A Systemic Functional Study Of Madame Chiang Kai-shek's Address In U.S.Congress,Feb.18th,1943

Language,according to Halliday,is a complex semiotic system,having various levels,or strata.Lexicogrammar construes three corresponding kinds of meaning:the ideational,interpersonal,and textual.Based on the trinocular perspective,meaning can be projected onto social context,giving rise to three register parameters of field,tenor,and mode.Then,the model was further elaborated by adding on a level of genre.Currently,in terms of the research content and research methods,most domestic researchers have focused on discourse analysis with the perspective of local theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics(SFL hereafter),such as one of the metafuctions,genre,register and so on.However,mature development of the local theory,lays the groundwork for the development of a relatively balanced functional discourse analysis model.So,for now,practicing the stratified model deserves attention.The thesis adopts the mixed methods which combine quantitative and qualitative research to the data for the present study,Madame Chiang's address in the United States House of Representatives,on February 18th.1943.The research questions posed in the study are aimed at investigating the linguistic explanatory power of the stratified model and support the worth of the speech by systemic functional linguistic approach.Therefore,the target text is analyzed from transitivity,Mood and Modality,thematic structure,register and genre.The present study suggests that a systemic functional analysis reveals many hidden linguistic features of the speech that otherwise remain unnoticed.Exploring the language of speech is beneficial to someone who would be interested in Madame Chiang's speech and apply the stratified model in discourse analysis with more confidence,knowing possible pitfalls and challenges.