nghiên cứu về cấu trúc bài diễn thuyết “ i have a dream” của martin luther king phân tích theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

Hence, I decided to conduct a study on the structure and meaning of the speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King - a systemic functional grammar analysis based on Halliday‟s functi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Rationale of the study 1 1.2 Aims of the study 1 1.3 Scope of the study 1 1.4 Methodology of the study 2 1.5 Data collection 2

1.6 Design of the study 3 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 3

2.1 Form and Meaning 3 2.2 Model of Context in Systemic Functional Linguistics 4

2.3 Clause Combination 4 2.3.1 Interdependency 2.3.2 Logico – semantic relation 2.4 Metafunctions 5 2.4.1 Interpersonal metafunctions 2.4.1.1 Mood 2.4.1.2 Residue 2.4.2 Ideational metafunctions 2.4.2.1 Processes types 2.4.2.2 Circumstances 2.4.3 Textual metafunctions: theme and rheme identification 2.5 Cohesion 15

CHAPTER III: THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPEECH “I HAVE A DREAM” BY MARTIN LUTHER KING 16

3.1 Introduction 16

3.4 Clause and Clause complex analysis 21 3.5 The Analysis of the text in terms of Transitivity, Mood and Theme 23

3.9.1 Grammatical Cohesion

3.9.2 Lexical Cohesion

REFERENCES 45 APPENDIX I

LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES

TABLES

Table 2.1 Overview of the process types

Table 2.2 Circumstantial Elements

FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Basic speech roles

Figure 2.2 The principal types of process

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Language, no matter how it is analyzed and assessed, is still produced due to human needs Therefore, its structure and components are functional with respect to those needs (M.A.K Halliday, 1994) This leads to the fact that no language item is separate, each piece of it is evolved to the functions which are decided by humans in communication, and grammar is not an exception

However, it seems that the process of teaching and learning the language tends to make a clear distinction between grammar and other linguistics areas, as in structuralism‟s perspectives Functionalists, on the other hand, hold the belief that “Grammar should be seen as facilitating communication in all modes, not as an isolated area of study” (G Lock, 1996)

As having the experience of drilling with a number of grammar exercises in schooling as well as being the teacher for many grammar classes, I am deeply interested in improving the language proficiency along with the structure accuracy for my students That is the reason why I have developed a great attention to Functional Grammar (or FG for short) The further I am absorbed in this linguistic aspect, the stronger my notion of its applications in language teaching and learning becomes

Hence, I decided to conduct a study on the structure and meaning of the speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King - a systemic functional grammar analysis based on

Halliday‟s functional grammar as the theoretical framework

1.2 Aims of the study

In carrying out the research, the writer aims to:

 Illustrate the key concepts in FG

 Analyze the structure and meaning of the speech “ I have a dream” by Martin

Luther King

 Suggest some further implications for language teaching and learning

1.3 Scope of the study

It would be impossible for the researcher to cover the issues of FG However, some important notions such as linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion which are closely related to the study will be examined in detail

1.4 Methodology of the study

The structure and meaning of the speech will be focused in the study, therefore the methodologies applied are:

 Descriptive which is used for illustrating the crucial matters of FG

 Analysis which is used for studying the speech

1.5 Data Collection

A various number of examples and illustrations have been extracted from functional grammar works by well known linguistics such as M.A.K Halliday (1985/1994), Thompson (1994), G.Lock (1996), Van Hoang Van (2006)…

The content of the speech “I have a dream” is retrieved from the official and popular website www.americanrhetoric.com

1.6 Design of the study

There are four main chapters in this minor thesis

 Chapter I: Introduction , gives an overview of the rationale, aims, scope,

methodology and design of the study

 Chapter II: Theoretical Background, illustrates the theoretical background for

the main concepts in FG

 Chapter III: The analysis of the speech “I have a dream”

 Chapter IV: Conclusion summarizes the outcome of the research and suggests

some further implications for language teaching and learning

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This section provides theoretical orientations for the study In the first place, (i) Form and Meaning as well as (ii) Model of context in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) will

be concerned After that, there will be an overview of (iii) Clause Combination, (iv) Metafunctions, and (v) Cohesion In addition, the English language is going to be used as illustration

2.1 Form and Meaning

Both approaches, through Form and Meaning, try to find out the answer to the question

of language features According to Horrocks (1987), as cited in Thompson (1996), the most fully promoted theory of the Form approach, known as Transformative Generative (TG), is proposed by Noam Chomsky and his followers These linguists intend to explain the language structure in the way it is At the same time, the rules for grammatically correct or incorrect usage are set out as the guide for language learners A sentence or utterance is said to be wrong or right is due to its obedience to the TG laws of grammar

On the other hand, Halliday (1994) views language not as a system of rules but “a system

of meanings” He suggests the most practical approach to the grammatical construction should be meaning – centered This theory is also approved by Thompson, who points out that “the formative influences of the uses to which language is put” (1996:6) should be considered as important as the structure In other words, the communicative purposes and choices, or the sentence – utterance meaning plays another indispensable part in linguistics That is the reason why Systemic Functional Linguistics takes language to its functions through meaning not just formation

2.2 Model of Context in Systemic Functional Linguistics

SFL characterizes context as the social – cultural situations related directly to the language usage According to Halliday (1976), the conceptual framework for illustrating the context in which exchanging information is the focus includes three dimensions: (i) the on going social activity, (ii) the role of relationship involved, and (iii) the symbolic or rhetorical channels, which he names as Field, Tenor, and Mode They can be explained briefly as follows:

(i) Field of Discourse: refers to the subject matter, what is happening, where,

when and why it happens …

(ii) Tenor of Discourse: deals with the social relation between participants as well

as the influence of this relation on linguistic system and exchange

(iii) Mode of Discourse: describes the way the language is being used in

communication including the medium and rhetorical mode

In brief, the three dimensions of context model are also the working hypothesis of metafunctions Halliday figures out that the Fields determine experiential meaning, Tenor represents interpersonal meaning, and Mode corresponds to textual meaning

2.3 Clause Combination

The relationship between clauses can be interpreted as “one of modification” (Halliday, 1994) As a result, the idea of modification will enable systematic substitute into two dimensions: (i) interdependency and (ii) Logico- semantic relation

2.3.1 Interdependency

This dimension illustrates the relation of modifying, where one element modifies or is modified by other elements in the clause Therefore, the relation is dependent or equal due to the modification If it is unequal with at least one dominant factor, the relationship

is named as Hypotaxis On the other hand, if there is equality among elements, it is known as Parataxis

 Hypotaxis: the relation between a dependent element and its dominant, the element that controls it Hypotaxis structures will be described by the Greek letter notation (α, β,γ…) and a single slash

 Parataxis: the equal relation between elements For paratactic structures, numerical notation ( 1, 2, 3…) and double slashes will be used for illustration

In fact, a typical complex clause is a combination of hypotactic and paratactic sequences,

so it will be impractical if they are separated in analysis For instance, the following complex clause can be viewed as:

|||I would / if I could, || but I can’t|||

(Halliday, 1994: 218)

2.3.2 Logico – semantic relation

This second dimension of clause combination explains the nexus between clauses in a variety of logico-semantic relation However, the two most fundamental relationships are (i) Expansion and (ii) Projection

(i) Expansion: the secondary clause expands the primary one by elaborating, extending or enhancing it

 Elaborating (i.e.): restating in other words, making the clause clearer, commenting and giving illustration

 Extending (and, or): adding new information, providing alternative…

 Enhancing (so, yet, then) : giving circumstantial characteristics of time, place, cause, or condition

(ii) Projection: the second clause is projected by the primary clause as a locution or an idea

 Locution (say) : a construction of wording

 Idea (think) : a construction of meaning

Role

in exchange

Commodity exchanged

Goods & services Information

I‟ll show you the way

Statement We‟re nearly there

The man’s given away that teapot, hasn’t he?

Oh, has he?

away parts (that teapot, hasn’t he?) which are not of great essence to carry the argument

are named Residue

Therefore, when clause is viewed as an exchange, it can be analyzed as following:

Residue Mood

(i) The Subject is a similar term from traditional grammar It supplies the rest of what it takes to form a proposition, something by reference to which the proposition can be affirmed or denied

(ii) Finite can be used to make reference to time of speaking (temporal operator) or to the judgment of speaking (modal operator) Sometimes, it is obvious to find out Finite as in the cases when auxiliary or modal verbs are separated

Did you invite her to the party?

I can go with you

However, finite can be mixed with lexical verbs in simple present and simple past tense

The sun sets in the West

I got the test result yesterday

(ii) Complement: is realized by a nominal group The orders of complement and subject will have an influence on thematic purposes of the clause

(iii) Adjuncts: is performed by an adverbial group or a prepositional phrase

In short, the interpersonal metafunctions can be illustrated once again as in Thompson‟s following sample (1996):

In the following

day

2.4.2 Ideational metafunctions

This division of metafunctions represents the idea that language serves for the expression

of content, in other words, the speaker‟s background knowledge and experience, including his own awareness The clause plays a central role as representation including

the principles, which are made of processes Meanwhile the clause is also a mode of reflection achieved through the grammatical system namely transitivity consisting of a set

of process types

The process types, in general, express the “goings-on, happening, doing, sensing,

meaning, being and becoming” (Halliday, 1994) which are going to be analysed further

2.4.2.1 Processes types, participants and circumstances

The framework of a process involves three main factors:

(i) The process itself: realized typically by verbal groups

(ii) Participants in the process: realized typically by nominal groups

(iii)Circumstances associated with the process: realized typically by adverbial group

or prepositional phrase

The concepts of process, participants and circumstances are semantic categories, which provide the linguistic structure of the events in reality Each type of process contributes to the construction of English grammar and there are specific kinds of participants associated with it in particular circumstances

Furthermore, material processes are not necessarily tangible or physical activity They might be intangible actions or happenings as Halliday mentioned in the following examples

When there is the existence of more than two participants, the one that benefits from the process is called Receiver

Mental process

This type of process expresses the processes of feeling, liking and seeing The participant who is the conscious being that is feeling, liking and seeing is named as Senser The sensed or felt, liked and seen participant is called the Phenomenon This is not simply a thing but also a fact A thing can be felt, liked and seen A fact, not the fact of some situation, is the one, which can be sensed as in the following examples

Furthermore, mental process is divided into three sub – types:

 Perception: seeing, hearing…

 Affection: liking, fearing…

 Cognition: thinking, knowing, and understanding…

Halliday offer the principal types of process as following:

Tom is the leader

Circumstantial The fair is on a Tuesday Tomorrow is the 10th

The 10th is tomorrow Possessive Peter has a piano The piano is Peter‟s

Peter‟s is the piano

Figure 2 2 The principal types of process

In Atributive mode, one participant is known as Carrier and the quality to represent the possessive relation of Carrier is referred to as Attributive

On the other hand, in Identifying mode, there is a clear distinction between the identifying and identified participants This pair is termed as Identifier/ Identified and Token/ Value

Identified/ Token Relational process Identifier/ Value

The possessive relationship can be referred as Possessor and Possessed

Behavioral processes

This type of process shares the characteristics of mental and material process It illustrates the physiological and psychological behaviors such as cough, smile, dream The participant who behaves is the Behaver and there are five kinds of this process as Halliday suggests:

1 Processes of consciousness as form of behavior: look, watch, stare

2 Verbal processes as behavior: chatter, grumble, talk

3 Physiological processes manifesting states of consciousness: cry, laugh

4 Other physiological processes: breathe, faint, sleep

5 Bodily postures and pastimes: sing, dance, lie

Normally, there is one participant in behavioral process:

However, the second participant, which is repeated, is called Range in behavioral process:

When the second participant is not a repetition, it becomes Phenomenon:

Verbal processes

This is the process of saying, not simply the action of speaking out some notions but also

the symbolic exchange of meaning Therefore, in I told you or The guide book tells everything, both “I” and “The guide book” is the participant which is named Sayer

The verbal process includes not only Sayer but Receiver (the one to whom the process is aimed), Verbiage (content of what is said or name of the saying), and Target (the thing that is targeted by the process) as well

The relationship of quoting or reporting is also demonstrated in this type of process

Existential Processes

This illustrates that something exists or happens Normally, the word There will appear in

the process as the Subject without representational function Existential process typically

involves the verb BE and other verbs to express the existence or happening such as exist, remain, arise, occur

The object or event which is being said to be existent is known as Existent It can be an entity or an event that takes place

Existential process Existent : event

Existential process Existent: entity Circumstance

In short, the processes types and participant roles have been covered briefly The following table which is extracted from Halliday (1994:143) provides an overview of the process types, their category meaning and participant roles

Material:

Action

Event

Doing Doing Happening

Actor, Goal, Receiver

Carrier, attribute Identified/identifier;

Token/Value

Table 2.1 Overview of the process types

2.4.2.2 Circumstantial element

Circumstances may occur in the process with little or no restriction They express the notion of “When, where, how and why” the process takes place Circumstantial factors can be adverbial group or prepositional phrases

Halliday (1994: 151) introduces a “fairly arbitrary list” of nine main circumstantial elements:

Occurs every four years

4 Cause Reason, purpose, behalf Because of his illness

For the sake of us

6 Accompaniment Comitation, addition He came with me

Jane came as well as me

She is turning into another person

Table 2.2 Circumstantial Elements

2.4.3 Textual metafunctions: theme and rheme identification

The metafunctions which give the clause the characteristics of a message is the Thematic structure In any clause, there is one element, which “serves as the point of departure” namely Theme and the remainder of the clause, which develops Theme in order to complete the message of the clause, is known as Rheme

As “the starting – point of the message”, theme is commonly supposed to be at the beginning rather than the end of the clause Theme can be a nominal group, an adverbial group or a prepositional phrase

When Theme stands at the first place as a Subject of the clause, it is unmarked due to the

obvious role it is supposed to play On the other hand, any themes other than the Subject

are referred to as marked theme, which is not common for theme as in the following

examples:

Theme can be single with only one constituent or multiple with further internal structure Theme can also be classified into topical (if combined with experiential factors), textual (relevant meaning to discourse) and interpersonal (referring to speakers and listeners interaction)

In short, the thematic structure in which Theme is the prominent element can be analyzed

to “gain an insight into its (the text) texture and understand how the writer made clear to

us the nature of his underlying concerns.” (Halliday, 1994: 67)

2.5 Cohesion

2.5.1 The concept of cohesion

According to Nguyen Hoa (2000), “cohesion refers to the formal relationship that causes texts to cohere or stick together” It is a wide range of semantic relationships conveyed through clauses

In analyzing text and its character, the notions of cohesion and coherence may cause some confusing matters However, Thompson (1996) figures out the main difference between cohesion and coherence He supposes that cohesion involves linguistic devices and therefore it serves as “a textual phenomenon” On the other hand, coherence works as

“a mental phenomenon” and cannot be achieved and identified as clearly as cohesion Due to the time limitation of the study, the issue of coherence will be eliminated while further analysis will be for the more achievable process, the cohesion of the text

Cohesion is expressed not only through grammatical cohesion including reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction but also through lexical cohesion consisting of repetition, synonym, and collocation The analysis of the speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King is supposed to be related to only some of the cohesion issues, which are going to be dealt with in the following part

2.5.2 Grammatical cohesion

2.5.2.1 Reference

Reference is about the lexical relationship in and out of the clause and it can be classified into five main sub-types:

 Anaphoric reference: which directs listeners or readers to refer “backwards” to

the preceding text to get a comprehensive understanding of the discourse

e.g.: One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of

American society and finds himself an exile in his own land

Anaphoric reference

 Cataphoric reference: This refers “forwards” the clause so as to specify the

 Comparative reference: for the purpose of illustrating comparison, similarities or

identities, comparative reference are expressions such as the same, similar to, more than, the most, as good as…

e.g.: She cooks much better than her mum

Comparative reference

2.5.2.2 Conjunction

The logico-semantic relations of clause combination including expansion and projection create a variety of conjunctions A wide range of meanings is conveyed by a conjunctive Adjunct (an adverbial group or prepositional phrase) “within the domains of elaboration, extension and enhancement” (Halliday, 1994:324)

Elaboration

 Apposition: the restatement or represented of some factor

(i) Expository: in other words, that is to say, I mean…

(ii) Exemplifying: for example, for instance, to illustrate…

 Clarification: summary and clearer reinstatement for the discourse purposes

(i) Corrective: rather than, at least, to be more specific…

(ii) Distractive: by the way, incidentally…

(iii) Dismissive: in any case, anyway, leaving that aside…

(iv) Particularizing: in particular, especially…

(v) Resumptive: to resume, as I was saying…

(vi) Summative: in short, to sum up, in brief…

(vii) Verifactive: actually, as a matter of fact, in fact…

Extension

 Addition:

(i) Positive: and, also, moreover, in addition…

(ii) Negative: nor

 Adversative: but, yet, on the other hand, however…

 Variation:

(i) Replacive: on the contrary, instead of (ii) Subtractive: apart from that, except for that … (iii) Alternative: alternatively

Enhancement

 Spatio – temporal: The spatial relations serve as “text-creating cohesive devices”

(i) Simple: following (then, next, afterwards…), simultaneous (just

then, at the same time…), preceding (before that, previously…)… (ii) Complex: immediate (at once, imediately…), interrupted (soon,

after a while…), repetitive (next time, on another occasion…)… (iii) Simple internal: (next, secondly…), simultaneous (at this point,

here…), preceding (up to now…)…

 Manner: cohesion is created by manner conjunctives through comparison and

reference to means

(i) Comparison: positive (likewise, similarly…) or negative (in a

different way) (ii) Means: thus, thereby, by such means…

 Causal – conditional: the causal expressions can be in general or specific while

the conditionals can be positive, negative or concessive

(i) Causal expressions: general ( so, then, hence…); specific (as a

result) (ii) Conditionals: positive (in that case), negative (if not) or concessive

(yet, still, through…)

 Matter: with this type of conjunction, the cohesion refers to the matter which

happened previously

(i) Positive: here, there, as to that…

(ii) Negative: in other respects, elsewhere…

Obviously, the various kinds of conjunction are not definite; they can overlap with one another For instance, the concessive (despite) overlaps with the adversative (conversely) The above clarification, which is provided by Halliday (1994) “are those which have been found most useful in the interpretation of texts”

2.5.3 Lexical cohesion

The choice of lexical items can determine the discourse cohesion Lexical cohesion involves the employment of Repetition, Synonymy, Antonym and Collocation

Repetition

A lexical item, whether a simple word unit or a sentence structure can be repeated Such

equivalence serves as a reference to the preceding events as the word Negro in the

following example

e.g.: But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free One hundred years later,

the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the

chains of discrimination

Synonymy

The use of synonyms as another means of lexical cohesion is also frequent to “avoid unnecessary repetition” (Nguyen Hoa, 2000) as in the case of “Proclamation” and

“decree” in the speech “I have a dream”

e.g.: Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand

today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation This momentous decree came as a

great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro …

Antonym

Antonyms are able to convey lexical cohesion effectively when the relationship between the ideas in a clause is of great contrary For instance, the “poverty” of the Negro contrasts to the “prosperity” of the White to demonstrate the huge distance in living standards of the two communities

e.g.: One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst

of a vast ocean of material prosperity

Collocation

This means of lexical cohesion seems to be only dependent on particular associations between items Collocation is “one of the factors on which we build our expectations of what is to come next” (Halliday, 1994) as in the following case; there is a collocation

bond between the bank and bankrupt

e.g.: But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt

In summary, this chapter has provided the theoretical background relevant for the objectives of the study The researcher has illustrated an overview of the notions of Form and Meaning and the Context model in SFL The Combination of clauses based on interdependency and logico-semantic relation as well as the Metafunctions including interpersonal metafunctions, ideational metafunctions and textual metafunctions have been represented in a brief way Finally, the idea of Cohesion and its major types as a means of analyzing texts have also been introduced as the last fundamental concept important for the study In the next chapter, the speech “I have a dream” is going to be investigated based on the systemic functional approach

CHAPTER III THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPEECH “I HAVE A DREAM”

BY MARTIN LUTHER KING 3.1 Introduction

The title “speech” is supposed to be related to a spoken piece of language in use However, from systematic functional grammar, Halliday and Hasan (1975) indicated that any passage, even spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole… can be considered “text” Therefore, the title of the thesis “A study on the

structure of the speech”, in other words, refers to the analysis of the speech as text based

on functional linguistics

In order to analyze the grammar and meaning of the text “I have a dream” by Martin

Luther King, the first step should be making a clear definition of the term “text” The word by itself is derived from the Latin word meaning “texture”, which is defined as „the

character of a piece of writing‟ by the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005)

However, according to linguists, “text” definition can be approached from at least two main perspectives

First of all, Cook (1989: 158), as cited in Alexander Täuschel (2004), claims that “Text is

a stretch of language interpreted formally, without context” The Collins English Dictionary tends to support Cook‟s ideas “Text is a body of printed or written word”

(1990) In general, he seems to separate the term “text” completely from “context”, which may not make other linguists be in favour of

On the other hand, the notion about “text” definition in systemic functional linguistics is clarified as any united ideas expressed even in spoken or written can be named “text” as Halliday and Hasan (1975) figure out Sharing the same opinions, Brown and Yule (1983) “use text as a technical term to refer to the verbal record a communicative act” They have a tendency to explore the context or communicative event in which text

occurs This is also what Nunan (1993: 7-8) presents “I shall use the term text to refer to

any written record of a communicative event The event itself involves oral language or written language”

The procedures and conventions used in the following analysis will be carried out basing

on the framework of M.A.K Halliday and Hasan (1976): Cohesion in English; Halliday

and Hasan‟s (1985) Language, text and context: Aspect of Language in Social – Semiotic Perspective and Halliday‟s (1994) An introduction to Functional Grammar

3.2 The author and chosen text

Born on 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King was the son of a Baptist minister and a schoolteacher In 1944, he attended Morehouse College and then continued his post graduate study at Crozer Religious Seminary and received his doctorate in 1955 From that time until his death, King devoted his whole time and effort

to the protest against discrimination against the Negro in the United States He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, however, 4 years later he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee

The speech “I have a dream” was delivered to more than 200,000 people in 1963 at the

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C The talk was King‟s prediction about a day of racial equality for the Negro which would become reality in America There are several versions of the speech with minor differences The content taken into consideration in this paper is retrieved from the site http://www.americanrhetoric.com , one of the most popular sources for American public speeches

3.3 Contextual configuration of the text

Based on the idea that we can make predictions about the content of context, Halliday and Hasan (1989) develop a model for contextual analysis which includes three main elements: Field, Tenor and Mode (See 2.2) The chosen text will be explored in that way

1 Field:

 A spoken text to express thoughts and opinions and then to ask for specific actions

 Participants types: actors, sensers, carriers

 Process types: Predominantly material and mental, characterizing the features

of rhetorical and descriptive

 High lexical density and parataxis and grammatical intricacy

3.4 Clause and Clause complex analysis

Due to time limitation, it would be impossible for the whole text “I have a dream” to be covered completely in this study Therefore, only the first nine paragraphs with the exception of the seventh part of the text are going to be analysed from SFL perspective, which is believed to illustrate an overview of the whole text

1 I am happy to join with you today

2 in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation

3 Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow

we stand today,

4 signed the Emancipation Proclamation

5 This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves

6 who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice

7 It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity

8 But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free

9 One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination

10 One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty

in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity

11 One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society

12 and finds himself an exile in his own land

13 And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition

14 In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check

15 When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence,

16 they were signing a promissory note

17 to which every American was to fall heir

18 This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men,

19 would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

20 It is obvious today

21 that America has defaulted on this promissory note,

22 insofar as her citizens of colour are concerned

23 Instead of honouring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check

24 which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

25 But we refuse to believe

26 that the bank of justice is bankrupt

27 We refuse to believe

28 that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation

29 And so, we've come to cash this check, a check

30 that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security

33 Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy

34 Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice

35 Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood

36 Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children

37 But there is something

38 that I must say to my people,

39 who stand on the warm threshold

40 which leads into the palace of justice:

41 In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds

42 Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred

43 We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline

44 We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence

45 Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force

46 The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community

47 must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today,

48 have come to realize that

49 their destiny is tied up with our destiny

50 And they have come to realize that

51 their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom

52 We cannot walk alone

53 And as we walk,

54 we must make the pledge that

55 we shall always march ahead

56 We cannot turn back

The chosen text is composed of 56 clauses which comprise 34 clause complexes There is

an inequality between paratactic and hypotactic relation in the text, most of the clauses are of paratactic relation (more than 20 clauses) proving their interdependency No quoting and quoted clauses are found The majority of semantic relations are elaboration and sometimes, enhancement and extension Moreover, the repetition of paratactic

clauses, which are brief and simple ones, is of typical characteristics in spoken language making listeners understand the ideas effectively

Table 1 introduces the clauses and clauses complexes of the text See Appendix 1

3.5 The Analysis of the text in terms of Transitivity, Mood and Theme

There are some abbreviations for transitivity, mood and theme analysis of the text as below:

(1)

(3)

Five score

years ago,

a great American

in … shadow

TRAN Circums Actor Circums Actor Pro:Material Circum

(4)

signed the Emancipation Proclamation

TRAN Pro: material Goal

MOOD Finite Pred Compl

who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice

(7)

It came as…daybreak to end … captivity

TRAN Identified Pro:Relational Identifier Circums

the Negro still is not free

TRAN Circums Attribute Circums Pro:Relational Identifying

(9)

One hundred

years later,

the life of the Negro

is still sadly crippled

by the manacles of … discrimination

(10)

One hundred

years later,

the Negro

lives on a lonely island of

poverty

in the … prosperity TRAN Circums Actor Pro:Material Circums