Readability Of The Original And Simplified Versions Of Gulliver's Travels From The Perspective Of Grammatical Metaphor

It is recognized that there are three main approaches to studies of readability:formulaic approach,multilevel discourse approach and Systemic Functional Linguistics approach.Moreover,it is common to predict and analyze language features of text through formula,but it is rare to elucidate readability from the perspective of grammatical metaphor in Systemic Functional Linguistics.Grammatical metaphor,compared with the traditional lexical metaphor,is a special and unconventional expressing way in Systemic Functional Linguistics and its embodiment is closely associated with the feature of the text.Nevertheless,the relationship between ideational grammatical metaphor,interpersonal grammatical metaphor and readability of text is rather different.Nominalization,as a powerful device for creating ideational grammatical metaphor,is widely used in formal text in order to enhance the scientificity and objectivity of text.It appears later in the process of ontogenesis and cannot be easily comprehended by children.However,interpersonal grammatical metaphor is an unconventional expressing way used in interpersonal communication according to communicative purposes or factors of politeness.It appears earlier in the process of ontogenesis and can be understood with ease by children.Based on Halliday's theory of grammatical metaphor in Systemic Functional Linguistics,this thesis is mainly about the readability of original version of Gulliver's Trtavels and its three simplified versions which are claimed to be appropriate for certain readership,ranging from primary school students to college beginners.This thesis aims at finding the influence of grammatical metaphor on readability of text through investigating the differences of distribution characteristics and rewriting of grammatical metaphor in original and simplified versions of Gulliver's Travels.The investigation shows that the frequency of grammatical metaphor in original version is the highest one.Meanwhile,in three simplified versions,the lower the reader's knowledge level is and the lower the frequency of grammatical metaphor is.In order to meet the demands of different readership,the readability of simplified versions has been enhanced in different degrees through different linguistic forms.Simplified versions are found to demonstrate a various degree of metaphorical realizations which emerge as a continuum.Specifically,rewriting ideational grammatical metaphor into more congruent form has the function of enhancing readability.Moreover,the lower the reader's knowledge level is,the lower the metaphorical degree of sentence is and the higher the readability of the text is.Nevertheless,the interpersonal grammatical metaphor has been reserved in simplified versions.The motivation is that interpersonal grammatical metaphor is a part of daily communication in the process of children's ontogenesis of language.It is available for children in daily interpersonal interaction early.Therefore,reservation of many interpersonal grammatical metaphors can enhance readability in simplified versions.