Gender Differences Of Interpersonal Meaning In Discourse Of Bulletin Board System

In view of the inadequate gender researches in BBS (Bulletin Board System) discourse from a linguistic view in China, this thesis aims to explore the similarities and differences of interpersonal meaning between male and female in BBS discourse. The investigation, based on the data collected from the relationship forum of the biggest BBS in China, Tianya BBS, and through a statistical analysis, is carried out under systemic functional grammar from three perspectives of grammar, lexicon and context, which combine Halliday's interpersonal function and register theory with Martin's Appraisal system, namely, the systems of Register, Mood, Modality, Attitude, Graduation and Engagement. Due to a common Register embraced by these posts no matter of men or women, and a narrowing tendency in gender gap in the current society, there is not a remarkable difference between men and women in the six systems of interpersonal meaning. Both men and women, in their posts, use a large number of declarative mood to state what happened on them, of affective meaning to express their emotions, and of high modal value, raise force and sharpen focus to intensify their loves and hates and so on. However, though not very obviously, the power-dominated and self-involved manifestations of men can still be perceived. They tend to choose"I"as a subject, use more modal expressions of obligation and high value, focus on judgmental meaning of social sanction, and remain more reserved to the readers'views in their posts. This research, on one hand, can be a complement to the previous researches on BBS discourse, and on the other hand, can be a supplemental material reflecting the status of men and women in the society.