The meaning and structure of an american short story a systemic functional analysis

Dr.Nguyễn Văn Độ Năm bảo vệ: 2010 Abstract: In the present study, an attempt is made to explore the grammar and meaning of the short story “Witches’ Loaves” by O’Henry as a text which

of an american short story: a systemic functional

analysis Nguyễn Thị Mến

Trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ Luận văn ThS Chuyên ngành: English Linguistic; Mã Số: 60 22 15

Người hướng dẫn: Prof Dr.Nguyễn Văn Độ

Năm bảo vệ: 2010

Abstract: In the present study, an attempt is made to explore the grammar and meaning of the

short story “Witches’ Loaves” by O’Henry as a text which is taken from “O’Henry’s short stories online” The procedures and conventions used in the analysis are based on the framework

of Halliday’s (1994) An Introduction to Functional Grammar The analysis of the text will

proceed from the topic of the chosen text; clauses and clause complex analysis; the transitivity pattern, the mood pattern, the theme-rheme pattern, the grammatical and lexical cohesion; to a summary of the context of situation of the text in terms of the three contextual parameters: field, tenor, and mode

Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Cấu trúc; Ngữ nghĩa; Truyện ngắn

Content:

Table of contents Declaration

Abstract

Acknowledgments

List of Tables

Abbreviations

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims and Scope of the Study 1

1.3 Methods of the Study 1

1.4 Data collection 1

1.5 Design of the study……… 2

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 3

1.1 Three Metafunctions of Language……… 3

1.2 Context……… 3

1.2.1 What is Context? 3

1.2.2 Three aspects of context……… 3-4 1.3 Clauses and their relations 4

1.3.1 Clause Simplex and Clause Complex 4

1.3.2 Types of Relations between Clauses……… 4

1.3.2.1 Taxis 4

1.3.2.2 Logico – semantic type 4-5 1.4 Three kinds of function of clauses 5

1.4.1 Clause as representation: Transitivity 6

1.4.1.1 Process types and Participants .6

1.4.1.1.1 Material process 6

1.4.1.1.2 Mental process 6

1.4.1.1.3 Relational process 6

1.4.1.1.4 Behavioural process 7

1.4.1.1.5 Verbal process 7

1.4.1.1.6 Existential process 7

1.4.1.2 Circumstances 7

1.4.2 Clause as exchange: Mood 7-8 1.4.3 Clause as message: Theme – Rheme………… 8

1.5 Cohesion 8

1.5.1 Grammatical Cohesion 8

1.5.1.1 Reference……… 8-9 1.5.1.2 Substitution 9

1.5.1.3 Ellipsis 9

1.5.2 Logical Cohesion 10

1.5.2.1 Adversative 10

1.5.2.2 Additive 10

1.5.2.3 Causal 10

1.5.2.4 Temporal 10

1.5.3 Lexical Cohesion 10

1.5.3.1 Reiteration……… 10-11 1.5.3.2 Collocation 11

1.6 Summary 11

CHAPTER 2: THE MEANING AND STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT “WITCHES’S LOAVES” 12

2.1 The Chosen Text 12

2.2 Clauses and Clause Complex Analysis 132

2.3 The Analysis of the Text in Terms of Transitivity, Mood and Theme…… 12- 28 2.3.1 The Transitivity Pattern of the Text……… 28-29 2.3.2 The Mood Pattern of the Text……… 29

2.3.3 The Thematic Pattern of the Text 29

2.4 The Cohesion of the Text 30

2.4.1 Grammatical Cohesion 30-31

2.4.1.1 Reference……… 31

2.4.1.2 Conjunctive Devices………… 41

2.4.2 Lexical Cohesion……… 41

2.5 Contextual Configuration of the Text……… 43

2.6 Summary 43

PART 3: CONCLUSION 44

1.1 Recapitulation 44

1.2 Contributions 44

1.3 Implications of the study 44

1.4 Suggestions for future research 44

REFERENCES

APPENDICE

PART 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

According to Halliday (1994), the fundamental difference between systemic functional grammar and formal models of grammar is that the former is based on a functional framework It is functional in three closely related senses: in its interpretation

of text, of system, and of the elements of linguistic structures Functional grammar sees language first and foremost as a system of communication and analyzes grammar to discover how it is organized to allow speakers and writers to make any exchange meanings Rather than insisting on a clear distinction between grammatical and ungrammatical forms, the focus is usually on the appropriateness of a form for a particular communicative purpose in a particular context The primary concern is with the

functions of structures and their constituents and with their meanings in context A

grammarian interested in this kind of description is likely to use data from authentic texts

in specific contexts

My reason for choosing to analyse a short story by O’Henry is first and foremost due

to my strong favourite for American short stories, especially, O.Henry’s ones Therefore, I would like to have a deep understanding of my beloved short stories, one of which is the short story “Witches’ loaves” by O’Henry I myself find that functional grammar with the systemic functional analysis method is a very useful tool and an effective method to help me understand the story further in terms of both meaning and structure

1.2 Aims and Scope of the Study

Within the framework of a minor thesis, the aim of the study is to:

 Examine some basic analytical aspects included by systemic functional linguistics such as experiential, interpersonal and textual ones

 Investigate how these aspects are employed in the short story “The Witches’ Loaves” by O’Henry

 Offer some suggestions for teaching and learning

The research question that the present study seeks to answer is: “How is the text expressed in terms of transitivity, mood and theme-rheme?”

This study does not attempt to cover all aspects of functional grammar but some main areas of systemic functional theory and primary concepts such as linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion The focus is on some issues relating to the analysis of the text

My original writing of the thesis was based on the format and methods employed in the

previous M.A Theses in the same file supervised by Prof Dr Hoang Van Van such as: The meaning and Structure of a Biology text: a systemic functional analysis by Ho Thi Mai (2008); The meaning and structure of a fairy tale story: a systemic functional analysis by Pham Thi Thuy and a research on The meaning and Structure of a Science Fiction Story: a systemic functional analysis Journal of Science (Foreign Languages) by Prof Dr Hoang

Van Van However; according to the comments given by the Board of Examiners, my M.A thesis has been changed in some parts mainly in “Development” and “Appendix” I quite hope that such adjustments are reasonable and satisfactory

1.3 Methods of the Study

The study is undertaken with a view to analyzing the meaning and grammar of a short story The descriptive and analytical methods will be applied as the principal ones The descriptive method is concerned with the description of concepts related to systemic functional grammar The analytical method is resorted to analyze the chosen text The procedures and conventions used in the analysis are based on the framework of

Halliday’s (1994) An Introduction to Functional Grammar

1.4 Data collection

The text is a short story – a literature text taken from “O’Henry short stories online”

1.5 Design of the study

The minor thesis is divided into four chapters as following:

- Chapter I – Introduction: Introduces the rational, aims, scope, methods of the study,

data collection and the research design

- Chapter II – Theoretical Background: provides the theoretical background of the

study Its focus is on introducing important concepts in systemic functional linguistics relevant to the topic of the thesis

- Chapter III – The analysis of the short story “Witches’ Loaves”: focuses on the

meaning and structure of the text

- Chapter IV – The conclusion: summarizes the results of the study and suggests

some implications for teaching and learning English as well as presents the suggestions for further research