Abstract
This paper discusses subjectivity as a text-type marker in a historical perspective. It claims that linguistic features reflecting personal involvement in a text act as text-type markers in some genre and period styles. Cultural conventions are important formative factors in the use of such features, and generic conventions may override individual styles in some early periods. The quality of ‘personal affect’ seems to vary greatly in different text types. It is an essential component of participant relations, and because of the variation in volume and form, it can provide a tool for a more detailed assessment of period and genre styles.
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