Dương Thị Thùy Dương

Huỳnh Thái Anh Thy

Phan Thiên Nghi
Lê Quỳnh Nghi
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY

The textual metafunction

This lesson is about how we organize information in sentences to make them

clear and easy to understand. Imagine you're introducing yourself to someone
new! Here's how we can make our sentences flow smoothly:

Repeat Key Ideas: Saying "I'm from Ottawa. Ottawa is the capital of Canada"
might feel a bit clunky. Instead, try "I'm from Ottawa, the capital of Canada."
Repeating "Ottawa" helps connect the two sentences.

Use Pronouns and Demonstratives: We can also use pronouns ("it") or

demonstratives ("that city") to refer back to something already mentioned. "I'm
from Ottawa. It's a beautiful city" or "I'm from Ottawa. That city is famous for
its tulips" are both clear ways to link the sentences.

Keep Important Words Early: Even if we don't repeat the exact word, placing
the important information (like "Ottawa") early in the second sentence helps
with understanding. "I'm from Ottawa. In Ottawa, people speak both French and
English" is a well-organized example.

Connect the Conversation: We don't always need to directly repeat information.

As long as our second sentence builds on the first one, the connection is clear.
"I'm from Ottawa. I love spending summers there" shows a clear link between
the sentences.

→ The concept of "textual metafunction" refers to how language creates

clear connections between sentences in discourse.

Theme

Theme:

● The first element (often the subject) of a sentence that acts as a starting
point.
● It usually refers to something already mentioned (old information).
● Think of it as a reminder for the listener.

Good Theme Flow:

 ● Themes connect to previous information, building a bridge between
sentences.
● Example: Winston Churchill's quote:
○ "I am fond of pigs" (Introduces pigs)
○ "Dogs look up to us" (Connects to animals, related to pigs)

Bad Theme Flow:

● Themes don't connect to previous information, making it hard to follow.

● Example (jumbled Churchill quotes):
○ "I am fond of pigs" (Introduces pigs)
○ "Today's weather is beautiful!" (No connection to pigs)

Theme and "Old Information":

● Themes often refer to things mentioned earlier

● Words like "dogs" in the Churchill example connect to "pigs" even
though not directly repeated.

Marked vs. Unmarked Themes:

● Usually, the subject is the theme (unmarked).

● Sentences can start with other elements too (marked themes).
○ Example: "Last night I dreamt..."

Why Use Marked Themes?

● To emphasize specific aspects:

○ Time sequencing ("First they ignore you...")
○ Importance ("Most importantly, we see...")
○ Contrast ("On the other hand, some have argued...")

→ Themes don't have to repeat the exact same word.

Related words or ideas can also connect sentences smoothly (e.g., animals
instead of pigs).

The first sentence doesn't have a theme connection because there's nothing
before it.

Understanding theme helps create clear and well-organized writing/speaking.

Note – marked and unmarked

● Marked vs. Unmarked:

 ○ Marked: Unusual, different from the norm (e.g., British accent in
America)
○ Unmarked: Usual, standard (e.g., American accent in America)
● How it's Used:
○ Discusses differences in language without implying something is
wrong.
○ Applies to various aspects of language: accents, pronouns, nouns.
● Examples:
○ Pronoun "you" can be singular or plural (unmarked for number).
○ "Tiger" is unmarked for gender (can be male or female).
○ "Nurse" is often seen as unmarked for gender (female), requiring
"male nurse" to specify.
○ Team names like "Arsenal" are unmarked (men's team), requiring
"Arsenal Ladies" to specify women's team.
● What it Reveals:
○ Marked and unmarked language can reflect societal expectations of
gender roles.

→ This concept helps us understand how language choices can highlight

differences and potentially reveal underlying social norms.

Theme in interrogative and imperative clauses

How the theme functions in different types of clauses besides declarative.

● Unmarked Wh- questions: These questions have the "wh-" word (who,
what, where, etc.) at the beginning, which acts as the theme.
● Unmarked Yes/No questions: These questions start with a helping verb
(is, has, should) followed by the subject, and this acts as the theme.
● Marked Wh- questions: Less common, these questions have something
other than the "wh-" word as the starting point (theme).
● Marked Yes/No questions: Similar to marked Wh- questions, these start
with something other than the verb-subject pattern.
● Unmarked Imperatives: These commands begin with the verb itself.
● Marked Imperatives: Less common, these commands start with
something else before the verb, often for emphasis.

Patterns of organisation

There are two general patterns of thematic development that a text can
follow
1. The "Fan" Pattern:
● This pattern involves the theme of one clause repeating the theme of a
previous clause, providing further information.
 ● The theme is like the hub of a fan, with the rhemes as the spokes.
● Examples include Julius Caesar's letter ("I came, I saw, I conquered") and
the opening sentences of Hillary Clinton's speech ("Women comprise
more than half the world's population. Women are 70 percent of the
world's poorand two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write.
Women are the primary caretakers for most of the world’s children and
elderly.”)
→ The word women appears in the text as the theme of three clauses,
plus it is the elliptical theme of others.
● This repetitive pattern makes the text memorable, as seen in other
examples like Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Go back" and Shakespeare's
marked interrogative themes.
2. The "Zig-Zag" Pattern:
● In this pattern, part of the rheme from one clause becomes the theme of
the next clause.
● It moves from a general introduction to more specific details.
● The themes directly repeat words from the previous rhemes, or are
closely related examples.
For instance:
"I am from Ottawa.
Ottawa is the capital of Canada.
Canada has several cities larger than Ottawa.
Toronto, the largest city, is home to several million people."
→ The second and third themes repeat "Ottawa" and "Canada" from
the previous rhemes, while the fourth theme "Toronto" is an example of a
"larger city" mentioned earlier.
● Overall, these two patterns - the repetitive "fan" and the progressive "zig-
zag" - are the main ways texts can develop their themes and ideas in a
coherent and memorable way.

Types of theme
1. Topical Themes:
● Definition: Relate to the content or "topic" of the preceding text.
● Example: "A bus crash in central Bolivia has injured more than 20
people. It only caused minor injuries and bruises to most passengers, but
several suffered head injuries.”
→ The theme "it" refers back to the previous topic of the bus crash.
2. Textual Themes:
● Definition: Provide a link or connection between the current clause and
the previous one.
● Often take the form of conjunctions like "next", "then", etc.
● Example: "Why do I like cycling? It's cheaper than a car. Next, cycling is
faster than walking. Then it's also better for my health."
→ The textual themes "next" and "then" show the clauses are part of a
list.
● Textual themes are optional - the listener can often infer the relationship
between clauses without them. But topical themes are required for the
listener to understand the topical connection.
Example:
“Why do I like cycling? It’s cheaper than a car. Next, cycling is faster
than walking. Then it’s also better for my health.”
It = topical theme. It presupposes “cycling”, so the clause that follows is
related to the topic.
Next = textual theme. The clause that follows is part of a list.
cycling = topical theme. The clause that follows is related to the
topic.
Then = textual theme. The clause that follows is part of a list.
it = topical theme. It presupposes “cycling”, so the clause that follows is
related to the topic.
3. Interpersonal Themes:
● Definition: Indicate the relationship between the clause and the
listener/reader.
● Can be vocatives (addressing someone directly), question words, or the
verb's finite form.
● Example: "Children, open your books. Roshana, read the first page,
please."
→ The interpersonal themes "Children" and "Roshana" show who the
clauses are directed at.
Discourse markers
1. Discourse markers are linguistic units that serve a connective and non-
propositional function in discourse, signaling transitions, relating utterances to
context, and indicating relationships between speakers, listeners, and the
message.

Example: The word "oh" when used to signal a sudden realization or shift in
orientation to new information.
2. Discourse markers “are defined as intra-sentential and supra-sentential
linguistic units which fulfil a largely non-propositional and connective function
at the level of discourse
3. Discourse markers can occur within sentences (intrasentential) or between
sentences (suprasentential), and they do not change the truth-conditional
meaning of the surrounding text.

4. Discourse markers have four main functions:

a. Referential - relating utterances to the surrounding context
b. Interpersonal - indicating the relationship between speakers
c. Structural - signaling transitions and organization of the discourse
d. Cognitive - marking shifts in the speaker's thought processes

5. Discourse markers are not merely "filler" words, but represent conscious
choices by speakers to mark the discourse in meaningful ways.

6. Discourse markers are commonly associated with spoken language, but can
also occur in written texts, though some more informal markers like "oh" are
more typical of speech.

Referential discourse markers

Three main ideas were presented in the text on referential discourse marks:

1. Referential discourse markers indicate the relationship between what

precedes them and subsequent co-text. The relationships may be additive,
adversative, causal or temporal.

For example:
In this conversation:
01 Parent: have you written that card yet
02 Child: i don't want to
03 Parent: but you have to
The child’s turn and parent’s turn are related by an adversarial discourse marker
“but” found at line 3 after the child's statement at line 2.

2. Discourse markers are often called "detachable" as they can be taken out
without changing meaning of the proposition or making the text ungrammatical.
Though removing it could make the reader depend more on context for
interpreting relationships between turns.

3. Some examples of other reference discourse markers are “because/coz”, “or”,

“so”, and the conjunctions discussed in chapter one which imply definite logical
relations between what goes before and what follows.

It is important for referential discsoursemarkers to reveal explicitly these links

so that every segment of such speech is better understood by listeners/readers
with respect to its environment clarity and cohesion.

Note – verbal operator do

“Do” have 3 main functions:
1. "Do" can function as a verbal substitute, standing in for a verb in the previous
clause, as in "My cousin races on Saturday and Sunday, but I just do on Sunday
with him."
2. "Do" can also function as a lexical verb, meaning "to perform" or "to
complete", as in "Do your piano lesson before dinner."
3. The third function of "do" is as a verbal operator, which is used to turn
declarative clauses into their interrogative, negative, or emphatic forms:
Examples:
- Declarative clause: "We go to the bridge."
- Interrogative: "Do we go to the bridge?"
- Negative: "We don't go to the bridge." (Using "do" provides something to
attach "not" to)
- Emphatic: "We do go to the bridge." (Using "do" emphasizes the verb)
Interpersonal discourse markers
These linguistic devices play a crucial role in shaping communication.
Specifically, let's focus on the interpersonal function of discourse markers,
which relates to the speaker's attitude and the listener's probable attitude toward
the text.
1. "Obviously": When a speaker begins a turn with "obviously," they intend to
convey that the co-text following it is not meant to belittle the listener's
intelligence. Essentially, it's a way of emphasizing a point without assuming
that the listener already knows it. For instance, consider the sentence:
"Obviously, we can't go now that you're sick." Here, the speaker acknowledges
the listener's intelligence while emphasizing the situation.
2. Other Interpersonal Discourse Markers:
-"You see": This marker serves a similar purpose. It invites the listener to pay
attention to what follows, emphasizing its importance. For example: "You see,
our project deadline is approaching."
- "Really": When used as a discourse marker, "really" signals sincerity or
emphasis. "I really appreciate your help."
- "Actually": This marker introduces a correction or clarification. "Actually,
the meeting is at 3 PM, not 2 PM."
- "To be honest": It indicates the speaker's candidness. "To be honest, I'm not
sure about the answer."
- "You know": Despite its oft-maligned status, this marker also falls into the
interpersonal category. It assumes shared knowledge between the speaker and
listener. "You know, the new policy affects everyone."
Remember, these discourse markers contribute to the texture of conversation,
reflecting both the speaker's intentions and the dynamics of the interaction.

Structural discourse markers

1. Text Structure:
○ Texts follow specific organizational patterns. For instance:
■ Chronological Order: Stories often unfold in chronological
order, moving from one event to the next.
■ Problem-Solution Format: Business plans may present a
problem followed by proposed solutions.
■ Sequential Steps: Instructions for assembling a child’s toy
are typically presented step by step.
 ○ Kaplan (1966) initiated a discussion about whether these typical
text structures are universal or influenced by individual cultures.
While there’s ongoing debate, we agree that well-organized texts
enhance comprehension.
2. Conventions in Written Texts:
○ Written texts employ various cues to indicate structure:
■ Orthography: Capital letters for new sentences and
punctuation guide readers.
■ Fonts and Colors: Bold headlines, captions, and distinct
fonts help differentiate sections.
■ Paragraph Length: Short paragraphs aid readability.
○ These conventions ensure clarity and guide readers through the
content.
3. Discourse Markers:
○ Clear discourse markers signal the organization of ideas:
■ “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “Then,” and “Finally”: These
adverbs enumerate points in sequence.
■ Other Discourse Markers: While these are often used in
spoken language, they help organize spoken texts:
■ “You see”: Invites attention to follow-up information.
■ “Actually”: Introduces a correction or clarification.
■ “To be honest”: Indicates candidness.
■ “You know”: Assumes shared knowledge.
○ Unlike written texts, spoken language lacks visual cues (fonts,
punctuation), so discourse markers play a vital role in structuring
speech..

Cognitive discourse markers

● Well: Used to mark upcoming discourse as recently decided. For

example, “Well, since you’ve explained it so clearly, I can’t refuse.”
● I think: Indicates hesitation or conclusiveness about thoughts. Compare
“I think it will be okay” (tentative) with “I think you’re wrong”
(authoritative).
● I mean: Used for rephrasing or elaboration.
Additionally, Fung and Carter (2007) include “like” as a discourse marker that
marks elaboration in the speaker’s discourse. Despite prescriptivist complaints
about its overuse, “like” is highly productive and serves various functions. The
word’s form (appearance) should not be confused with its function (purpose).
Let’s explore the multifaceted “like” in 5.13

1. Lexical verb: “I like you” expresses positive feelings.

 2. Preposition: “Mr. Rose dances like a snake” suggests similarity.
3. Quotative like: Instead of using “say,” we can quote words or summarize
original statements. For example, “I was like angry.”
4. Discourse marker: In this context, “like” indicates looseness of
meaning. For instance, “He was like 25 years old” implies an
approximation.
5. Focus: When we say, “We’ve got to meet by like 6 or we can’t make it,”
the “like” emphasizes the importance of meeting by 6.
Interestingly, people might find the quotative and discourse marker functions of
“like” more irksome, possibly due to its association with younger speakers.
Implicature
● Implicature refers to the implicit meaning that differs from the literal
meaning of the words spoken. It involves the speaker creating an implied
meaning that the listener is expected to understand based on the context.
● Grice's cooperative principle states that in conversation, we assume the
speaker is making a contribution that is required and relevant to the
conversation.
● Grice described four maxims that conversational participants are expected
to follow under the cooperative principle:
○ Maxim of quantity: provide the proper amount of information
○ Maxim of quality: try to say only what is true
○ Maxim of relevance: make your contribution relevant
○ Maxim of manner: avoid ambiguity, be brief and orderly
● To adhere to the maxims is to follow them as expected. To violate the
maxims is to break them without the listener understanding why. To flout
the maxims is to break them intentionally, expecting the listener to
understand the implied meaning - the implicature.
● The implicature can depend heavily on the context and shared
understanding between the speakers. As an outside observer, it may be
difficult to determine the precise implicature.
● Quantity - Providing the right amount of information for the context, not
too much or too little. For example, giving a doctor more details about
your health compared to a casual acquaintance.
● Quality - Being truthful and not saying anything you believe to be false.
For example, accurately stating your age when asked.
● Relevance - Ensuring your contributions are pertinent to the conversation.
For example, clarifying that you can't answer the phone because your
hands are wet.
 ● Manner - Being clear, unambiguous, and avoiding obscurity. For
example, spelling out a word to avoid a child understanding it.
Extended analyses
1. Studying concepts individually can aid understanding, but in reality these
features are all present and interacting simultaneously in discourse. For
example, the field of discourse affects the author's stance and use of modality.
2. Isolation of Concepts: Books tend to focus on individual linguistic concepts,
making it easier to understand them without confusion from studying multiple
concepts simultaneously.
3. Context Matters: The field of a text influences the author’s stance. For
example, discussing a topic you know little about (like explaining how a car
works) may lead to more tentative language (epistemic modality).
4. Space Limitations: Authors select excerpts from texts to illustrate concepts,
but presenting entire texts for each example would be impractical due to space
constraints.
At hair salons (Data collected by Bansri Kakkad)
1. The conversation can be divided into two segments - the first segment is
phatic communication in which the speakers are getting reacquainted with each
other, and the second segment has a more specific purpose of discussing one's
hair. client.
2. The friendly and egalitarian nature of the relationship between the hairdresser
(H) and the customer (C) is evident through features such as overlapping
speech, use of abbreviations and attribution almost equal across turns and
words.
3. Situational context plays an important role, as the speaker can rely on shared
knowledge about being at the hair salon to interpret references such as “here”
and “we are doing What".
4. The customer's London English accent is reflected in the spelling "everyfnk"
for "everything".
5. Overall, this conversation exhibits many of the characteristics of a casual,
friendly conversation between acquaintances, as opposed to more formal
interactions where power dynamics and the ability to control the conversation
Chat could be clearer.