Interpersonal Function Analysis Of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream"

Mainly based on the theory of Halliday's systemic functional grammar , the thesis uses Martin Luther King's"I Have a Dream", which is well known especially its powerful persuasiveness, as an example to demonstrate how interpersonal function are generally realized in a political speech.Through a systematic analysis of linguistic elements on different levels:the word, the sentence, and the discourse, it is found that pronouns, modal auxiliaries, imperative structure, tense shift and thematic progressive patterns are the important elements used in King's speeches to achieve interpersonal function and improve the persuasiveness of the speech. These elements in political speeches not only possess the general functions of attracting hearers'attention, maintaining the two parts'relationship and aspiring the audience as most public speeches do, but also have the specific functions such as conveying multiple aims and enforcing strong power on the hearers.It is hoped that through the study of the specific politician's speech, the usual ways for politicians to achieve interpersonal function can be found and King's own personal style in delivering political speeches can also be revealed at the same time. It aims to explore the various methods of the realization of the interpersonal function used in the political discourse and expanding the research on the interpersonal function beyond Halliday's framework.