MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀNG DIN TEXTUAL METAFUNCTION IN INAUGURAL SPEECHES OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀNG DIN SIÊU CHỨC NĂNG VĂN BẢN TRONG CÁC BÀI PHÁT BIỂU NHẬM CHỨC CỦA CÁC TỔNG THỐNG MỸ Chuyên ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã số: 8.01 Người hướng dẫn: PGS. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that this thesis “Textual Metafunction in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents” is my own research. The data and findings stated in the thesis are true and have never been published by anyone in any other works, except where the reference is indicated in the study.
Binh Dinh, 2020 Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Din ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In order to complete this thesis, it is not only my efforts but also other assistance of individuals to whom I really want to offer my deepest gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude and sincere to my supervisor, Assoc. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền for her valuable comments on my thesis. Thanks to her great experience and expertise in Systemic Functional Grammar, she has supported me with her thoughtful guidance, comprehensive advice and patience throughout the whole period of the study.
Without her instructions, my thesis would have been impossible to be completed in the best way. Secondly, my gratitude is devoted to all the lecturers of the courses who have conveyed their valuable lectures and experiences. That is the essential knowledge base for this thesis. Thirdly, I also want to thank my close friends and colleagues for their encouragement and support.
Without them, maybe I could not have overcome all the trouble during this journey. Last but not least, I am deeply thankful to my family. Although they did not provide me knowledge, they are my greatest spiritual support throughout the course of Master degree in English Linguistics and especially during the fulfillment of this study. iii ABSTRACT Language is a useful and powerful tool which helps the leaders express their views about their country, society, and people, especially in political field.
Based on Halliday’s theory (1994), this study identifies and analyzes Textual metafunction via Theme – Rheme structure and Thematic progression which occur in five Inaugural speeches of American Presidents. Qualitative and quantitative methods are mainly used to analyze the data. In the field of Theme – Rheme structure, the findings show that beside the compulsory Theme – Topical Themes, Textual Themes occurs with high percentage, whereas Interpersonal Themes is found at a small rate in the data. With regard to Theme progression, Constant Theme and Linear Theme patterns are predominant while Split Rheme and Derived Theme patterns account for the small percentage.
Besides, Out of progression Theme pattern is also found with the high percentage in the data. Another interesting finding found in the study is the similarities and differences in distribution of three categories of Theme and four types of Theme progression in five speeches. Although there are some similarities and differences, it cannot be denied that Theme – Rheme structure and Thematic progression in all five speeches is great importance in making speeches more attractive and coherent. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES. vii LIST OF FIGURES. viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.
Aim and objectives. Aim of the study. Objectives of the study. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Organization of the study. 4 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. Previous relevant studies.
Overview of Systemic Functional Grammar. Theme – Rheme structure. 26 v CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY. Reliability and Validity.
31 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Types of Theme in Presidents’ Inaugural speeches. Interpersonal elements as Theme in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents. Textual Themes in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents.
Similarities and differences in terms of Theme types used by five Presidents. Topical Themes in five Inaugural speeches. Interpersonal Themes in five Inaugural speeches. Similarities and differences of Textual Themes used in five Inaugural speeches.
Thematic progression in American Presidents’ Inaugural speeches. Constant Theme progression. Linear Theme progression. Split Rheme progression.
Derived Theme progression. Out of progression Theme patterns. Similarities and differences of Theme progression in five Inaugural speeches. 61 vi CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS.
Summary of Findings. Implications of the study. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research.
69 APPENDIX vii LIST OF TABLES Number Name of tables Page 4.1 Distribution rate of Theme elements in Presidents’ 34 Inaugural speeches 4.2 Occurrences of Interpersonal elements in the data 40 4.3 Frequency of Textual Themes in the data 43 4.4 Occurrences of Interpersonal elements in five 49 Inaugural speeches 4.5 Frequency of types of Theme Progression in five 62 Inaugural speeches viii LIST OF FIGURES Number Name of figures Page 4.1 Frequency of Topical Themes in Inaugural speeches of 36 American Presidents 4.2 Distribution of Topical Themes in five Inaugural 47 speeches of American Presidents 4.3 Occurrences of types of Textual Themes in five 51 Inaugural speeches 4.4 Frequency of types of Theme progression in Inaugural 54 speeches of American Presidents 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale It is not exaggerative to say that speech is one of the most powerful weapons in communication. World history has proved the fact that human beings can avoid or even create wars because of the effect of some political speeches. For that reason, in recent years, people have been paying attention to the speeches of leaders, especially American ones.
An inaugural speech, like other types of political speeches, is an important means for a politician to address the public. The “inaugural speech” is a speech given during this ceremony which informs the people their intentions as a leader. The speech is an oath of the leader about what he/she will do to benefit his/her people, for the development of their country. Different ways of using language in political speeches can create different effects in each person.
Hence, we can see that making study on Inaugural speeches will help us to understand the essence as well as the messages of leaders’ speeches to the country. Halliday (1985) was the first person setting the foundation in the field of Systemic Functional Grammar with his book “An Introduction to Functional Grammar”. Then, many other linguists carried out further studies following Halliday’s theory; for example Eggins (1994), Bloor & Bloor (1995), Butt et al. (2000) and so on.
Besides some guiding studies above, many previous researchers studied about some characteristics of Functional Grammar in English discourses in their theses; for example, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền (2008), Nguyễn Thị Hạnh (2012), Nguyễn Thị Hạ (2014), Phạm Thị Mỹ Nhân 2 (2015), Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngân (2016), Nguyễn Thị Hoàng My (2019) and so on. However, until now, although some studies have used the theory of Systemic Functional Grammar for analyzing the texts, there has not been any study comparing the way organizing discourses of different American Presidents’ Inaugural speeches in the light of Functional Grammar perspective. For the purpose to deeper understanding about political speeches, I decided to do a research on Textual metafunction in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents from the Functional Grammar perspective. This study not only focuses on three kinds of Theme to help reveal the organization of this genre but also identifies the similarities and differences among Inaugural speeches in terms of Textual metafunction.
This is the reason why I choose the topic “Textual Metafunction in Inaugural Speeches of American Presidents” as the subject of my thesis. I hope that this research will not only fill in the gap in the studies on Textual metafunction, but also be useful for students and for those who concern the language of discourse, especially political speech ones. Aim and objectives 1. Aim of the study This study aims to study the elements related to Textual metafunction from Functional Grammar perspective: Theme – Rheme structure and Thematic progression in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents.
From that, the researcher points out the similarities and differences in the ways using these elements to organize the texts of five American Presidents in their speeches. Last but not least, this study is hoped to draw conclusions and suggest implications for English learning of speeches or talk in conferences, meeting, seminar, etc. Objectives of the study To achieve the stated aims, the study is focused on the following objectives: - Identify three elements of Textual metafunction in Functional Grammar, namely Topical, Interpersonal and Textual Themes; - Analyze Thematic progression used in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents. - Compare these Textual elements in speeches made by five different American Presidents.
- Suggest some implications for English learning of speeches or talk in conferences, meeting, seminar, etc. Research questions In order to achieve the above aims and objectives, the research questions investigated in this thesis are the following: (1) What types of Theme are used in Inaugural speeches of American Presidents? (2) What types of Thematic progression are chosen as a way of information organization in these Inaugural speeches? (3) What are the similarities and the differences in terms of Textual metafunction in Inaugural speeches of five American Presidents? (4) What are the implications for English learning of speeches or talk in conferences, meeting, seminar? 1. Scope of the study This study uses Systemic Functional Grammar of Halliday to analyze Textual metafunction in Inaugural speeches of five American Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (1861), Bill Clinton (1993), George W. Significance of the study This study is significant, theoretically and practically.
Theoretically, to my best knowledge, there has been so far no comparison in terms of the Textual Metafunction of different American Presidents’ Inaugural speeches from Functional Grammar perspective; this study thus provides data to enrich the linguistic understanding of this genre based on the elements of Thematic structures. Practically, by means of this study, learners and those who are concerned about the language of speeches have a deeper and better understanding about language used in inaugural speeches as well as learning the ways of using language in order to persuade the listener/reader effectively. Moreover, this research also complements for previous and subsequent studies in terms of Textual meaning in the light of Functional Grammar. Organization of the study This study consists of five chapters as follow: Chapter one, Introduction, includes the rationale, aims and objectives, research questions, the scope of the study.
The organization of the study is also mentioned in this chapter. Chapter two, Literature Review, provides the major theories of Systemic Functional Grammar, with special attention being paid to the Textual metafunction aspect. In addition, some previous studies which are related to the research areas are also mentioned to indicate the gap for the study. Chapter three, Methodology, consists of the description of the methods employed in the selection of the data and in the analysis.
Chapter four, Findings and Discussion, discusses the results of the data analysis, and identifies the similarities and the differences between five 5 Inaugural speeches of American Presidents in terms of the elements of Textual metafunction. Chapter five, Conclusion and Implications, summarizes the major discussions, gives some implications for learners of language in making language speeches, and suggests some further researches related to the study. 6 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter mentions a brief review of previous studies related to the research areas. In addition, it also provides the main academic theories of this study which is an overview of the concepts of Systemic Functional Grammar, Textual metafunction and Inaugural speeches.
Previous relevant studies In recent years, Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) draw much attention from researchers. Therefore, there are quite a lot of researches in various aspects based on SFG’s theory.