功能语法论文

Functional Analysis of Interpersonal Grammatical Metaphor under Different Social ContextsMa Xiaoyuan(Liaoning Normal University, Department of foreign languages, Dalian) Abstract:interpersonal metaphor is one of the important parts of Halliday’s grammatical theory, which includes two parts：metaphor of mood and metaphor of modality. This essay makes an analysis of the functions of interpersonal metaphor from various social contexts.Key words: interpersonal grammatical metaphor; functions; social contextsⅠ. IntroductionHalliday points out that language possess three main meta-functions: ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction and the textual metafunction, and also divided the grammatical metaphor into interpersonal grammatical metaphor and experiential grammatical metaphor. And interpersonal grammatical metaphor just refers to the metaphorical phenomenon that occurs during the interpersonal communication event. It is widely used as a way of language using to establish and maintain better relations with other people involving non-congruent ways of enacting interaction. So it can brings many different functions and benefits when used in various social situationsⅡ. Interpersonal metaphorInterpersonal metaphor has metaphor of mood and metaphor of modality.The metaphor of mood may explain a phenomenon that why sometimes mood choices and speech roles don’t always coincide. For example: could you get me a drink? a words which you said to a person is a kind of indirect speech act shifting a demand for goods-and-services to a question about the other person’s ability, the effect is therefore soften the demand. One more example：What is the use of the rules if no one obeys it? This superficial question realized in the interrogative mood is actually a statement, which is typically realized in the declarative mood. With this metaphorical step an exchange of goods or services is constituted as an exchange of information．And in some contexts, the using of metaphor of mood will show more politeness and consultation than any other normal mood, so, it broadens the function of language from the semantic perspective.And then is the metaphor of modality. Modality is the expression of the speaker’s attitude towards the likelihood or necessity of the proposition, and is congruently realized by modal verbs, and modal metaphor just refers to the modal meaning reflected by the clause which is originally embodied by the modal verbs, modal adverbs or the extended part of the predicate. For example: A: You are supposed to come heretomorrow．B: It is expected that you come here tomorrow. Sentence B is a modal metaphor because the modal meaning of extended part of predicate “supposed to”is showed by the clause “it is expected”. And the basic distinction that determines how each type of modality will be realized is “orientation”. Orientation is the distinction between subjective and objective modality，and the explicit and implicit variants. Halliday states，The explicitly subjective and explicitly objective forms of modality are all strictly speaking metaphorical.Ⅲ.Interpersonal metaphor in different social contexts and it’s functions(1) In advertisementsAdvertising English is a very useful variant of modern English for a particular function with high commercial value. In order to getting the strong effect of guidance and persuasion, the designers of the advertisement always use a special method in language to show the interpersonal relations and get the trust of the customers. So, interpersonal metaphors are widely used in advertising language. here are the examples：A.Are guide books the only way to a city’s soul?Have you driven a Ford lately?Advertising is an adjunct to modern business. Its purpose is to provide consumers with product information; therefore, the advertisinglanguage should be normally declarative sentences, but in fact we can usually see a lot of imperative sentences or questions in ads. This is just an example of metaphor of mood in it. The questions in the ads can be only answered by the readers themselves, and it’s a useful way to arouse the curiosity of them.Sometimes advertisements just show their opinions through some suggestions or hide the subjective traces, like this air services ad:B. It seems that giving to a wide selection of first run movies music videos，news，games and sports will make your trip relaxing and enjoyable.This explicitly objective form of modality totally hides the subjective will and can bring the attention and trust of the customers. Various kinds of expressions through interpersonal metaphor broaden the potential of and attract more customers, which are just the purpose of advertising English, and analysis of the interpersonal metaphor in advertising language can also deepen our understanding and improve our writing skill about it.(2) In the military newsIn the analysis of military news discourse, it is found that interpersonal metaphors are mainly expressed through the metaphor of modality, the use of metaphor of mood is very rare, which may because the feature of military news discourse is to report the truth, and by usingmuch more declarative sentences can play better the function of transmitting information of news. And the two forms of metaphor of modality: both the explicitly subjective and the explicitly objective forms of it enhance the objectivity and credibility of military news. Here are the examples of metaphor of modalities:A. Major-General Barney White-Spanner said, “I think we’re getting close to what we intend to do in southern Iraq.”Mr. Khan told an audience at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, “... I’m afraid that the longer the war goes on, the more people will be radicalized.”B. It would be wrong to assume that Zardari will go easy on militants just because of that one deal, however repellent.It is unclear, however, whether MPs will give the status-of-forces agreement the green light, with some politicians demanding that the text be put to a public referendum.The former is usually realized in direct speech, expressing the views of some authorities, and also to some extent represents the modal directions of the reporters, because the words are quoted or not is in their control. But the latter makes the opinion of the reporters an unquestioned fact, because the source of modality is concealed and the objective evaluation is emphasized.(3) In business negotiationIn business negotiations, the interaction between negotiators lies in the words and attitudes. A single word or a tone can affect the responses of both sides; it’s subtle and influential, therefore, the tone use in the negotiation deserves your careful attention, it should be courteous, tactful and in a reasonable manner. Compare the following two sentences:A.(a) We cannot make a profit with those numbers.(b) How we can make a profit with those numbers．Sentence (b) here uses the metaphor of mood by asking a question to replace the fact that “we can not make a profit with those numbers”, it’s mild and non-threatening, turning the censure into soft complaints subtly without any harsh feelings. It helps you to adhere to your principle and also avoid the sturdy. Another example；B. (a) you are wrong／I don’t agree with you．(b) Let’s look at this another way．Here the sentence (b) avoids the use of direct rebuttal words but in a suggestive tone; induce the negotiator to rethink about the question in a different attitude. So, using this metaphor of mood can help you achieve your goal without offending the other part.There are also many metaphor of modalities in negotiation English：C .If you can, I think we can discuss this further．You can use this sentence if you want to make a compromise to break the current situation when the negotiation falls into an impasse.Using the explicitly subjective modality “I think......” is to tell the other part “we can continue to negotiate if we agree to this condition”, Point out that there are some possibilities and also out of the shackles of commitment. Another metaphor of modality:D. It seems to me we’re giving up too much in this case．This sentence replace the words that “you’re giving us the short end here”．Use a calm and easy tone to point out the fact; it avoids the embarrassment of the condition like cursing each other when both parts know well about the truth, it helps to reduce the blame and ease the confrontation.(4) In the technological textsIn the technological texts, the information is usually illustrated through the writing material but not face to face interactions between the writer and the reader. But we can always find some questions in the text, and it is obviously that it’s the ideal readers who are created by the writer ask the questions but not the writer him/herself. And it is a metaphor of mood but not a real question, for example：A. Is not ωsuch an element of reality and do we not assume then its existence to start with? The answer is that theω’S represent only a necessary tool to count and average all measurements correctly．In this case, the writer is more an information provider than a person who really needs it; the interrogative mood reflects the statement functionhere, having an interaction with the readers through the metaphorical expressions, like the example above, can make it easier for the reader to accept the theories that have presented by the writer.It is always thought that modality shows the subjectivity, but in fact it shows the efforts that the speakers have made for the truth value of their speech. Their speech can be seen as a direct reflection of the fact and to some extent reflects the cognitive view of non-modal. So, the modality in the technological texts can be seen as the efforts that the writer has made to show the truth level and objectivity in his/her discourse. For example:B. it is likely that hard，inorganic coatings or as structural layers can improve the wear performance of micro machines．This is a metaphor of modality of the explicitly objective form. And there are many kind of metaphors of modality in technological discourses like: It is likely／probable／possible／usual／certain／obvious that．．．These help to put the information in a position of objectivity, to make it flawless and avoid the criticism and doubts about the reality and the feasibility from the readers, and hide the subjectivity behind.Ⅳ.ConclusionWe can easily see from the above that interpersonal metaphor is so important in our life; it is widely applied in various social conditions for different purposes, it can promote a successfulcooperation in business, enhance the truth and objectivity of the news report or the new technological discoveries, or bring more customers to buy the product that has advertised......Therefore, this essay makes an analysis of the interpersonal metaphor from different social contexts, aiming to enrich the use of interpersonal metaphor and expand the study field of it.Functional Analysis of Interpersonal Grammatical Metaphor under Different Social Contexts马晓媛学号：201010648References【1】Thompson. 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