The organization of English geological textbooks
First attempt is made to investigate the organization of English geological textbooks written by native authors and the organization of a chapter Structurally, English geological textbooks are divided into parts or chapters with the Contents in Brief or the Contents section at the beginning and the Appendixes, Glossary and Index at the end of the textbooks.
Like the organization of all geological textbooks, the chosen textbooks have three main parts that are the beginning, the main, and the ending.
The beginning parts usually contain the Contents in Brief or the Contents section.
In addition to the Contents section, textbooks No 2 and No 4 also include the Dedication and Preface, Acknowledgement and List of Reviewers.
The main parts of these textbooks are reports broken into small sections by headings known as chapters in these textbooks Each chapter is used to provide readers or students with specific knowledge Chapters in these textbooks are
54 organized into three main sections: the Introduction Part, the Body Part, and the Concluding Part.
The ending parts include Appendixes, Glossary and Index.
We will give a detailed explanation of the organization of a chapter.
The Introduction Part: Of the four English geological textbooks chosen for the analysis, we have found that the Introduction Parts are often arranged at the beginning of the chapters just after the chapters’ names They are used to announce the main contents of the chapters — what are going to be studied in the chapters The Introduction Parts vary from chapter to chapter.
The Body Part: the Body Part in these textbooks contains the main contents that have been announced in the Introduction Part The Body Part of the chapters are broken into small sections with headings and subheadings in capital letters and bold.
In the Body Part of these textbooks, the discourse of geology focusing on natural geologic phenomena to observe, to order and to explain the experiential world through setting up taxonomies, technical taxonomies, and implication sequences are analyzed on the one hand and scientific genre dealing with the explanation of the four major functions of English geological textbooks namely: classifying, decomposing, describing, and listing are represented on the other hand There are always figures and tables, boxes used to illustrate the main points In addition to the main content of each chapter in the textbooks, in some textbooks there are other types of boxes named In Great Depth, Environment Geology, and Astrogeology.
The Concluding Part is a small section of chapters known as “Summary” or
“Closing remarks” They summarize all the knowledge that have been studied or written in the Body Parts The Concluding parts can also include many points such as Terms to remember, Testing Your Knowledge, Expanding Your Knowledge, Exploring Web Resources, and Animations (as in textbook No 1), or consist of such points as: Further thoughts, Significant Points, Essential Terms, Review Questions, and Challenges (as in textbook No 2).
We have listed five Introduction Parts and five Body Parts taken from the four English geological textbooks using for the study in order to analyze their generic and linguistic features in terms of transitivity, mood, and theme.
The Introduction Part Introduction Part 1: Chapter Eight: Faults and Faulting; Introduction Part 2:
Chapter four: Deformation and Strain; Introduction Part 3: Chapter ten: Folds and Folding; Introduction Part 4: Chapter 7: Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rocks; Introduction Part 5: Chapter 16: Earthquakes
The Body Part Body Part 1: Types of Metamorphism in Chapter 7: Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rocks; Body Part 2: Earthquakes Folds in Chapter 15:
Geologic Structure; Body Part 3: Causes of Earthquakes in Chapter 16:
Earthquakes; Body Part 4: Chapter 17: Earth’ Internal Structure; Body Part 5:
The early case for Continental drift and Sea Floor Spreading in Chapter 19:
The scientific genre of English geological textbooks will be represented through the explanation of their generic features.
Generic features of English geological textbooks
Generic structure of the Body Parts c.eec S2 58 1 Classifying or decompOSInE cc cà se 58 2 DescrIbIng - c2 2n E SH SE HE nh EEE en tệ 60 3 ExplanatiOn - cm kh kết 62 2.1.3 The organization of the Body Parts - <5 65 2 2 Linguistic features of English geological textbooks
Table 2.13 The Thematic analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by clause) Table 2.14 The Thematic analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by percentage)
CHAPTER 3: GENERIC STRUCTURE AND LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF VIETNAMESE GEOLOGICAL TEXTBOOKS Table 3.1 Distribution of moves in the English Introduction Parts
Table 3.2 Combination of four-move introduction structure and the process type
Table 3.3 The Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by clause).
Table 3.4 The Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by percentage)
Table 3.5 The Transitivity analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by clause)
Table 3.6 The Transitivity analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by percentage)
Table 3.7 The Mood analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by clause)
Table 3.8 The Mood analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by percentage)
Table 3.9 The Mood analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by clause) Table 3.10 The Mood analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by percentage) Table 3.11 The Thematic analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by clause)
Table 3.12 The Thematic analysis of the Introduction Parts (illustrated by percentage)
Table 3.13 The Thematic analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by clause) Table 3.14 The Thematic analysis of the Body Parts (illustrated by percentage)
CHAPTER 4: COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE GEOLOGICAL TEXTBOOKS
Table 4.1 Total number of clauses in English and Vietnamese Introduction
Table 4.2 Comparison of frequency of Processes in the English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts
Table 4.3 Linguistic features of the English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts
Table 4.4 Total number of clauses in English and Vietnamese Body Parts Table 4.5 Linguistic features of the English and Vietnamese Body Parts Table 4.6 Examples of Theme-Rheme structure in English and Vietnamese Table 4.7 Most common Modal Adjuncts functioned as interpersonal
Themes in English geological textbooks Table 4.8 Most common Modal Adjuncts functioned as interpersonal Themes in Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.9 Most common Conjunctive Adjuncts functioned as textual Themes in English geological textbooks
Table 4.10 Most common Conjunctions functioned as textual Themes in Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.11 Combination of textual and interpersonal Themes in English geological textbooks
Table 4.12 Combination of textual and interpersonal Themes in Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.13 Similarities and differences between types of Themes in English and Vietnamese clauses as of different metafunctions
Table 4.14 Unmarked Themes in English and Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.15 Marked Themes in English and Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.16 Fronted Predicators function as the unmarked Themes in Vietnamese declarative clauses
Table 4.17 Realization of Subject Themes in English and Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.18 Realization of Complement Themes in English and Vietnamese geological textbooks
Table 4.19 Types of Themes and their realizations in English and Vietnamese geological declarative clauses
Geology is the science of the history of Earth’s evolution It is based, first, on observations of the Earth itself and other planetary bodies, but the application of such sciences as biology, chemistry, physics, and materials sciences is also required to understand the processes we observe Geology differs from these other sciences in at least three ways.
First, geology is fundamentally a historically oriented science dealing with processes that for the most part occur on a time scale that is immense compared with human lives Thus, it is impossible to observe an entire process directly; we can see only what is happening at a single geological instant in time Because of this constraint, the inference of geologic processes relies heavily upon the fundamental assumption that spatial variation can be interpreted as temporal evolution In other words, we assume that the same process can be found in various stages of advancement in different places and that therefore we can piece together observations made in different places to infer a temporal evolution of that process.
Second, geology deals with large-scale and complex systems for which controlled experiments are difficult if not impossible to construct Thus, the observation and description of natural features acquire proportionately more importance than they have in most other sciences.
Third, the fact that geologic evidence is fragmentary and incomplete makes any of the inferences drawn from the data non-unique and highly dependent upon our intuition and experience Despite these differences, the methods employed by geologists to investigate the Earth are philosophically much the same as those used in other realms of science.
Concerning the discourse of geology, it remains a separate subject area, with a focus on natural geological phenomena and events For the most part its discourse is indistinguishable from that used in science, the main difference being the absence of experiments to illustrate the scientific world view constructed in introductory textbooks Geology as explained to students is very explicit about its goals The three stages geologists have to deal with are: to observe, order and explain the experiential world.
From the point of view of ESP teaching and learning, geological textbooks in English and Vietnamese have never been exploited by any Vietnamese linguists so far It is presumably clear that to be effective, such an adaptation must be firmly based on understanding of the specific genre in the target language, in terms not only of the surface linguistic features but also of the discourse conventions, and the underlying scientific values, which must certainly be dependent on an empirical investigation.
Given the necessity with ESP teaching and learning, this study sets out to investigate the structure and meaning of geological textbooks as a genre in English and Vietnamese using the theories of systemic — functional grammar as theoretical framework The theory of systemic functional linguistics was originally formulated by M.A.K Halliday in the early 1960s From its very beginning, systemic functional linguistics has been marked by its recognition that all languages take place in the context of a social situation, that the situation has an impact on the nature and the meaning of the language used and that any account of language must therefore include reference to that context of use.
With the increasing international interest in the functional nature of language and in the linguistic analysis of texts much of work about the systemic functional model, both from practical and theoretical perspective has been done by systemicists such as Berry (1975); Fawcett (1980); Halliday (1994); Martin (1985, 1992); Morley(1985); Ventura (1991); Downing and Locke (1992); Bloor, T & M Bloor (1995);
Matthiessen (1995); Egsing (1994); Butt, Fahey, Spinks, and Yallop (1996); Lock (1996); Thompson (1996); H.V.Van (1997, 2002) and many others.
The research I have undertaken is an attempt to investigate the structure and meaning of geological textbooks in English and Vietnamese as a subgenre of scientific textbooks The analyses into generic structure and linguistic features in both two languages will be done Generic analysis considering as the first task of the research tends to find out the typical generic features for a particular kind of textbook-geological textbooks The second task of the research is to examine linguistic analysis in terms of Transitivity, Mood, and Theme using systemic functional grammar as a theoretical framework A comparison from the systemic functional perspective would show the similarities as well as differences in generic structure and linguistic features of geological textbooks in the two languages This research, hopefully, would be a worthwhile effort to provide a more articulate insight into ESP teaching and learning; and to serve as a framework for implicational purposes, which can be both theoretical and practical.
In terms of theoretical values, this research would be the first step in the investigation of the English and Vietnamese geological textbooks from a systemic functional perspective Though the systemic functional linguistics model has won international interest and support from linguists for nearly forty years, the application of this linguistic approach in the study of Vietnamese can only be found in the work of a small number of Vietnamese linguists such C X Hao (1991);
As regards practical purposes, a focus on generic structure and linguistic features of geological textbooks in both English and Vietnamese can have startling and immediate results in ESP teaching and learning Martin (1990) states “when the students’ texts are difficult to follow and it is hard to pinpoint exactly what they are reading or writing about, the problem often originates in the nature of the language used in the texts or the linguistic features to be exact” Once language learners understand how the ordering of language elements works in the language to orient the audience and to signpost and organize meanings, they have gained a powerful tool for managing the meanings of texts which are just beyond their current level of language proficiency In other words, an understanding of structure and meaning of a text can increase the comprehensible input accessible to students, especially when they work with written language.
Genre has been studied in English by such linguists as Gregory and Carroll (1978);
Jamieson and Campell (1978); Halliday (1978); Miller (1984); Martin (1985);
Couture (1986); Preston (1989); Swales (1990); Bhatia (1993) and many others.
However, their studies have been concerned with issues of genre in English or in comparison with languages other than Vietnamese In Vietnam, many researches on genre have been carried out These researchers have carried their studies on different kinds of genre namely: Research paper as a genre in English and Vietnamese: A systemic functional comparison by Duong Van Loc (2001); Applying Genre-based Approach in Teaching the Writing of the English Discussion Genre to Vietnamese EFL Students at Tertiary level by Dang Thi Kim Anh (2002); Research into Genre Analysis at Linguistic Level: The Case of English Fairly Tales by Tran Thi Ngoc Lien (2003); The Generic structure and Linguistic features of Economics Discourse in English and Vietnamese by Nguyen Thuy Phuong Lan (2003); An investigation into the generic structure of English and Vietnamese News Reportage and its text-forming devices by Pham Thi Thanh Thuy (2004); English and
Vietnamese TESOL Journal Article Abstracts: A genre-based analysis by Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (2011).
2 AIM AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY The aim of the dissertation is to explore the generic structure and linguistic features of geological textbooks in English and Vietnamese To achieve the proposed aim,we will commit ourselves to addressing the following research question. e What are the generic structure and linguistic features of English and
Vietnamese geological textbooks as seen from systemic functional perspective?
Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts
Introduction Parts in English geological textbooks are rather small sections so we have analyzed the five Introduction Parts together The names in turn are as follows:
Faults and Faulting, taken from Chapter 8 in “Earth Structure”; Deformation and Strain, taken from Chapter 4 in “Earth Structure”; Folds and Folding, taken from Chapter 10 in “Earth Structure”; Metamorphism, Metamorphic rocks, and Hydrothermal rocks, taken from Chapter 7 in “Physical Geology”; Earthquakes taken from Chapter 16 in “Physical Geology” The Introduction Parts are about faults in general sense and in a more restricted sense, their affects to the topography and the landscape; deformed fossils, folds, and other features that document the permanent shape changes occurring the natural rocks; structural feature that is formed when planar surfaces are bent or curved or about a manifestation of ductile deformation; how the chemical composition of a rock and the temperature, pressure, and water present each contribute to the metamorphic process and the resultant metamorphic rock, it also discusses hydrothermally deposited rocks and minerals
68 which are usually found in association with both igneous and metamorphic rocks, and about the nature and origin of earthquakes.
There are 124 clauses in these Introduction Parts of which 39 are of Material process, accounting for 48.3%; 36 are of Relational process, accounting for 44.6%; 25 are of Metal process, accounting for 31% ; 16 are of Verbal process, accounting for 19.8%; 8 are of Existential process, accounting for 9.9% There are 6 clauses in the passive voice, accounting for 4.8 %; there are 108 clauses and in the active voice, accounting for 95.2% We now will examine how the four-move introduction structure of the five Introduction Parts is represented in the process types The combination of the four-move introduction structure and the process type is shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.2 Combination of four-move introduction structure and the process type
Material | Relational Verbal Existential | Mental | Behavioral of clauses
Taking a look at Table 2.1 we can see that of the five processes used in the five Introduction Parts Material process ranks first, followed by Relational process, and Mental process ranks third Behavioral process does not appear in these Introduction Parts From the point of view of Move analysis, it is obvious that Relational and Mental processes are used at high frequency in Move 1 However, Material and Relational processes occupy the highest percentage in Move 3 Move 4 is characterized by the large number of clauses used in Verbal and Relational processes The results pointed out that the writers use Relational and Mental processes to state current knowledge when establishing field in Move 1 Material
69 and Relational processes, however, are used at high frequency to indicate a gap as researchers tend to prepare for present research in Move 3 Verbal and Relational processes occupy the large number of clauses in introducing present research in Move 4 The following examples illustrate the frequency of processes in the move- structure.
Move 1: Mental process is used at high frequency to state current knowledge in establishing field
Ask a structural geologist, or any other geologist for that matter, about their favorite structure and chances are that they will choose folds If you have seen a fold in the field you will have marveled at its appearance Let’s face it, it is pretty unbelievable that hard rocks are able to change shape in such a dramatic way In simple terms, a fold is a structural feature that is formed when planar surfaces are bent or curved If such surfaces (like bedding, cleavage, inclusions) are not available you will not see a fold even through the rock was deformed Folding is a manifestation of ductile deformation because it can develop without fracturing, and the deformation is (heterogenously) distributed over the entire structure Rather than fracturing, processes, such as grain sliding, kinking, dissolution, and crystal plasticity dominate Looking at a fold from a kinematic perspective, you realize that strain in this structure cannot be the same everywhere We recognize distinct segments in a fold, such as the hinge area and the limbs, the inner and the outer arc, each of which reflect different strain histories, regardless of scale.
Move 3: Material process occupies a large number of clauses in preparing for present research.
We use the term fault zone for brittle structures in which loss of cohesion and slips occurs on several faults within a band of definable width Displacement in fault zones can involve formation and slip on many small, sub-parallel brittle faults, or slip on a principal fault from which many small faults diverge (fault splays), or slip on an anastomosing array of faults Shear zones are ductile structures, across which a rock body does not lose mesoscopic cohesion, so that strain is distributed across a band of definable width In ductile shear zones, rocks deform by cataclasis, a process involving structuring, crushing, and frictional sliding of grains or rock fragments, or more commonly, by crystal plastic deformation mechanisms We describe cataclastic shear zones in this chapter, but delay discussion of processes in ductile shear zones until Chapter 9 and 12 Faults occur on all scales in the lithosphere and geologists study them for several reasons They control the spatial arrangement of rock units, so their presence creates puzzles that challenge even the most experienced geologic mappers Faults affect topography and modify the landscape Faults affect the distribution of economic resources (e.g Oil fields and ore bodies) They control the permeability of rocks and sediments, properties
70 which, in turn, control fluid migration Faulting creates deformation (straint + rotation + translation) in the lithosphere during plate interactions and intraplate movements And, faulting may cause devastating earthquakes Fault analysis, therefore, plays a major role in diverse aspects of both academic and applied geology (Introduction Part 1)
Move 4: Relational process expresses the state of being in introducing present research.
Therefore, understanding metamorphism will help you when we consider geologic processes involving Earth’s internal forces Metamorphic rocks are a feature of the oldest exposed rocks of the continents and of major mountain belts They are especially important in providing evidence of what happens during subduction and plate convergence From your study so far of Earth materials and the rock cycle, you know that rocks change, given enough time, when their physical environment changes radically In chapter 3, you saw how deeply buried rocks melt (or partially melt) to form magma when temperatures are high enough What happens to rocks that are deeply buried but are not hot enough to melt? They become metamorphosed Metamorphism refers to changes to rocks that take place in Earth’s interior The changes may be new textures, new mineral assemblages, or both Transformations occur in the solid state (meaning the rock does not melt) The new rock is a metamorphic rock As most metamorphism takes place in moderate to great depths in Earth’s rust, metamorphic rocks provide us with a window to processes that take place deep underground, beyond our direct observation Erosion of mountain belts along with uplift due to isostatic adjustment expose metamorphic rocks over large regions In fact the cores of the continents are largely metamorphic rocks and granitic plutons As described in the chapter on mountain belts and the continental crust, these form the stable interior of North America, the central lowlands (Introduction Part 4)
Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts can be summarized in the Tables and the charts below
Table 2.3 Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts
Relational | Material | Verbal | Mental | Existential | Behavior
Rel Mat Ver Men Exis Beh
Table 2.4 Transitivity analysis of the Introduction Parts
(processes) Relational | Material Verbal Mental | Existential | Behavior
Rel Mat Ver Men Exis Beh
Transitivity analysis of the Body Parts
Body Part 1 under the title “Types of Metamorphism” taken from Chapter 7
“Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rock” in “Physical Geology” is a report about the most two common types of Metamorphism, that are Contact Metamorphism and Regional Metamorphism, and the Progressive Metamorphism which shows how rocks are changed by Regional Metamorphism.
Body Part 2 under the title “Folds” is taken from Chapter 16 named Earthquakes in “Physical Geology” The Body Part is a report about the description of folds and how rocks are strained to become folded The main content of the Body Part is of four main sub-contents - Geometry of Folds, Plunging Folds, Structural Domes and
Structural Basins, and Interpreting Folds.
Body Part 3 “Causes of Earthquakes” is taken from Chapter 16 “Earthquakes” in
“Physical Geology” The Body Part is a report about the trembling or shaking of > the ground caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the rocks beneath Earth’s surface, the waves of energy produced by an earthquake, and the classic explanation of why earthquakes take place.
Body Part 4 under the title “Earth’s internal structure” is Chapter 17 “Earth’s internal structure” in the book “Physical Geology” is a report about the study of seismic refraction and seismic reflection that enabled scientist to plot the three main zones of Earth’s interior - they are the crust, the mantle, and the core.
Body Part 5 under the title “The early case for continental drift and sea floor spreading” taken from Chapter 19 “Plate Tectonics” in “Physical Geology” is a report about the study of the original and arrangement of the broad structural features of Earth’s surface, the history and hypothesis for the existence of continental drift and sea floor spreading.
The “what is going on” of the Body Parts are well represented in the experiential component of meaning From the point of view of transitivity, of the 657 clauses, 258 clauses are of Relational process ranking first and accounting for 39.3%; 236 clauses are of Material process — the process of ‘doing’ thing ranking second and accounting for 35.9%; 82 are of Verbal process ranking third and accounting for 12.5 %; 43 are of Mental process ranking fourth and accounting for 6.5 %; 38 are of Existential process, ranking fifth and accounting for 5.8 %.
There are 128 clauses in the passive voice, accounting for 19.5%; and 529 clauses in the active voice, accounting for 80.5% The transitivity system encodes the ideational content of the Body Parts that is the contents and ideas expressed by the Body Parts These contents are typically expressed by patterns of processes, participants, and circumstances In this study, the process types are used to express the major functions of reports and explanation that is to classify, describe and explain geologic events, natural phenomena, minerals, etc We now examine how the major functions of reports and explanations are represented through the three leading process types: Relational, Material, and Verbal processes.
2.2.1.2.1 The analysis of Relational process
Relational processes in the five Body Parts are used to describe the state of being of the minerals found on the Earth’s surface during contact and regional metamorphism and to define what the three types of metamorphism are like They also describe and define the state of folding, the process of plunging folds, the state of rocks when they exceed the breaking strength causing earthquakes, the state of the three main zones of Earth’s interior, the early case for continental drift, theories about continental drift and the revival of continental drift and how the sea floor forms at the crest of the mid — oceanic ridge.
Relational process is used to describe or defining things
Regional metamorphic rocks are almost always foliated, indicating differential stress during recrystallization Metamorphic rocks are prevalent in the most intensely deformed of mountain ranges They are visible where once deeply buried cores of mountain ranges are exposed by erosion (Body Part 1)
Continental crust is often called “granitic,” but the term should be put in quotation marks because most of the rocks exposed on land are not granite The continental crust is highly variable and complex, consisting of a crystalline basement composed of granite, other plutonic rocks, gneisses and schists, all capped by a layer of sedimentary rocks, like icing on a cake (Body Part 4)
For each anticline and the syncline, the hinge lines are contained within the shaded vertical planes Each of these planes is an axial plane, an imaginary plane containing all the hinge lines of fold (Body Part 2)
Relational process is used to define things
Folds are bends or wavelike features in layered rock Folded rock can be compared to several layers of rugs or blankets that have been pushed into a series of arches and troughs (Body Part 2)
E.g 2.20 An earthquake is a trembling or shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the rocks beneath Earth’s surface (Body Part 3)
E.g 2.21 Contact metamorphism (also known as thermal metamorphism) is metamorphism in which high temperature is the dominant factor (Body Part 1)
E.g 2.22 The classic explanation of why earthquakes take place is called the elastic rebound theory (figure 16.2) It involves the sudden release of fault (Body Part 3)
Relational process is used to explain things
Because the magnetic and geographic poles are close together, our discussion will refer to apparent motion of the geographic poles as well (Body Part 5)
The basalt eruptions on the ridge crest are also related to this rising rock, for here the mantle rock is hotter than normal and begins to undergo partial melting.
Determining the geometry or shape of folds may have important economic implications because many oil and gas deposits and also some metallic mineral deposits are localized in folded rocks (see chapter 21) The geometry of folds is also important in unraveling how a rock was strained and how it might be related to the movement of tectonic plates Folds are usually associated with compressive stresses along convergent plate boundaries, but are also commonly formed where rock has been sheared along a fault Because folds are wave-like forms that usually form by the shortening of rock layers, two basic fold geometries are common- anticlines and synclines (Body Part 2)
Relational process is used to classify things
The two most common types of metamorphism are contact metamorphism and regional metamorphism (Body Part 2)
E.g 2.27 Samples of rocks taken from the sea floor by oceanographic ships verify that the upper part of the oceanic crust is basalt and suggest that the lower part is gabbro.
The new investigations were in two areas: (1) study of the sea floor and (2) geophysical research, especially in relation to rock magnetism (Body Part 5)
2.2.1.2.2 The analysis of Material process
Material processes are used to describe the process of performing, changing, developing, producing and recrystallizing of minerals affected by contact and regional metamorphism, and to explain how metamorphic rocks are changed during recrystallzation Material processes are also used to state the fact that the great majority of the metamorphic rocks found on Earth’s surface are products of regional metamorphism and the important role of temperature during metamorphism They are also used to express the process of folding, to characterize the motions of seismic waves in the oceanic crust, in the continental crust, and through the mantle, to examine the theory of plate tectonics which is embodied by the two basic ideas of moving continentals and a moving sea floor.
Material process is used to describe things
GENERIC STRUCTURE AND LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF
The organization of Vietnamese geological textbooks
The generic structure of Vietnamese geological textbooks will be explored through the investigation into the organization of the four Vietnamese geological textbooks written by well-known Vietnamese geologists The textbooks chosen for the analysis include both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in studying geologic structures and related matters.
Structurally, Vietnamese geological textbooks are divided into chapters with the
Preface section (Loi nói đầu) at the beginning and the Contents (Muc /„c) at the end The Preface section is often the author’s presentation about the book written and his /her acknowledgement The main part of a textbook is divided into chapters.
Chapters are broken into small parts containing information or knowledge of the subject matter to be studied or explained The order of each part in a chapter is numbered according to the order of the chapter in the book The discussion of each chapter presents the main points that support the main idea of the chapter.
The Introduction Part: looking through these textbooks, we find that their chapters are organized into sections The first section is named “Khái niệm chung” known as the Introduction Part of the chapter which presents general knowledge of the matter to be studied in the whole chapter The Introduction Parts vary from chapter to chapter Their lengths normally range from 15 clauses to 70 clauses.
The Body Part: is the next sections relating to the main content of a chapter The Body Part focuses on different matters namely natural geologic phenomena, geologic structures, general knowledge from general to specific, geologic processes,
99 etc The Body Part is always broken into small sections by headings and sub- headings written in capital and bold Each section is about a particular matter connecting with the overall topic of the chapter.
Except for the main content, there are also various figures and tables in each chapter They are used to illustrate the information presented The textbooks end with a list of reference books.
We have chosen five Introduction Parts and five Body Parts taken from the four stated above Vietnamese geological textbooks to exploit their generic and linguistic features in terms of Transitivity, Mood, and Theme We choose five Introduction Parts and Body Parts that have comparable contents to those in English geological textbooks The Introduction Parts and Body Parts are mainly taken from two newly- published books by two well-known Vietnamese geologists - Le Nhu Lai and Vo Nang Lac They are considered the foremost Vietnamese geologists The names of the five Introduction Partfive and Body Parts are represented below.
Introduction Part 1: 8.1 Khái niệm chung-chuong VIII: Dut gay); Introduction
Part 2: 3.1 Khái niệm cơ ban về hiện tượng biến dạng của da — chương III: Hiện tượng biến dang của đá; Introduction Part 3: 6.1 Khái niệm chung — chương VI:
Hiện tượng uốn nếp; Introduction Part 4: J Khái niệm về biến chất — chương XVIII: Tác dụng biến chất; Introduction Part 5: 1 Khái niệm về động dat
(earthquake) — chương XIX: Hiện tượng động đất.
Body Part 1: Chương XVIII: Tác dụng biến chất; IV: Phân loại biến chất; Body Part 2: Chương VI: Hiện tượng uốn nếp; 6.2 Các uốn nếp cơ bản; Body Part 3:
Chương XIX: Hiện tượng động đất; III: Phân loại nguồn gốc động dat; Body Part 4: Chương XI: Các cấu trúc cơ bản của Trái Dat; 11.1 Cau trúc bên trong của Trái dat; Body Part 5: Chương XX Các giả thuyết chính về địa kiến tạo và các don vị
100 kiến trúc cơ bản của vỏ Trái dat; IIL Thuyết kiến tạo địa mảng và phân chia các don vị kiến trúc của vỏ Trái đất; 1 Ti huyết trôi lục địa và thuyết tách dãn đáy đại dương
Generic features of Vietnamese geological textbooks
3.1.2.1 Generic features of the Introduction Parts
Our observation of the five Introduction Parts chosen for analysis shows that the Introduction Parts of Vietnamese geological textbooks follow the four-move structure research article introduction, reflecting the four-part arrangement of a scientific paper The four-move structure research article introduction adopted in the study is observed by Bhatia (1993) Our study shows that this structural formula has not been observed strictly in fact All the five Introduction Parts are structured with move 1, and move 4 None of the five Introduction Parts is designed with move 2; move 3 The five chosen Introduction Parts consist of only two moves and two of the moves are absent due to the lack of necessity or non-existence, it is because the information in these Introduction Parts may be the first finding or there is no previous research, and the authors often introduce present research without indicating a gap or raising questions The move structure and the clauses in each move of the five Introduction Parts can be summarized in the table below.
Table 3.1 Disstribution of moves in Vietnamese Introduction Parts
Introduction Part Move 1 Move 4 Number of clauses
(IP) (clauses in (clauses in in each IP each move) each move) Introduction Part 1 1b — 7 4b - 61 70 Introduction Part 2 1b — 7 4b -8 15 Introduction Part 3 1b - 10 4b — 39 49 Introduction Part 4 1b — 5 4b - 18 23 Introduction Part 5 1b - 5 4b - 36 41
Taking a look at Table 3.1, we can see that the number of clauses In the two moves vary from Introduction Part to Introduction Part, but it is obvious that move 4b in these Introduction Parts occupies the highest number of clauses in all Introduction Parts Move la, occupying a small number of clauses is characterized by writers establishing field by stating the current knowledge of the field Move 3a is characterized by writers preparing for present research by indicating a gap Move 4b is characterized by writers introducing present research by describing present research In the next section, we will establish the relationship between move and transitivity in expressing the ideational metafunction of the five Introduction Parts.
3.1.2.2 Generic features of the Body Parts
The main function of Vietnamese geological textbooks is the same as that of English geological textbooks, that is, to organize information about things by classifying or decomposing them by describing or explaining their properties The genre of Vietnamese geological textbooks will be analyzed in terms of the functions of classifying, decomposing things or phenomena, describing, and listing their properties.
The analysis of the four Vietnamese geological textbooks has shown that the main contents of these textbooks are realized in the form of geological reports broken into small sections by headings and subheadings In the sections with the function of classifying, the authors often define and then classify natural phenomena, minerals, rock types, exemplify each and give brief descriptions of their size and habitats The example below taken from Chapter IX: TAC DUNG DIA CHAT CUA DONG NƯỚC CHAY TREN MAT IV Tác dụng xâm thực của dòng sông (Dia chat đại cương, 2002: 91) is used to illustrate the classifying function of Vietnamese geological textbooks Here the author classified the river erosion into two main types: horizontal erosion and lateral erosion.
IV Tác dụng xâm thực của dòng sông (erosion) Day là một tác dụng địa chất lớn của sông Biểu hiện trên nhiều mặt chủ yếu là phá hoại cơ học Phân chia ra xâm thực dọc là tác dụng đào sâu lòng sông và xâm thực ngang là mở rộng lòng sông.
1 Tác dụng xâm thực dọc (xâm thực thắng đứng)
2 Tác dụng xâm thực ngang (lateral erosion)
The above example is taken from the Body Part in “Dia chất đại cương” In the example, the author presents the two kinds of erosion that are horizontal and lateral erosion Here, relational process “3” is used three times to define the status of each kind of erosion.
Vietnamese geological textbooks — decomposing have the same function as those of classifying except that in this function the authors define the terms into parts and wholes rather than classes and subclasses The following example is used to illustrate the function of decomposing which involves the description of 6 types of faults Here, the specifications of a fault are represented by defining them.
Relational process is used at a high frequency to describe and define different specifications of a fault.
Dut gãy là dạng phá huỷ kiến tạo kèm theo sự dịch chuyên của các phan bị đứt tách ra của thé địa chất Dut gãy rất phô biến và được chia ra sáu nhóm: thuận, nghịch, trượt bằng, rời, nghịch chờm và lớp phủ Mỗi nhóm có dấu hiệu hình thái đặc trưng và được hình thành trong những điều kiện địa động lực khác nhau.
Dut gay thuận là đứt gay có mặt trượt nghiêng về phía đá sụt xudng Đứt gãy nghịch có mặt trượt nghiêng về phía đá trôi lên Đứt gay trượt bằng: Những đứt gay có các cánh chuyên dịch theo phương nằm ngang được gọi là các đứt gay trượt bằng Đứt gãy rời: Những đứt gãy có sự chuyên dich của các cánh treo theo hướng vuông góc với mặt nứt vỡ được gọi là đứt gay rời Dut gay nghịch chờm: Dut gay nghịch trờm có một loại tính chất đặc trưng, chúng phát triên chủ yêu trong các nêp uôn nghiêng và đảo, làm cho các nếp uốn thêm phức tạp Trong phức hệ uốn nếp đảo vê một phía thì các đứt gãy nghịch chờm thường phát triển song song với nhau và tạo nên “cấu trúc dạng vây” (Giáo trình Địa chất cơ sở, 2003: 134, 135)
In this example, the author decomposed “fault” into six types, these types can be summarized as follows:
Lớp phủ hay cầu trúc dạng vây
Vietnamese geological textbooks typically begin with some kinds of general organizing statement such as: Nép ồn được phân loại theo những nguyên tac khác nhau; dưới đây là cách phân loại nếp uốn theo hình thai các yếu tố của chúng; Thể nam bất chỉnh hợp được chia thành hai loại cơ bản là bất chỉnh hợp địa tang và bắt chính hop kiến tạo; Bắt chỉnh hợp địa tang được chia ra một số dạng, T Gt cả các uốn nếp có thé chia ra làm hai loại cơ bản là nếp lôi và nếp lõm, etc Where these statements are oriented to classification and composition, the rest of the report is organized around the relevant sub-classes and parts.
3.1.2.2 2 Describing Alongside with the function of classifying and decomposing, Vietnamese geological textbook writers also make use of describing as a generic feature The following example taken from the Body Part: Cac dang thé nam cua da tram tich in “Gido trình địa chất cấu tao” gives the description of the extrusive rock’s facial formation.
4.4 CAU TẠO MAT CUA ĐÁ PHUN TRÀO
Các đá phun trào được thành tạo từ dung nham nóng chảy phun ra ngoài thành dòng chảy Khi động năng gây ra hiện tượng chảy (phụ thuộc vào tốc độ phun từ họng núi lửa, sườn dốc của địa hình và trọng lượng của dung nham) bị triệt tiêu, tức là dòng dung nham không chảy nữa, hình thành một lớp phun trào phủ trên các đá có trước Mặt lớp phun trào này có đặc điểm là có nhiều lỗ rong, bọt khí, do đó mặt lớp thường xốp, có nhiều lỗ hông (vesicles cavities) tao ra câu tạo lỗ hồng, cấu tao bot (vesicular structure) Mặt khác, do có nhiều lỗ hồng ở trên mặt lớp phun trào nên bề mặt của chúng lồi lõm, dé gây vỡ, tạo ra một đới dim, gọi là dam kết đỉnh dòng chảy (flow top breccia) (Giáo trình Địa chất cấu tạo, 2001: 61)
In the above example, verbs printed in bold are material processes, they are used at a high frequency to describe the process of forming eruptive rocks.
Writers of Vietnamese geological textbooks use different kinds of explanation in explaining natural phenomena, geologic events, etc Here, we will provide some examples to illustrate sequential explanation, causal explanation, factorial explanation and theoretical explanation.
Sequential explanation: explains the sequence of the sea floor spreading in example 3.7; the sequence of forming micmatization in example 3.8.
Phenomenon identification: Từ những kết qua nghiên cứu được ở trên các nhà dia chất và địa vật lý Mỹ H.H.Hess và R.S.Deitz từ 1981 - 1962 đề xướng thuyết tách dãn đáy đại dương.
Explanation sequence: Họ cho rang các vật chat của manti din lên từ các riptơ giữa đại dương hoặc rìa lục địa chảy sang hai bên và đây xa các vật chất của đáy đại dương Các vật liệu không ngừng được đưa lên và đây sang hai bên một cách đối xứng, tạo ra đáy mới Trong khi tách dãn, vỏ lục địa và đáy đại dương cùng gắn kết với nhau và cùng tach dan Ho đưa ra mô hình tách dan do sự mở rộng ripto tạo nên một lớp vỏ đại dương mới (hình 20-6) (Body Part 5)
Tac dung micmatit hoa (micmatization)
Phenomenon identification: Đây là quá trình phát triển cao hơn một bước của biến chất khu vực.
COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH GEOLOGICAL
Comparison of the Introduction Parts
In this section a comparison of the Introduction Parts in terms of generic structure and linguistic features will be drawn in order to find out the generic and linguistic similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese geological textbooks.
As shown in Table 4.1, the total number of clauses of the English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts were 124 and 198 respectively The average number of clauses in the English Introduction Parts (28.8 clauses) is smaller than that of Vietnamese ones (39.6 clauses) The shortest English Introduction Part contains 10 clauses and clause complexes, the longest English Introduction Part contains 35 clauses and clause
133 complexes while the shortest Vietnamese Introduction Part contains 15 clauses and clause complexes and the longest Vietnamese Introduction Part contains 70 clauses and clause complexes The overall structure of English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts is represented in Table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1 Total number of clauses in English and Vietnamese
Introduction Parts 5 5 Total clauses 124 198 Range 10 - 35 15- 70 Average 28.8 39.6
Our analysis of the five Introduction Parts in English and Vietnamese geological textbooks has shown that the Introduction Parts in the two languages follow the four-move structure research article introduction, reflecting the four-part arrangement of a scientific paper As we noted in the previous chapters, almost five Introduction Parts in English and Vietnamese are structured with Move 1 and Move 4 However, the analysis shows that some English Introduction Parts are structured with Move 3, but Vietnamese Introduction Parts are not structured with Move 3.
The frequency of processes in the five English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts (IP) can be summarized in Table 4.2 below.
Table 4.2 Comparison of frequency of Processes in the English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts
Material | Relational | Verbal | Existential | Mental of clauses in
Processes Material | Relational Verbal | Existential Mental Moves
Vietname Move 1 14 17 0 4 1 36 (18%) se IP Move 4 52 83 3 17 7 162(82%)
It is clear from the Table that Move | is characterized by writers establishing field by either showing centrality (Move la) or by stating current knowledge (Move 1b).
In English Introduction Parts, Move | ranks second and accounts for 30 %, while only 18% of the content in Vietnamese Introduction Parts is used to provide the readers or students with background knowledge of the subject to be studied.
The majority of Vietnamese Introduction Parts (82 %) finds it necessary to introduce present research by describing present research (Move 4) The Table, however, shows a minor rate and distribution of Move 4 in English Introduction Parts (30%) Nearly half of the English Introduction Parts (40%) tend to prepare for present research by indicating a gap (Move 3) but the study pointed out this move is almost absent in Vietnamese Introduction Parts This is because Vietnamese writers have no intention of indicating a gap when they present the research The distribution of processes is rather similar in both English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts Relational process is used at higher frequency in Move 1 and Move 4 in both English and Vietnamese, forming nearly half of the Introduction Parts (44.6% and 50% respectively); Material process ranks second in establishing field of the Vietnamese Introduction Parts, but this process occupied a little higher percentage than relational process in English Introduction Parts (48.3%) Now we return to the next section in order to give a detailed explanation of linguistic features of English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts.
The linguistic features of English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts can be summarized in Table 4.3 below.
Table 4.3 Linguistic features of the English and Vietnamese
Introduction Parts | Introduction Parts Number of clauses 124 198
Active-Passive | Active 118 (95.2%) 185 (93.4%) voice Passive 6 (4.8%) 13 (6.6%) construction
The Table has shown the similarities and differences in expressing the ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings in English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts It is likely that writers from different languages and cultures have their own preferred style of writing The three metafunctions are drawn on the same way though sometimes they are different The thematic structure in English Introduction Parts is similar to that of Vietnamese Introduction Parts Unmarked Themes occupy a higher frequency (74.2 % and 65.2 % respectively) in expressing textual meaning in both languages Declarative clauses form the most content in presenting the interpersonal meaning of the Introduction Parts in the two languages, as a result,
136 interrogative and imperative clauses cannot be found in both languages The transitivity analysis shows the higher percentage of Relational and Material processes in English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts This suggests that nearly half of the content of Vietnamese Introduction Parts is expressed by Relational process (50 %), while Material process occupies a smaller percentage (33.3 %), that is to say, Vietnamese writers tend to provide the readers either by defining or describing the state of natural phenomena and geologic events However, the situation is changed in English Introduction Parts Relational process (29 %) takes a smaller scale compared with the Material process (31.4 %) in announcing what is going to be studied in the Chapter.
Modality is the category by which the writers express their attitudes towards the events contained in the proposition The attitude may be that of assessing the possibility that the proposition is true in terms of modal certainty, probability, obligation, intention or willingness The analysis’s outcome reveals that the use of modality in the English and Vietnamese Introduction Parts is not much preferable.
The rate of the clauses and clause complexes containing modality is 3.2% in English and 7.1% in Vietnamese.
Our observation shows that Vietnamese Introduction Parts utilized more passive voice constructions than English Introduction Parts As noted by other discourse analysts, the higher percentage of passive voice constructions, the more impersonality and objectivity there are in texts (Martinez, 2001) Comparison of English Introduction Parts and Vietnamese ones in terms of percentage of passive voice suggests more impersonality and objectivity in the Vietnamese Introduction Parts than in English ones in stating current knowledge as in describing present research as well.
4.3 Comparison of the Body Parts The main focus of this section is to investigate the generic and linguistic similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese geological Body Parts.
Our observation shows the organization of all English geological Body Parts is similar to that Vietnamese ones Table 4.4 illustrates the total clauses of the five English Body Parts and Vietnamese Body Parts As shown in the Table, there were 657 clauses and clause complexes in the five English Body Parts, and 449 clauses and clause complexes in the five Vietnamese Body Parts The average number of English Body Parts (131.4 clauses) is much higher than that of Vietnamese ones
(89.8 clauses) The shortest English Body Part contains 61 clauses and clause complexes, which is the same as the shortest Vietnamese Body Part (69 clauses and clause complexes), the longest English Body Part contains 256 clauses and clause complexes which is nearly twice as much as the longest Body Part in Vietnamese (145 clause and clause complexes) The overall structure of English and Vietnamese Body Parts is represented in Table 4.4 below.
Table 4.4 Total number of clauses in English and Vietnamese Body Parts
As shown in the analysis, Body Parts of geological textbooks in English and Vietnamese are reports and explanations broken into small sections by headings and subheadings They all have the same functions of reports and explanations that is to organize information and knowledge about natural phenomena, geological events, and minerals by describing, defining, classifying and explaining The following examples are used to illustrate their generic similarities.
The two most common types of metamorphism are contact metamorphism and regional metamorphism (classifying)
E.g 4.2 Perhaps folding took place when the rock was buried at a moderate depth where high confining pressure favors plastic behavior (describing)
E.g 4.3 An earthquake is a trembling or shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the rocks beneath Earth’s surface (defining)
E.g 4.4 The concept of plate tectonics was born in the late 1960s by combining two preexisting ideas-continental drift and sea-floor spreading Continental drift is the idea that continents move freely over Earth’s surface, changing their positions relative to one another Sea-floor spreading is a hypothesis that the sea floor forms at the crest of the mid-oceanic ridge, then moves horizontally away from the ridge crest toward an oceanic trench (explaining)
E.g 4.5 Thường dựa vào môi trường địa chat và điều kiện hoá lý chia ra làm bốn loại: biến chất tiếp xúc (contact metamorphism): biến chất động lực (dynamic metamorphism): biến chất khu vực (regional metamorphism) va tác dụng micmatit hóa (micmatization) (classifying)