EXPERIENTIAL MEANING OF BARACK OBAMAS COMMENCEMENT SPEECH a SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTIC

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS AND CULTURE OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES GRADUATION PAPER EXPERIENTIAL MEANING OF BARACK OBAMA'S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm, Ph.D Student: Đỗ Thị Vân Hà Course: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC HÀ NỘI - 2021 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHOA NGƠN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HĨA CÁC NƯỚC NĨI TIẾNG ANH KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP PHÂN TÍCH NGHĨA TRẢI NGHIỆM TRONG DIỄN VĂN TỐT NGHIỆP CỦA BARACK OBAMA THEO LÝ THUYẾT NGÔN NGỮ HỌC CHỨC NĂNG HỆ THỐNG Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm, Ph.D Sinh viên: Đỗ Thị Vân Hà Khóa: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC HÀ NỘI - 2021 I hereby state that I, Đỗ Thị Vân Hà – class QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (English Language Teacher Education Honors), accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan, or reproduction of the paper Đỗ Thị Vân Hà 30/04/2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincerest thanks and gratitude towards all the personages who have helped me in this endeavor Without their active guidance, help, cooperation and encouragement, I could not have completed this thesis I am profoundly grateful to my supervisor, Dr Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm, who spent much of her valuable time supervising and guiding my study Her timely advice, meticulous scrutiny, and scientific approach have helped me, to a great extent, to accomplish this task I would also like to thank my parents for giving me the greatest encouragement and my friends who provided stimulating discussions as well as happy distractions to rest my mind outside of my research i ABSTRACT This paper investigates the realization of experiential meaning in the 2020 commencement speech delivered on major television networks and online by Barack Obama The analytical framework of this study is based on the experiential meaning of M A K Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics, consisting of transitivity model and experiential grammatical metaphors The results show that in Obama’s 2020 commencement address, relational processes were used the most frequently, followed by mental and material ones Likewise, Carrier and Attribute participants dominated the speech, and the speaker also preferred to utilize Senser and Actor Experiential grammatical metaphors that involve the grammatical class shift from verbal groups into nominal ones were the type that constituted the highest percentage of occurrence frequency These characteristics substantially contributed to the representation of the Class of 2020 – the target audience – as experiencers, challenge fighters, aspirers, and learners, the representation of Barack Obama – the speaker – as a companion of the graduates, and the representation of the US, the American, the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts in the speech Keywords: systemic functional linguistics, experiential meaning, transitivity, experiential grammatical metaphor, commencement speech ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v INTRODUCTION 1 Background and rationale of the study Aim of the study Statement of research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Methods of the study Organization of the study CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Systemic Functional Linguistics 1.2 Three metafunctions of language 1.3 Experiential meaning 1.3.1 Process 1.3.2 Participant 10 1.3.3 Circumstance 13 1.4 Grammatical metaphors 15 1.5 Experiential metaphor 16 1.6 Commencement address 18 1.7 Review of previous related studies 19 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 22 2.1 Research design 22 2.2 Data collection and description 22 iii 2.3 Data analysis framework 22 2.4 Data analysis procedure 24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 Baseline information 26 3.2 Findings 27 3.2.1 Transitivity analysis 27 3.2.2 Experiential grammatical metaphors 34 3.3 Discussion 37 3.3.1 Representation of the Class of 2020 – the target audience 39 3.3.2 Representation of Barack Obama – the speaker 42 3.3.3 Representation of the US, the American, the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts – the circumstances 43 CONCLUSION 46 Summary and major findings 46 Implications 47 Limitations of the study 48 Suggestions for further studies 48 REFERENCES 49 APPENDICES 54 Appendix 54 Appendix 57 iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure The grammar of experience: types of process in English Figure System network of transitivity 23 Table Process types, their meanings, and characteristic participants 10 Table Types of circumstantial element 13 Table Experiential GM recognized by Ravelli (1985) 17 Table Experiential GM recognized by Halliday (1999) 18 Table Combined model of experiential metaphor categorization 24 Table Process types of transitivity analysis in Barack Obama’s 2020 High 27 School Commencement Speech Table Participant functions of transitivity analysis in Barack Obama’s 28 2020 High School Commencement Speech Table Circumstantial elements of transitivity analysis in Barack Obama’s 32 2020 High School Commencement Speech Table Experiential grammatical metaphors in Barack Obama’s 2020 High School Commencement Speech LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SFL Systemic Functional Linguistics GM Grammatical metaphor v 34 INTRODUCTION Background and rationale of the study Language is defined as the discrete combinatorial system humans use most for communication and it can be construed as structural systems governed by rules that combine discrete elements (e.g words) into larger constructions (e.g sentences and conversations) (Hazen, 2015) These rules are known as grammar (Trask, 1999) Laying the foundation for the formation and development of languages, grammar has always been one of the principal orientations for research in the field of linguistics as can be seen from several theories of grammar formulated over the years For example, the formal approach to the study of language has led to Generative Grammar, a grammatical model laid out and promulgated by Chomsky in various publications (Chomsky, 1959, 1975, 1986, 1990) Exemplar theories of the functional approach include Functional Sentence Perspective (Firbas, 1992), Functional Grammar (Dik, 1989), and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) (Halliday, 1985) The work of Halliday and his associates (1985) has rendered SFL increasingly acknowledged as a highly practical descriptive and interpretive framework for perceiving language as a strategic meaning-making resource in which grammar is described as systems instead of rules These grammatical systems have a role to play in the construal of meanings of different kinds, as Halliday claims that language is metafunctionally organized (1985) He argues that all languages have three kinds of semantic components, or more accurately, three metafunctions: ideational, interpersonal and textual Among these semantic components, ideational metafunction focuses on construing human experiences of material and symbolic reality, which is known as “experiential meaning”, and organizing those experiences into a logical whole defined as “logical meaning” Experiential meaning is concerned with the content of a discourse: what kinds of activities are undertaken, how participants in these activities are described and classified, and in which circumstances they participate in the activities These elements correspond to the “transitivity system” with its three components: process, participants and circumstances (associated with the process) (Halliday, 1985) The analysis of this strand of meaning in texts can therefore reveal the social and semiotic contexts of language samples perceived from the speaker’s or writer’s viewpoint, a fundamental element to explore the purposes of communication Thus, the researcher has elected to investigate the realization and effectiveness of experiential meaning in this thesis In accordance with the aforementioned explanation, spoken language samples, specifically public speeches, often with clear and predetermined delivery purposes, implicate the speakers’ well-structured reflection of what they experience in the physical and mental world - in other words, their social and semiotic contexts Commencement addresses, speeches given at graduation ceremonies, usually delivered by distinguished speakers, serve to orient, inspire and encourage students who are going to be graduates Therefore, they tend to be analyzed as a message to the listeners rather than a representation of the speakers’ viewpoints of the circumstances of the speech (Malendra & Cahyono, 2013) However, commencements addressing Class of 2020, who graduate in the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak and its subsequent increased socio-economic instability, differ from their antecedents as they recount the social situations and express the speakers’ points of view on these circumstances in more detail Particularly, Barack Obama’s 2020 High School Commencement Speech does reveal part of his political and social perspectives on the current situations and how they orient his guiding message to the soon-to-be graduates Hence, it justifies the researcher’s choice of genres of language sample to investigate Aim of the study The research aims at exploring how experiential meaning and experiential metaphor is realized in Barack Obama’s Class of 2020 High School Commencement Speech Additionally, it investigates how much these two linguistic components contribute to the experiential success of the commencement address Statement of research questions To achieve the aforementioned research aim, the researcher formulates the following research questions: How is experiential meaning expressed in Barack Obama’s Class of 2020 High School Commencement Speech? This question incorporates three sub-questions below: (1) How is experiential meaning realized through the transitivity system in Barack Obama’s Class of 2020 High School Commencement Speech? (2) How is experiential meaning realized through experiential metaphors in Barack Obama’s Class of 2020 High School Commencement Speech? the address It entails semantical shifts from quality into thing by grammatical class shifts from adjectives into nominal groups The percentage of their occurrence frequency was approximately 11.8% It helped the speaker create conciseness in his speech as single nouns were used in place of nominal groups including adjectives and nouns It also assisted Obama in riveting the audience’s attention in parts requiring brevity Thorough analysis of each subject addressed in Obama’s commencement speech reports that the graduate class of 2020 were characterized through relational, material and mental processes and related participants as experiencers of adversity, challenge fighters with initiative, aspirers towards future prospects as well as life-long learners Meanwhile, the speaker represented himself as an understanding, encouraging, and helpful companion of the high school graduates with relational as well as cognitive and desiderative relational processes The Covid-19 pandemic with its adverse impacts was construed as the cause of all the disruptions mentioned in the speech They were manifested with the representation of the American social and political leaders as irresponsible and helpless Obama, nevertheless, incorporated all the American, including the 2020 graduates, in the Actor participant “we” to express his call for close cooperation among people to overcome the Covid-19 epidemic and better everyone’s future Implications From the aforementioned findings, some suggestions to the teachers and students in the context of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam are as followed: Different transitivity processes and participants incorporate different modes and layers of meanings Therefore, transitivity analysis can reveal how and why speakers represent their experiences differently With this knowledge, teachers can explicitly and systematically introduce the range of choice available for expressing human experience in an English clause These choices include the six types of processes, the different participant roles related to each process type and the diverse circumstantial elements In addition, incorporation of experiential grammatical metaphors helps with the intelligibility and conciseness of texts As a result, teachers can design speaking and writing tasks to elicit students’ practice of varied modes of experiential GM in their presentations and compositions More importantly, it is essential for students to understand that the appropriate use of transitivity and experiential GM is vital in realizing the experiential function of the text 47 – what, who and how the speaker wants the audience to experience Teachers can introduce students to enthusiastically welcomed commencement addresses so that they can study how the persuasiveness, attractiveness, and pervasiveness of those speeches can result from the very selection of every single process or participant As a result, students can hopefully produce excellent presentations themselves by effective construal of transitivity and experiential metaphors Limitations of the study Due to limitation of time and the allowed scope of a bachelor’s thesis, this study only surveys the realization of experiential meanings in Obama’s 2020 High School Commencement Address and discusses the potential effects of transitivity and experiential GM on the representation of different subjects in the speech It has not analyzed the impacts the address exerted on the target audience to precisely assess the efficacy of the speaker’s use of transitivity and experiential GM Additionally, this paper has just examined experiential meaning and its realization in the chosen speech but has not approached logical meaning, the other inherent component of ideational metafunction Suggestions for further studies Considering the aforementioned limitations of the study, further studies can be conducted to analyze the logical meaning realization and also assess the efficacy of transitivity and experiential GM used by the speaker Researchers can utilize other types of speech as sources of data and/or incorporate analysis of all three strands of meanings in SFL and other types of GM as well 48 REFERENCES Adjei, A A., Ewusi-Mensah, L., & Okoh, H (2015) Transitivity in political discourse– A study of the major process types in the 2009 state-of-the-nation address in Ghana Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 16, 23-32 Akmalia, R D (2020) The realization of experiential meaning in “Up” screenplay [Bachelor’s thesis] Universitas Negeri Semarang Anafo, C., & Ngula, R S (2020) On the grammar of scam: transitivity, manipulation and deception in scam emails WORD, 66(1), 16-39 Bloor, T & Bloor, M (2004) The Functional Analysis of English (2nd ed.) 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that it doesn’t matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick; and that our society and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other It’s also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing turns out that they don’t have all the answers A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions So, if the world’s going to get better, it's going to be up to you That realization may be kind of intimidating But I hope it’s also inspiring With all the challenges this country faces right now, nobody can tell you “no, you’re too young to understand” or “this is how it’s always been done.” Because with so much uncertainty, with everything suddenly up for grabs, this is your generation’s world to shape Since I’m one of the old guys, I won’t tell you what to with this power that rests in your hands But I’ll leave you with three quick pieces of advice First, don’t be afraid America’s gone through tough times before — slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression and 9/11 And each time we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better Second, what you think is right Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy — that’s how little kids think Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way — which is why things are so screwed up I hope that instead, you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others You won’t get it right every time, you’ll make mistakes like we all But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when it's inconvenient, people will notice They’ll gravitate towards you And you’ll be part of 55 the solution instead of part of the problem And finally, build a community No one does big things by themselves Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say “let me just look out for myself, or my family, or people who look or think or pray like me” But if we’re going to get through these difficult times; if we’re going to create a world where everybody has the opportunity to find a job, and afford college; if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to it together So be alive to one another’s struggles Stand up for one another’s rights Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us — sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed — and set the world on a different path When you need help, Michelle and I have made it the mission of our Foundation to give young people like you the skills and support to lead in your own communities, and to connect you with other young leaders around the country and around the globe But the truth is that you don’t need us to tell you what to Because in so many ways, you’ve already started to lead Congratulations, Class of 2020 Keep making us proud 56 Appendix TRANSIVITY ANALYSIS OF PROCESSES AND PARTICIPANTS IN OBAMA’S 2020 COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Clause No Process Ma Me Be Ve Ex Ac Go cre cre Rc Cl Ini Sc Se Ph Ind at cre at cog Re Participant Ca At at at at at tra tra id at at at at at at at at 12 tra tra tra 15 cog 16 at at at tra cog 21 cog id id em cog cog tra 20 id cog cog cog 18 19 em id 17 id at tra at em id desi desi tra 14 id tra desi 13 Va As tra 11 To cog cog cog id 10 Atr cog cog cog cog 22 at at at 23 at at at 24 at at at 57 id Be Bh Br Sa Ta Rv Ve Ex Clause No Process Ma Ca At 25 at at at 26 at at at 27 at at at 28 at at at 29 id 30 id 31 at 32 id 33 Me Re Be Participant Ve Ex Ac Go Cl Ini Sc Se Ph 35 desi desi desi 36 desi desi desi 37 desi desi desi at 39 desi 40 To Va id id id id id id id id at at Be Bh at at desi desi desi desi desi 42 at at at 43 at at at 44 at at at 45 be tra 47 As at id 41 46 Atr desi desi at 38 Ind at desi 34 Rc be tra id id 48 tra tra 49 tra tra tra 50 at at at 51 at at at 58 at id Br Sa Ta Rv Ve Ex Clause No Process Ma 52 Me Ac Go Rc Cl Ini Sc Se Ph at cre at 58 cog tra at at at at at at at at at at 63 Va As Be Bh Br Sa Ta Rv Ve cog cog at cog cog cog cre cre cre at at at 67 at at at 68 ve ve 69 at at at 70 at at at at at at at at at 71 at desi ve desi desi 73 at 74 at 75 ve 76 id 77 id 78 To cog cog 66 72 Atr tra cog 64 At tra cog tra 62 Ca cog cog tra 60 Ind cre at 57 65 Ex cog cog cog cre 56 61 Ve at 54 59 Be cog 53 55 Re Participant ve 59 id id id id ve ve ve ve ve ve Ex Clause No Process Ma Me Ca At 79 at at at 80 at at at at at at at 81 82 Re Be Participant Ve Ex Ac Go Rc Cl Ini Sc Se Ph at tra tra 83 at cog cog cog 85 cog cog cog cre 87 cre cog at at 89 at at at 90 at at at 91 at at at cog cog 94 cog cog 95 id 96 at 98 cog id id id id As Be Bh at id 93 desi Va cog cog at 97 To cre 88 92 Atr tra 84 86 Ind at at desi desi cog cog 99 at at at 100 at at at 101 cre cre 102 cre cre 103 at cre be be 104 at at at 105 at at at 60 Br Sa Ta Rv Ve Ex Clause No Process Ma Me 106 Be Ve Ex Ac Go Rc Cl Ini Sc Se Ph at 107 108 Re Participant per Ind Ca At at at Atr 111 cre id id cre cre cre cre 112 at at at 113 at at at at at at at at at at at at 125 at at at 126 id id id 127 id id id 114 tra tra 115 cre cre 116 tra cre at 117 tra tra tra 118 tra tra tra 119 tra tra tra 120 at 121 desi 122 123 at 128 129 130 desi desi tra 124 As tra id cre Va per tra 109 110 To tra at tra at tra at at at at tra at 61 id Be Bh Br Sa Ta Rv Ve Ex ... School Commencement Speech Table Circumstantial elements of transitivity analysis in Barack Obama’s 32 2020 High School Commencement Speech Table Experiential grammatical metaphors in Barack Obama’s... networks and online by Barack Obama The analytical framework of this study is based on the experiential meaning of M A K Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics, consisting of transitivity model and... grammatical systems have a role to play in the construal of meanings of different kinds, as Halliday claims that language is metafunctionally organized (1985) He argues that all languages have