an analysis of english inquiry letters in online shopping from a systemic functional grammar's perspective = phân tích thư yêu cầu tiếng anh trong mua bán trực tuyến theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
----------------    ----------------

PHẠM THUÝ HẰNG

AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH INQUIRY LETTERS IN
ONLINE SHOPPING FROM A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL
GRAMMAR'S PERSPECTIVE
Phân tích thư yêu cầu tiếng Anh trong mua bán trực tuyến
theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

M.A. MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60 2215

HA NOI - 2010


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
----------------    ----------------

PHẠM THUÝ HẰNG

AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH INQUIRY LETTERS IN
ONLINE SHOPPING FROM A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL
GRAMMAR'S PERSPECTIVE

Phân tích thư yêu cầu tiếng Anh trong mua bán trực tuyến
theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

M.A. MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60 2215
SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN HƯƠNG GIANG, M.A.

HA NOI - 2010


iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement...................................................................................................................i
Abstract..................................................................................................................................ii
Table of contents...................................................................................................................iii
Abbreviations used in this thesis ...........................................................................................v
List of Tables and figures ......................................................................................................v
PART 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1
1. Rationale of the study.........................................................................................................1
2. Aims of the study...............................................................................................................1
3. Scope of the study..............................................................................................................2
4. Methods of the study......................................................................................................... 2
5. Design of the study............................................................................................................ 2
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT ...............................................................................................4
Chapter 1: Theoretical background.................................................................................. 4
1.1. The role of Grammar in Discourse Analysis.................................................................. 4
1.2. Theories of Systemic Functional Grammar.................................................................... 4

1.2.1. Ideational Meaning and its realisation through the system of Transitivity................. 4
1.2.2. Interpersonal Meaning and its realisation in the Mood and Modality system...........11
1.2.3. Textual Meaning and its realisation through the system of Theme and Information focus13
Chapter 2: An Analysis of English inquiry letters from a Systemic Functional Grammar's
perspective
2.1. English inquiry letters...................................................................................................17
2.1.1. Definition...................................................................................................................17
2.1.2. Inquiry letters: Types and contexts .......................................................................... 17
2.1.3. Template of an English inquiry letter ...................................................................... 18
2.2. Features of English inquiry letters in shopping online from a systemic functional
grammar's perspective
2.2.1. Transitivity in terms of Experiential Meaning.......................................................... 21
2.2.2. Mood in terms of Interpersonal Meaning.................................................................. 27
2.2.3. Thematic structure in terms of Textual Meaning...................................................... 29


iv

Chapter 3: Implications of the study............................................................................... 34
3.1. Implications for writing an English inquiry letter........................................................ 34
3.2. Suggested exercises for practising writing English inquiry letters.............................. 35
PART 3: CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................... 38
1. Summaries and findings.................................................................................................. 38
2. Limitations....................................................................................................................... 39
3. Suggestions for further study.......................................................................................... 39
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................. 40
APPENDIX.............................................................................................................................
KEYS ......................................................................................................................................

v

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS THESIS

Cir

: Circumstance

Comp

: Complement

Fin

: Finite

No. of cls

: Number of clauses

Mat

: Material

Men

: Mental

Pro

: Process

Pred

: Predicator

Rel

: Relational

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Types of process in English
Table 1.1. Process types, their meanings and participants
Figure 1.2. A fragment of the Mood system in English
Table 2.1. Distribution of processes in English inquiry letters
Table 2.2. Distribution of Mood choice in English inquiry letters
Table 2.3: Distribution of Modal verbs in English inquiry letters
Table 2.4: Distribution of Theme in English inquiry letters


1
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
Thanks to the open-door policy and renovation process, Vietnam has been
expanding its relationship with a lot of countries all over the world in all fields, especially
in economic field. English, therefore, has been widely used and it is considered a key to
every success.
In today's fast-moving society, like many other fields, the economy has many
changes with a variety of business. Selling and buying things happen not only at the real

markets, shops, supermarkets but also on the Internet through websites, or in other words
that is "online selling". People do not have to go to the shops, supermarkets or markets for
seeing, choosing and shopping for products. What they have to do is to go online, access
the website and search for samples of products or the information of the products they
want to buy, and then buy them online.
With a variety of products, forms of business and the expansion of commercial cooperation with many other countries in the world, emails for exchanging information about
products between Vietnamese companies and foreign companies, between customers and
sellers are getting more and more popular and necessary. These emails are one kind of
inquiry letters. Therefore, a linguistic study on English inquiry letters is, of no doubt,
highly relevant and we hope that it can reveal the nature of English inquiry letters and
suggest linguistic improvements that make communication through those documents more
effective.
2. Aim of the study
The study is conducted to investigate some features of language used in English
inquiry letters requesting samples or information about products in shopping online - from
a Systemic Functional Grammar‟s perspective in order to provide deeper theoretical and
practical insights into English inquiry letter texts. Then, based on the research findings
some suggestions are offered for improving the writing English inquiry letters. This study
hopes to help people who are working in economic field or those who are interested to
understand perfectly and compose this kind of text better.
The research is carried out by answering the following questions:


2
1. What is an English inquiry letter?
2. What are the features of language used in English inquiry letters in shopping
online from a Systemic Functional Grammar's perspective?
3. What implications does the study have for learners of English to compose a
good English inquiry letter?

3. Scope of the study
The object of the study is the English inquiry letter. However, not all kinds of
inquiry letters are covered but only the kind of letter that requests samples or information
about products in shopping online is chosen. There are fifteen English inquiry letters
under investigation and all of them are in English.
Moreover, because of the limitation of a minor thesis, this study will analyze
English inquiry letters from a Systemic Functional Grammar‟s perspective, which is
explored only in terms of three metafunctions: ideational, interpersonal and textual
functions through an analysis of Transitivity, Mood and Theme-Rheme.
4. Methods of the study
To achieve the aims of the study, the following activities will be conducted.
Firstly, set up a framework of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) in order to
define characteristics of English inquiry letters that request samples or information about
products in shopping online as a type of discourse.
Secondly, fifteen English inquiry letters that request samples or information about
products in shopping online will be described and analyzed in terms of some grammatical
devices: Transitivity, Mood and Theme-Rheme.
Thirdly, necessary comments and conclusions as well as suggestions are made
according to the data analyzed.
5. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts.
Part I is Introduction. It presents the rationale of the study, states the aims of the
study, and identifies the specific tasks and the scope of the study. Also, it provides an
outline of the method to be applied and the structure of the study.


3
Part II is Development and it consists of three chapters:
Chapter 1 is Theoretical background of the study involving the subject
under consideration: The grammatical role in Discourse analysis and Theories of Systemic

Functional Grammar.
Chapter 2 presents English inquiry letters in general and discusses the most
typical features of English inquiry letter texts requesting samples or information about
products in shopping online under a Systemic Functional Grammar's perspective:
Transitivity in terms of Experimental Meaning, Mood in terms of Interpersonal Meaning,
Thematic structure in terms of Textual Meaning.
Chapter 3 is Implications for writing an English inquiry letter requesting
samples or information about products in shopping online.
Part III is Conclusion. It summarizes the main points discussed throughout the
study. Limitations and suggestions for further study are also presented in this part.


4
PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. The role of grammar in Discourse analysis
As we know, Discourse analysis is a new branch of linguistics. "It is concerned
with the study of the relationship between language and the contexts in which it is used.
Discourse analysts study language in use: written texts of all kinds, and spoken data, from
conversation to highly institutionalized forms of talk". (Michael Mc Carthy: 5)
There are several approaches to discourse analysis including pragmatics approach,
language variation, interactional social- linguistics, conversation analysis, integrated
approach... Each approach plays an important role and they study discourse in different
aspects. In this thesis, we base on Systemic Functional Grammar to analyze English
inquiry letters as a kind of discourse. The importance of grammar in discourse analysis is
obvious as Halliday stated "... and it is sometimes assumed that this (discourse analysis)
can be carried on without grammar- or even that it is somehow an alternative to grammar.
But it is an illusion. A discourse analysis that is not based on grammar is not an analysis
of all, but simply a running commentary on a text..."
Moreover, according to Halliday, language has three functions: ideational,

interpersonal and textual. All these functions are reflected in the structure of the clause.
Therefore, when analyzing a discourse, it is important that we should analyze the grammar.
1.2. Theory of Systemic Functional Grammar
Systemic functional linguists have summarized the way in which human beings use
language under three broad categories and maintained that these categories of user are
guided by three metafunctions. They are ideational, interpersonal and textual functions.
1.2.1. Ideational function and its realisation through the system of transitivity
Transitivity is the system of grammatical choice, which involves the experiential
meanings of the clause. Transitivity choices have relations with the field of discourse, so
given what the discourse is about, analysts can predict the choice of processes that the
interactants are making to achieve their communication goals, and given the process types
used in a discourse, analysts can work out the meanings interactants are trying to
communicate. Transitivity, therefore, is sometimes, referred as process type. Each process,


5
as pointed out by Halliday (1994:107), consists of three components in principle: (i) the
process itself, (ii) the participants in the process and (iii) circumstances associated with the
process. There are six types of process in English: Material, Mental, Relational,
Behavioural, Verbal and Existential. Each of process has its own features and the
following figure is a diagrammatic summary of these process types, and they will also be
investigated briefly for more understanding.
RELATIONAL

having
attribute

EXISTENTIAL

having

identity
symbolizing

existing
world of
abstract relation
happening
(being cheated)

saying

doing
MATERIAL

VERBAL

being

cheating,
changing

physical
world

sensing

thinking

world of
consciousnes

s

doing (to)
acting

feeling
MENTAL
behaving

seeing

BEHAVIOURAL
Figure 1.1. Types of process in English
(Source: Halliday 1994:108)


6
(i) Material processes: processes of doing
Material processes express the notion that some entity 'does' something, which may
be "done" to some other entity, for example, reading, running, cooking, etc. They answer
the question "What did X do?" or "What happened?". Potential participant roles are
ACTOR (or Doer of the process), GOAL (or Thing affected by the process), RANGE (or
Thing unaffected by the process), BENEFICIARY of the process. The following are
examples:
John

arrived

the dog

bit

the baby

Actor

Process: Material

Actor

Pro: Material

Goal

I

bought

my sister

a shirt

Actor

Process: Material

Recipient

Goal

(ii) Mental processes: Processes of sensing
Mental processes encode the inner world of cognition (which is realized through
verbs of thinking, knowing, understanding), perception (which is realized through verbs of
seeing, hearing), affection (which is realized through verbs of liking, fearing). All mental
processes involve two participants: Sensor (one who thinks, feels, senses and wants), and
Phenomenon (one that is thought of, felt, sensed and wanted). Here are the examples:
Mary

knows

the answer

Sensor

Process: mental: cognition

Phenomenon

Michael

wants

a laptop

Sensor

Process: Mental: Affection

Phenomenon

(iii) Relational processes: Processes of being
The main characteristic of relational processes is that they relate a participant to its
identity or description. Relational process is typically realized by the verb "be" or some
verbs of the same class. There are two main types of relational process: Relational
Attribute, which relates a participant to its general characteristics or description; and
Relational Identifying, which relates a participant to its identity, role or meaning.


7
In relational attribute clauses, the participant carrying the characteristics or
attributes is known as the Carrier and the characteristics are known as Attribute. The
attribute is typically an indefinite nominal group of nominal group with an adjective as
Head. It cannot be a proper noun or a pronoun. The verbs realizing the process include be
and other verbs relating a carrier to an Attribute such as seem, look, appear, remain, and
feel. For example,
That laptop

looks

new

Carrier

Process: Relational

Attribute

Relational identifying processes set up an identity role or meaning and they
perform two separate functions and have two sets of labels.
The first function is the one provides a new identity; the nominal group about

which the question is asked is labeled Identified and the new identity, the answer to the
question is the Identifier.
Example:
Your office

is

the room on the left

Identified

Process: relational identifying

Identifier

The second function of relational identifying processes allows us to take any form
and identity its function and conversely, to take any function and identify its form. In other
words, we take some token and give it a new value, or some value and give its token. And
the participant roles for this function by which we give new Value to a known Token or
supply a Token for a known Value. The following is an example.
John

is

the leader

Token

Process: relational identifying

Value

(iv) Behavioral processes
Behavioural processes construe (typically human) physiological or psychological
behaviour, like breathing, coughing, smiling, dreaming. Behavioural processes are the
intermediary between material and mental process. Typically, a behavioural process has
only one participant: The human behaver, which is always a conscious being. Sometimes
there is a Range like participant known as Behaviour, which extends the process;


8
sometimes, especially with relation to those most closely related to mental processes, the
Range is a separate entity somewhat like a Phenomenon.
Examples:
Mary and Pete

watched

the sunset

Behaver

Process: behavioural

Range

Betty

cried

bitter tears

Behaver

Process: behavioural

Behaviour

(v) Verbal processes
Verbal processes construe saying, such as saying, speaking, talking, telling, or
anykind of symbolic exchange such as showing, indicating. Their potential participant
roles are: Sayer (doer of the process), Receiver (addressee of the speech), Target (the
participant which is the object of the talk), and Verbiage (Which corresponds to
Phenomenon in a mental process and sums up what is said in one nominal group or
embedded clause).
Examples:
she

told

me

a secret

Sayer

Process: verbal

Receiver

Verbiage

Lindsay

told

the secret

to her husband

Sayer

Process: verbal

Verbiage

Receiver

The televiewers

praised

that documentary

Sayer

Process: verbal

Target

(vi) Existential process
Existential processes represent exist or happens by positing that "there is/ was
something". The process typically employs the verb be or synonyms such as exist, arise,
occur, stand. In this type of process, there is only one participant known as Existent, and
one or two circumstantial elements.
Example:


9
There

is

a pen

in my handbag

Process: existential

Existent

Circumstance

The process types, their meanings and participants can be summarized in the
following table.
Process type

Category meaning

Participants

material:

'doing'

Actor, Goal, Recipient

action

'doing'

event

'happening'

Behavioural:

'behaving'

Behaver, (Phenomenon)

Mental:

'feeling'

Sensor, Phenomenon

perception

'sensing'

affection

'emotive'

cognition

'thinking'

Verbal:

'saying'

Sayer, Target, Verbiage, Recipient

Relational:

'being'

Carrier, Attribute

attribution

'attributing'

Identified/ Token,

identification

'identifying'

Identifier/ Value

'existing'

Existent

Existential:

Table 1.1. Process types, their meanings and participants
(Source: Halliday 1994:143)
In addition, all the processes in the transitivity system may be accompanied by
circumstantial elements, typically realized by adverbial groups, prepositional phrases and
even by a nominal group. Halliday (1994) classifies Circumstances into different kinds:
Extent, Location, Manner, Cause, Contingency, Accompaniment, Role, Matter and Angle.
The circumstances are identified by considering what the questions are used to explicit
them. The following are examples of different kinds of circumstances and the questions
that are helpful in identifying them.
(1) Circumstance of Extent: HOW LONG (duration); HOW FAR (distance)


10

He

runs

100 meters

in 15 seconds

Actor

Pro: material

Cir: Extent (distance)

Cir : Extent (duration)

(2) Circumstance of Location: WHEN (Time); WHERE (Place)
He

went

to London

last year

Actor

Pro: material

Cir: Location (Place)

Cir: Location (time)

(3) Circumstance of Manner: HOW?WITH WHAT?(means); HOW? HOW-LY?(quality);
WHAT ...LIKE (comparison)?
She

types

very fast

Actor

Pro: material

Cir: manner (quality)

(4) Circumstance of Cause: WHY?(reason); WHAT FOR?(purpose); WHO FOR?(behalf)
She

built

a new house

for the children

Actor

Pro: material

Goal

Cir: Cause (behalf)

(5) Circumstance of Accompaniment: WITH WHOM?
I

go

with my sister

into a bookshop

Actor

Pro: material

Cir: Accompaniment

Cir: Location (place)

(6) Circumstance of Matter: WHAT ABOUT?
He

asked

me

a question

about you

Sayer

Pro: Verbal

Receiver

Verbiage

Cir: matter

(7) Circumstance of Role: WHAT AS
She

talked

as a chairman

Sayer

Pro: Verbal

Cir: Role

(8) Circumstance of Contingency: expressed by in the case of, in the event of, in spite of,
despite, in the absence of, in default of ...
I

will go

in the event of the party

Actor

Pro: material

Cir: Contingency

(9) Circumstance of Angle: expressed by according to, in the view of, in my opinion...
In my opinion

the price

is

good

Cir: Angle

Carrier

Pro: Relational

Attribute


11
1.2.2. Interpersonal function and its realisation in the Mood and Modality system
Besides the use of language to represent the world, we can use it to exchange
meanings. Within this function, language users generally choose an appropriate structure to
ask questions, make statements or issue directives. The system of choices available for us
to perform this task is Mood, or the grammatical system which involves the interpersonal
meaning of the clause. Below is a fragment of the Mood system in English.
Yes/No
interrogative
"Wh"

indicative

declarative
MOOD
inclusive
imperative
exclusive
Figure 1.2. A fragment of the Mood system in English
(Source: Hoang Van Van 2006: 55)
The figure above shows that in the Mood system there are two choices: indicative
and imperative. If „indicative‟ is chosen, it will allow two more choices: interrogative and
declarative; and if „interrogative” is chosen, it will give two more delicate choices: Yes/No
and „Wh‟; and so on.
On interpreting clause in their function as an exchange, Halliday divides the clause
into two parts: The MOOD and the RESIDUE.
The MOOD is the component whose function in the clause is to carry the syntactic
burden of the exchange. It is made up of two functional elements: the subject and the
finite. Subject "realizes thing by reference to which the proposition can be affirmed or
denied", and Finite "makes the proposition definite, anchor the proposition in a way that
we can argue about it". The finite also can be divided into Temporal Finite Verbal
Operators that anchor the proposition by reference to time (as in the use of verb tense) and
Finite Modal Operators that do the job by reference to Modality.


12
The RESIDUE is the remainder of the clause consisting of three functional
components: Predicator, Complement, and Adjunct.
(1) The Predicator is present in all non-elliptical major clauses, and it is realized by a
verbal group. The function of the predicator is fourfold. (i) It specifies time reference other
than reference to the time of the speech event. (ii) It specifies various other aspects and

phases like seeming, trying, hoping. (iii) It specifies the voice: active or passive. (iv) It
specifies the process (action, event, mental process, relation) that is predicated of the
Subject.
(2) The Complement is an element within the Residue which has the potential of being a
Subject but is not. It is typically realized by a nominal group.
(3) Adjunct is an element that has not got the potential of being subject and it is typically
realized by an adverbial group or a prepositional phrase.
Let have a look at the following examples for illustration:
The company

employs

Subject

Finite

8,000 people.

Predicator

Complement

Mood
Five years later
Adjunct

Residue

the company
Subject

Residue

sold
Finite

$1,6 billion of books

Predicator

Mood

Complement
Residue

Was

she

cooking

in the kitchen?

Finite

Subject

Predicator

Adjunct

Mood

Residue

He

does not

like

music

Subject

Finite

Predicator

complement

Mood

Residue

Besides MOOD- expression of the speaker's choice of a particular speech role,
MODALITY- expression of the speaker's judgment and prediction in the speech situation
is also an aspect of the interpersonal meaning. There are different types of modality such as
possibility (e.g., He may leave the room), ability (e.g., He can play the guitar very well.),

13
supposition (e.g., He must be a doctor.), permission (e.g., May I go out?), and intention
(e.g., I will finish my report today.)

1.1.2.3. Textual meaning and its realisation through the system of Theme and
Information focus
The textual meaning is concerned with creating relevance between parts of what is
being said and between the text and the context. It is expressed through the system of
Theme and Information focus.
The system of theme is realized through a structure in which the clause falls just
into two main constituents: a Theme and a Rheme. Theme and Rheme represent the way in
which information is distributed in a sentence. Theme is basically what comes first in the
clause and it is what is being talked about; it is "the point of departure of the message",
"the starting point of the utterance" or "the ground from which the clause is taking off"
(Halliday, 1994: 37-38), and Rheme is the rest, the remainder of the message, which
provides the additional information added to the starting point and which is available for
subsequent development in the text. The boundary between Theme and Rheme is simple:
Theme is the first element occurring in a clause; the remainder clause is Rheme.
Theme may be realized by a nominal group, a prepositional phrase, an adverbial
group or even a clause. Theme may be simple, multiple or clausal, unmarked or marked.
In many cases (unmarked), the Theme of a declarative sentence will be the grammatical
subject that of the interrogative is the word and that of the imperatives the imperative form
of the verb. Let‟s look at the following examples for illustration.
Declarative:
I # had a little nut-tree.
(Theme (simple, unmarked) =subject=pronoun as head= nominal group)
On Saturday night # I lost my wife.
(Theme = Adjunct = Prepositional phrase)
Interrogative:

Who # killed Cock Robin?
(unmarked theme)
After tea # will you tell me a story?
(marked Theme)


14
Imperative:
Answer # all five questions!
Don’t let’s # quarrel about it!
Either the Theme construction or the information construction is speaker-selected,
that is, it is the speaker who decides which should be the Theme, which should be the
Rheme (Halliday, 2000: 299). It is the different choice of Theme that has contributed to a
different meaning and English uses first clausal position as a signal to orient a different
meaning of the sentences. For example:
Mary read a very good book last night.
A very good book, Mary read last night.
Last night Mary read a very good book.
What Mary read last night was a very good book.
What makes these sentences different is that they differ in their choice of theme
and they tell us what Mary, A very good book, Last night or What Mary read is going to be about.
One more important thing of the textual function is Thematic progression.
According to F. Danes (1974), the organization of information in texts is determined by the
progression in the ordering of utterance themes and their rhemes. His spelling out of the
relationship between successive themes and their Rhemes would appear to provide a more
satisfactory account of the 'method of development' of texts. Danes's important contribution is
to extend the concept of theme as point of departure of a single utterance (sentence) to that of
explaining the inner connexity of texts.
His basic assumption is that text connexity is represented, among other things, by
thematic progression. By this he means 'the choice and ordering of utterance themes, their

mutual concatenation and hierarchy, as well as their relation to the hyperthemes of the
superior text unit (such as paragraph, chapter, etc.), to the whole text, and to the situation.
Thematic progression might be viewed as „the skeleton of the plot‟. (1974:114).
Danes postulates three main types of Thematic progression:
(1) Simple linear progression:Each Rheme(R) becomes the Theme(T) of the next utterance.
T1 ------

R1
T2 (=R1) ------ R2
T3 (=R2) ------ R3
(2) Thematic progression with a constant (continuous) theme: Themes are derived from a
'hypertheme'


15
T1 -------- R1
T2 -------- R2
T3 -------- R3
(3) Thematic progression with derived themes
Information structure
One more important aspect of discourse analysis is what Halliday calls the Given
and New information. The New is obligatory, and the Given is optional.
Given is the information presented by the speaker as recoverable to the listener.
Recoverable means something mentioned before or in the situation, e.g. I and you, or
something not around us for rhetorical purposes. Thus, the meaning of Given is: this is not
new. Inherently, Given elements are anaphoric and deictic elements except for
contrastive purposes.
New is the information presented by the speaker as non-recoverable to the listener.
Non-recoverable means something not mentioned before, or something unexpected,
whether previously mentioned or not to the listener.

Accordingly, Halliday (1994) suggests that the speaker/writer will order given
information before new information.
Given + New and Theme + Rheme
There is a close semantic relationship between information structure (Given - New)
and thematic structure (Theme-Rheme). In fact, Theme-Rheme and Given-New are often
conflated.
Theme
Given

Rheme
New

E.g.
The boy
Theme
Given

kicked

the

dog
Rheme

New

However, according to Halliday (1994), Given +New and Theme + Rheme are not
the same thing. In other words, information structure is not to be equated with ThemeRheme. The Theme is what I, the speaker choose to take as my point of departure. The
Given is what you, the listener, already know about or have accessible to you. Theme +

16
Rheme is speaker oriented while Given + New is listener oriented. However, both of these
structures are speaker selected (p. 278). Halliday also points out that Theme always before
Rheme in the clause but Given does not. Sometimes New appears before Given as in the
following examples:
The boy

hit

the girl

Given

New

Theme
It’s

Rheme
the boy

that hit

New
Theme

the girl
Given

Rheme

Theme + rheme always go with Given + New to show information focus in
utterances. This view in functional grammar is different from the preceding ones and it
helps speakers/ writers and listeners/ readers a lot in emphasizing their utterances. Hence,
it is very important to master this relationship.

In conclusion, in this chapter we have introduced some of basic concepts related to
Discourse and systemic theory of Functional Grammar - an useful framework for analyzing
emails that request samples or information about products in shopping online.


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CHAPTER 2:
AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH INQUIRY LETTERS
FROM A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR'S PERSPECTIVE
2.1. English inquiry letters
2.1.1. Definition
A letter of inquiry is a general term used for a number of different kinds of business
letters addressed to a company. “A letter of inquiry is usually written to ask for specific
information or sales literature about products and services, price list, catalogs, terms of
business, quotations, discount schedules, dealer prices, the name of a dealer or a local
supplier, or free samples or materials”. (Alan Bond, 2005:9)
For example, the letter is written by a customer to the company seeking some
information about a new product or service, or a company sends a letter of inquiry to their
business partner when they need information about the goods they would like to order.
2.1.2. Inquiry letters: Types and contexts
There are two types of inquiry letters: solicited and unsolicited.
You write a solicited letter of inquiry when a business or an agency advertises its
products or services. For example, if a software manufacturer advertises some new

package it has developed and you cannot inspect it locally, write a solicited letter to that
manufacturer asking specific questions. If you cannot find any information on a technical
subject, an inquiry letter to a company involved in that subject may put you on the right
track. In fact, that company may supply much more help than you had expected (provided
of course that you write a good inquiry letter). If you need to find the names and addresses
of businesses related to your report project, see the section on finding information in
libraries.
Your letter of inquiry is unsolicited if the recipient has done nothing to prompt
your inquiry. For example, if you read an article by an expert, you may have further
questions or want more information. You seek help from these people in a slightly
different form of inquiry letter. As the steps and guidelines for both types of inquiry letters
show, you must construct the unsolicited type more carefully, because recipients of
unsolicited letters of inquiry are not ordinarily prepared to handle such inquiries.
The following are popular topics of inquiry letters:
* Request a copy of an official document


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* Request a response to a survey or questionnaire
* Request an explanation for a denial of credit
* Request application materials for admission to college
* Request estimates or bids
* Request information about an applicant
* Request information from a government agency
* Request samples or information about products or services
* Offer a grant
* Write a letter in a job search
….
2.1.3. Template of an English inquiry letter requesting samples or information about
products in shopping online

Most inquiry letters are short. They should be to the point, brief, concise and
informative, all on one page. The letters are formatted as any business letters and use
formal language with soft, positive and respectful tone.
Here is a template of an English inquiry letter asking for samples or information of
the product. However, not all the English inquiry letters have to comply strictly with the
sample while the following is the most common and a suggestion for a formal one. Also,
an English inquiry letter in appendix 7 is chosen for illustration.
SAMPLE TEMPLATE
1. Heading. The heading portion of a business letter includes the writer's address and date.
For traditional business letters, you do not normally include your name in the heading.
E.g.

006 Paul's Path
Austin, TX 78700
July 12, 1998

2. Inside address. The inside address provides the full name, title, and address of the
recipient of the letter.
E.g.

Technical Support
Red Hat Software, Inc.
4201 Research Commons, Suite 100
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709


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3. Salutation. In this portion of the letter, the writer uses the same name as he did in the
inside address. Be sure and punctuate the salutation with a colon, not a comma (which is
for informal, friendly, non-business letters).

E.g.

Dear Technical Support Department:

4. Introduction. The introduction to any business letter should be brief—four or five lines
at the most. In this inquiry letter, the writer very quickly states the purpose of the letter,
refers to a contact (how he heard about the product), and establishers a need for the
information he is requesting.
E.g.
I am writing this letter to ask you some technical questions about hardware support
in version 5.1 of Red Hat Linux. I saw Red Hat Software's advertisement for
version 5.1 of Linux in the August 1998, issue of Linux Journal. I was quite
impressed with the capabilities as listed in the advertisement, and I would like to
learn some more about the product. Before I make the decision to purchase the
software, I need to be certain that it will work properly on my computer.

5. Other sources. In this second paragraph, before stating his actual questions, the writer
indicates that he has attempted to find the information he is requesting through other
sources - but has not succeeded. It is important not to ask for information that is easily
obtained from readily available sources.
E.g.,
I have three hardware support questions that I would like you to answer. I have
reviewed the technical support information at Red Hat Software's home page
(www.redhat.com), but I have not been able to find answers to my questions.

6. Need. The writer has already established his need for the product - he needs to find out if
the product will meet his needs.
E.g.,

I would like to learn some more about the product. Before I make the decision to

purchase the software, I need to be certain that it will work properly on my
computer.

7. Specific inquiries. Notice that this writer is asking very specific questions whose
answers are probably not available from any source other than those who are actually using
the system on a day-to-day basis. Notice too that the questions are numbered which should
make it easier for the recipient to answer them.
Usually in inquiry letters, the customers need information such as: Price/pricelist or
catalogue; Sample/ pattern; Quotation; Terms of payment; Terms of delivery; Method of
dispatch...


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1. Does the latest release of Red Hat Linux support the Diamond Viper 330 PCI
video card? This card uses the Riva chipset released by NVIDIA Corporation.
2. If Red Hat Linux does not currently have a driver for this card, is there a
timetable for when the card will be supported?
3. Is there an online site for the latest list of supported hardware? This would be a
great aid to me in the future, as I often upgrade my machine.

8. Motivation. Practically, in any inquiry letter, it is a good idea to provide some indirect
motivation as to why the recipients should want to help you with your inquiry.
E.g.,

If the latest release of Red Hat Linux can support my video hardware, I will
definitely purchase the product.

9. Conclusion. The last paragraph provides the recipients with several ways they can
respond. E-mail is probably the most likely—in fact, the writer of this letter could have
used e-mail to deliver this inquiry as well.

E.g.,

For your convenience, you can respond to me by e-mail. My e-mail address is
If you prefer to respond by telephone, you can reach me at (512)
225-6745. I appreciate any assistance that you are able to provide me.

10. Closing. Close the letter by saying Thanks
E.g.,

Sincerely,

11. Signature/Name
E.g.,

Gary Clare

In conclusion, there are types of inquiry letters with a various topics but in this
research, I only study English inquiry letters that request samples or information about
products in shopping online from a systemic functional grammar‟s perspective to find out
their typical features.