A Study Of Doris Lessing's Life Philosophy A Study Of Doris Lessing's Life Philosophy

The present thesis presents a case study of the linguistic realizations of the interpersonal meaning in Obama's inaugural address. From the perspective of Systemic-Functional Grammar, it investigates the interpersonal meaning in the speech in terms of personal pronouns, mood, tense, and modality by adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches.It is found in the study that Obama's inaugural address is characterized by subjectivity, informativity, and persuasiveness. Another finding is that Obama demonstrates a preference for the employment of the pronoun we, declaratives, present tense, medium modal operators will, modal adjuncts of polarity, and metaphors of modality with the subjective explicit orientation. These linguistic choices contribute to the reinforcement of the speaker's standpoints and the establishment of the congenial relationship between the speaker and the audience, make the speech compelling and convincing, and enlist the support of the audience.The originality of the study lies in setting up an integrated model for the study of the interpersonal meaning in presidential inaugural addresses by incorporating personal pronouns, mood, tense, and modality as the primary exponents of interpersonal meaning. This model is a modified not only enriches the theory of interpersonal meaning from the perspective of Systemic-Functional Grammar but also provides a paradigm for the investigation of the interpersonal meaning in other genres. Another contribution is applying this model to the detailed analyses of the interpersonal meaning in Obama's inaugural address both quantitatively and qualitatively. The employment of mixed research methods reinforces the rigor and credibility of the research.The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, it not only expends the scope of the Hallidayan model of studying interpersonal meaning in terms of mood and modality to personal pronouns, tense shift at the sentence level, and tense shift at the discourse level but also reveals the characteristics of the language of Obama's inaugural address. Practically, it cultivates the readers' appreciation and evaluation of Obama's inaugural address, enhances their understanding of American culture and society, improves their public speaking skills, and facilitates language teaching and learning.