The analyses of the clauses in terms of transitivity, mood and theme are based on Halliday‟s systemic functional grammar framework.. Its focus is on introducing important concepts of sys
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER1:GENER LINTRODUCTION
Rationale of the study
Since its birth in early 18 th century, linguistics has witnessed a great change in the development of various approaches to grammar study such as Chomsky‟s transformational generative grammar, Bloomfield‟s immediate constituent grammar Systemic functional grammar, among those, which was developed by celebrities in linguistics such as Halliday, Hassan, Morley, Bloor, can be seen as the most useful tool to satisfy human‟s desire to explore the language‟s nature As Thompson (1996:6) states functional grammar is “a full analysis of sentence in both form and meaning as well as their relationship”
Compared with traditional grammar, which considered grammar as “a set of rules which specify all the possible grammatical structures of the language where grammatical and ungrammatical sentences are distinguished clearly” (Lock, 1996:1), functional grammar “is a way of looking at language in terms of how grammar is used” (Martin et al, 1997) In more details, functional grammar concerns with the grammatical patterns and lexical items used in text, as well as choices of those items, focusing on “the development of grammatical systems as a means for people to interact with each other” (Martin et al., 1997:1) In Vietnam, there also have valuable studies of grammarians relating to functional grammar, among which there are Cao Xuân Hạo (1991) with Tiếng Việt: Sơ thảo ngữ pháp chức năng, Hoàng Văn Vân (2005) with Ngữ pháp kinh nghiệm của cú tiếng Việt:
Mô tả theo quan điểm chức năng hệ thống Thanks to all these scholars, language is seen to be “closer to life”
According to Halliday, a functional grammar was designed to study the wording and interpret the wording by reference to what it means in order to “make it possible to say sensible and useful things about any text” (Halliday, 1994)
In detail, it is particularly helpful for explaining how language is selected and organized in particular ways for particular socio-cultural purposes
Yet, “traditional approaches to the study of literary texts model text analysis as an interpretive activity”, where “students learn to read a text and try to argue about what meanings they think the writer was making in the text” (Eggins, 2000:
309) “From a systemic perspective”, text analysis is, however, “not an interpretive but an explanatory activity” (Eggins, 2000: 309) In fact, “the linguistic analysis of text is not an interpretation of that text; it is an explanation” – an explanation of both “WHAT” and “HOW” “a text means” (Eggins, 2000: 309; Halliday & Hasan, 1985: 327) In this way, students will become “effective readers”, who can “see the constructedness of the text and of the reading position” imposed upon them by the writer (Kress, 1990: 40)
As a teacher of English, I am deeply interested in developing both language proficiency and structural accuracy for my students That is the reason why I have been deeply concerned with systemic functional grammar and my absorption in it, I believe, will help me to apply the theory teaching English to my students more effectively
As shown in the title A study on the semantic and lexicogrammatical features of the short story Mr Know All by W Somerset Maugham: A systemic functional analysis, there are some main reasons for my choice of the topic Firstly, as a language teacher, what I am supposed to do is to use and teach English correctly and appropriately In order to achieve this goal, analyzing texts to understand their meaning is quite necessary Secondly, understanding what a text is through analyzing, it will certainly help us a great deal in our teaching as stated by Halliday and Hasan (1985)
That is reason why I choose to explore the semantic and lexicogrammatical features of Mr Know All by Somerset Maugham
1.2 Aim of the study and research questions
The overarching aim of the study is to investigate how transitivity, mood and theme are employed in the story Mr Know All by W Somerset Maugham to convey experiential, interpersonal and textual meanings
To achieve this aim, the following research question are raised for exploration:
How are transitivity, mood and theme employed in the story Mr Know All by Somerset Maugham to reveal the experiential, interpersonal and textual meaning ?
Within the framework of a minor thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Linguistics, the primary focus of this study will be on investigating semantic and lexicogrammatical features of the story; they are the transitivity pattern, the mood and modality patterns, and the thematic pattern The text used as data for the study is a short story entitled Mr
Know All by W Somerset Maugham
To achieve the aim as stated above, the study will use two main methods: qualitative and quantitative methods Quantitative method is used for literature review, re-examining the systemic functional grammar framework, analysing the data for results, and discussing research results Quantitative method is concerned with calculating the data and concerting it into percentages for discussion and cocnclusion The analyses of the clauses in terms of transitivity, mood and theme are based on Halliday‟s systemic functional grammar framework
The study is designed in three main parts:
Chapter 1 – General introduction presents rationale for the study, aim of the study, scope of the study, method of the study and design of the study
Part II – Development – is the main part of the study which is organized around two chapters:
Chapter 2 : Theoretical backgrounds – provides the theoretical framework of the study Its focus is on introducing important concepts of systemic functional linguistics relevant to the topic of the study and a brief introduction to the author and the story Mr Know All
Chapter 3: Data analysis – analyses the semantic and lexicogrammatical features of the story Mr Know All to see how transitivity, mood & modality, and theme are patterned in the story and provides comments based on these findings
Part III – Chapter 4 - Conclusion – summarizes what has been studied; provides some implications for teaching and learning English; and makes some suggestions for further research.
Scope of the study
Within the framework of a minor thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Linguistics, the primary focus of this study will be on investigating semantic and lexicogrammatical features of the story; they are the transitivity pattern, the mood and modality patterns, and the thematic pattern The text used as data for the study is a short story entitled Mr
Know All by W Somerset Maugham.
Methods of the study
To achieve the aim as stated above, the study will use two main methods: qualitative and quantitative methods Quantitative method is used for literature review, re-examining the systemic functional grammar framework, analysing the data for results, and discussing research results Quantitative method is concerned with calculating the data and concerting it into percentages for discussion and cocnclusion The analyses of the clauses in terms of transitivity, mood and theme are based on Halliday‟s systemic functional grammar framework.
Design of the study
The study is designed in three main parts:
Chapter 1 – General introduction presents rationale for the study, aim of the study, scope of the study, method of the study and design of the study
Part II – Development – is the main part of the study which is organized around two chapters:
Chapter 2 : Theoretical backgrounds – provides the theoretical framework of the study Its focus is on introducing important concepts of systemic functional linguistics relevant to the topic of the study and a brief introduction to the author and the story Mr Know All
Chapter 3: Data analysis – analyses the semantic and lexicogrammatical features of the story Mr Know All to see how transitivity, mood & modality, and theme are patterned in the story and provides comments based on these findings
Part III – Chapter 4 - Conclusion – summarizes what has been studied; provides some implications for teaching and learning English; and makes some suggestions for further research.
DEVELOPMENT
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
It is not the aim of this chapter to present a comprehensive account of systemic functional linguistics; such an account is now widely available: Halliday
(1992, 1996); Matthiessen (1995); Halliday & Martin (1981, 1993); Halliday & Hasan (1985); Berry (1975, 1977), Hasan, Cloran & Butt (1996); Hoang Van Van
(2012) and many others In this chapter, I will draw attention to only those features of the model which appear directly relevant to a grammatical study of this kind To make the task manageable, the review will follow Hoang Van Van (2012) by organizing it around two major headings: semantics (the stratum of meaning) and lexicogrammar (the stratum of wording): metafunctional resonance
Semantics is the highest stratum within language; it refers to the systems of meaning in a language, for example, how sentences relate to the real world of people, actions, places and so on
Lexicogrammar is a term used in systemic functional linguistics to emphasize the interdependence of and continuity between vocabulary (lexis) and syntax (grammar) According to systemic functional theory, lexicogrammar is diversified into a metafunctional spectrum, extended in delicacy from grammar to lexis, and ordered into a series of ranked units" (Halliday, 2014)
As the upper of the two content strata within language, semantics is the interface between context and lexicogrammar as presented in the diagram below
From the point of view of analysis, the mapping is interpreted as decoding lexicogrammatical structure to recover the speaker‟s meaning Semantics transforms experience and interpersonal relationships into linguistic meaning, and lexicogrammar transforms this meaning into words, adopting the speaker‟s perspective In other words, a hearer recovers the speaker‟s meanings by interpreting the choices of lexical items, and the ways in which these are put together (the grammatical structure)
Within the scope of my study, this chapter will explore some basic concepts that are relevant to the thesis‟s topic: there are transitivity, mood and theme But before looking at them in some detail, it is necessary to provide a brief introduction to systemic functional linguistics
Systemic functional linguistics is a theory about language as a resource for making meaning based on a context of culture It is developed by Michael Halliday, a professor of linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia The theory is based on Firth‟s system- structure theory (Halliday, 1985; Hoang Van Van, 2012)
Beginning in 1950s, formal grammar, which was developed by Noam Chomsky and his followers, is concerned with the description of the structure of individual sentences These linguists intend to explain the language structure in the way it is At the same time, a set of rules for grammatically correct or incorrect usage are established as the guide for language users In other words, whether a sentence or an utterance is said to be wrong or right is due to its obedience to the laws of grammar Unlike formal linguists, functional linguists have generally dedicated themselves to addressing practical concerns of the application of grammar as well as relating grammar to its function within society Specifically, Halliday
(1994) views language not as a system of rules but as “a system of meaning”
Halliday approaches language not from within the internal working of the linguistic system, but primarily from outside He begins with the question: Why is language structured in the way it is and not in some other way? And his answer is: because it reflects the functions which language is required to serve as a mean of social communication In other words, it shows how people use language to make meaning in order to navigate their social interactions on their lives That is, the reason why systemic functional linguistics takes language to its functions through meaning, not just formation (cf Eggins, 1994; Martin, 1985; Lock, 1996)
Systemic functional linguistics has two characteristics: systemic and functional It is systemic because it is based on systemic theory, which emphasizes meaning as the fundamental element in analyzing language Halliday (1994) states
“systemic theory is theory of meaning as a choice, by which a language or any other semiotic system is interpreted as networks of interlocking options” (Halliday,
1985) Functionally, systemic functional linguistics is designed to explore how language is formed “It is functional in the sense that it is designed to account for how language is used” (Halliday, 1985) which is represented in three metafunctions: experiential- textual – interpersonal
2.2.1 Strata of the systemic functional model
The model below is based on Halliday (1978 and elsewhere), Hasan (1993,
1995, 1996; Hasan & Perrett (1994); Teich (1999) and Hoang Van Van (2012) in interpreting language as consisting of four strata, which are termed: context – semantics – lexicogrammar and phonology
Figure 1 - Four strata of systemic functional model
According to the model, phonology refers to the system of sounding; lexicogrammar refers to the system of wording; semantics refers to the system of meaning in a language and context refers to the social system
Also according to the model, each stratum can be further divided into functional components or functions The ideational, interpersonal and textual functions of language are considered in the semantic stratum Here, ideational meaning refers to the way one uses representational tools to compose the idea In the context stratum for example, functional components are concerned with field (what is going on in the communicative event), tenor (the social roles and relationships involved) and mode (the channel in which communication takes place and the medium for communication)
There are many other components relating to systemic functional linguistics However, in this study, I will draw attention to only those features of the model which appear directly relevant to my study Therefore, I will focus on exploring two strata: semantics and lexicogrammar to see what they are and how lexicogrammar resonates semantics
In systemic functional linguistics, clause rather than sentence is the unit of analysis In systemic theory, a clause is a unit in which the meanings of three different kinds are combined Three distinct structures, each expressing one kind of semantic organization, are mapped onto one another to produce a single wording These semantic structures are referred to as meta-functions
In order to account for this meaning-making potential of language, Halliday
(1994) proposes three metafunctions at a semantical level:
Experiential – “construing a model of experience”
Textual – “creating relevance to context”
(Halliday, 1994) The experiential meaning construes our experience of the world around us and inside us It‟s expressed through the system of transitivity which consists of six types of process: material, behavioural, mental, verbal, relational, and existential A clause is analyzed into Process, Participant and Circumstance o The interpersonal meaning enacts our social roles and relations It‟s expressed through the mood system A clause is analysed into Subject, Finite, Predicator, Complement, and Adjunct o The textual meaning presents the meanings construed and enacted as a flow of information as message It is expressed through the thematic system A clause is analysed into Theme and Rheme The Theme is the departure of the message and the Rheme is what the Theme is about
Below is an example taken from Matthiessen & Bateman (1991); see also Halliday (1994: 371)
The following parts are going to briefly summarize the main points of each meaning
THE SEMANTIC AND LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF THE
SHORT STORY MR KNOW ALL 3.1 W Somerset Maugham and the story Mr Know All
William Somerset Maugham was born on 25 December 1874 at the British Embassy in Paris, France, the fourth son (of seven children total, but only four that survived infancy) born to socialite and writer Edith Mary née Snell (1840-1882) and Robert Ormond Maugham (1823-1884), a lawyer for the British Embassy His reputation as a novelist rests primarily on four books: Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale (1930) and The Razor’s Edge (1944) He died in 1965
The source of data for this thesis is a short story entitled Mr Know All, in which he employs the irony technique brilliantly In all of Maugham‟s works, the quality that shines through is his grasp of the greys of human nature Mr Know-All is a classic example The story takes place after World War I on a boat traveling from San Francisco in the United States to Yokohama in Japan A rich British merchant of Oriental origin, called Mr Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the nameless narrator of the story, dislikes Mr Kelada even before he sees him However, at the end of the story Mr Kelada, the Levantine jeweler, proves to be a real gentleman when he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady‟s marriage As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator
The story will be divided into three parts: part one is from the beginning of the story to “I did not like Mr Kelada.”, part two is from “I not only shared a cabin with him ” to “It shone in her like a flower on a coat”, part three is from “One evening at dinner the conversation by chance drifted to the subject of pearls.” to the end of the story In part one we are told that our narrator was a highly prejudiced man who was willing to dislike Max Kelada, his cabin – mate on the boat, even before he met him He observes, comments and judges Mr Kelada as he sees him through his own eyes In the second part, Mr Kelada took upon himself to arrange all the social affairs of the cruise The passengers called him Mr Know All to his face and Mr Kelada takes it as a compliment Mr and Mrs Ramsay are also introduced In the last part, Mr Ramsay decides to start an argument with Mr Kelada about the peals and bet Mr Kelada on the authenticity of the string of pearls of Mrs Ramsay Just when Mr Kelada is about to announce about the real of the pearls, he catches sight of Mrs Ramsay‟s face which has turned pale, he allowed himself to be “caught” being wrong and that the pearls are fake Mr Kelada was willing to lose a $100 bet The next morning, an envelope with a $100 note is placed under the door of the cabin of the narrator and Mr Kaleda
Mr Know All by W Somerset Maugham is a short story of simple facts, but with a deeper meaning below the surface This story shows that first impressions are often misleading and that appearances are sometimes deceptive Mr Know All who is described as a disgusting person who shows off all the time and knows everything better than others, is in reality a sensitive, brave gentleman who wouldn't hurt others On the other hand, Mrs Ramsay, whose modesty and good qualities no one questions, has been unfaithful to her husband So rather than judging a person by his looks, color or origin we should observe his behaviour and reactions in difficult situations The moral value of this story is conveyed softly but deeply That is the reason why I love this story and I want to use it as the chosen text in my study
3.2 The analysis of the story in terms of clause and clause complex
In terms of clause and clause complex, there are 384 clauses in total, of which 157 are clause complexes The clause complexes in the story are often made of two, three or more clauses It is believed that experienced authors used a variety of clauses to make their writings interesting and lively Too many independent clauses will sound choppy and immature while too many complex clauses will be difficult to read and hard to understand The use of clause and clause complex in the story seems to be precise and effective since clause complexes are used to give more information without being too complicated to the readers Moreover, in spite of using more clause complexes, the story is still remarkable thanks to its brevity For the analyses clauses and clause complexes, see APPENDIX 1
3.3 The analysis of the story in terms of transitivity
The “What is going on” of the story is well represented in the experiential component of meaning From the point of view of transitivity, in total 384 clauses, there are 150 material clauses, 108 relational clauses, 56 mental clauses, 44 verbal clauses, 17 behavioural clauses and 9 existential clauses More details are presented below
Material clauses are concerned with our experience of the material world
They model this experience as „doing‟ In Mr Know All, 150 material processes are found They are: had just finished in 3, to get in 6, had to put up with in 7, to be given in 11, sank in 14, excluded in 16, to share in 18, was going in 19, went in 22, had packed in 27, made in 33, called for in 34, began in 35, had started in 36, came up in 37, sat down in 43, are sharing in 44, blinked in 53, to prove in 58, took in 59, waved in 60, would have betrayed in 68, was born in 69, flashed in 78, have to say in 79, fished in 80, laid in 81, chose in 82, came from in 87, is nourished in 97, loses in 99, to put in 102, to put in 105, uses in 107, had out aside in 109, sat down in 110, went on in 113, are playing in 116, have turned up in 118, is coming out in
121, finished in 123, seized in 124, would go down in 131, get in 132, have taken in
135, might sit in 138, shared in 140, ate in 141, could not walk in 142, to snub in
144, occurred in 145, might have kicked in 152, slammed in 153, ran in 157, managed in 158, conducted in 159, collected in 160, got up in 161, organized in
162, arranged in 163, took in 167, would not drop in 175, had brought in 176, occurred in 177, sat in 180, sat in 185, was stationed in 190, bulged in 192, to resume in 194, had been spending in 197, achieved in 202, should not paid in 203, shone in 208, drifted in 209, were making in 211, must diminish in 213, rushed in
216, could not resist in 221, stung in 225, thumped in 226, am going to in 230, to look into in 231, goes in 235, was going in 241, pointed in 245, wore in 246, take in
247, flushed in 250, slipped in 251, leaned in 252, gave in 253, flickered in 254, didn’t buy in 260, cost in 263, was bought in 265, was paid in 267, bought in 270, flushed in 271‟, bet in 275, bet in 276, done in 278, can’t bet in 279, get in 283, not to take in 285, continued in 287, can afford to lose in 292, take off in 294, put in
298, can’t undo in 299, have to take in 301, to occur in 303, jumped up in 306, will undo in 307, handed in 308, examined in 310, spread in 311, handed back in 312, caught in 314, held in 319, stopped in 323, flushed in 324, was making in 326, took out in 335, handed in 336, will teach in 337, took in 340, were trembling in 342, spread in 343, do in 344, had to put up with in 345, had been caught in 347, retired in 348, got up in 349, began to shave in 350, lay in 351, smoking in 352, pushed in
355, opened in 356, picked up in 359, was addressed in 361, was written in 362, handed in 363, opened in 365, took out of in 366, tore in 369, gave in 370, did in
372, shouldn’t let spend in 379, stayed in 380, reached in 383, put in 384
As can be seen, the above material processes are used to describe the physical actions of main characters: Mr Kelada, Mr and Mrs Ramsay, the narrator in the story It is easily realized that the material process is used the most This is true to the nature of the narrative type It is also a good choice to display a series of actions when the narrator learnt Mr Kelada‟s characters The reader can see the focus of showing how the character experiences feelings
108 relational processes can be found in this story, which are one of the third major type of process, serve to characterize and identify persons and things These processes are mainly realized by the verb be or it models this experience as „being‟- and they appear to have two inherent participants ( was in 4, 5,10,17, 26, 29, 39, 40, 48,62, 63, 74, 75, 92, 95, 100, 143, 147, 150, 155, 164, 165, 168, 169, 171, 173, 178,
182, 183, 186, 189, 191, 193, 198,200, 214, 238,282, 305, 316, 315, 320, 327, 346, suggested in 15, had been in 21, would have been in 31, am in 41, 50, call in 46, are in 51, 54,259, is in 57, 96, 104,133,199,249,255, 273, 277, 288, 290, 329,334,364, has in 61, were in 66,137,148, 188, 223, 377, felt in 67, will have in 71, am not in 76, have got in 88, 90,91, feel in 98, can not help feeling in 103, had lasted in 112, have had in 119, was not in 154, had in 170, 304, would have had in 181, called in 184, having been in 195, possessed in 204, may be in 205, is not in 206, 237, should be in
215, to have in 222, am in 232, will never be able to get in 243, will be in 248, would be in 261, round in 264, shouldn’t be in 266, will be in 269, is not in 272, had in 281, should be in 284, had in 302, wasn’t in 332, not to be in 338, had in 378) They mainly serve to describe the state of being of things and describe the characteristics of the main characters: Mr Kelada and the narrator, Mr and Mrs Ramsay
Mental process is represented in 56 clauses They are concerned with our experience of the world of our own consciousness They are: was prepared to dislike in 1, knew in 2, could not hope in 9, found in 23, did not like in 24, observed in 28, saw in 30, did not like in 32, 108, 139, think in 45, know in 47, heard in 49, understand in 52, don’t think in 56, is seen in 70, do not know in 77, do not wish in
101, thinking in 111, like in125, hate in 126, thought in 136, was not wanted in 146, to see in 149, 151, knew in 156, knew in 172,179, 201, 220, 240, should disagree in
174, resented in 187, was to be known in 218, do not believe in 219, had seen in
224, ought to know in 228, know in 236, noticed in 256, think in 262, have seen in
274, wants in 296, hesitated in 297, could think in 304, wondered in 321, did not see in 322, could almost see in 325, saw in 331, think in 333, noticed in 341, saw in
354, looked out in 357, saw in 360, mind in 371, likes being made in 375, did not dislike in 382