VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
 NGUYỄN THỊ MẾN THE MEANING AND STRUCTURE
OF AN AMERICAN SHORT STORY:
A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

(CẤU TRÚC VÀ NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA MỘT TRUYỆN NGẮN
MỸ: PHÂN TÍCH THEO QUAN ĐIỂM CHỨC NĂNG) M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Linguistic
Code: 60 22 15 Hanoi- 11/ 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI

Table of contents
Declaration
Abstract
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
Abbreviations

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Rationale 1
1.2. Aims and Scope of the Study 1
1.3. Methods of the Study 1
1.4. Data collection 1
1.5. Design of the study…………………… 2
PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 3
1.1. Three Metafunctions of Language………………… 3
1.2. Context……………………………………………………… 3
1.2.1. What is Context? 3
1.2.2. Three aspects of context………………… 3-4
1.3. Clauses and their relations 4
1.3.1. Clause Simplex and Clause Complex 4
1.3.2. Types of Relations between Clauses……… 4
1.3.2.1. Taxis 4
1.3.2.2. Logico – semantic type .4-5
1.4. Three kinds of function of clauses 5
1.4.1. Clause as representation: Transitivity 6
1.4.1.1. Process types and Participants .6
1.4.1.1.1. Material process 6
1.4.1.1.2. Mental process 6
1.4.1.1.3. Relational process 6

2.3.3. The Thematic Pattern of the Text 29
2.4. The Cohesion of the Text 30
2.4.1. Grammatical Cohesion 30-31
2.4.1.1. Reference…………………………… 31
2.4.1.2. Conjunctive Devices………… 41
2.4.2. Lexical Cohesion………………… 41
2.5. Contextual Configuration of the Text………………… 43
2.6. Summary 43
PART 3: CONCLUSION 44
1.1. Recapitulation 44
1.2. Contributions 44
1.3 Implications of the study 44
1.4. Suggestions for future research 44

REFERENCES
APPENDICE ii
ABSTRACT

In the present study, an attempt is made to explore the grammar and meaning of the short
story “Witches’ Loaves” by O’Henry as a text which is taken from “O’Henry’s short stories
online”. The procedures and conventions used in the analysis are based on the framework of