| Language is what it is because it has to serve a variety of functions. Interpersonal function is one of the most important functions of language.M.A.K Halliday (1994) points out that interpersonal meta-function plays a crucial role in people's daily communication, which enables the speaker/writer to express his point of view, attitudes, status, role and intentions so as to set up and maintain certain social and interpersonal relationships.Commencement address, as a particular genre of public speech and an inseparable part of campus culture, has been studied from different perspectives in China and abroad. However, few of the previous studies have been carried out from the perspective of interpersonal meta-function theory.Based on Halliday's systemic functional theory, Li Zhanzi's study on English personal pronoun system and J. R. Martin's appraisal theory, the present study attempts to explore the interpersonal meta-function and its realization in Bill Gates' Harvard commencement address. The author of the present study tries to establish a multidimensional analytical framework (from word, sentence and discourse level respectively), and both qualitative description and quantitative analysis are carried out simultaneously in this thesis. The major findings can be summarized as follows:Firstly, the primary interpersonal relationship in a commencement address is different from that in a political speech. Different from in a political speech, the speaker in a commencement address usually does not intend to emphasize his power, authority or leadership in order to persuade the audience to accept his political stance or ideological ideas; instead, he mainly attempts to establish a friendly and harmonious relationship with the audience so as to persuade them to follow his suggestions and expectations.Secondly, the interpersonal meta-function has been realized on different levels and through various resources in Bill Gates'Harvard commencement address.Thirdly, in Bill Gates'Harvard commencement address, the first person pronouns (I and We) are used most frequently, accounting for 64.33% of the total; what follows is the second person pronoun (You); and the third person pronouns (They, He, She) take the least percentage. First person singular "I" implies that Bill Gates plays the dominant role of providing information, and he is willing to be responsible for what he says in the address. Inclusive "We" shortens the distance and helps to maintain the intimate relationship between Bill Gates and his listeners. Exclusive "We" keeps a deliberate distance from the audience to guarantee objectivity and credibility.Fourthly, it is found that low and median value modal auxiliaries ("can", "will" and "would") are used more frequently than high value ones in the address, indicating that Bill Gates tries to make his speech less controversial, more acceptable and more persuasive.Fifthly, declarative mood makes up an overwhelming percentage (accounting for 87.27%) of all mood types used in the selected address, and is employed mainly to give various information so as to realize the persuasive and instructive function of the speech. Of the three principal tenses, the present tense ranks the first indicating that Bill Gates is focusing on caring about the current situation and issues.Last but not the least, the direct speech proves to be a useful device for the speaker to present different simultaneous voices in his address. This provides a context in which multidimensional interaction is realized. It is found that there are more positive attitudinal evaluations than negative ones in Bill Gates' address, indicating that Bill Gates intends to encourage the students and give them hope and confidence. Bill Gates' attitude is expressed both explicitly and implicitly so as to elicit different attitudinal responses in his listeners.The present study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically speaking, it broadens Halliday's analytical framework of interpersonal meta-function to some extent and provides a new analytical perspective of commencement addresses. Practically speaking, it deepens our understanding of western campus culture and public speeches, which will help people to do a good job in delivering an appealing public speech, wining a heated debate or in writing an attractive composition. This study is also helpful for English teachers to improve their teaching techniques and for students to make great progress in English writing and speaking; therefore, the study also has its pedagogical significance. |
