of preliminary assessment and that of correction-oriented education,the social worker has expressed more negative affect,more positive judgment and more positive appreciation.By registering emotions,the social worker shows empathy with the feelings experienced by the corrected,which facilitates the development of a relation of solidarity with mutual trust.In showing recognition of the capacity and character traits of the corrected,the social worker proffers positive judgments.Such proffering of positive evaluations is helpful to narrow down social distance and promote a relation of solidarity.The majority of negative judgments deal with the impropriety of the offending behaviors conducted by the corrected and has strengthened the dominant and superior position of the social worker.With the use of appreciation,the social worker shows concerns for the corrected so as to develop a closer relationship.It is the difference in identities that leads to the complicated and dynamic role relationships between the social worker and the corrected.As educator,the social worker represents the judicial authority to instruct the corrected to abide by the law,resulting in a highly imbalanced relation that the social worker enjoys more control and power.As coordinator,the social worker acts as an intermediate agent to promote the rehabilitation of the corrected and the role relationships become less unequal.When the social worker acts as helper and the corrected as service-recipient,their role relationship is transformed into a relation of solidarity.