Textual analysis framework

Chapter 2 of the thesis gives a broad overview of systemics functional linguistics, the following paragraphs will give details on the specific tools that will be used in the text analyses in the study.

The details of the choice of wordings used in the interviews reflect the speakers’ point of view and ideologies. As such, adopting a linguistic framework of analysis based on Halliday’s (1994) systemic functional linguistics (SFL), has the purpose of lending greater consistency to the analysis procedure of texts, allowing for the systematic uncovering / unfolding of the points of views and ideologies of the respondents on various topics. SFL, as with the grounded theory coding process, is also a corpus based and empirical approach to the analysis of the data.

While all three metafunctions are found simultaneously in language, this study is most interested in the respondents’ point of view on working in a cross-cultural environment. Their points of view and ideology (or everyday assumptions, values and beliefs) as reflected in the interpersonal and ideational elements of their speech is what will be explored in this study. The framework for doing so, is based on Halliday and Matthiesson (2004) and Martin and Rose (2003) and it consists of the following elements:

I. Interpersonal - appraisal analysis
a. Modality – probability, usuality (modalization); obligation, willingness (modulation)
b. Adjuncts – Mood adjuncts, comment adjuncts and polarity adjuncts

Linguistically, mood and modality are expressed in the modal verbs and adjuncts. The function of an analysis of mood, comment and polarity adjuncts will aid in uncovering the speaker’s judgements, opinions and feelings, which will be revealed in their choice among different linguistic features. Analysing appraisal features helps uncover the speaker’s adopted stance and attitude towards any given topic or when speaking of events / happenings. It also helps regulate the interpersonal positioning and relationships.

II. Ideational – transitivity analysis of the six processes of material, mental, behavioural, verbal, relational and existential.

Linguistically, this aspect of the analysis will focus on the nominal groups and processes (finite verbs) in the clause structure. It helps identify what the speaker is doing, thinking, saying etc and with whom these events are occurring. The function of a transitivity analysis is to uncover the speaker’s ideas and experiences, how their views of the world are expressed.

III. Textual – theme analysis

Linguistically, an analysis will be made of the theme / rheme development in the discourse. The function of a theme analysis is to uncover the logical development within the clause structure. This can be determined and traced by observing the development of the theme / rheme pattern and what the speaker uses to launch further ideas.

IV. Words in context analysis that allows a cross sectional view of certain words from the entire data

Since the SFL framework will be applied to only selected text examples and not the entire data or corpus, a section analysing ‘words in context’, will help gain access to the entire data of interviews. A concordance software, TextStat (Nieuwland, 2005) will be used to help situate the keywords as they were used in context by all the respondents. This will enable a cross section of the entire corpus of data, all 33 interviews, to be accessed and analysed for patterns and meanings of a specific word use and how the various groups of participants use particular words and what meanings they attribute to that word.