VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG THỊ ÁNH MODALIZATION AND MODULATION IN COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES BY ENGLISH SPEAKERS: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS (TÌNH THÁI VÀ BIẾN THÁI HÓA TRONG CÁC BÀI PHÁT BIỂU TẠI LỄ TỐT NGHIỆP CỦA CÁC DIỄN GIẢ NÓI TIẾNG ANH: PHÂN TÍCH THEO QUAN ĐIỂM NGỮ PHÁP CHỨC NĂNG) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistic Code: 60.15 Hanoi - 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG THỊ ÁNH MODALIZATION AND MODULATION IN COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES BY ENGLISH SPEAKERS: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS (TÌNH THÁI VÀ BIẾN THÁI HÓA TRONG CÁC BÀI PHÁT BIỂU TẠI LỄ TỐT NGHIỆP CỦA CÁC DIỄN GIẢ NÓI TIẾNG ANH: PHÂN TÍCH THEO QUAN ĐIỂM NGỮ PHÁP CHỨC NĂNG) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistic Code: 60. Hoàng Văn Vân Hanoi - 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, Trương Thị Ánh, hereby certify that this thesis is the result of my own research and that the substance of the thesis has not, partly or wholly, been submitted for a degree to any other universities or institutions.
Signature Trương Thị Ánh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the people who assisted and always made the best conditions and environment for me to complete this thesis. The first person I would like to send my special thanks to is Prof. Hoàng Văn Vân, who spent much of his valuable time supervising and guiding my study. I am also indebted to my lecturers in both undergraduate and postgraduate faculties at my university for their precious lectures in linguistics which help me to have the basic and necessary knowledge to carry out this study.
I also owe many thanks to my family members who gave me great encouragement, my friends and my colleagues who were willing to share my heavy workload at my school so that I could invest my time to this thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study investigates the realization of modalization and modulation in commencement addresses made by well-known English speakers. The analytical framework of the study is based on M. Halliday‘s Systemic Functional Grammar theory of modality.
The data of the research is taken from the analysis of five commencement addresses of Steve Jobs (2005), Bill Gates (2007), Barbara Kingsolver (2008), J. The results show that modalization and modulation are realized in a variety of forms and expressions which can be modal operators, modal adjuncts, passive verb predicators, and adjective predicators. Modalization overtakes modulation in terms of frequency. Each group of modal operators and modal adjuncts when being used to realize modalization and modulation has its own effectiveness and specialties.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration…………………………………………………………………….i Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………….iii Table of contents……………………………………………………………………iv List of figures and tables………………………………………………………….vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. The significance of the study…………………………………………. Aims of the study……………………………………………………. Scope of the study………………………………………………………….
Methods of the study…………………………………………………. Design of the study…………………………………………….4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical background 1. Semantic-oriented approaches………………………………………………. Pragmatic-oriented approaches………………………………………………7 1.
Criticisms of the semantic-oriented and pragmatic-oriented approaches……7 1. Halliday‘s functional approach………………………………………………9 1. Halliday‘s notion of modality: Modalization and Modulation…………. Modalization: notion and realization………………………………….
Modulation: notion and realization………………………………………. Review of previous studies…………………………………………………16 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 2: The study 2. Data analysis and major findings……………………………………………. Modalization and Modulation………….
Modal adjuncts – realization and meanings………………………………. Modal operators of Modalization – realization and meanings…………. Summary and major findings………………………………………………36 2. Suggestions for further studies…………………………………………….40 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………41 APPENDIX 1: Raw data……………………………………………………………I APPENDIX 2: Analyzed data…………………………………….XXX v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Speech functions and responses 10 Figure 2: Three values of modality 11 Figure 3: Modalization 12 Figure 4: Modal operators 13 Figure 5: Modal adjuncts 13-14 Figure 6: Modulation 15 Table 1: Modalization in five speeches 19 Table 2: Modal adjuncts in five commencement addresses 20 Table 3: Modal operators in five commencement addresses 22 Table 4: Modulation in five commencement addresses 23 Table 5: Modalization and Modulation 24 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale Over the years, many grammatical models have been developed, for example phrase structural grammar, structural grammar, transformation grammar, etc. These models mainly focus on the structural characteristics of languages, ignoring the possible functions of language. In 1920s, functional approach was first introduced by an influential group of literary critics and linguists in Prague. Since then funtionalism has been developed by many functional grammarians like Halliday (1985, 1994), Bloor (1995), Eggins (1994), Thompson (1996), Martin (1997), and many others.
Functionalism can be understood as any approach to the description of language structure which attaches importance to the purposes or functions to which language is put. When systemic functional grammar (SFG) was introduced by Halliday in the UK (1985) and later in Australia (1994), functional approach to grammar theory may be understood as the study of language as a network of systems, or interrelated sets of options for making meaning. The term function refers to Halliday‘s view that language serves metafunctions as: ideational metafunctions, texture metafunctions, and interpersonal metafunctions. Among these metafunctions, the interpersonal ones which refer to the grammatical choices that enable speakers to enact their complex and diverse interpersonal relations may be the most unintelligible perspective.
The speaker‘s grammatical choices can vary but one of the effective tools may be the use of modality in general or modalization and modulation in particular. From this point of view, the researcher has made an effort to investigate and prove the effectiveness of those elements in the thesis. The second thing that should be clarified is the researcher‘s choices of genres and the collection of texts that were used in the thesis. This study focuses on the commencement addresses made by famous English speakers.
One thing that can be definitely true is that no one is randomly chosen to give a speech in a university graduation ceremony. Those who were given the honor to make speeches at many big universities are prestigious and well-known. They all tactfully used their wordy power to persuade their audiences. Commencement addresses, therefore, always 0 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com play an important role in orienting, inspiring, and encouraging students who are going to be graduates.
Moreover, the success of a commencement address is obvious the interpersonal relation between the speaker and the listeners. To achieve this red string – the linkage, modality used in those speeches must be very flexible and intelligent in order to show the speaker‘s ego as well as create the connection between the particular ego and the majority. All of the above mentioned reasons motivated the researcher to investigate the realization of modalization and modulation in several selected speeches made by English speakers. The significance of the study The significance of the study can be seen the most clearly in its contribution to investigate the use of modality in texts.
Geoff Thompson (1996) says modality is an extremely complicated area of English grammar. Although a number of linguists have been working on this field, the results achieved do not satisfy the researcher‘s inquisitiveness. Many linguists have pointed out the definition, classification, and degree of modality but everything just stops at the theory and a limited number of typical examples. In other words, the exemplification is not attached to any specific original texts.
Writers of some PhD theses have been applying SFG framework or modality to analyze real texts but none of them have taken commencement speeches as sources of data. This thesis, which aims to investigate the realization of modalization and modulation in some authentic commencement addresses, thus fills the blanks of studying how modality is realized in commencement speeches. An additional point motivating the researcher to carry out this study is derived from the realistic demand. In textbooks currently used in Vietnamese schools, the realization of modality in texts are mostly introduced and analyzed in terms of only modal verbs.
Other means to realize modality are not fully presented and exploited, which in some way limit students‘ understanding and ability to flexibly use modality in creating their own texts. This thesis is hoped to give clear clarification of all means to realize modality in English and how the good exploitation of these means can, to some extent, support developments of students‘ language skills. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Aims of the study The research aims at studying and finding out the use of modalization and modulation in some English commencement addresses.
Moreover, the researcher also has her ambition to see how effective the modality is. In short, the study aims to find the answers to the question: How are modalization and modulation realized in the commencement addresses? 4. Scope of the study This minor M. thesis first focuses on the theory of modality in the light of systemic functional grammar, and then it shows the realization of modalization and modulation – two categories of modality in five commencement addresses made by Steve Jobs (2005), Bill Gates (2007), Barbara Kingsolver (2008), Joanne "Jo" Rowling (J.
Rowling, 2008), and Barack Obama (2009). Methods of the study This study is carried out with the combination of both descriptive and explanatory methods. In detail, the research is conducted according to several steps below: Firstly, data about theories of modality and the commencement addresses was collected from different books, articles, and other researches in libraries or on the internet. Secondly, the collected information was synthesized and categorized to withdraw the basic knowledge about modality in many perspectives, especially Halliday‘s framework about modality.
Moreover, the collected commencement addresses were read and chosen carefully based on several criteria set in advance by the researcher. Finally, the commencement addresses were analyzed in order to discover the realization of modalization and modulation in each one by using Halliday‘s view about modality as the theoretical framework. Each type of modalization and 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com modulation is distinguished from the other by a set of symbols so that the researcher could easily control and bring out the exact figures for the study. Design of the study The structure of the study is based on the basic design of a scientific research which includes three main parts.
Part A – INTRODUCTION presents the rationale, significance, aims, scope, and design of the study. Part B – DEVELOPMENT comprises two chapters. Chapter 1 presents the theoretical background of the study. Chapter 2 shows the findings of the study in terms of the realization of modalization and modulation in all four speeches with some possible explanations about the types of modality used and the discussion about the effect of modalization and modulation in those commencement addresses.
Part C – CONCLUSION summarizes the findings and points out the implications of the study. Some suggestions for further studies are also included in the last part. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Approaches of modality The theoretical description of modality may be semantic, pragmatic, or functional-oriented. Some approaches will be reviewed below.
Semantic-oriented approaches A number of linguists have had a bias in favor of semantics when describing the concept of modality. Among those, Joos (1964), Marino (1973), Hermeren (1978), Perkins (1983), and Palmer (1986) can be counted and their views will be briefly presented below. Joos (1964) adopts a semantic approach to modality. He classifies eight modal auxiliaries: will, shall, can, may, must, ought to, dare, and need into some subcategories by finding the differences in the kinds of semantic oppositions among them.