Textual metadiscourse in an emerging discipline : on writer-reader interaction in Polish translation-related research articles

The contribution focuses on textual metadiscourse, which can be characterized as a set of self-reflective expressions used by authors to negotiate interactional content in a text. Its aim is to investigate the frequency and the use of this kind of metadiscourse in research articles in the field of Translation Studies in Poland and to test the potential for studying such devices in a broader investigation. After giving a definition of the concept of metadiscourse and its role in mirroring social interaction, I categorize different types of textual metadiscourse and present a list of key items, which will help me to detect metadiscourse in Polish research articles on translation more precisely. Subsequently, I analyze how these texts guide the reader through the content and explore whether articles published in two leading journals devoted to translation research differ in the use of particular metadiscourse items. Finally, a conceptual picture of Polish TS is sketched as emerging from the distinguished regularities. The conducted research is expected to provide the first insight into how textual metadiscourse is organized in TS in Poland.