A Functional Analysis of Journalistic Writing1.doc

A Functional Analysis of Journalistic Writing中山大学外国语学院2002级研究生 张君Journalistic writing is a special genre of literature, which has a typical style. This article aims to discover the unique features of this type of writing through a functional analysis. Below is the analysis of a news report from China Daily. 1.With the fall of Baghdad, Iraq's U.N. ambassador declared Wednesday, "the game is over.” and became the first Iraqi official to concede defeat in the US-led war.It is a clause complex consisting of three paratactic clauses. Clause 1: with the fall of Baghdad, Iraq's U.N. ambassador declared Wednesday Clause 2: “the game is over ” Clause 3: and became the first Iraqi official to concede defeat in the US-led war Clause 1 projects clause 2.Mood: The three clauses are all declarative statements. In clause 1, the Subject is “Iraq's U.N. ambassador” and the Finite indicates an event happened in the past. In clause 2, the Subject is “the game” while the Finite shows a present tense, because it is the speakers comment on the current situation. In clause 3, the elliptical Subject is the same as that of clause 1, and its Finite shows an action happened in the past.Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is a Verbal one, “Iraq's U.N. ambassador” as the Sayer, while “with the fall of Baghdad” and “Wednesday” as the Circumstance. Clause 2 is an Attributive Relational, “the game” acts as the Carrier and “over” the Attribute. Clause 3 is an Identifying Relational, “the first Iraqi official to concede defeat in the US-led war” being the Indentifier.2. Mohammed Al-Douri expressed hope that the Iraqi people will now be able to live in peace.Mood: The Subject of this declarative clause is “Mohammed Al-Douri”, and its Finite shows a past tense.Transitivity: It is a Verbal process, “Mohammed Al-Douri” the Sayer, “hope that the Iraqi people will now be able to live in peace” the Verbiage.3. "My work now is peace," he told reporters outside his New York residence. "The game is over, and I hope the peace will prevail. I hope the Iraqi people will have a happy life." This clause complex consists of three independent clauses.Clause 1: "My work now is peace, "Clause 2: he told reporters outside his New York residenceClause 3: "The game is over, and I hope the peace will prevail. I hope the Iraqi people will have a happy life." (It is a quote, which is also a clause complex made up of three paratactic clauses.)3 1: “The game is over”3 2: “and I hope the peace will prevail”3 3: “I hope the Iraqi people will have a happy life."Clause 1 and 3 are projected by clause 2. Mood: This clause complex is a declarative statement. In clause 1, the Subject is “my work” and the Finite express a present tense, for the speakers emphasis is his present work. In clause 2, its Subject is “he” and the Finite expresses an event happened in the past. The Subject and Finite of 3 1 are respectively “the game” and a present tense showing the current situation. In 3 2, the Subject is “I” while its Finite is realized by a verb indicating a present tense, suggesting the speakers state of mind at that time. The Subject and Finite of 3 3 are the same with 3 2.Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is an Identifying Relational, with “my work” as the Identified and “peace” the Identifier. Clause 2 is a Verbal process, “he” being the Sayer, “reporters” the Receiver and “outside his New York residence” the Circumstance. Clause 3 1 is an Attributive Relational; “the game” acts as the Carrier and “over” the Attribute. Clause 3 2 is a Mental process, “I” the Senser and “the peace will prevail” the Phenomenon. Clause 3 3 is also a Mental process, “I” as the Senser and “the Iraqi people will have a happy life” the Phenomenon. 4. Al-Douri was asked what he meant when he said, "the game is over."This clause complex consists of three clauses, one dominant clause and two dependent clauses.Clause : Al-Douri was askedClause : what he meant Clause : when he said, "the game is over." (It is also a clause complex of two clauses.)Clause 1: when he said,Clause 2: "the game is over."Mood: All the clauses are declarative. The Subject of clause is “Al-Douri” and its Finite indicates a past tense and a passive voice. The Mood of clause includes the Subject “he” and the Finite showing a past tense. The Mood of clause 1 is the same with that of clause . The Mood of clause 2 has been analyzed. Transitivity: Clause is a Verbal process. “Al-Douri” is the Receiver. In clause , the process is a Mental one, “he” being the Senser and “what” the Phenomenon. Clause 1 is a Verbal process, “he” acting as the Sayer. Clause 2 has been analyzed.5. "The war," he responded.Mood: The Subject of this clause is “he” and its Finite indicates a past tense.Transitivity: This clause is a Verbal process. “He” acts as the Sayer, and “the war” as the Verbiage.6. His comments were the first admission by an Iraqi official that coalition forces had overwhelmed Iraqi troops after a three-week campaign. Mood: The Subject of this clause is “his comments” and its Finite expresses a past tense. Transitivity: The process of this clause is an Identifying Relational. “his comments” is the Identified and “the first admission by an Iraqi official that coalition forces had overwhelmed Iraqi troops after a three-week campaign” the Identifier. 7. Two weeks ago, during a heated U.N. debate, Al-Douri accused the United States of "criminal aggression" against Iraq and warned the US-led coalition was "about to start a real war of extermination that will kill everything and destroy everything." It is a clause complex that consists of two independent clauses. The relationship between them is paratactic.Clause 1: Two weeks ago, during a heated U.N. debate, Al-Douri accused the United States of "criminal aggression" against IraqClause 2: and warned the US-led coalition was "about to start a real war of extermination that will kill everything and destroy everything." (It includes a reporting clause 2 and a reported clause 2, 2 depending on 2.)Clause 2: (he) warnedClause 2: the US-led coalition was "about to start a real war of extermination that will kill everything and destroy everything."Mood: It is a declarative statement. The Mood of the first clause consists of the Subject “Al-Douri” and the Finite stating an event happened in the past. In clause 2, the Subject is the same with that of clause 1, and the Finite is implied in the verb “warned” expressing an action in the past. Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is a Verbal one, with “Al-Douri” as the Sayer, “the United States” as the Receiver, “criminal aggression against Iraq” as the Verbiage and “two weeks ago, during a heated U.N. debate” as the Circumstance. Clause 2is also a Verbal process, while clause 2 is a Material process, with “the US-led coalition” as the Actor and “a real war of extermination that will kill everything and destroy everything” as the Goal.8. The outburst caused US Ambassador John Negroponte to walk out of the open Security Council meeting, saying he'd "heard enough."It is a clause complex containing three clauses, clause and clause depending on clause .Clause : The outburst caused US Ambassador John Negroponte Clause : to walk out of the open Security Council meetingClause : saying he'd "heard enough."Mood: The Subject of clause is “the outburst” and its Finite is implied in the verb “causes” which indicates an action happened in the past. Clause and are non-finite clauses.Transitivity: The process of clause is a Material one, “the outburst” being the Actor and “US Ambassador John Negroponte” the Goal. Clause is a Material process, “out of the open Security Council meeting” being the Circumstance. The process of clause is a Verbal process.9. On Wednesday, when asked about Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Al-Douri said he had no "relationship with Saddam." It is a clause complex, which consists of three clauses, clause and clause depending on clause .Clause : On Wednesday Al-Douri saidClause : when asked about Iraqi President Saddam HusseinClause : he had no "relationship with Saddam." Mood: This clause complex is a declarative statement. The Subject of the dominant clause is “Al-Douri”, and its Finite is realized by a verb expressing a past tense. While clause and clause are non-finite clauses. Transitivity: The process of clause is a Verbal one, “on Wednesday” being the Circumstance. Clause is a Verbal process, “Iraqi President Saddam Hussein” being Verbiage. The process of clause is an Attributive Relational, with “no relationship with Saddam." as the Attribute. 10. "I have no communication with Iraq," the ambassador said.It is a clause complex of two paratactic clauses, clause 1 is projected by clause 2.Clause 1: "I have no communication with Iraq,"Clause 2: the ambassador said.Mood: Both of the two clauses are declarative. Clause 1 contains Subject “I” and Finite showing a present tense. In clause 2, the Subject is “the ambassador” and its Finite indicates an action happened in the past.Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is an Attributive Relational, “I” being the Carrier and “no communication with Iraq” the Attribute. Clause 2 is a Verbal process, “the ambassador” being the Sayer. 11. Questioned about Al-Douri's comments, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said: "Well, I would say it wasn't a game, first." This clause complex is consists of three clauses, two independent clauses and a non-finite dependent clause.Clause 1: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saidClause 1: Questioned about Al-Douri's commentsClause 2: "Well, I would say it wasn't a game, first."Mood: The Mood of clause 1 is made up of the Subject “Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld” and the Finite indicating a past tense. In clause 2, the Subject is “I” and its Finite “would” expresses the primary tense of past and the Predicator shows the secondary tense of futurity.Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is a Verbal one, “Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld” as the Sayer. Clause 1 is also a Verbal process, “Al-Douri's comments” as the Verbiage. Clause 2 is a Verbal process as well, with “I” as the Sayer and “it wasn't a game” is the Verbiage.12. Rumsfeld added that there was still lots of "difficult, dangerous" work ahead in Iraq.It is a clause complex including one dominant clause and one dependent clause. Clause : Rumsfeld addedClause : that there was still lots of "difficult, dangerous" work ahead in Iraq.Mood: The Mood of Clause consists of the Subject “Rumsfeld” and the Finite indicating an action happened in the past. The Subject of Clause is “there” and its Finite expresses a past tense. Transitivity: Clause is a Verbal process, with “Rumsfeld” as the Sayer. Clause is an Existential process, with “lots of difficult, dangerous work” as the Existent. 13. Earlier, Al-Douri told Associated Press Television News: "This is a war, and there will be a winner and someone who is a loser." This clause complex consists of two independent clauses.Clause 1: Earlier, Al-Douri told Associated Press Television News Clause 2: "This is a war, and there will be a winner and someone who is a loser." (Clause 2 is also a clause complex including two clauses of paratactic relationship.)Clause 2 1: "This is a war”Clause 2 2: “and there will be a winner and someone who is a loser."Mood: The Subject of clause 1 “Al-Douri” and the Finite indicates a past tense. In clause 2 1, the Subject is “this” and the Finite shows a present tense. In clause 2 2, the Subject is “there” and the Finite expresses a future tense.Transitivity: The process of clause 1 is a Verbal one, “Al-Douri” being the Sayer, “earlier” the Circumstance, and “Associated Press Television News” the Receiver. Clause 2 1 is an Identifying Relational, “this” being the Identifier and “a war” the Identifier. Clause 2 2 is an Existential process, “a winner and someone who is a loser” as the Existent. 14. When asked what he thought about scenes broadcast Wednesday from Baghdad, he said: "Well I don't know really, I watch the television like you."It is a clause complex including two independent clauses.Clause 1: When asked what he thought about scenes broadcast Wednesday from Baghdad, he saidClause 2: "Well I don't know really, I watch the television like you."(Clause 1 consists of one dominant clause and one non-finite clause.)Clause 1: he saidClause 1: When asked what he thought about scenes broadcast Wednesday from Baghdad(Clause 2 includes two paratactic clauses.)Clause 2: Well I don't know reallyClause 2: I watch the television like you.Mood: The Subject of Clause 1 is “he” and the Finite expresses a past tense. The Mood of Clause 2 is the Subject “I” and the Finite indicates a present tense. The Mood of Clause 2 is the same with that of Clause 2. Transitivity: Clause 1 is a Verbal process, “he” as the Sayer. The process of clause 1 is the same with that of clause 1, “what he thought about scenes broadcast Wednesday from Baghdad” as the Verbiage. Clause 2 is a Mental process, “I” the Senser. Clause 2 is a Behavioural one, “I” as the Behaver, “the television” the Range and “like you” the Circumstance. 15. He said that because of the war he has been unable to contact any government officials "for a long time."It is a clause complex consisting of two hypotactic clauses.Clause : He saidClause : that because of the war he has been unable to contact any government officials "for a long time."Mood: the Subject of clause is “he” and its Finite is realized in a verb indicating an action happened in the past. The Mood of Clause includes the Subject “he” and the Finite expressing the present perfect tense. Transitivity: The process of clause is a Verbal one, “he” being the Sayer. Clause is an Attributive Relational. “he” is the Carrier and “unable to contact any government officials” the Attribute.All the clauses or clause complexes are declarative statements, and the Finites mostly indicates a past tense, for this news report aims to inform the readers of the events happened in the past. The processes, for the most part, are Verbal, and the relationships between clauses are often projection. It is because journalists have to quote or report the interviewees words. In conclusion, the unique need of journalism demands the unique feature of journalistic writing.AppendixIraq's UN envoy concedes defeat in war (April 10,2003)(Agencies) With the fall of Baghdad, Iraq's U.N. ambassador de