Introducing Genre Analysis Using Brunei Malay Wedding Invitations

Abstract

Despite a significant increase in the number of published genre analyses and a continuing refinement of genre theory, little research has been done to determine the effectiveness of genre-based pedagogy. Research that has been carried out has shown mixed results. One problem that has been identified is that a genre approach requires language learners to become genre analysts in a foreign or second language while having to learn the new language itself. One suggested solution is to prime learners for this dual approach by providing an opportunity for them to study a well-known genre in their mother tongue in order to stimulate access to their subconscious knowledge of their own language and culture. This paper aims to evaluate this solution by determining to what extent Bruneian students in a tertiary context were able to identify and explain the linguistic features of the Brunei Malay Wedding Invitation. The results show that while the students were able to accurately describe the surface linguistic features of the genre, they were less successful at explaining the use of these features in terms of the communicative purposes of the genre.

Keywords:

• wedding invitations
• genre analysis
• subconscious genre knowledge