A Discourse Analysis Of Interpersonal Function In English Household Product Instruction Texts

Discourse analysis is an interdisplinary field of study which is connected with linguistics, stylistics, pragmatics, etc. It is the analysis of language in use. With several decades of development more and more scholars devote themselves to the study of language practice. In the 1960s, Dell Hymes provided a sociological perspective with the study of speech in its social setting. The linguistic philosophers, such as Austin (1962), Searle (1969) and Grice (1975) were influential in the study of language as social action. This could be reflected in speech act theory and the formulation of conversational maxims. Halliday's functional approach to language emphasizes the social functions of language and metafunctions. In the 1980s, China began to witness the appearance of some influential works on discourse analysis. Discourses can be seen as numerous forms such as lectures, advertisements, and conversations. However, our research reveals that few scholars put their focus on product instructions. As China rapidly develops, more and more foreign products and services have entered the Chinese market. Thus as an information carrier, product instruction plays a much more crucial role in conveying messages. Product instruction is an exposition describing the features, functions, date and location of the product or any other information on the product that a manufacturer hopes a potential consumer will learn. In order to make it effective, the product instruction writer employs a number of language patterns. In this thesis the author aims to explore different language patterns employed in product instruction texts, which could realize the interpersonal meaning and thereby help to enrich the study of it.In the book An Introduction to Functional Grammar, Halliday (2000: F41) states his aim clearly that it is to construct a grammar for purpose of text analysis: one that would make it possible to say sensible and useful things about any text, spoken or written, in modern English. Therefore, according to Huang Guowen (2001) systemic- functional grammar can be the best choice in analyzing discourses. This is also the reason that the author adopts this theory in this thesis. Halliday's functional grammar is composed of three metafunctions: the ideational function, the textual function and the interpersonal function. According to the investigation of Li Zhanzi (2002) efforts have so far concentrated on the study of the first two functions. Whereas, there has been less attention paid to the interpersonal function. Our study reveals that even fewer focuses are put on the analysis of interpersonal function in household product instruction texts. Therefore the present work can enrich the study in this field.The thesis probes into the interpersonal meaning in English household product instruction texts and it is based on the theory of systemic functional linguistics. Primary sources for the present research is mainly consulted on the well-known websites and 60 samples are randomly chosen from them. The research is carried out in four categories: mood system, modality, evaluation and context of situation. The analysis demonstrates the close relationship between interpersonal meaning of language and the successful use of language patterns. The study looks at: 1) how the manipulation of different mood structures enables the interaction between the writer and the reader; 2) how modal expressions enhance the interpersonal relationship between the producer and the consumer; 3) how evaluation strategy serves as interest appeals; 4) how the analysis of tenor implies the producer's consideration and respect toward the consumers. In summary, the previous discussion suggests that the significance of the analysis lies in three aspects. First, the study reveals the techniques used in composing and understanding English product instructions. Second, it enriches the study on how household product instruction texts achieve their interpersonal meaning through different linguistic patterns. Third, the use of high quality product instructions can create successful communication between the producer and the consumer, which will in turn help reach commercial achievement.