Skkn tiếng anh an investigation into the sub categories of attitude in the book the world is flat by thomas l friedman from the perspective of appraisal theory

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF DANANG

LÊ THỊ VÂN HỒNG

AN INVESTIGATION
INTO THE SUB-CATEGORIES OF “ATTITUDE”
IN THE BOOK THE WORLD IS FLAT
BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF APPRAISAL THEORY

MASTER THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
AND HUMANITIES

Danang, 2015


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF DANANG

LÊ THỊ VÂN HỒNG

AN INVESTIGATION
INTO THE SUB-CATEGORIES OF “ATTITUDE”
IN THE BOOK THE WORLD IS FLAT
BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF APPRAISAL THEORY

FIELD: THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
CODE: 60.22.02.01

MASTER THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
AND HUMANITIES

Supervisor: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH HOA, Ph. D.

Danang, 2015


i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby certify this thesis “An Investigation into the Sub-categories of
“Attitude” in the book The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman from the
Perspective of Appraisal Theory” is my own work. No other person’s work
has been used without the acknowledgement in the thesis.
This paper has not been submitted for the award of any degree or
diploma in any other tertiary institution.
Danang, 2015

Lê Thị Vân Hồng


ii

ABSTRACT
The present study explores sub-categories of Attitude -Affect, Judgement
and Appreciation- in the book “The World is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman in
the light of Appraisal Theory. The study aims to investigate the syntactic and
semantic realizations of Attitude sub-categories from 358 samples collected
from the book. The thesis employed the descriptive method to fully describe

the realizations of Attitude sub-categories in terms of syntax and semantics to
obtain the setting goals. The finding of the research demonstrate that Attitude
sub-categories can be recognized in various group and phrase structures in
which nominal groups and adjective groups are more favourable. The study
also works out typical functions of Attitude sub-categories as components in
transitivity processes. Semantically, the findings show that all Appraisal
evaluating criteria were reflected in the book and significantly the positive
values are dominant. This is the interpersonal meaning which the book
contributes to nurture its readers’ insights to the reality of the world in the era
of digital technology. The study makes a significant contribution to our
understanding of the sub-categories of Attitude in the book and provides the
teachers and university students majoring in English with practical
implication to evaluate a discourse fragment and interpret a discourse
fragment in the light of Appraisal Theory and in line with Systemic
Functional Linguistics.


iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MASTER THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES.....................................................................................1
MASTER THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES.....................................................................................2

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP...............................................................i
ABSTRACT ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................v
LIST OF FIGURES.....................................................................................vii
[15] Ju, C.Z (2008), “Appraisal Analysis Of Political Editorials In

American Newspaper”, ...............................110
[18] Love, K. (2006), “Appraisal in online discussions of literature texts”,
Text and Talk, Volume 26, Issue 2, pp. 217-244.......................................110
[19] Lock, G. (1996), Functional English Grammar: An introduction for
second language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press....110
[20] Martin, J.R. (2000), “Beyond Exchange: Appraisal Systems in
English”, In Hunston, S. and Thompson, G. (Eds.), Evaluation in text:
Authorial stance and the construction of discourse, Oxford University
Press, pp. 142-175........................................................................................110
[31] Wang, Y. L. ( 2007), “Attitudinal Analysis Of VOA And BBC News
Report In The Light Of Appraisal Theory”, .
111
[32] White, P. R. R. (2003), “Beyond modality and Hedging: a dialogic
view of the language of intersubjective stance”, Text-special Edition on
Appraisal, 23(2), pp. 259-284......................................................................111


iv

QUYẾT ĐỊNH GIAO ĐỀ TÀI (Bản sao)


v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TWF
SFL
SFG
(-)
(+)

Ri
Rq

The World Is Flat
Systemic Functional Linguistic
Systemic Functional Grammar
Negative attitude
Positive attitude
Appreciation: reaction-impact
Appreciation: reaction-quality

LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Judgement - Social Esteem.........................................................21


vi

Table 2.2. Judgement - Social Sanction.......................................................21
Table 2.3. Types of Appreciation.................................................................24
Table 2.4. Typical functions of group and phrase classes..........................29
Table 2.5. The principle categories of ‘relational’ clause..........................31
Table 4.1. Summary structures of Affect adverbial groups......................59
Table 4.2. Summary structures of Appreciation adjectival groups..........82
Table 4.3. Summary of group and phrase structures of Attitude subcategories

85

Table 4.4. Distribution of group and phrase structures in Attitude subcategories

86

Table 4.5. Un/happiness realizations of Affect...........................................89
Table 4.6. Dis/satisfaction realizations of Affect.........................................90
Table 4.7. In/security realizations of Affect................................................91
Table 4.8 . In/security realizations of Affect...............................................92
Table 4.9 . Occurrence frequencies of Affect semantic values..................92
Table 4.10 . Occurrence frequencies of Judgement semantic values........96
Table 4.11. Occurrence frequencies of Appreciation semantic values...100
Table 4.12 . Summary of semantic realizations of Attitude sub-categories
101


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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. An overview of Appraisal resources [22, p.38]........................16
Figure 2.2. Judgement and Appreciation as institutionalized affect [22,
p.45]

26

Figure 2.3. Language strata [22, p.9]...........................................................28
Figure 2.3. Components of a process...........................................................30
Figure 2.4. Material process in active and passive clause..........................30
Figure 2.5. Illustration of mental processes................................................31
Figure 2.6. Behavioural processes................................................................32
Figure 2.7. Verbal processes.........................................................................32
Figure 2.8. Existential processes..................................................................33
Figure 2.9. Experiential structure of part of a nominal group.................34
Figure 2.10. Qualifier in nominal group.....................................................35

Figure 2.11. Nominal group, showing multivariate structure...................35
Figure 2.12. Experiential structure of the verbal group............................36
Figure 2.13. Verbal group with marked polarity and contrastive tense. .36
c. Adverbial Groups......................................................................................36
Figure 2.16. Adjectival group.......................................................................37
Figure 4.1. Affect verbal groups as Process in Desiderative mental
process

47

Figure 4.2. Affect verbal groups as Process in Emotive mental process. .47
Figure 4.3. Affect verbal groups as Process in passive Material process. 47
Figure 4.3. Summary structures of Affect nominal groups.......................50
Figure 4.4. Affect nominal groups as Possessed in Possessive relational
process

51

Figure 4.5. Affect nominal groups as Goal in Material process................52
Figure 4.6. Affect nominal groups as Existent in Existential process.......52


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Figure 4.7. Affect nominal groups as Attributor in Existential process...53
Figure 4.8. Summary structures of Affect adjectival groups....................57
Figure 4.9. Affect adjectival groups as Attributes in Attributive relational
processes

58

Figure 4.11. Affect prepositional phrases as Attributes in Attributive
relational processes.......................................................................................60
Figure 4.12. Judgement via simple nominal groups...................................62
Figure 4.13. Judgement via complex nominal groups................................63
Figure 4.14. Judgement nominal groups in Relational process................64
Figure 4.15. Judgement nominal groups in marked Relational process. .65
Figure 4.16. Judgement nominal groups in Possessive relational processes
66
Figure 4.17. Judgement nominal groups in Material processes ..............66
Figure 4.18. Judgement adjectival groups as Attributes in Attributive
relational processes.......................................................................................69
Figure 4.19. Judgement adjectival groups as Attributes in Attributive
relational processes with Anticipatory “It”................................................70
Figure 4.20. Judgement adverbial groups as Circumstance.....................70
in material process........................................................................................70
Figure 4.21. Judgement prepositional phrases as Circumctance..............71
in Material process........................................................................................71
Figure 4.22. Appreciation nominal group: Deictic + Thing......................73
Figure 4.23. Appreciation nominal group: Deictic + Thing+ Post-modifier
74
Figure 4.24. Appreciation nominal group: Deictic + Pre-modifier +Thing
77


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Figure 4.25. Appreciation nominal group: Deictic + Pre-modifier
+Thing+ Post-modifier..................................................................................78
Figure 4.26. Apprepriation nominal clauses as Identifier.........................79

in Relational process.....................................................................................79
Figure 4.27. Appreciation nominal clauses as Identifier in Existential
process

79

Figure 4.28. Apprepriate nominal clauses as Goal in Material process...80
Figure 4.29. The occurrence frequencies of Attitude sub-categories.......86
Article I.


1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE
In the current era of information and technology explosion, geographical
distances and hierarchical grades between nations seem not to be the matter.
This results from the integration and globalization in every aspect of social
life such as economy, politics, culture, education, etc. The globalization
process is happening drastically and may be advancing at a faster rate than
ever before. Globalization itself brings about opportunities as well as
challenges. Many countries, governmental organizations and individuals can
take advantage of a wide variety of opportunities opened by the worldwide
advance of science, technology to facilitate their prosperity and development.
The digital-technology advance has made the face of the world change a lot.
A new world where the worldwide cooperative relationships are fostered has
been being nurtured. In this situation, every country, even the most developed
one, is facing plenty of competitive challenges which require necessary

knowledge about the times to adapt well to modern life.
Fortunately, one of the most successful books about the trend of
integration and globalization, “The World Is Flat” (hereafter TWF), has been
introduced to the readers as a useful source of reference. The book was written
by Friedman, T.L., a New York Times columnist, and first published in 2005
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing House. It describes the relationship
between countries, communities, organizations and individuals in the age of
information and technology advance. The world is metaphorically implied flat
because different aspects of social life in the world have been happening in
more equal relationships. The world is flattening in terms of geography,


2

economy, politics, etc. People in different spheres are no longer in the curve of
the earth because they can see each other in the cyber world. Economically
competitive relationships are being replaced by the cooperative ones.
Developing nations, medium and small enterprises or even people in lower
social statuses have emerged to become the partners of the other ranks. Even
political barriers have been gradually broken down. Digital technology is being
fully employed and it brings opportunities to change the world.
Consisting mainly of personal observations and anecdotes, the nonfiction book TWF ingeniously explains how the flattening of the world
happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century. By means of amusing
stories about big corporations and enterprises such as Wal-Mart, UPS, Dell,
JetBlue and many others related to his basic theme, the author introduced ten
flatteners - factors that change the situation of the world such as outsourcing,
offshoring, and “supply chaining”. Also, he wrote about two key trends: the
adoption of more collaborative business processes and the addition of three
billion Chinese and Indian consumers to the global marketplace. It is by this
“triple convergence” that he shows the flattening of the world over the last

decades and the changes in international cooperation and integration. It
provides beneficial update information of the real situation of the world in
globalization and integration process.
The newest edition of TWF was published in August, 2007 by Picador
Publishing House. In this new edition, Friedman, T.L. included fresh stories
and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. He added two
new chapters on how to be activist and social entrepreneur in a flat world and
how to manage our reputations and privacy in a world where we are all
becoming publishers and public figures.
In the book, Friedman, T.L. demystified the brave new world in the


3

phase of globalization. He helped the readers to make sense of the often
bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes with his inimitable
ability to turn complex foreign policy and economic issues into more simple
ones. He exposed his profound and deeply important insights about the
phenomenon in the global context which to some extent help to make the
public conceptual shift about the reality of the world. The book opened a new
door for countries, companies, communities, and individuals to come into a
new domain and suggested the way governments and societies can and must
adapt to achieve their goals. With such significant contributions, the book was
awarded the inaugural Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of
the Year Award in 2005. It also became one of the international best-selling
books in the years 2005 and 2006. In The New York Times reviewing The
World Is Flat in 2005, the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz remarked "One
mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr.
Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal".
In recent years, researching linguistic objectives in the framework of

Appraisal Theory proposed by Martin and his colleagues has becoming more
and more popular. To linguistic disciplines such as discourse analysis, applied
linguistics and other related fields, this new linguistic theory contributes an
approach to examine how speakers or writers express their opinions for things
and ideas. The theory which develop the model of personal meaning within
the paradigms of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) helps to further
explore the interpersonal meaning of language in the scope of discourse as
well as rhetoric and communicative effects by judging the speakers’/writers’
stance and their communication messages in the relation to the
hearers/readers, Appraisal theory addresses not only the means by which


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speakers/writers overtly encode what they present as their own attitudes but
also the means by which they more indirectly activate evaluative stance and
position the readers/listeners to supply their own assessments. These
evaluations reveal both speakers’/writers’ feelings and their status or authority
as construed by the text [22, p.2]. Therefore, this is a potential approach to
discover the attitude, the evaluation as well as the personal meaning a speaker
implies in his words. With a non-fiction book like TWF where the stance and
authority of the author are revealed, this approach is applicable.
A desire to have further insights into what Attitudinal linguistic devices
are realized in the book, how they convey the author’s viewpoints and
construe the interpersonal meaning has inspired us to develop the research
entitled “An Investigation into the Sub-categories of “Attitude” in the
book The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman from the Perspective of
Appraisal Theory”
1.2. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
- Appraisal Theory is defined as an elaborate system is developed from

the overarching framework of systemic functional linguistics by Martin and
White [22]. It refers to the grammatical and lexical resources for expressing
evaluation. The theory is concerned with how text producers construe
particular authorial identities for themselves, how authors align/disalign
themselves with actual or potential respondents and how writers or speakers
construct an ideal audience for their texts.
- Attitude refers to a domain of Appraisal which is concerned with our
feelings including emotional reactions, judgement of behaviour and
evaluation of things. It is divided into three regions of feeling namely Affect,
Judgement, Appreciation.


5

- Affect is an emotive dimension of Attitude which is concerned with
positive and negative feelings.
- Judgement deals with attitudes toward people and the way they
behave which we admire, criticize, praise or condemn.
- Appreciation involves evaluations of semiotic and natural phenomena
according to the ways in which they are valued or not in a given field.
1.3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1.3.1. Aims of the Study
The study primarily aims at investigating the syntactic and semantic
realizations of the three sub-categories of Attitude namely Affect, Judgement,
and Appreciation in the book TWF. The findings of the study, then, will
probably help the teachers and university students majoring in English
increase their knowledge about how to evaluate a discourse and to some
extent enable them to interpret a discourse in light of Appraisal Theory.
1.3.2. Objectives of the Study
The study is intended to:

- To identify the different sub-categories of Attitude used in the book TWF.
- To recognize the syntactic and semantic realizations of Attitude sub-types.
- To realize the occurrence frequencies of each type.
- To offer some implications in teaching and learning sub-categories of
Attitude in English.
1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study attempted to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the syntactic realizations of Affect, Judgement and
Appreciation as the sub-categories of Attitude in TWF?
2. What are the semantic realizations of the above mentioned subcategories of Attitude in TWF?
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY


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As a new theory developed within the paradigms of SFL, Appraisal
Theory helps to provide an analytical tool for linguistic researchers to better
understand the issues associated with evaluative linguistic devices and the
negotiation of intersubjective positions, and opens a new area of interpersonal
meaning. The thesis, which is an application of this theory to linguistic
research, presents an exploration of syntactic and semantic realizations of
Affect, Judgment and Appreciation as Attitude sub-categories in the book
TWF. The study is hoped to make a certain contribution to both linguistics
and pedagogy domains. In the aspect of linguistics, the paper may add to a
comprehensive understanding of attitude linguistic devices included in the
book. Also, the result of the research is expected to dedicate to our
understanding of language development. Pedagogically, it is hoped that the
thesis can be a source of reference for those who teach and study English in
higher education institutes.
1.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Appraisal Theory with three categories of Attitude, Engagement and
Graduation is an approach which enables to explore, describe and explain the
way language is used to evaluate, to adopt stances, to construct textual
personas and to manage interpersonal positioning and relationships.
Therefore, the theory may be potentially employed to study a wide range of
aspects such as linguistic features, application of the theory in teaching and
learning English. However, the thesis is limited in the study of syntactic and
semantic realizations of the three Attitude sub-categories Affect, Judgement
and Appreciation appearing in the book TWF.
1.7. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
The study is organized into five chapters as followed:
Chapter 1:

Introduction


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This chapter presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope, the
research questions, the signification as well as the organization of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Background
This chapter consists of two parts. The first one is a review of previous
studies relating to the investigated problem. The second is concerned with
theoretical knowledge related to issues under study.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
This chapter presents research design, research methodology, data
collection, data analysis and research procedure. It also includes the reliability
and validity of the thesis.
Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion
This chapter is concerned with the work of discovering realizations of

sub-categories of Attitude in “The World Is Flat” in terms of syntax and
semantics. Also, the occurrence frequencies of each sub-type are drawn out.
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications
This chapter presents the conclusions and a summary of major findings,
the implications of the study results in teaching and learning English in
Vietnam, the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further
research related to the study.

CHAPTER 2


8

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND
2.1. PREVIOUS STUDIES
Appraisal Theory came into being at the beginning of the 1990s and has
become popular ever since. It was initiated by James Martin, the leader of
Sydney systemic functional linguistics school, and Peter White, a journalist
who got interested in SFL. They set the foundation to a new linguistic area by
extending Halliday’s SFL in terms of the interpersonal meaning, one of the
three megafunctions of language [10]. Significantly, it has provided an
approach examine the lexical realizations to judge human behaviour,
appreciate the value of things as well as recognize the position of an author in
his linguistic products. The theory is fully presented in one of their typical
works: The Language of Evaluation- Appraisal in English, published in 2005
by Palgrave MacMilan. The major concerns of Appraisal Theory include how
writers or speakers express their stance toward the things or ongoing events in
the world, how they express their agreement or disagreement with the
potential responses form the other readers, and how they establish and

strengthen their identities in a text or a discourse. The function practiced by
appraisal items in a discourse is to help writers or speakers to express their
evaluation, negotiate their relationship with the respondents, and establish
their persona. Appraisal Theory also provides a new approach which operates
the evaluation in a somehow different way from other modals existing before
which mainly dealt with evaluation in relation to propositions and narratives
by Ocha & Schiefflen 1989, Biber& Finnegan 1989, Bybee & Fleischman
1995, Conrad & Biber 2000, Hunston & Thompson 2000a [22, p.38]. With
Appraisal Theory, we move to a range of other educationally significant genre


9

and casual conversation. Most importantly, within the general framework of
SFL, the theory helps to prove an approach to deal with evaluation was
developed in the context of the rich developing descriptions of
phonology/graphology and signing, lexicogrammar, discourse semantics,
register and genre and multimodality. [22, p.40]
Up to now, Appraisal Theory has attracted much attention of many wellknown English scholars. A variety of studies have been conducted in various
fields, some of the most typical of which are Talking with readers: MetaDiscourse as Rhetorical Act by Crismore [3], Evaluation in Texts: Authorial
Stance and the Construction of Discourse by Hunston and Thompson [13]
The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English by Martin and White [22],
and Working with Discourse: Meaning Beyond the Clause by Martin and
Rose [21] etc.. A large number of articles were published to propose, discuss
and clarify the matters within the domain of Appraisal, including Beyond
exchange: Appraisal system in English by Martin [20], Beyond modality and
Hedging: a dialogic view of the language of intersubjective stance by White
[32], Stance and Engagement: a model of instruction in academic discourse
by Hyland [14], Annotating Expressions of Appraisal in English by Read et al
[29], etc. These publications focus on a certain areas of Appraisal such as

metadiscourse, stance, evaluation, and basic concepts of the theory and they
provide us an overall picture about the theoretical background of Appraisal in
use.
Since the Appraisal Theory was developed from Systemic Functional
Linguistic by Martin and White, it has been adopted as a new approach to
linguistic study and the Appraisal framework has been applied to other areas.
In the doctoral dissertation named “Construction of Evaluative Measuring in
IELTS Writing: an Intersubjective and Intertextual Perspective”, Nakamura


10

[25] applied the framework of Appraisal as a theory of language as a social
system for making meaning to study evaluative interpersonal meaning
writings by IELTS candidates via the Appraisal resources used in the texts. In
Appraisal in Online Discussions of Literature Texts, Love [18] investigated
Australian students’ online response to the teacher about a postmodernist
narrative in the Appraisal framework. The study shows the value of Appraisal
analysis as a diagnostic tool in art curriculum and cultural contexts. Liu [17]
implied the Appraisal Theory in her reading teaching for college students in
An Application of Appraisal Theory to Teaching College Reading in China.
The results showed that teaching reading in Appraisal approach is an
important strategy which helps develop students’ critical ability and supply
teachers with a new perspective to teach reading.
Furthermore, a variety of studies which was conducted in the light of
Appraisal mainly focused on media discourses. Juana and Begona [16]
explored the engagement patterns in journalistic commentary and news in
English and Spanish in terms of writer stance and the dimension of
(inter)subjectivity

in

“Evaluation

and

Engagement

in

Journalistic

Commentary and News Reportage”. The presence and patterning of various
linguistic resources and the comparison across languages are results of the
study. In “Exploring the Dialogism of Academic Discourse: Heteroglossic
Engagement in Medical Research Articles” Fryer [6] indicated a variety of
Engagement resources used the articles and their distributions both across and
within different sections of the articles.
Also, studies on sub-categories of Attitude are in favour of media
discourses. In “Attitudinal Analysis of VOA and BBC News Report in the
Light of Appraisal Theory”, Wang [31] analyzed the attitudinal meaning of
radio news report in VOA and BBC using the Appraisal system with a view


11

to revealing what linguistic elements realizes the Appraisal meaning and
especially what attitudinal value is of frequent occurrence in the two different
types of radio news report. The study came to the conclusion that in the
Attitude system, Affect turns to be the least presentation; implicit Judgement

shows less distribution than explicit Judgement; and more Appreciations
occur rather than Judgement and Affect. Ju [15] applied the Appraisal theory,
particularly the sub-system of Attitude to analyzing Political Editorials in
American Newspaper in “Appraisal Analysis of Political Editorials in
American Newspaper”. The study finds that the distributions and values of
the resources are different in political editorials and all serve for the purpose
of political editorials. Besides, the study shows that the values of resources
may be related to the American cultural background and ideology.
For Vietnamese linguistic researchers, applying the Appraisal framework
into linguistic researches has gradually become a new trend. In his Ph.D.
dissertation, “Style, Structure, and Ideology in English and Vietnamese
Business Hard News Reporting”, Vo Duy Duc [30] compared and contrasted
patterns in ideological positions and orientations in the business news
reporting of English language versus Vietnamese in the framework of
Appraisal and provided an insight of presenting news texts in both languages.
Learners of MA courses in Vietnam have not fully applied this theory in
their study. Some certain aspects have been employed in other frameworks
rather than Appraisal or applied the Appraisal framework to some extent. In
his MA thesis, “Proclaim Markers in English and Vietnamese on the
Appraisal Framework”, Nguyen Van Khoi [26] focused on the syntactic,
semantic and pragmatic features of Proclaim markers in epistemic modality
and evidentiality, speech acts, force dynamics, politeness principles and
dialogistic view. Also, Ho Long Ngoc [12] investigated the Disclaim markers


12

in the light of Appraisal in “A Study of Disclaim Markers in English and
Vietnamese”. The study provides a collection of linguistic devices of Disclaim
in structures of verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns in both English and

Vietnamese. Furthermore, Tran Huu Thuan [28] with “A Study of
Appreciation in Football Commentaries in English and Vietnamese”
classified and analyzed commentaries in three subcategories: reaction,
composition, and valuation and helps valuate the beauty of language. Another
latest researcher, Nguyen Thanh Tam [27] adopted the Appraisal Theory of
Judgement in her study “A Study of the Semantic Features of Explicit
Judgements in Political Speeches in American English” to examine the
semantic features of English political speeches. The conclusions of explicit
judgement in view of Epithet, Illocutionary force, social esteem and social
sanction are helpful to English teachers and learners.
To sum up, in the light of Appraisal, a large number of researches have
been conducted in various subfields and on a variety of materials. However,
there have never been any insights into the sub-categories of Attitude
category for a literature discourse fragment in Vietnam for the time being.
An investigation into the Attitude systems of non-fictions like TWF has not
been the focus of any researches. This study is expected to fill in this gap.
2.2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.2.1. Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is a school of linguistics
developed by Halliday in 1960s [22] . It is a linguistic school which considers
language as a social semiotic system in which language exists and evolves in
constantly changing contexts of human interaction. The term “systemic”
refers to the view regarding language as a network of systems or interrelated
sets of options for making meanings. Additionally, “functional” denotes to the


13

functions that language system has to serve. Language function can be
recognized on the structure and organization of language of all levels.

Therefore, Halliday focused on exploring “both how people use language in
different contexts and how language is structured for use as a semiotic
system” [4].
To deal with the syntactic forms of language, Systemic Functional
Grammar (SFG) was introduced. Different from traditional grammar, “the
way in which a language is organized” [2], SFG attempts to explain and
describe the organization of the “meaning-making resources” [10] we use to
express meanings and perform various functions in different contexts and
situations of our daily lives. SFG analyzes language as a resource for making
meaning from the view point of meaning basing on extensive written or
spoken texts. Language consists of a set of system which offers the
speaker/writer choices in expressing meaning. Such choices are made from a
set of systems containing structures which allow us unlimited ways of
creating meaning [1] and our experience of the world, of text types and
socially, culturally bounded situations help us build a schemata of these
systems. SFG encodes three modes of meaning which operate simultaneously
in all utterances namely the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual.
In terms of semantics, language in SFL simultaneously takes over three
functions called metafunctions namely ideational, interpersonal and textual
functions. Ideational function helps explore the ideational meaning of
language. It is regarded as “content function of language” [5, p.73]. It
analyzes human experience through the means by which we make the
broadest sense of the world and is involved with Clauses as Representation.
Ideational resources are concerned with experience: what is going on,
including who is doing what to whom, where, when, why and how and the


14

logical relation of one going on to another. Interpersonal function is

concerned with negotiating social relations especially the relation between
speaker and hearer. It indicates how people interacting including the feeling
they try to share. In other words, it conveys how language is used to express
judgement and attitudes. This function of language is related to clause as
exchange, which is interpreted as interactive speech roles or communicative
functions. Halliday [10] suggests by means of interpersonal function we are
able to establish and maintain relations with people, to influence their
behaviour, to express our attitude toward what we say and other beings in the
world and to explicit changes in others. Textual megafunction is about the
verbal world, especially the flow of information in a text and it is concerned
with clause as message. Halliday [9, p.97] describes it as the “relevance” or
the enabling function which is concerned with how a text is organized as a
clause through the process of thememasation. Two elements in this process
are Theme and Rheme. The first serves as the point of departure of the
message while the latter is a part to develop the first. Eggins [4, p.275] claims
that the Theme typically contains familiar or given information, namely the
information which has been given somewhere in the text or familiar from the
context. SFG is, thus, a study of meaning construction through system of
lexical-grammar choices that serve functions within social and cultural
contexts.
In the level of discourse semantics, interpersonal meaning covers three
smaller systems: negotiation which focuses on the interactive aspects of
discourse, speech functions and exchange structures, involvement which deals
with non-gradable resources for negotiating tenor relation and appraisal, our
main focus theory.
In the next section, we will further explore some considerable content of
Appraisal theory in the frame of SFL.