A study on grammatical metaphor in English business letters

A study on grammatical metaphor in English business letters Vũ Lệ Huyền Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15 Người hướng dẫn: TS. Nguyễn Huy Kỷ Năm bảo vệ: 2011 Abstract: This study focuses on the investigation of grammatical metaphor in English business letters. The theoretical framework for the analysis is mainly based on the systemic functional linguistic theory by M.A.K Halliday, Christian Matthiessen, and James Martin, who are considered as the representatives of systemic functional linguistics. The corpus of the study contains 20 real life English business letters chosen randomly. Through a variety of methods, namely qualitative and quantitative, synthetic and analytic, the study investigates the frequency, the proportion and the types of grammatical metaphor used in the corpus. The results of the study show that grammatical metaphor appeared considerably frequently in the business letters. Then some suggestions for pedagogical implication are also given with the hope of helping ESP students easily approach grammatical metaphor in general and in business letter discourse in particular. It is also hoped that the findings will contribute to a fuller understanding of business letter discourse. Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Phương pháp giảng dạy; Thư thương mại; Ẩn dụ ngữ pháp; Tu từ học Content iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP …………………………………………………………….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………ii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………… iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………………………… vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES PART A: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………… 1 1. Rationale …………………………………………………………………… 1 2. Objectives of the study ……………………………………………………… 2 3. Scope of the study …………………………………………………………….3 4. Methods of the study ………………………………………………………….3 5. Design of the study ……………………………………………………………3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………… 5 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: OVERVIEW ON SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR ………………5 1.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………….5 1.2. Language and context ………………………………………………………5 1.3. Metafunctions ……………………………………………………………….7 1.4. Summary ………………………………………………………………… 10 CHAPTER 2: THE NOTION OF GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR …… 11 2.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 11 2.2. Definitions of Metaphor ………………………………………………… 11 2.3. Grammatical metaphor …………………………………………………….12 v 2.4. Grammatical metaphor vs. Lexical Metaphor ……………………………13 2.5. Classification of Grammatical Metaphor …………………………………15 2.5.1. Ideational Metaphor ………………………………………………… 15 2.5.2. Interpersonal Metaphor ……………………………………………… 18 2.5.2.1. Modality metaphors …………………………………………….18 2.5.2.2. Mood metaphors ……………………………………………… 18 2.6. Summary ………………………………………………………………… 19 CHAPTER 3: GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR IN ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS …………………………………………………….21 3.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 21 3.2. Definition of Business Letters …………………………………………… 22 3.3. Classification of Business Letters …………………………………………22 3.4. Characteristics of Business Letters ……………………………………… 23 3.4. 1. Characteristics of Business Letters in general ………………… 23 3.4.2. Characteristics of business letters in terms of field, tenor and mode 24 3.5. The use of Grammatical Metaphor in Business Letters ………………… 26 3.5.1. Data analysis framework …………………………………………. …26 3.5.2. Results ……………………………………………………………… 33 3.5.2.1. Frequency of use of grammatical metaphor …………………….33 3.5.2.2. Types of Grammatical metaphor used ………………………….33 3.5.3. Discussion ……………………………………………………… 35 3. 6. Summary ………………………………………………………………….36 PART C: CONCLUSION …………………………………………37 1. Recapitulation ……………………………………………………………….37 2. Implications …………………………………………………………………38 vi 3. Limitations of the study …………………………………………………… 38 4. Suggestions for further studies ………………………………………………39 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………… 40 APPENDIX 1 ………………………………………………………………………… I APPENDIX 2………………………………………………………………………… X 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Metaphor is a very important feature in human language and is always a subject of central interest in the study of stylistics. But traditional linguistics has long focused only on lexical metaphor whereas systemic functional linguistics has paid much attention on grammatical metaphor. English is considered a key to success in international business. Business letters are still widely used in the world as a main channel of business correspondence. To achieve desirable results in communicating through business letters, besides taking some remarkable features into account such as: style, language, structure of a business letter, an aspect of the lexicogrammar which involves a higher level of complexity in the process of production and interpretation of clauses – the use of grammatical metaphor should be paid a great attention, too. However, it has not attracted enough research attention. A functional analysis of grammatical metaphor in discourse, especially in business letters will be very helpful to benefit English learners in better understanding and employing target language and thus improving the communicative competence more effectively. 2. Objectives of the study (i) to give a general understanding of grammatical metaphor in the light of functional linguistics. (ii) to examine some typical characteristics of business letters to show the general features of this genre. (iii) to give an analysis of the corpus of business letters in terms of grammatical metaphor in order to see how this notable feature is used. Therefore, the research questions raised here are: 1) What is the frequency of the use of grammatical metaphor in English business letters? 2) What types of grammatical metaphor are used in English business letters? 3. Scope of the study Grammatical metaphor in the chosen corpus of English business letters. The theoretical framework for the analysis: systemic functional linguistic theory by M.A.K Halliday, Christian Matthiessen, and James Martin. 2 4. Methods of the study The study employs the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. 5. Design of the study The study consists of three parts: Part A: Introduction. This part introduces the rationale, the objectives, the scope and the methods of the study. Part B: Development. This part is divided into three chapters. Part C is the conclusion PART B: DEVELOPMENT THEORETICAL BACKGROUND CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW ON SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR 1.1 Introduction From this point of view, Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) w a s developed by Michael Halliday and his colleagues. This has been a great contribution to linguistic theory. Our overview on the SFG will focuse on some of the key points (Language and social context, Context of culture, Context of situation, Metafunctions… ) of this theory in the next part. 1.2. Language and context A full understanding of a text is often impossible without reference to the context in which it occurs. And context can be considered from two perspectives: the context of culture and the context of situation. 1.3. Metafunctions With respect to the context of situation, all the situational differences between texts can be explained by three aspects of the context, namely, field, tenor, and mode. 1.4. Summary In this chapter, an overview of systemic functional linguistics has been briefly given. It is described as a functional-semantic approach to language which explores how language is used in different contexts, and how it is construed for using as a semiotic system. 3 CHAPTER 2: THE NOTION OF GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR 2.1. Introduction As we know metaphor is a very important feature in human language. There is no exaggeration when we say that language itself is a metaphor. 2.2. Definitions of Metaphor We start with the definitions of metaphors. A lot of defitions has been given 2.3. Grammatical Metaphor Grammatical metaphor is one of the most interesting theoretical notions developed by Halliday (1985/1994) within systemic-functional Grammar. In this research paradigm, language is regarded as a semiotic system which comprises four different strata (context, semantics, lexicogrammar, and phonology) related to each other by means of subsequent realizations. 2.4. Grammatical metaphor vs. Lexical Metaphor Halliday (1985) suggests that metaphor does not necessarily happen at the lexical level but often at the grammatical level, which is called grammatical metaphor. “We are looking at metaphor not „from below‟, as variation in the meaning of a given expression, but rather „from above‟, as variation in the expression of a given meaning” (1994: 342) 2.5. Classification of Grammatical Metaphor 2.5.1. Ideational Grammatical Metaphors Ideational Grammatical Metaphors are called metaphor of transitivity. The grammatical variation between congruent and incongruent forms here applies to transitivity configurations. 2.5.2. Interpersonal Grammatical Metaphors Two types of interpersonal grammatical metaphors can be distinguished as metaphors of mood and of modality. 2.5.2.1. Modality metaphors The grammatical variation which occurs is based on the logico-semantic relationship of projection. 2.5.2.2. Mood metaphors 4 In order to understand the notion of interpersonal metaphors of mood, it is necessary to consider what the default types of encoding are. 2.6. Summary This chapter has focused mainly on the notion of grammatical metaphor within the framework of systemic functional grammar. To master the notion of grammatical metaphor, the notion of lexical metaphor, which is traditionally known, has been also discussed. As we can see in this chapter, grammatical metaphor can be explained in relation to lexical metaphor. CHAPTER 3: GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR IN ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS 3.1. Introduction Due to the profound political and economic changes in the world, the commercial relations of different nations have noticeably increased and English language is now considered by many nations as an international language. 3.2. Definition of Business Letters According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, a letter is a written message addressed to a person or an organization, usually in an envelope and is sent by post. Business refers to the exchange of goods or services for the reason of money or other goods. So a business letter is a letter dealing with business, used in the negotiation of trade conditions in national or international business, concerning the quality of specified goods, specifications, quantity, price, shipment, insurance, payment, disagreement, claim, etc The other definition by Jacky Gamble eHow contributor: business letters are formal letters used for business-to-business, business-to-client, or client-to-business correspondence. 3.3 Classification of Business English letters Business is very complicated transaction involving series of different procedures. Stewart (1984) classified business letters as follows: 1) Classification according to the content of the letter. 2) Classification according to the different functions in the process of a business trade. 3) Classification according to the nature of the information given. 3.4. Characteristics of Business Letters 3.4. 1. Characteristics of Business Letters in general Scientific Expression must be of great consideration. Scientific expression means something said directly and briefly. 5 Any business letter must be short. The significance of a short letter is that the person reading the letter must understand the significance of the letter in the minimum possible lines. The tone of the letter is another very important aspect of the letter. The letter must sound polite, courteous and firm. Accuracy is important in a business letter. Whatever you communicate in a letter must be accurate. Association of ideas is also crucial. The ideas and facts mentioned in the letter must be interlinked. Politeness and optimism are the ‘passwords’ in the business world. Business letters must be conducted in a polite tone. 3.4.2. Characteristics of business letters in terms of field, tenor and mode (i) Field There is no denying the fact that we cam easily recognize a business communication situation. We are subconsciously aware of the nature of the social activity and expect the participants to behave in a certain way. Thus what people actually do in such situations determines the field of business letters. (ii) Tenor The tenor of business letters relates to the role relationship between participants in such situations. The social roles have already been observed and very well defined. Now, for instance, considering the ultimate purpose of the shopkeeper or producer, there is a lot of persuasion, be it gentle or other, to effect a transaction. (iii) Mode As this thesis focuses on the written business letters, the transmission channel is through the written communication. On the other hand, mode deals with the cohesion and textual structure of the written work 3.5. The use of Grammatical Metaphor in Business Letters 3.5.1. Data analysis framework The corpus is a collection of 20 authentic real-life English business letters randomly chosen from the eBook titled Instant Business Letters Kit by Shawn Fawcett. They are then analyzed in terms of grammatical metaphor in detail. The examples below, taken from the corpus of the present study, will illustrate the 6 instances of mapping and realization discussed in chapter II. The metaphorical expressions in the examples were taken from the corpus of business letters used in the present study and the congruent expressions were provided by the author of this paper. Metaphorical: Your cooperation is appreciated. Congruent: The way you cooperate is appreciated. Halliday & Mathiessen suggested a detailed description of the metaphorical types. The classification is based on metaphoric shifts from one elemental class to another. Each type is treated as a phenomenon on its own. 3.5.2. Results Twenty business letters were studied carefully in order to identify grammatical metaphor with reference to Table 1. The author was then able to determine first the frequency of use of grammatical metaphor, and second, the average number of grammatical metaphor instances in each clause and third, types of grammatical metaphor used. No. of business letters: 20 No. of business letters with grammatical metaphor: 20 No. of instances of grammatical metaphor: 418 No. of clauses in these 20 business letters: 346 3.5.2.1. Frequency of use of grammatical metaphor The frequency of use of grammatical metaphor in the business letters was shown in terms of, first the percentage of business letters containing grammatical metaphor, and second the ratio (the average number of GM instances) of grammatical metaphor to the number of clauses. Table 2 summarizes the results. Frequency Figures Percentage of business letters with grammatical metaphor 100 % (20/20 business letters) GM ratio 1.21 (418/346 clauses) Table 2: Frequency of use of grammatical metaphor in business letters [...]... for Business and Technical Writing Salt Lake City 8 Galperin, I.R (1981) Stylistics Vyssaja Skola Moscow 9 Halliday, M .A. K (1994) An introduction to Functional Grammar Second Edition London: Edward Arnold 10 Halliday, M .A. K (1978) Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning London: Arnold 11 Halliday, M .A. K (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar London: Arnold... straightforward as it has been claimed to be Third, 10 the authors of the business letters mostly used type 2 (nominalizing a process) and type 13 (expanding the noun resulting from nominalizing a verb) of grammatical metaphor because nominalization plays a key role in creating grammatical metaphor in business letter discourse 2 Implications It is suggested that grammatical metaphor should be taken in. .. in to account in writing work The teachers can help the students with the practice of changing a congruent realization into a metaphorical one, paying much attention with the skills of nominalization for nominalizing is the single most powerful resource for creating grammatical metaphor However, in writing a business letter, remember that the use of grammatical metaphor could make the massage concise,... 12 Halliday, MAK; Hasan, Ruqaiya.(1989) Language, Context and Text: aspects 41 of language in a social-semiotic perspective Oxford: OUP 13 Halliday, M .A. K (1992) Functional Grammar London: Edward Arnold 14 Halliday, M .A. K & Hasan, Ruqaiya (1976) Cohesion in English Longman 15 Harmon, W & Hugh Holman, C (1996) A Handbook to Literature Prentice Hall 16 Ho, V (2010) Grammatical Metaphor in Request E-mail... McGraw – Hill 25 Sáenz, F.S (2000) Halliday’s grammatical metaphor, conceptualization and linguistic construal Universidad de La Rioja, Spain (p 497-511) 26 Stewart, Marie M (1984) Business English and Communication Gregg Division/Mcgraw-Hill Book Company 27 Strevens, P (1987) English as an international language English Teaching Forum 25(4), 56-63 42 28 Taverniers, M (2006) Grammatical Metaphor and... source of grammatical metaphor in business letters PART C: CONCLUSION 1 Recapitulation The study has achieved the objectives previously set up To have a clear understanding about grammatical metaphor, a feature of lexicogrammar, an overview on the SFG was given with some of the key points It is described as a functional-semantic approach to language which explores how language is used in different contexts,... use grammatical metaphor in constructing their discourse This seems to indicate that the authors of the letters were aware of the advantages of using grammatical metaphor It could make the message concise and brief However, the use of grammatical metaphor in a large proportion of the business letters studied seems to infer that business letter discourse might not be as simple and straightforward as... condensing information is called nominalization Nominalization increases the density of the information and enriches the content of expressions through making a clause into a noun or noun phrase According Halliday, nominalizing is the single most powerful resource for creating grammatical metaphor By this device, processes (congruently 9 worded as verbs) and properties (congruently worded as adjectives) are... showed a strong tendency to use grammatical metaphor to construct their messages All the letters in the corpus contain grammatical metaphor The most pervasive types of grammatical metaphor used in the corpus with the reference to table 1 are type 2 and type 13 This suggests that the authors of the letters tended to condense the information into a nominal group and thus nominalization plays a powerful... then changing a verb into an adjective (type 5) and changing a prepositional phrase into an adjective (type 6) 3.5.3 Discussion From the above results, one can see that grammatical metaphor was used frequently in the business letters All the letters in the corpus contained grammatical metaphor with quite high GM ratio (1.21) These two figures suggest that the authors of the letters showed a strong tendency . Ideational Grammatical Metaphors Ideational Grammatical Metaphors are called metaphor of transitivity. The grammatical variation between congruent and incongruent forms here applies to transitivity. of grammatical metaphor The frequency of use of grammatical metaphor in the business letters was shown in terms of, first the percentage of business letters containing grammatical metaphor, and. process) and type 13 (expanding the noun resulting from nominalizing a verb) of grammatical metaphor because nominalization plays a key role in creating grammatical metaphor in business letter