The Interpersonal Function Of University Presidents’ Messages On Websites

Interpersonal function is one of the three metafunctions in systemic functionallinguistics. Interpersonal function concerns that people use language to interact with otherpeople, establish and maintain appropriate social links with them, influence others’behaviors, express views on the world and change the world through language. The meansof realizing interpersonal function includes Mood system, modality system etc. By applyinginterpersonal function, speakers participate in the context of discourse situation, expressattitudes or conclusions, and try to influence others’ attitudes or behaviors.Presidents’ messages on the university websites are words from the presidents of theuniversity, which are another kind of introduction to the university. Through the messageson university websites, presidents introduce the history of university, faculties, aim ofdevelopment, campus environment and conditions, teaches and students etc., by means ofwhich the interaction between presidents and website visitors are conveyed.This thesis aims to analyze the interpersonal function of presidents’ messages Project211and985universities from the perspective of Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics.The analysis is carried out from the aspects of speech role and speech function, Moodsystem and modality system. Firstly, in the analysis process of speech roles and speechfunction, these four speech roles i.e. statement, offer, command and question are elaboratedin the realization of interpersonal function of presidents’ messages. Secondly, in theanalysis of Mood system, the usage of the first, second and third person is focused on andthe declarative, imperative and WH-interrogative mood are emphasized from the aspects ofSubject and mood types. Thirdly, the values of modality realized by modal operators arespecified from the aspects of high, median, and low value modal operators. This thesisexplores the interpersonal function of presidents’ messages and the means of realizing thisfunction.This paper explores the means that interpersonal function is realized in presidents’messages, studies roles of different words in realizing interpersonal function, and providesreference for wording in public discourse.