ABSTRACT
A writer’s or speaker’s purpose in embarking on a text is almost always to make meaning of some kind or other. Occasionally, as when a child is crying in the middle of the night, it’s not so much the meanings that are important as that someone is there, and making soothing noises. It needs to be remembered that the meanings we all strive to make are often far from straightforward. We can use language in order to tell lies, or to present a very biased view of events. In a spoken text, speakers will very often have instant feedback on how their meanings are being received, with comments like, ‘I don’t understand a word of that’, or ‘Come off it, who are you trying to kid’, and so on. They can then try to take further steps, assuming they are allowed to say more.
