Motivations for positional variant of reporting clause in English and Chinese
A systemic-functional comparison based on online news corpus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.26346Keywords:
Mood, dominance, reporting clause, projection, positional variantAbstract
Under the systemic-functional linguistic (henceforward SFL) framework, the phenomenon of (in)direct speech is discussed under the notion of projection. The special nature of projection has generated a great deal of discussion on its thematic structure, its interpersonal meaning in news register and others. However, the motivation for the positional variant of the reporting clause has not received enough attention. This article attempts to explore this issue through a deductive and corpus-based comparative approach. A small corpus of English and Chinese online news reveals that there is a higher frequency of the reporting clause that occurs in the post position in English than Chinese (23% vs none). It is argued that in English, in addition to textual motivation, an important motivation for the positional variant of the reporting clause is logical, while in Chinese, the taxis of projection may be inherently paratactic. Thus, there is no motivation to eliminate the dominant status of the reporting clause by putting it finally. The difference may ultimately originate from the dominant status of Mood structures of the two languages. With this hypothesis, this article also explains why free indirect speech is relatively more favored in the first paragraphs of news stories in English.
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Davies, F. (1997). Marked Theme as a heuristic for analysing text-type, text and genre. In J. Pique and D. Viera, (Eds) Applied Languages: Theory and Practice in ESP, 45–80. Valéncia: University of Valéncia.
Dubois, B. L. (1987). A reformulation of thematic progression typology, Text 7 (2): 89–116. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1987.7.2.89
Eggins S. (1994). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics, London and New York: Continuum.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London/New York: Longman.
Fawcett, R. (2003). ‘The many types of “theme” in English: Their semantic systems and their functional syntax’ Available from the Systemic Paper Archive at [email protected]. (A slightly expanded version is being developed for publication in book form.)
Fawcett, R. P. and Huang, G. W. (1995). A functional analysis of the enhanced theme construction in English. Interface: Journal of Applied Linguistics 10: 113–144.
Forey, G. (2009). Projecting clauses: Interpersonal realisation of control and power in workplace texts. In G. Forey and G. Thompson (Eds), Text Type and Texture, 151–174. London Oakville: Equinox.
Fries, P. H. (1981). On the status of theme in English: Arguments from discourse. Forum Linguisticum 6: 1–38.
Fries, P. H. (1995). Themes, methods of development, and texts. In R. Hasan and P. H. Fries (Eds) On subject and theme: From the perspective of functions in discourse, 317–360. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.118.10fri
Fries, P. H. (2009). The textual metafunction as a site for a discussion of the goals of linguistics and techniques of linguistic analysis. In G. Forey and G. Thompson, (Eds) Text type and texture, 8–44. London Oakville: Equinox.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1979). Modes of meaning and modes of expression: Types of grammatical structure, and their determination by different semantic functions. In J. J. Webster (Ed.) The Collected Works of M. A. K. Halliday volume 1, 196–218, Beijing: Peking University Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (2nd edition). London: Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (3rd Edition). London: Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771
Halliday, M. A. K. and McDonald, E. (2004). Metafunctional profile of the grammar of Chinese. In A. Caffarel, J. R. Martin, and C. M. I. M. Matthiessen (Eds) Language Typology: A Functional Perspective, 77–138. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.253.08hal
Hu Z. L. (1994). A multilevel and metafunctional interpretation of the Chinese Interrogative Mood System. Journal of Foreign Languages.
Iedema, R., Feez, S., and White, P. (1994). Media Literacy. (Write it right industry research report no. 2.) Sydney: NSW, Department of Education, Disadvantaged Schools Program Metropolitan East.
Leech, G. N. and Short, M. (1981). Style in Fiction, London: Longman.
Martin, J. R. (1992). English Text: System and Structure. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.59
Martin J. R. (1995a). Text and clause: Fractal resonance, Text: 15 (1): 5–42. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1995.15.1.5
Martin J. R., (1995b). More than what the message is about: English Theme. In M. Ghadessy (Ed.) Thematic Development in English Texts, 223–258. London and New York: Pinter.
Martin J. R. (1996). Types of structure: Deconstructing notions of constituency in Clause and Text. In E. H. Hovy and D. R. Scott (Eds) Computational and Conversational Discourse: Burning Issues – An Interdisciplinary Account. Springer. 1996. Reprinted in Z. H. Wang (Eds), Volume 1 in the Collected Works of J. R. Martin, 2010.
Martin J. R. and Rose D. (2003). Working with Discourse: Meaning Beyond the Clause. New York: Continuum.
Martin, J. R. and Rose, D. (2008) Genre Relations: Mapping Culture. London: Equinox.
Martin, J. R. and White, P. R. R. (2008). The Language of Evalutation: Appraisal in English. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Palgrave Macmillan.
Martin J. R., Matthiessen C. M. I. M., and Painter C. (2010). Deploying Functional Grammar. Beijing: The Commercial Press.
Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (1995). Lexicogrammatical Cartography: English Systems. Tokyo: International Language Sciences Publishers.
Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2002). Combining clauses into clause complexes: A multi-faceted view. In J. Bybee and M. Noonan (Eds) Complex Sentences in Grammar and Discourse: Essays in Honor of Sandra A. Thompson. 237–322. Amsterdam: Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.110.13mat
Semino, E. and Short, M. (2004). Corpus Stylistics: Speech, Writing and Thought Presentation in a Corpus of English Writing. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203494073
Thompson, G. (2004). Introducing Functional Grammar, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Hodder Arnold.
Thompson, G. (2005). But me some buts: A multidimensional view of conjunction. Text 25 (6): 763–791. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2005.25.6.763
Thompson, G. and Thompson, S. (2009). Theme, subject and the unfolding of text. In G. Forey and G. Thompson (Eds) Text Type and Texture, 45–69. London and Oakville: Equinox.
van Dijk, T. A. (1986). News schemata. In C. R. Cooper and S. Greenbaum (Eds) Studying Writing: Linguistic Approaches, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Verhagen, A. (2005). Constructions of Intersubjectivity: Discourse, Syntax and Cognition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
White. P. (2006). Evaluative semantics and ideological positioning in journalistic discourse: A new framework for analysis. In I. Lassen, J. Strunck, and T. Vestergaard (Eds), Mediating Ideology in Text and Image: Ten critical studies (Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture), 37–68, John Benjamins, Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.18.05whi
White, P. R. R. (2012). An Introductory Course in Appraisal Analysis. Retrieved on 20 October 2014 from http://grammatics.com/appraisal/AppraisalGuide/UnFramed/Stage4-Intertextuality.htm.
Xin, B. (2007). Reported speech and the dialogic nature of news texts. Journal of Foreign Languages.
Zeng, L. (2000). A Functional Approach to Projection Clause Nexus in English and Chinese. Modern Foreign Languages.
Zhang, D. L. (2009). Some Characteristics of Chinese Mood System. Foreign Language and Literature.
Published
2019-05-28
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Chen, S. (2019). Motivations for positional variant of reporting clause in English and Chinese: A systemic-functional comparison based on online news corpus. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 13(1-2), 47-69. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.26346
