Authors: Robert Poole, Nicholas Hayes
Abstract: This diachronic corpus-based analysis investigates the use of epistemic stance devices in reports from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)from the date of its first report on the physical science of climate change in 1990 to its sixth contribution in 2021. Applying the framework of stance (Biber & Finegan, 1989), the study focuses upon changes in the use of the epistemic stance markers of modal verbs and adverbs across the approximately 30-year period.
To empirically measure the strength of trends in the use of these stance devices, Kendall’s Tau correlation coefficient was calculated for each item using their normalized frequencies from the six reports. Analysis displayed that the use of modal verbs has consistently decreased across this period of time in which the scientific consensus regarding the anthropogenic origins of climate change expanded and solidified.
Additionally, of the greater than twenty stance adverbs displaying consistent use trajectories across the period, the majority of these items were emphatic adverbs declining in use.
Keywords: climate change discourse, diachronic analysis, discourse analysis, IPCC
How to Cite: Poole, R., & Hayes, N. (2022). Stance in climate science: A diachronic analysis of epistemic stance features in IPCC physical science reports. Journal of Corpora and Discourse Studies