On The Interpersonal Function Of The Temperament In The Reading Comprehension Of Scientific Discourse

Based on the overseas and domestic research status, as well as the theory ofHalliday’s Interpersonal Function, this thesis explores the interpersonal function oftenses reflected in the comprehension of scientific discourse through data analysis.English tenses are regarded as another approach to realize the interpersonal functionapart from the mood and modality. The inconsistency of tense and time, as well as thesubjectivity of temporal selection, create different interpersonal functions in discourse.Language in scientific discourse has its own features. The writer communicates withaudiences in the course of writing. Tense, which has the limation of selection in thescientific discourse, can reflect the subjective and objective information conveyed bythe writer and produce the interpersonal functions, such as making the audience easy tounderstand, meanwhile maintaining his or her authority, and allowing for unforeseencircumstances of his or her study, etc. From the perspective of reader and writer, thethesis explores the interpersonal functions reflected in different tenses for betterunderstanding of scientific discourses. This paper consists of four chapters apart fromthe introduction and conclusion. The first chapter is the literature review ofinterpersonal function at home and abroad and put forward the problems remained inthe present study. In the second chapter, the theoretical framework illustrated from twoaspects: tenses and interpersonal function will lay a solid foundation for the laterresearch. The language features of scientific discourse are stated in chapter three. Thefourth chapter is the main body part. The interpersonal functions of different tensecombined with the data analysis in scientific discourses will be discussed.