CLAUSE COMPLEX RESOURCES REALISING LOGICAL MEANINGS IN A LITERARY TEXT: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS ANALYSIS

Abstract

This descriptive qualitative-quantitative research attempts to explore in-depth clause complex resources and how they are employed in the construction of logical meanings in a literary text. The data for analysis is “Chapter 1” – “The Period” of “Book the First” of the three-book novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by the eminent British novelist Charles Dickens. The theoretical framework adopted for analysing the data is Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The units of analysis are paratactic and hypotactic clause complexes. Findings of the study exhibit a number of clause combining features, of which four stand out: (1) the text is organised mainly around clause complexes; (2) in terms of TAXIS or degree of interdependency, clause simplexes are linked to one another to form clause complexes mostly by hypotactic relation; (3) in terms of LOGICO-SEMANTIC RELATION or type of interdependence, clause simplexes are linked to one another mostly by expansion mode; and (4) of the three modes of expansion: elaboration, extension, and enhancement, enhancement takes up the largest proportion, whereas elaboration does not feature in the text. The study closes with a summary of the salient clause combining features found in the text, a recommendation affirming the relevance of SFL as a theoretical framework for analysing and interpreting logical meanings of texts in general and of literary texts in particular for teaching, learning and research, and some suggestions for further study.