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Adjei, A. A., & Ewusi-Mensah, L. (2016). Transitivity in Kuffuor's 2008 Farewell Speech to the Ghanaian Parliament. British Journal of English Langage Linguistics, 4,
Abstract
This study uses Halliday’s transitivity theory to analyse the use of language in President J. A. Kufuor’s farewell address to Parliament. The study uses the content analysis design to analyse all the clauses in the address. The study reveals that among the six process types under the transitivity model, the material processes are used maximally in the speech whereas the existential processes are used minimally. There was, however, no behavioural process in the address. The dominant use of material clauses suggest that Kufuor interprets the world in terms of his past and present “goings-on” happenings by recounting some of the concrete achievements recorded under his eight-year stewardship and making useful suggestions to the incoming government in order to ensure continuity in projects his administration has initiated. His choice of actors suggests that Kufuor attributes the achievements to himself which may be perceived as a feature of undemocratic leadership style; however his determination to share his wealth of experience with the incoming government corrects the impression that he is undemocratic. He also uses a majority of relational identifications to point out to himself and his administration as the main development players. Verbal processes have been used as markers of transition and topic shift; still, he refers to himself as the main sayer. The study concludes and affirms that material, relational and mental processes are the three primary processes often used in language since the three add up to about 90% (Halliday&Matthiessen, 2004). Keywords: John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana, Systemic Functional Grammar, Transitivity, Farewell Address, Parliament, Political Ideologies.
This study uses Halliday’s transitivity theory to analyse the use of language in President J. A. Kufuor’s farewell address to Parliament. The study uses the content analysis design to analyse all the clauses in the address. The study reveals that among the six process types under the transitivity model, the material processes are used maximally in the speech whereas the existential processes are used minimally. There was, however, no behavioural process in the address. The dominant use of material clauses suggest that Kufuor interprets the world in terms of his past and present “goings-on” happenings by recounting some of the concrete achievements recorded under his eight-year stewardship and making useful suggestions to the incoming government in order to ensure continuity in projects his administration has initiated. His choice of actors suggests that Kufuor attributes the achievements to himself which may be perceived as a feature of undemocratic leadership style; however his determination to share his wealth of experience with the incoming government corrects the impression that he is undemocratic. He also uses a majority of relational identifications to point out to himself and his administration as the main development players. Verbal processes have been used as markers of transition and topic shift; still, he refers to himself as the main sayer. The study concludes and affirms that material, relational and mental processes are the three primary processes often used in language since the three add up to about 90% (Halliday&Matthiessen, 2004). Keywords: John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana, Systemic Functional Grammar, Transitivity, Farewell Address, Parliament, Political Ideologies.
Adjei, A. A., Ewusi-Mensah, L. & Okoh, H. (2015). Transitivity in Political Discourse - A Study of the Major Process Types in the 2009 State-of-the-Nation-Address in Ghana.. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics., 16,
Abstract
Abstract The study uses the transitivity model to analyze how President John Evans Attah Mills manipulates language in his first State-of-the-Nation address to express his political message to his people. The study is premised on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, and the qualitative research design was used for the content analysis of the text. The study applies the interpretative content analysis to investigate the communicative functions of the linguistic choices made in the address. 536 clauses in the State-of-the-Nation address were used for analysis. The clauses were parsed into their constituent parts, the processes were identified, coded and categorized and their roles determined. The study discovered that among the major process types, material processes dominate the speech with a total occurrence of 59.14% whereas the mental process types are used minimally in the speech with a total occurrence of 14.37%. The dominant use of material processes implies that Mills and his government are the main actors working on a number of concrete projects in an attempt to create a sense of developmental progression and continuity. The minimal use of the mental processes also implies that Mills gives few assurances and promises to the people, and rather tells things as they are. This means that the address calls for vigorous and rigorous action and not a mere formality of assurances and wishful thinking. The study concludes that language structures can produce certain meanings and ideologies which are not explicit for readers. This is in affirmation to the assumption that language form is not fortuitous, but performs a communicative function. Keywords: John Evans Attah Mills, Ghana, Systemic Functional Grammar, Transitivity, State-of-the-Nation Address, Political Ideologies.
Abstract The study uses the transitivity model to analyze how President John Evans Attah Mills manipulates language in his first State-of-the-Nation address to express his political message to his people. The study is premised on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, and the qualitative research design was used for the content analysis of the text. The study applies the interpretative content analysis to investigate the communicative functions of the linguistic choices made in the address. 536 clauses in the State-of-the-Nation address were used for analysis. The clauses were parsed into their constituent parts, the processes were identified, coded and categorized and their roles determined. The study discovered that among the major process types, material processes dominate the speech with a total occurrence of 59.14% whereas the mental process types are used minimally in the speech with a total occurrence of 14.37%. The dominant use of material processes implies that Mills and his government are the main actors working on a number of concrete projects in an attempt to create a sense of developmental progression and continuity. The minimal use of the mental processes also implies that Mills gives few assurances and promises to the people, and rather tells things as they are. This means that the address calls for vigorous and rigorous action and not a mere formality of assurances and wishful thinking. The study concludes that language structures can produce certain meanings and ideologies which are not explicit for readers. This is in affirmation to the assumption that language form is not fortuitous, but performs a communicative function. Keywords: John Evans Attah Mills, Ghana, Systemic Functional Grammar, Transitivity, State-of-the-Nation Address, Political Ideologies.
