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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY HẰNG
A STUDY ON EXPANSION EXPRRESSED IN PRESIDENT
BARACK OBAMA’S INAUGURATION SPEECH NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ BÀNH TRƯỚNG ĐƯỢC THỂ HIỆN TRONG DIỄN VĂN
NHẬM CHỨC CỦA TỔNG THỐNG BARACK OBAMA
MA MINOR THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60 22 15

Hanoi -2010

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NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS  Boundary Markers
||| : clause complex boundary
|| : clause boundary
 Types of dependency
1, 2, 3, … : Parataxis
α, β, γ, … : Hypotaxis
 Logico-semantic relations
Expansion:
= : Elaboration
+ : Extension
× : Enhancement
Projection:
" : Locution
' : Idea
 Others
1
st
, 2
nd
, 3
rd
, ….: number of clause complex in the text
(1), (2), (3), …: number of clause in the text

1.3.2. Interpersonal metafunction 7
1.3.3. Textual metafunction 8
1.4. Clause and clause complex 9
1.4.1. Clause simplex and clause complex in systemic functional 9

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grammar
1.4.2. Relationship between clauses in clause complex 10
1.4.2.1. Taxis 10
1.4.2.2. Logico-semantic relation 12
1.5. Summary 14

Chapter 2: Expansion and its relations between clauses
in clause complexes in English
2.1. Introduction 15
2.2. Expansion 15
2.3. Types of expansion 15
2.3.1. Elaboration 15
2.3.1.1. Paratactic elaboration 15
2.3.1.2. Hypotactic elaboration 16
2.3.2. Extention 18
2.3.2.1. Paratactic extention 19
2.3.2.2. Hypotactic extension 20
2.3.3. Enhancement 21
2.3.3.1. Paratactic enhancement 21
2.3.3.2. Hypotactic enhancement 22
2.4. Summary 25

Chapter 3: Expansion relations between clauses in President Barack Obama’s
inauguration speech


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Part A
INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
In confirming the importance of grammar in language study, the British linguist, David
Crystal (2004) states:
“Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we
are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and the effectiveness of the
way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the
richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone not only teachers of
English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with
meaning.”
These above sentences show us how important and valuable grammar is. It is one of
the most effective ways to help human understand the nature of language. Therefore, it comes
as no surprise to know that grammar has attracted great attention of many linguistics. As a
result, there are many approaches to grammar and all of them have both advantages and
drawbacks. Among the many trends of grammar, systemic functional grammar, which is
developed by M.A.K Halliday, and other linguists such as R. Hassan, D. Morley, Th. Bloor,
…., is considered to be the most effective one. This kind of grammar is concerned with both
spoken and written language and focuses on functions of language. In comparison with
traditional grammar, which focuses on written language and is concerned with rules of correct
usage, systemic functional grammar is indeed the most useful tool of analysis.

3. Scope of the study
This study does not cover all aspects of the relation above the clause due to its complexity.
Only one of the two subtypes of the logico-semantic relations between clauses – expansion- is
taken into consideration.
4. Data collection
Data will be collected from clauses in President Barack Obama‟s inauguration speech.
The examples used in the study are taken from grammar books by famous grammarians like
Halliday (1994), Morley (2000) Thompson (1996)….

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5. Methods of the study
The aims of the study are to investigate the nature of expansion relation in English and
analyze a chosen text from functional grammar perspective. Therefore, the descriptive and
analytical methods will be employed as the principal mothods in the thesis. The descriptive
method is resorted to when mentioning some basic notions. The analytical method is applied
to analyze the chosen text.

6. Design of the study
The study is divided into 3 parts:
Part A – introduction - presents the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims of the study, the
scope and data collecion of the study as well as the design of the study.
Part B- development – is the main part of the thesis, consisting 3 chapters:
Chapter 1, Theoretical Background, provides some fundamental and theoretical concepts
which are relevant to the purposes of the study.
Chapter 2 is aimed at examining the expansion relation in English. In this chapter, expansion
relation is investigated in detail, with a view to formulting a framework for the analysis of the
chosen text.
Chapter 3 deals with the representation of expansion relation in the chosen text – the
inauguration speech of President Barack Obama. The aim of this chapter is to find out how
different types of expansion are used in the text and to see whether they express the intention

within one of these systems.
In comparison with formal or generative approaches to grammar, functional approaches to
grammar treat language in different way. Systemic functional grammar pays attention to the
communicative aspect of language, meanwhile formal or generative grammar focuses on
lnguage cognition. The roots of Systemic Functional Grammar lie in sociology and
anthropology rather than psychology and computer science.
Systemic functional grammar has two components: Systemic grammar and functional
grammar. They are two inseparable parts for an integral framework of linguistic theory. “
Systemic grammar aims to explain the interal relations in language as a system network, or
meaningful potential. And this network consists of subsystems from which language users
make choices. Functional grammar aims to reveal that language is a means of social
interaction, based on the position that language system and the forms that make it up are
inescapably determined by the uses of functions which they serve” (Hu Zhuanglin, 1988:307)

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Functional grammar has a number of features which make it suitable for studying language
variation.
Firstly, it is based on the notion of choice - it models grammar as a set of options (a
repertoire or resource). This means that it presents grammar to teachers and students as a set of
tools they can use rather than a set of rules about what not to do.
Secondly, functional grammar looks at the way in which grammar is used to construct
texts in their context of use - it is concerned in other words with real language not just with the
made up examples of language that can be found in many language tests, exercises, work
sheets or traditional grammar books. Its application is not restricted to the analysis of isolated
sentences - it explains the way in which sentences are structured to construct whole texts such
as stories, essays and reports which students learn to read and write in primary and seconday
school.
Thirdly, functional grammar is concerned with the way in which grammar is organised to
make meaning. Because it is concerned with meaning, it can be related directly to the concerns
of teachers and students in all subject areas.

aspects of the grammar realize the ideational function, the other aspects realize the
interpersonal function and yet others realize the textual function.”
1.3. Three metafunctions of the language
1.3.1. Ideational metafunction
The ideational metafunction is the one that helps us understand, organize and express
perceptions of the world and our consciousness. It relates to the field aspects of a text, or its
subject matter and context of use. The ideational metafunction can be classified into two
subtypes: the experiential and the logical. Experiential metafunction, which is the function of
understanding ideas, is distinguished from logical metafunction, which is that of organizing
and correct expressing of ideas.
The experiential metafunction organises our experience and understanding of the world. It is
the potential of the language to construe figures with elements and its potential to differentiate
these elements into processes, the participants in these processes, and the circumstances in

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which the processes occur. The experiential metafunction is realized through the system of
transitivity. According to Halliday, there are six types of process in the transitivity system of
English, namely, material, mental, relational, verbal, behavioral and existential.
The logical metafunction works above the experiential. It organises our reasoning on the basis
of our experience. It is the potential of the language to construe logical links between figures;
for example, "this happened after that happened" or, with more experience, "this happens
every time that happens".
Experiential meanings are associated with the constituency structures whereas logical
meanings are related to the interdependency ones, particularly, the coordination ( or parataxis)
or subordination ( or hypotaxis) between clauses.
The following example illustrates the analysis of a clause with respect to its ideational
metafunction.
Frank
worked
hard

negative language. Social distance means how close the speakers are, e.g. how the use of
nicknames shows the degree to which they are intimate. Relative social status asks whether
they are equal in terms of power and knowledge on a subject, for example, the relationship
between a mother and a child would be considered unequal.
Concerning interpersonal metafunction of the clause, Halliday points out two components: the
Mood and the Residue. The Mood consists of two parts: (1) the Subject, which is a norminal
group and (2) the Finite operator, which is part of a verbal group. In other words, it shows the
relationship between the grammatical subject of the clause and the finite element of the verbal
group.The Residue, according to Halliday, consists of functional elements of three kinds:
Predicator, Complement, and Adjunct.
The following example is analyzed on the basis of interpersonal metafunction:
Sarah
's
cooking
dinner
for her classmates
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Complement
Adjunct
Mood
Residue

1.3.3. Textual metafunction
„In using language, we organize our messages in ways that indicate how they fit in with other
messages around them and with the wider context in which we are talking or writing‟
(Thompson, 2004: 30). Halliday describes, “Language makes links between itself and the
situation; and discourse becomes possible because the speaker or writer can produce a text and
the listener or reader can recognize one” (Halliday, 1971:334). In other words, the Textual

In the garden
the Prince
danced
with his
girlfriend
Textual
THEME
Theme
Rheme
Interpersonal
MOOD
Adjunct
Subject
Finite/
Predicator
Adjunct
Residue(1)
Mood
Residue (2)
Ideational
TRASITIVITY
Location
Actor
Material
Process
Accompaniment

1.4. Clause and clause complex
1.4.1. Clause simplex and clause complex in systemic functional grammar



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Example:
|||Jim speaks Spanish,||but his wife speaks French. |||
1 2
(Alexander, 1988, 11)
The notion of hypotaxis, as Morley (2000:87) defines, “is concerned with the binding
relationships between units of unequal grammatical status, for example, between a free and a
bound clause or between two bound clauses of unequal status”. In hypotactic relationship,
there always exist a dependent clause and its dominant, the element on which it is dependent.
According to Halliday, the dominant element is free, but the dependent one is not. Greek
letters are used to signal hypotaxis. The symbol α is always reserved for the main or dominant
clause. All other symbols, from β onwards are used for clauses dependent on the
main/dominant clause. Here's a simple example:
|||This fish isn’t cooked || as I like it. |||
α β
(Alexander, 1988,25)
One striking feature that differentiate hypotaxis from parataxis is that: Paratatic relation is
logically symmetrical and transitive whereas hypotatic relation is logically non-symmetrical
and non-transitive. The following examples will illustrate it clearly. In the clause complex: “
He watched TV and she listened to music”, the relationship between clauses is paratactic. We
can change the position of the two clauses without changing meaning: “She listened to music
and he watched TV”. Thus, parataxis is symmetrical.
However, the clause complex “I went to school although it rained” does not imply “It rained
although I went to school”. Therefore, non-symmetrical is one of the features of hypotactic
relationship.
When we say “Jack planted trees and John dug a hole” and “John dug a hole and Mike
painted the house”, these sentences imply “Jack planted trees and Mike painted the house”.
The parataxis is transitive. Nevertheless, “I fret when I have to drive slowly” and “I have to
drive slowly when it’s been raining” ( Halliday, 1994:221) do not imply “I fret when it’s been

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In enhancement, the enhancing clause provides circumstantial features of time, place,
cause/reason, condition, result, etc. The symbol "x" is used to signal Enhancement:
||| Peter wanted a band, // so he formed Boney. |||
1 x2

||| Peter formed Boney, // because he wanted a band. |||

α xβ

In a nexus related by projection, “the secondary clause is projected through the primary clause,
which instates it as (a) a locution or (b) an idea. (Halliday, 1994:219)
Locution is quoted or reported speech. The symbol (") is used to signal Locution. The quoted
or reported speech must be projected from a verbal process. In other words, locution is
projected verbal events.
||| "Let's go out tonight!"// Alvin said. |||
"1 2
||| Alvin said // that we should stay at home. |||
α "β
Idea is quoted or reported thought. The symbol (') is used to signal Idea. The quoted or
reported thought must be projected from a mental process.
|||"When will we leave for New York?" // Mary wondered. |||

'1 2
||| Mary wondered // when they would leave for New York. |||

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α 'β

As can be seen from the examples above, projection can be either paratactic or hypotactic.

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Chapter 2
EXPANSION AND EXPANSION RELATIONS BETWEEN CLAUSES IN CLAUSE
COMPLEXES IN ENGLISH

2.1. Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to re-examine expansion and its relations between clauses in
clause complexes in greater detail. The writer hope that a thorough investigation into
expansion will provide the framework for the analysis in the next chapter.
2.2. Expansion
Expansion is one of the two types of logico-semantic relations between clauses in clause
complexes in English. In a nexus related by expansion, the secondary clause picks up the
message of the primary one and expands on it. It may do this in any one of three ways: by
elaborating, by extending, or by enhancing. In other words, expansion embraces three
subtypes: elaboration, extension and enhancement.
2.3. Types of expansion
2.3.1. Elaboration
In elaboration, one clause elaborates on the meaning of another by saying the same thing over
again, either by repeating it directly or by rewording it, clarifying it, or giving an example.
Therefore, when elaboration occurs, the secondary clause „does not introduce a new element
into the picture but rather provides a further characterization of one that is already there‟
(Halliday, 1994:225). Elaboration might be paratactic or hypotactic. The equal sign ( =) is
used to denote this relation.
2.3.1.1. Paratactic elaboration (1=2)
In paratactic elaboration, the secondary clause expands on the primary clause by “refining in
some way what has been said in it” (Morley, 2000:87). According to Halliday (1994:225) „the
combination of elaboration and parataxis yields three types‟: exposition, exemplification and

I could eat a bar of chocolate everyday, which would probably be unhealthy.
( Morley, 2000:88)
Lagos, which is the capital of Nigeria, is a port.
(Deivities, 1989:65)

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The dependent clause may be finite or non-finite.
 Finite
The finite dependent clause in this type “has the same form as a defining relative clause of the
WH-type” (Halliday, 1994:227). However, it is obvious that there are differences between
defining (restrictive) and non-defining (non-restrictive) relative clauses in terms of meaning
and expressions both in speech and in writing.
Take meaning into consideration, the non-defining relative clauses “do not define subsets, in
the way that a defining clause does” (Halliday, 1994:227). They merely add something to the
subsets by giving more information. Non-defining relative clauses provide interesting
additional information which is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence.
However defining relative clauses is crucial in understanding the meaning of the whole
sentence. If we remove them, the sentence has a different meaning or no meaning.
For example, in “The woman who lives next door is a famous writer”, the defining clause
“who lives next door” specifies the noun “the woman”. Compared with the sentence “Hanoi,
which is the capital of Vietnam, is very special”, the non-defining clause “which is the capital
of Vietnam” adds a further characterization to Hanoi which is taken to be already fully
specific. In fact, the defining clauses restrict the scope of their antecedents, whereas the non-
defining clauses provide additional information or give a comment on the antecedents.
According to Halliday (1994:227), “the domain of a non-defining clause may be a whole
clause”, for example:
He didn’t pass the exam, which surprised his teachers.
or any of its constituents, for example:
Mary, who is standing overthere, is my best friend (1)
Tonight’s speaker, who comes from my hometown, should be very interesting (2)

2.3.2. Extension
Extending means adding something new, giving an exception to it or offering an alternative.
According to Morley (2000:87), “clauses of extension expand on the previous clause in one of
two ways. With many of them, it is merely a matter of addition, but with others the extension
involves some forms of variation of the content expressed in the first clause”. Basically,

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extension is classified into two subtypes: addition and variation. As in the case with
elaboration, extension might also be paratactic and hypotactic. The notation (+) is used to
denote this relation.
2.3.2.1. Paratactic extension (1+2)
The combination of extension with parataxis “covers most of what is traditionally called
coordination” (Thompson, 1996:203). Therefore, conjunctions and, or, nor, but are commonly
used.
 Addition
Addition means adjoining one process to another. The relationship may be:
 Positive addition: (X and Y)
The window in the room was open and half noises came from the street.
(Horton, 1996:242)
 Negative addition: ( not X and not Y)
Jane does not drink coffee nor does he eat eggs.
 Adversative addition: ( X and conversely Y)
Jill does not drink milk but she does eat eggs.
(Morley, 2000:87)
In addition, moreover, on the other hand, yet, also are cohesive expressions in addition
relation.
 Variation
In variation, the secondary clause is presented as a total or partial replacement of the primary
clause or it presents an alternative to the initial one. The second clause may be:
 Replacive: ( not X but Y, X instead Y)