Systemic Functional Linguistics of Three Newspaper

Systemic Functional Linguistics of Advertisements

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Systemic Functional Linguistics of Thre Threee newspaper Advertisements in Pakistan

Dilshad Fatima Minjaj nternationl !niversity" Lahore Lahore


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A#stract

This is the study of three newspaper advertisements in Pakistan. This study focuses on the discou discourse rse strate strategie giess of astrol astrologi ogicc adver advertis tiseme ements nts to persu persuad adee the reade readers rs in Pakistani context. It analyses how the advertisers invoke superstitious eliefs of the targe targett aud audien ience ce y persua persuadin dingg them them that that they they kno know w the art of troul troulesh eshoot ooting ing.. Advert Adv ertise isers! rs! choic choicee of words words and the way they they craft craft adver advertis tiseme ements nts appea appeall to particular audience and their elief system. "alliday#s Systemic Functional Ling Lingui uist stic icss $SFL $SFL%% is used used as a meth method od of anal analyysis sis and and all all the the thre threee modes odes $metafunctions% of meaning & textual' interpersonal and ideational or experiential( are explored. The use of religious prayers prayers and mediations acts make make these advertisements more effective and appealing for the readers. Keywords:

Linguistics $SFL%

Astrol Astrologi ogical cal adv advert ertise isemen ment' t' )iscou )iscourse rse'' Syste Systemic mic Functi Function onal al


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ntroduction

Islam is the main religion of Pakistan and it is governed not only y the peoples of the country ut also y the government as well. People have strong elief on their religion and due to this characteristic many people are using them to elieve in superstitious acts. *owadays a change has occurred in the teaching of Islam and people to get involved in the superstitious acts to solve their prolems even y hook and crook and they have superstition(sustained elief in the power of different charms and prayers. In the Pakistani context' astrological advertisements are prevalent in the wide range of pulished media. +any researches have een done on the advertisement strategies in Pakistan y none of these has een conducted on astrological advertisement. So this study focuses on the linguistic analysis of the astrological advertisements in order to see the use of language of the advertisers to persuade their target audience.


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LT$%AT!%$ %$&$'

"alliday,s systemic functional grammar deals with how language organi-ed' works and what social functions are represented. "alliday invented his grammar approach not only to deal with descriing language ut also has function for other forms of meaning. In order to understand the functions of the language' "alliday proposed three metafunctions in his approach. There are /. Ideational +etafunction 0. Interpersonal +etafunction 1. Textual +etafunction deational metafunction

The ideational metafunction is expressing the way language involves in experience' thought and feelings. This metafunction concerns with things' events or happenings and also the circumstances which include to the element of happenings. Ideational metafunction mostly influenced y Field of discourse. In order to represent things' events and circumstance' people need these terms /. The processes which is going on 0. The participant which involved 1. The attriutes of participant 2. The circumstances of events The processes are divided into six types' there are () Material Process

+aterial process has two process' process of doing and process of happening. The first process is process of doing. In this process' a participant is called 3the actor4' and when the actor does something is called 3material process4 and the o5ect which gets the effect that could e something or someone is called 3goal4. For example The Sierian "usky )og

chased

a rait

Systemic Functional Linguistics of Advertisements The actor

Material process

5

*oal

+aterial process clauses can have a 3eneficiary4 esides actor and goal. For example Peter 6aelish

gave

Sansa Stark

a ou7uet of rose

The actor

Material process

#eneficiary

*oal

In the passive sentence' the actor can e expressed or not' depends on the context. The prepositions 3y4 and 3with4 is indicates whether the actor is expressed or not. For example The 8olf

was killed y

a hunter

last night

*oal

Material process

The actor

+ircumstance of

The second process is process of happening. In this process' the goal usually cannot e specified. This process shows something that happens. For example "er moods

often changes

during her period

The actor

Material process

+ircumstance of

,) %elational Process

9elational processes are processes of eing something. This process links other o5ect to another. A relational process with a clause may e used to say that something is an attriute of something else $attriutive type% or to identify something with something else $identifying type%. The identifying type identifies something is exactly as same as another thing. For example :ow and sheep

are

Livestock

dentified

%elational process

dentifier


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Shaymin

is

a pokemon

dentified

%elational process

dentifier

)iana,s special pancake

is made of

flour' egg' honey'milk' rasperry syrup and utter

dentified

%elational process dentifier

The attriutive type tells some information aout something that eing explained is a memer of class of things which have its own characteristic or set of characteristic. For example To keep your room

is

A good thing

+arrier

%elational process

Attri#ute

+illiana,s

turns

spooky

+arrier

%elational process attri#ute

in night +ircumstances of

-) Mental Process

+ental process is a process which deals with feeling' thinking and perceiving process. Terms of 3senser4 and 3phenomenon4 is used in this process for the participants. The 3senser4 is the participant which do the feeling' thinking and perceiving while the 3phenomenon4 is an astract thing or material which is sensed' thought or perceived. For example She

likes

her new goal of life

Senser

Mental process

Phenomenon

)anielle

thought

Ann was the culprit

Senser

Mental process

Phenomenon


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nterpersonal Metafunction

3The interpersonal meaning expresses 5udgments' assessments' gives people' the relationship etween texts and readers;viewers and the relationships within texts 3interpersonal <...= the grammar of personal participation> it expresses the speaker,s role in the speech situation' his interaction with others4 $"alliday' /?@@%. Interpersonal deals with the way language express the writer,s or speaker,s reaction towards others and writer,s or speaker,s attitude towards a su5ect. This metafunction needs communication etween the speaker and the hearer also their responses to each other. In communication with others' there are three different uses of language' the first one is to exchange knowledge or information' the second one is to exchange actions' services or goods' and the last one is to estalish and maintain relation. 8hen analy-ing a text using interpersonal metafunction' these 7uestions might ecome a help /. "ow does the text make the readers evaluate action or events in the text 0. In what ways the readers can take role as the participants in the text 1. "ow does perspective contriute making a relationship etween the participants in the text and the readers 2. From what angle the participants viewed B. "ow are the readers led to adopt a particular interpretative stance in the text C. "ow is the attention of the reader;viewer captured For instance' are key( words used Te.tual Metafunction

3The textual meaning refers to the actual form of the text' the way it is organi-e>' it deals with information management' resources and genres. Through the comination of resources at different textual levels it allows ideas and attitudes aout thematics' actions and events to e expressed 3textual it expresses the structure of information and the relation of each part of the discourse to the whole and to the setting4 $"alliday' /?@@%.


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In textual metafunction' how a text is organi-ed is expressed. Language is used to organi-e experiential and interpersonal meanings into a linear and coherent whole. This metafunction mostly influenced y the mode of discourse. M$T/0D0L0*1

In this paper three astrological advertisements are analy-ed which are selected from local Erdu newspapers. The researcher has translated all the advertisements into nglish language to analyse the language with the help of Systemic Functional Linguistics. All the three metafunction of meanings are explored in the terms of SFL. The advertisements are categorised as Text / 0

Title Apendix Astrologic Shah +u7eem / Sayyad Sada "ussain Shah 0

1

6ukhari Peer Sayyad +uhammad 1 "ussain

Data analysis Te.tual Analysis

"alliday and +atthiessen $0GG2 C2% descrie that Theme is the element which serves as the point of departure of the message> it is that which locates and orients the clause within its context. The reminder of the message' the part in which the Theme is developed' is called in the 9heme. Theme(9heme structure provides the speaker;writer with strategies for guiding the listener;reader in interpreting of the text in terms of how text is organi-ed' what is the text,s method of development. Therefore analysing the thematic structure of a text clause y clause provides an insight view into text organi-ation. Te.tual Theme

The textual Theme is almost always the first part of the Theme' coming efore any interpersonal Theme. It gives thematic prominence to textual elements with a linking function. Theme resources include> $i%

:on5unction

$ii%

9elative pronoun


$iii%

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:lause inder> this type of clauses not found in any of the selected advertisement.

+onjunction

A con5unction is a word or group that either links or inds the clause to which it connects message to the previous clause. :on5unctions thus indicate a con5unctive relationship with previous discourse. Text / :on5unction V \V V M\ V] H R Z[ H XY VW

H  JK MNOJ JQR M UVK

DDanything is worrying you then don!t wait for today rather ask us anything you want to' right now. Text1 :on5unction MO

WV

^ 



K V^

 j] `R ^ MNOJ

MK

 V]  ` j  JK MK VqMK j^ 

^

_ ]` HK b`R V V]

K R M[^ ^   M \R UVK

RR R` The people who are worried due to offsprings and face ostacles in the marriages of males and females or don,t find a good marriage proposal for those +uhammad "ussain asour,s marriage charms that work miraculously is only availale center. %elative pronouns

9elative pronouns link the clause in which they occur to another clause. They are thematic in nature' and therefore they tend to occur in the initial position. Textually' the relative elements serve as oth structural textual Theme and experiential Theme. Te.t(

V V]`M ^Z_V

K

JK ^NVK `R V] MN RVK HR MO ^  ^ HMNOJ H  HK JQR

^ 

If you are suffering from any king of worries or want of fulfill your desires which you could not fulfill y trying your est. Te.t,

MO JK ` MO K V] 8e do as we say Te.t-

V  } UVK MK |]  ^  [z UVK MOR ^ M^ { There is not such a prolem in the world which has no solution.


MO

WV

^ 



K V^

MK

 V]  ` j  JK MK VqMK j^ 

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 j] `R ^ MNOJ ^

_ ]` HK b`R V V]

K R M[^ ^   M \R UVK

RR R` The people who are worried due to offsprings and face ostacles in the marriages of males and females or don,t find a good marriage proposal for those +uhammad "ussain asour,s marriage charms that work miraculously is only availale center. nterpersonal Theme

An interpersonal Theme foregrounds the speaker,s 5udgment or comments. It might include one or more of the following components ~ocative> 8h(element> and +odal Ad5unct. &ocative

A ~ocative is used to directly address the listener' particularly in a dialogic passage. It can e expressed y personal names' kinship terms' occupational terms or pronouns. Text/ ^  ^ HMNOJ H  HK Y JQR If you are suffering from any kind of worries Text 1 H•MK H €R OR MZY

^[^K RMZ \

_ M^[ ` M•Y ‚MW

ƒour one contact is enough to get rid of all the calamities and catastrophes Modal Adjunct

A +odal Ad5unct represents the speaker,s ; writer,s 5udgment on' attitude toward' and assessment of' the content of the message. +odal Ad5uncts are used widely in all the selected advertisements. xamples are given elow. Te.t (

`JQ M 

K V^Z M  HK `M]

MK

3The greatest master of the great lack magic powers4 H  V `R H  HQ„ HK MR

_ ‚V[… R ^ †‡^‡ ‚V[… H[ˆ_ `

MK

3~oodooisitic studies and lack magic are facts and so the life and death of a man $is related to these knowledges.%4 Te.t ,

^ ZO

[Z

_ V ZY HR OV‰W

ŠV

[\ J`R

R

See for yourself the charms $amulets% working against you Te.t -

^ŠR`JK } ^ ^

VK H  HK

K M^ { } MK }ŠM ‚MW `MO { ` HO


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‹et solved all the worldly and spiritual prolems from any place in the world

$.periential Theme

The topical $experiential% Theme includes elements serving a role in the transitivity structure of the clause. It is the starting point from which experiences are unfolded through time. It is the first element in the clause $i.e.' the first group or phrase relevant to the experimental function%. These thematic elements include $i%

Participants $not found in the advertisements%

$ii%

:ircumstances $not found in the advertisements%

$iii%

Processes

Processes

Process Theme is restricted to imperative clauses. That is' the imperative is the only type of clause in which the Process $the ver% is regularly found as Theme. The process Theme is expressed y a veral group. Te.t (

OJK `JŒ €R JK _ ^R{ JŽY

^

K } H^‡O `R V• VW

Then contact us' considering it last hope' for surety solution in no time. Te.t ,

^ ZO

[Z

_ V ZY HR OV‰W

ŠV

[\ J`R

R

3See for yourself the charms $amulets% working against you4 Te.t -

 J ‘M ` ’

K “V

_ †M” HK KV

:ontrol the heart and soul of your eloved through the power of guardian angels ^ŠR`JK

_ H MQ `R R„R ‚MK J

‹et done your work with guarantee and confidentiality nterpersonal Analysis

The interpersonal metafunction is a resource for enacting social roles and relationships etween speaker ; writer and listener ; reader $+atthiessen' /??B /@%. +) is one of the main grammatical systems of exchange and negotiation. Interpersonally' 3clause as exchange4 is the asic principle of the +) grammar +) is the asic resource for exchanging meaning in oth dialogue and monologic passages. It is the grammar of negotiation $+atthiessen' 0GG/ 1%.


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There are two fundamental semantic variales in an exchange & the orientation of the exchange and the commodity eing exchanged. In turn' speech functional categories are reali-ed y different +) sections or choices. According to 6utt' et al $/??B/1% 3The interpersonal metafunction uses language to encode interaction and to show how defensile or inding we find our proposition or proposal.4 Structural Analysis Te.t (

^  ^ HMNOJ H  HK Y JQR If

ƒou Su5ect

are Finite

suffering predicate

+ood

from any worries Ad5unct residue

Te.t ,

^ ZO

[Z

_ V ZY HR OVW

ŠV

[\ J`R

See For yourself yourself the charms Finite Ad5unct +ood. Imperative

R working predicate

against you complement residue

Te.t -

H•MK H €R OR MZY ƒour Su5ect +ood

one

contact

is enough Finite;predicate complement residue

$.periential Analysis

This section is concerned with the system of T9A*SITI~ITƒ of the astrological advertisement. +atthiessen $/??B /?2% characteri-es that the system of T9A*SITI~ITƒ is resources for construing $interpreting and representing% human experience of change or on(going(on in the flow of events inside and around us. A 7uantum of change in the flow of events is construed as a configuration of a process' participant involved' and attendant circumstances. The transitivity system of language has een widely used nowadays to analy-e the language of speakers and writers. It studies the structure of sentences' which is represented y processes $reali-ed y types of vers%' the participants involved in these processes $which are part of the nominal group%' and the circumstances in which


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they $participants and processes% are involved $reali-ed y the adverial and propositional phrase%. Transitivity is expressed y using> process' participants and circumstances. Process

Process' as the process of 3meaning4' is characteri-ed y its potential for organi-ing participants into an experiential configuration. The Process constituent' the central ver of the clause' can also e roken down into three separate elements and descried as +aterial' 9elational and Pro5ecting.

Tale/.G Process Types in the advertisements So the analysis shows that material processes are use more fre7uently than any other in all the advertisements. It means that the focus of the advertiser was on the #happenings and changing of situations,. Advertisement / and 0 has more vers related to mental process which indicate that they approach to the mental flexiility of the audience. And they try to control over the mind of the people y using such techni7ues which evoke their mental condition and emotions. They also make them to think y the cognitive ailities. 9elational process indicates that advertisers have aility to solve the prolems of the people and they descried certain facts as well.


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+onclusion

This paper analyses the language of three astrologic advertisements from the local newspapers of Pakistan. The purpose of the advertisers is to solve the prolems of the people y using certain charms related to Islamic religion or lack magic as well $see appendix /%. There are certain things which are common in all the advertisements like /. xpert in the filed 0. Solution of the prolems related to love marriage' prolems related to husand and wife' ostacles in marriage proposals and any other prolems 1. /GG– ‹uarantee to solve the prolem 2. :onfidentiality B. 9emoving of any charms So this type of things makes their advertisement affective for the audience and people of get rid of their prolems go to them to get solve their troules even to the expert in lack magic. These advertisements are analy-ed y Systemic Functional Linguistics $SFL% and all the three metafunctions are explored> Textual analysis of the study shows that the advertisers used all the three themes of the textual metafunction :on5unctions' relative pronoun' vocative and processes are used to make their text attractive. Interpersonal analysis of the advertisements indicates that advertisers use declarative and imperative sentences as well ecause they are providing information to the audience and their focus is on the audience that is the reason they interact to the readers and address them. xperiential analysis reveals that the amulet advertisement is construed y different text types. The text involves its various participants in different participant roles associated with different process types. The clear fre7uency of material processes suggests that this amulet advertisement is largely concerned with actions and events.


15

In terms of field contextual value' advertising text is conveyed to a mass audience with an ultimate aim to promote and persuade customer to purchase goods(and( services> in fact' the function of advertising is to present product features' product functions' and evaluations of the products.

'0%2S +T$D

"alliday' +.A.. $/?@@% 3Text as semantic choice in social contexts.4 In T. A. van )i5k and —onoss Petofi' eds.' ‹rammars and )escriptions Studies in Text Theory and Text Analysis. 6erlin 8alter de ‹rugter' /@C(00B. ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜. $0GG2% An Introduction to Functional ‹rammar. London dward Arnold. "alliday' +.A.. and 9u7uiya "asan $/?™B% Language' :ontext' and Text Aspects of Language in Social(semiotic Perspective. ‹eelong' ~ictoria )eakin Eniversity Press. Imperiani' .).A. 0G/2. SƒST+I: FE*:TI*AL LI*‹EISTI:S $"alliday,s Functional ‹rammar%

16

Appendi. (

1ellow 3 Processes 4lue 5 Transitive6ntransitive ver#s %ed 5 Agent6Acted upon

/. The magnificent master of the greatest lack magic powers. 0. All the prolems are solved $material% through the charms of "anuman' alkan Shiv Shankar and many others )utas. 1. If you are suffering $mental% from any king of worries or want $mental% to fulfill $material% your desires which you could not fulfill $material% y trying your est. 2. A message of 5oy for the despaired $mental% and hopeless people B. ~oodooisitic studies and lack magic are $relational% facts and so the life and death of a man is $relational% related to these knowledge. C. The people who has ecome $material% despair and hopeless from false promises of claimants. @. If anything is worrying $mental% you' then don!t wait $ehavioural% for today and ask $material% us anything you want $mental% to' right now.


17

™. 8e give $ehavioural% /GG– guarantee and confidentiality. nowledge is $relational% that which affects $material% across the seven rivers. ?. If you have $relational% prolems regarding> marriage' love affairs' family disputes' friendship' rivalry' effect of charms or any other thing' /G. Then contact $material% us' considering $mental% it last hope' for surety solution in no time.


18

Appendi. ,


/. Prayer opens $material% the doors of lessings 0. The master of removing $material% and returning $material% of lack magic 1. ‹et solved $material% your prolems at home in the name of Allah *o claim' *o challenge' *o completion and reward 2. 8e do $material% as we say $veral%' your prolems regarding> love' marriage' to repress husand or wife' marriage hurdles' usiness ostacles $is solved $material%% B. very work $is $relational% done% with confidentiality. C. See $mental% for yourself the charms working against you.


19

Appendi. -


/. There is $existential% not such a prolem in the world which has $relational% no solution. 0. :ontrol $mental% the heart and soul of your eloved through the power of guardian angels 1. ‹et solved $material% all the worldly and spiritual prolems from any place in the world 2. )ispleased $people% will shake $material% hands. B. Separated will meet $material%. C. The marriage proposal will come $material% from your choice. @. The one who amends $material% roken hearts. 6usiness troules' usiness ostacles and the flop of running usiness ™. *o work is done $material% without payment;donation. ?. The people who are worried $mental% due to offsprings and face $mental% ostacles in the marriages of males and females or don,t find $mental% a good marriage proposal


20

for those +uhammad "ussain asor,s marriage charms that work $material% miraculously is $existential% only availale. /G. Performative $material% act. //. Proposal $will come $material%% from good possession. /0. Istikhara $asking Allah to help one make a choice% which is ased $mental% on reality. /1. To get $material% rid of all the calamities and catastrophes' your one contact is $relational% enough' /2. ‹et done $material% you work with guarantee and confidentiality.

Systemic Functional Linguistics of Three Newspaper

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