ii

ABSTRACT
This study presents an attempt to apply systemic functional grammar to investigating a
political speech addressed by President Nguyen Minh Triet on the occasion of the 1000
th

anniversary of the foundation of Thang Long – Hanoi. Based on a brief overview of systemic
functional grammar introduced by Halliday, the study focuses on language functions
(ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction) which are
represented via transitivity pattern, mood pattern and theme - rheme pattern, and on cohesion
(grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion) of the text. The findings show that in terms of
transitivity pattern, relational process is predominant, in terms of mood pattern, declarative
mood is in the widest use and topical theme which forms unmarked one is the most striking
feature in terms of theme pattern. Moreover, grammatical cohesion represented by reference
and conjunctive devices and lexical cohesion shown via repetition, synonyms, meronyms and
hyponyms make the text more cohesive and coherent. The analysis proves that systemic
functional grammar is the smartest choice for those whose concern is for structure and
meaning of a particular text. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………

2
2
2
2
2
3
4
4
4
5
5
9
10
12
12
12
12
15
18
iv

III. CHAPTER 3: THE MEANING AND STRUCTURE OF PRESIDENT
NGUYEN MINH TRIET’S SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF 1000
TH

ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THANG LONG – HANOI
3.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………….
3.2. The Context of the Chosen Text …………………………………………………
3.3. Contextual Configuration of the Text ……………………………………………
3.4. Clauses and Clause Complexes …………………………………………………

40
41
43
45
48
48
49
49
50
I
IV
VIII

v

LIST OF MARKERS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Table 4: Mood Pattern of the Text …………………………………………………
Table 5: Theme – Rheme Pattern of the Text ….……………………………………
Table 6: Grammatical Cohesive Devices of the Text …… …………………………
Table 7: Conjunctive Devices of the Text .…………………………………………
Table 8: Lexical Devices Summary …………………………………………………

9
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28
33
37
40
42
43
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the Study
The more modern society is, the more complex language has become. It has evolved to satisfy
human needs, and the way it is organized is functional with respect to these needs. An
important move in linguistics in recent years has introduced a new model and method of
description of language known as Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) in which everything
can be explained, ultimately, by reference to how language is used. Different from formal
grammar which focuses on written language and deals with rules of correct usage rather than

anniversary of the foundation of Thang Long – Hanoi: A systemic functional analysis” as a
text for my thesis, using Halliday’s functional grammar as a theoretical framework.
1.2. Aims of the Study
Within the framework of a minor thesis, the study aims at:
 Examining some basic notions related to the meatafunctions of language: experiential,
interpersonal and textual metafunction.
 Analyzing the meaning and structure of President Nguyen Minh Triet’s speech addressed
on the occasion of the 1000
th
anniversary of the foundation of Thang Long – Hanoi based
on the systemic functional framework.
 Suggesting some pedagogical implications.

1.3. Scope of the Study
As a minor thesis, not all aspects of functional grammar are explored but only some of them
such as linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion. The focus of the study, however, does
not lie in the theoretical findings but hopefully, on this fundamental theory, will enlighten the
political text analysis.
1.4. Methods of the Study
With a view to analyzing the meaning and structure of a Vietnamese text, descriptive and
analytical methods are used. The former is concerned with the description of the main areas of
functional grammar and the latter deals with the analysis of the text for discussion.

3
1.5. Data collection
The text is transcribed from the speech addressed by President Nguyen Minh Triet on the
occasion of the 1000
CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS
2.1. Introduction
This chapter will re-examine some basic concepts that are considered to set the theoretical
orientation for the study: the linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion. Examples are
taken from grammar books by such famous linguists as Halliday (1985, 1994), Geoff Thomson
(1996), Hoàng Văn Vân (2002, 2005 & 2006), and other researchers like Đỗ Tuấn Minh
(2006), Thái Minh Đức (2004), etc.
2.2. The linguistic system
Language is viewed as systems of meaning potential in human interaction that are realized by
various structures formed in certain contexts which are studied under register. In systemic
grammar, register is conceptualized in terms of three parameters: field, tenor and mode.
- Filed of discourse refers to what is happening, to the nature of the social action that is
taking place: what is it that the participants are engaged in, in which the language figures
as some essential components?
- Tenor of discourse refers to who is taking part, to the nature of the participants, their
statuses and roles: what kind of role relationships of one kind or another, both the types of
speech role that they are taking on in the dialogue and the whole cluster of socially
significant relationships in which they are involved?
- Mode of discourse refers to what part the language is playing, what it is that the
participants are expecting the language to do for them in that situation: the symbolic
organization of the text, the status that it has, and its function in the context, including the
channel (is it spoken or written or some combination of the two?) and also the rhetorical
mode, what is being achieved by the text in terms of such categories as persuasive,
expository, didactic and the like.
(Halliday in Halliday & Hassan, 1989:12)
5

the Goal or occur in the final position of the clause, marked with a preposition “cho”. They are
represented via such kinds of Vietnamese verbs as “bay đi, hoàn thành, nấu, chơi, etc.”
Followings are some examples referring to Material process:
(1a)

(1b)

(1c)

Mental process is the process of cognition, perception, affection and desideration. There are
always two participants in this process: the conscious one called the Senser and the
Phenomenon that enters into or impinges on the Senser’s consciousness. Those verbs as
“thích, muốn, yêu, căm ghét, sợ hãi, etc.” help indicate this type of process. Here is an
example:
(2)

Verbal Process is the process of saying, speaking or talking. The participants taking part in
this process are often the Sayer (any conscious or unconscious participant responsible for the
act of saying), the Receiver (the one to whom the saying is addressed), the Target (the one that
the verbalization is directed to) and the Verbiage (the message itself). This process is often
represented by “hỏi, chúc mừng, nói, kể, tuyên án, kết tội, etc.” in Vietnamese. For examples:
(3a)
Em
giặt
quần áo
cho anh
Actor
Process: material

7

(3b)

Behavioral Process, which is on the borderline between mental and material process, is the
process of physiological and psychological behavior. Traditionally, there is usually one
obligatory participant referred to as Behaver and in some Vietnamese cases, exists
unnecessary participant known as the Phenomenon which is not a restatement of the process.
Notably, there are some kinds of Vietnamese verbs making this type of process somehow
confusing with mental process. For instance, “nhìn, nghe, tìm, mơ, sờ, ngửi, etc.” are often
mentioned to represent behavioral process whereas “nhìn thấy, nghe thấy, tìm thấy, sờ thấy,
ngửi thấy, etc.” belong to mental process. Here are some illustrations:
(4a)

(4b) Relational Process is the process of being, having and being at. It comes under three subtypes:
intensive, circumstantial, and possessive. Each of these carries one of the two modes:
attributive and identifying. Verbs like “trở nên, phát triển, giữ, nhìn, trông, nom, cảm thấy,
etc.” belong to attributive process and “làm, đóng vai, chiếm, kéo dài, gọi, đặt tên, giống, etc.”
represent identifying process.
When a relational process is the attributive mode, there are two participants: the Carrier and
the Attribute showing the quality or class the Carrier belongs to. In Vietnamese, there is a case
in which the verb represents the process is implied so the adjectival phrase carries out the role
Tôi
được


(5b)

(5c) Existential Process is the process of existing. They have only one participant, called the
Existent and one or two circumstantial elements. This process is often shown by Vietnamese
verbs like “treo, ngồi, nổi lên, đặt, mọc, xuất hiện, xảy ra, đính, có, còn, etc.” For example:
(6) 2.3.1.2 Circumstances:
Besides the participants, circumstances may be freely accompanied by circumstantial elements
typically realized by adverbial groups, prepositional phrases and nominal groups. They
essentially encode the background against which the process takes place. According to Hoàng
Văn Vân (2002: 340), there are 8 types of circumstances as follows: Tôi
là
Nhâm
Identified / Token
Process: Relational
Identifier /Value
Em Linh
cân
nặng tám cân
Carrier
Process: Relational

Manner
Means, quality,
comparison
Thông qua đối thoại, thắm thiết, riêng,
chung, giọng rất lạnh…
4
Cause
Reason, purpose, behalf
Cho tổ quốc thân yêu, vì nhân dân, …
5
Accompaniment
Comitation, addition
Với cậu, mang theo giấy tờ tùy
thân…
6
Role
Guise, product
Như một người bạn, thành hai phần
bằng nhau……
7
Matter

Về chuyện của tôi, đối với Tiếng Việt
8
Angle

Theo quan điểm của tôi, với tôi……
Table 1: Types of Circumstances
For examples:
(7a)

74) which consists of three functional elements: Predicator, Complement and Adjunct.
Quite different from mood structure in English, Vietnamese mood structure, according to Thái
Minh Đức (2004: 441), “consists of two functional components: Negotiatory elements which
have the function of carrying the argument forward and the Remainder, which can be left out
when the argument is in progress.” Hoàng Văn Vân (2009) indicates that the Negotiatory
elements (equivalent to Mood in English) consist of the Predicator and the Negotiator
including polar interrogative particles (phải không, có phải…… không, sao / hay sao, chứ);
elemental interrogative items (khi nào, tại sao, ai, ở đâu); imperative
particles (hãy, đi, nghe, nhé) and aspectual particles (đã, đang, rồi, chưa). The Remainder
consists of Subject, Complement, and Adjunct like Residue in English. Here are some
illustrations:
8a) (8b)
2.3.3. Textual Metafunction
The textual metafunction is about the verbal world, especially the flow of information in a
text, and is concerned with clauses as messages. It is described by Haliday (1994: 97) as the
Có phải
anh
mua
cái áo này
ở siêu thị Big C
không?
Negotiator
Subject
Predicator

a further internal structure of its own.
There exist three types of theme: topical theme, textual theme and interpersonal one. Topical
theme is the one that is conflated with an experiential element of the clause; it may be
participant, circumstance or process. Textual theme shows the meaning relevant to the
context, both the co-text and context of situation. It can be (i) continuity adjuncts
(continuatives) like “ồ, vâng, được, dầu sao đi nữa, thế thì, thôi được, hừm, nào, này, thế, etc.”
(ii) structural adjuncts (Structurals) and (iii) conjunctive adjuncts (Conjunctives) such as
“sau đó, chẳng bao lâu, tương tự, vì vậy, trong hoàn cảnh đó, tuy vậy, thêm vào đó, tựu trung
lại, etc.” Interpersonal theme is expressed by such modal adjuncts as “có lẽ, dĩ nhiên, rõ
ràng, thường thường, đôi khi, theo ý kiến của tôi, thật tình mà nói, hãy, đừng, chớ, etc.”
An unmarked theme is one that is usual or typical and it often conflates with the Subject
whereas a marked theme is one that is unusual. It is often the subject in imperative clauses
and existential clause or “something other than subject” (Halliday, 1994: 44) like compliment,
adjunct or even predicate in other types of clauses. Followings are some examples to illustrate
thematic structure in Vietnamese:
(9a)

Mọi người
đều cố gắng
để công việc
hoàn thành kịp thời
Theme
Rheme
Theme
Rheme
Theme
Rheme

Thế rồi
may mắn thay
nó
gặp lại người bạn cũ
Textual Theme
Interpersonal Theme
Topical Theme

Theme (Unmarked)
Rheme
Anh
gọi Giáp đi nào!
Theme (Marked)
Rheme
13
previously mentioned information in the text. Cataphoric reference refers to any reference
that “points forward” to information that will be presented later in the text. Exophoric
reference refers to any reference within the same nominal group or phrase which follows the
presupposed item. For cohesion purposes, anaphoric reference is the most relevant as it
“provides a link with a preceding portion of the text” (Halliday and Hasan 1976: 51); hence
it is the most common usage. For examples:
(10 a) Nó khóc suốt đêm. Thằng bé nhà Lan đã ốm hai ngày nay rồi.
(cataphoric reference)
(10 b) Nam là một sinh viên giỏi. Cậu ấy luôn đứng nhất lớp trong các kì thi.
(anaphoric reference)
Functionally speaking, there are three main types of cohesive references: personal,
demonstrative, and comparative. Personal reference keeps track of function through the

Clausal Substitution is the one “in which what is presupposed is not an element within the
clause but an entire clause.” The linguistic items used as substitutes in Vietnamese are “như
vậy, vậy, thế, etc.” For example:
(13) A: Cô ấy xinh đấy chứ!
B: Tôi không nghĩ thế.
2.4.2.1.3. Ellipsis
Ellipsis is an omission of certain elements from a sentence or clause and can only be
recovered by referring to an element in the preceding text. Like substitution, ellipsis can be
studied in terms of nominal ellipsis, verbal ellipsis and clausal ellipsis.
(Halliday & Hasan, 1976: 144)
Nominal Ellipsis occurs within nominal group. It is the ellipsis of a Head with optional
modification (premodifier / postmodifier). For example:
(14) A: Ăn bánh nữa không?
B: Không. Đây là cái (bánh) thứ ba rồi.
15
Verbal Ellipsis appears within verbal group. An elliptical group presupposes one or more
words from a previous verbal group. This hardly takes place in Vietnamese.
Clausal Ellipsis takes clause as the point of departure. It relates to the question and answer in
a dialogue. There may exist Yes / No Ellipsis or Wh – Ellipsis. For instance:
(15) A: Này, Nam bay vô Sài Gòn chiều nay rồi.
B: Thật sao? Vậy mà nó chẳng nói cho tao biết (chiều nay nó bay) gì cả.
2.4.2.1.4. Conjunctive Cohesion
Another type of cohesion is conjunction that “constitutes a cohesive bond between two
clauses” (Halliday, 1994: 180). Cohesive conjunction is the logical-semantic organization of
propositions within a discourse. It allows the speaker/ writer to set up relationships between
ideas. It is viewed in different ways, however, in this thesis; I would like to put an emphasis on
Halliday’s classification: Elaboration, Extension and Enhancement.

the same discourse. (Hoang Van Van, 2006: 81)
E.g: Hôm qua tôi đã gặp cậu bé. Cậu bé xem chừng rất thích đi với anh.
2.4.2.2.1.2. Synonymy
Synonymy refers to the relation between different words bearing the same meaning or nearly
the same meaning for a particular person, object, process or quality.
(Hoang Van Van, 2006: 81)
E.g: - Mời bác xơi cơm ạ!
- Ừ, cháu ăn đi.
2.4.2.2.1.3. Antonymy
Antonymy describes opposite or contrastive meaning between two word items.
(Hoang Van Van, 2006: 81)
E.g: Nam dạo này béo lên đấy, chẳng bù cho khi trước, nó gầy quá.

17
2.4.2.2.1.4. Hyponym and co – hyponym
The main idea of hyponymy is “inclusion”; that is, a lower term (hyponym) is included in an
upper term (the superordinate). (Hoang Van Van, 2006: 82)
E.g: Trong số các loại hoa quả bán ở chợ, táo và cam là loại giá rẻ và an toàn nhất.
In the example above, “táo, cam”’ are hyponyms of “hoa quả” and “táo” and “cam” are co-
hyponyms.
2.4.2.2.1.5. Superordinate and meronymy
Superordinate is known as co-occurence of the same or some higher level of generality.
Meronymy is where lexical items are in a “part-whole” relationship with each other.
Consequently, the relation between two parts is one of co-meronym.
(Hoang Van Van, 2006: 83)
E.g: Cây cam này cành, lá tươi tốt, nhưng chẳng thấy quả đâu cả.
In the example above, “cành, lá” are meronymy of “quả”, “quả” is superordinate of “cành,

between speaker / writer and audience/ reader; and (iii) the theme pattern represents the
organization of the message: how the clause relates to the surrounding discourse, and to the
context of situation in which it is being produced. Moreover, cohesion concept and types are
taken into consideration in the study so as to provide a brief framework of systemic functional
grammar for analysis. The following chapter focuses on the speech addressed by President
Nguyen Minh Triet on the occasion of the 1000
th
anniversary of the foundation of Thang
Long - Hanoi based on the systemic functional approached mentioned before hand. 19
CHAPTER 3
THE MEANING AND STRUCTURE OF PRESIDENT NGUYEN
MINH TRIET’S SPEECH ADDRESSED ON THE OCCASION
OF THE 1000
TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF
THANG LONG - HANOI
3.1. Introduction
Systemic functional grammar was originally developed by M.A.K Halliday in the 1960s and
has now come to be recognized as a major force in linguistics. It is functional grammar
because the conceptual framework on which it is based is functional rather than formal as it
approaches the language from a semantic point of view; more precisely, it examines the

3.2. The Context of the Chosen Text
The text is the speech addressed by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet on the occasion
of the 1000
th
anniversary of the foundation of Thang Long - Ha Noi on 10
th
October 2010.
The speaker is President Nguyen Minh Triet, a famous politician, who became the sixth
Vietnamese President and held this post from June 2006 to July 2011. His speech marked the
turning point to Hanoi as it officially celebrated its 1000
th
anniversary. The targeted hearers,
therefore, are firstly all the Vietnamese leaders “Thưa các đồng chí lãnh đạo Đảng, Nhà
nước, Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam,” secondly the Vietnamese who made great contributions to
Vietnam’s independence “Thưa các đồng chí lão thành cách mạng, các mẹ Việt Nam anh
hùng”, thirdly Vietnamese people “Thưa toàn thể đồng bào, đồng chí và chiến sỹ cả nước,”
and lastly all the honored guests. However, this speech is to publicize the whole world about
the 1000
th
Thang Long anniversary so the targeted audience is extended to people all over the
world who care about the history as well as the development of Vietnam in general and Hanoi
in particular.
It is a Vietnamese text; however it carries its own features in meaning and structure.
3.3. Contextual Configuration of the Text
It is undeniable that context is an integral part of language. It does not reveal everything but it
can help understand a great deal about the language used. According to Halliday (1994),