Multimodal Construal of Appraisal: A Case Study of Olympics Television Public Service Advertising

This paper aims to investigate the verbal and visual appraisal resources in Olympic television public service advertising by adopting the theoretical framework of appraisal systems and visual grammar. The research findings indicate that inscribed judgement and appreciation are the dominant attitudinal meanings in the verbiage. Engagement and graduation resources contribute to the alignment with the audience and the enhancement of evaluative meanings. In terms of the visual images on television screen, three visual styles (i.e. close-up, visualization of imageries and visualization of ideational tokens) are identified, which construct evaluative meanings via inscription and invocation respectively. The relationship of ‘multiplying meaning’ between the verbal and visual appraisal resources is also discussed. The pattern of multimodal construal of appraisal is concluded at the end of the study.