Interpersonal Function Analysis of Michel’s Speech at Peking University

【Abstract】：From the view of the interpersonal function of the functional grammar， Micheal Alexander. Kirkwood. Halliday has made a series of analysis of language， such as sociolinguistics， language teaching，statistics and so on， which have made great contributions and huge effect to the field of linguistics. Based on the framework of interpersonal function theory in Halliday’s systemic functional grammar， this paper analyses Michel’s speech at Peking University. It reveals the close relationship between language and meaning， and explore the Michel how to construct the interpersonal relationship in his speech at Peking University.

【Key words】： Halliday； functional grammar； interpersonal function； speech

Introduction

The interpersonal function refers to the functions that language can be used to communicate with other people， and means the functions that can carry out an action. It shows the relationship between the speaker and his audiences in a certain context. Based on the framework of interpersonal function theory in Halliday’s systemic functional grammar， this paper uses Michel’s Speech at Peking University as an example to demonstrate how interpersonal function are generally realized in speech.

I. Overview of the Interpersonal Function

According to Geoff Thompson， he holds that there are three metafunctions， the first one is the experiential function，the second is the textual function and the third is the interpersonal function. The experiential function of language means that we use language to talk about our experience of the world， including the worlds in our own minds， to describe events and states and the entities involved in them （Thompson， 2015）. Halliday think that the textual function’s object is language it self. With the textual function， language can create an independent world of its own， which means that the text is an entirety when people read or analyze it. The speaker uses language structures to express his aims and meanings： the expression of his comments， his attitudes， his evaluations， and also of the relationship that he sets up between himself and the hearers-in particular， the communication role he adopts， of informing， questioning， persuading， and so on. In other words， we use language to interact with other people， to establish and maintain relationships with them， to influence their behavior， to express our own viewpoint on things in the world. This kind of function is called Interpersonal Function. It is one of the three metafunctions and is realized by “mood， modality and intonation” as major exponents. According to Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar， the interpersonal meta-function concerns how the language to realize the dynamic meaning of the language to show the relationship between the speaker and the hearer， and how to use language to express one’s attitude and to influence the hearers. The interpersonal function establishes and maintains the social relationships between speakers by language in daily life. He holds that the interpersonal function in communication not only realizes the speaker’s attitudes， his or her role， status， point of view， intention and Judgment but also influences the receivers’ point of view and actions. The relationship between the speakers and the hearers is dynamic. Therefore， the analysis of the language of speech plays a vital role in our understanding of the speech.

II. Analysis of Michel’s Speech from the Perspective of Interpersonal Function.

From the perspective of interpersonal function， it analyze the Michel’s speech in Peking University in three aspects： Mood， Personal Pronouns and Modality.

1. Analysis of Mood in the Speech

In the interpersonal function， Mood is the main element. Mood is composed of Subject and Finite. That is to say， the Subject and Finite make up a component of the clause that is called the Mood. Mood is divided into two types： the indicative and imperative. Indicative can again be divided into declarative and interrogative.The following Picture how the relationship of different forms of mood：

As a public speaker， Michel not only offers information and her attitude to her audiences， but also appeals to the audiences to support her views. Hence， the declarative mood plays a dominant role in Michel’s speech， which indicates that her speech is quite formal. The following table is the calculation of the declarative clauses， interrogative clauses and imperative clauses.

From the above table， it can be seen that the declarative accounted for 98.7% of the sum of clauses. Michel uses lots of declarative sentences in her speech to show her powerful political status. Besides， when Michel talks about the cultural communication and study in abroad， she uses many commendatory terms.

2. Analysis of Personal Pronouns in the Speech

The use of personal pronouns， to some degree， reflect the interpersonal distance between speakers and listeners. The speakers use the personal pronouns to build and maintain the relationship with his or her audiences. In Michel’s speech， she talks to her audiences in the first person pronouns. The statistics of personal pronouns shown in the table below.

Form the table 2， we can find that the most used is fist person， then is the second person， the next is the third person， e.g. “But let’s be clear， studying abroad is about so much more than improving your own future. It’s also about shaping the future of your countries and of the world we all share. Because when it comes to the defining challenges of our time-- whether it’s climate change or economic opportunity or the spread of nuclear weapons -- these are shared challenges.” In these sentences， Michel use the first person “our” to show she and her husband hold identical position with Chinese students， and to establish a common ground.

3. Analysis of Modality in the Speech

As we all known， the Finite expresses not only tense but also modality. In functional grammar， the modality is considered as a major exponent of interpersonal relations which means modality is one of the lexico-grammatical features to show the interpersonal function. According to Halliday， modality is a form of participation of the speaker in the speech event. Through modality， the speaker can indicate his＼her status and validity in his/her own Judgment. It thus derives from what we call the “interpersonal” function of language， language as expression of role. The modal auxiliaries （may， must， can， etc.） perform this function in political speech， but they contain a systemic ambiguity about the nature of the authority--whether it is based primarily on knowledge or on power. For example， Michel uses lots of modal verbs， such as：can， will， would，could， should， etc. She also quotes the classical Chinese poetry， “It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books”， to express her expectation of the development between U.S. and China. In her speech， Michel use kinds of verbs to inspire sympathy in the audiences. For example， “That’s how you come to understand how much we all share. And that’s how you realize that we all have a stake in each others success”. In this sentences， the term “understand” and the word “realize” indicate that studying in abroad would promote knowledge sharing among the students who have different cultural background.

The following table show the modal values in Michel’s speech.

From the table 3， we can find Michel tends to use the word in median and low value， such as should， will， would， can and could. That is Michel attaches great importance to China’s visit， and the relationship between America and China.

III. Summary

In conclusion， this paper analyze the Michel’s speech at Peking University from three aspects， they are mood， personal pronouns， and modality. Mainly based on the theory of Halliday’s functional grammar，the paper uses the Michel’s speech at Peking University as an example to demonstrate how interpersonal function is generally realized in speech. In political speech， speakers usually employ pronouns such as “I”， “we” and “you” to establish an inanimate or a remote relationship with the hearers，emphasize her views， establish her status and enforce her will covertly. For example， by using the pronoun we， the complex references of the pronouns may reflect the speaker’s contradictory purpose to present himself or herself as an authority and establish a friendly relationship with the hearers. These elements can be used to help establish the speaker's authority， create a desirable relationship between the speaker and the hearers， and enforce the speaker's will and intention upon the hearers in a political speech.In Michel’s speech we can see that as the First Lady of the U.S.A， Michel expects to develop the relations of friendship and cooperation between China and America. The speech， which also showcased Michel’s excellent speaking ability.

Undoubtedly， there are some misunderstandings and prejudices in the course of analysis. It is due to the author’s incompetence in linguistic theory study， which will be complemented in later work and study. This paper also has its limitations and there is still much zone for improvement.

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作者簡介：龍泓燕（1992—），女，貴州貴陽，碩士，貴州民族大學，跨文化交際與翻譯 。