A three-dimensional model of personal self-mention in research papers

Self-mention in academic writing has been studied extensively, especially from the point of view of rhetorical functions. In this paper I argue that rhetorical functions represent only one dimension of self-mention. Adding the dimensions of grammatical forms and of hedging and boosting, I propose a three-dimensional model of self-mention. I then employ the model in the analysis of three types of writing in the field of linguistics – L1 English, L1 Slovak (a typologically different language), and L2 English writing by Slovak authors. The study shows that authors employ various degrees of the three dimensions of self-mention to meet expectations of their readers while maintaining a balanced power of self-mention. The results suggest that some, but not all, discourse practices related to self-mention might be transferred to L2 English from one's L1.