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Father identities constructed through meaning choices: a systemic-functional analysis of fathers’ letters in Dad Where Are We Going

  • Xueyan Yang

    Xueyan Yang is Professor of English and Linguistics at Fudan University, China. Her research interests include systemic functional linguistics, (methods of) discourse analysis, stylistics and applied linguistics. Her major publications include Modelling Text as Process (Continuum, 2010) and over 30 articles published in refereed journals on topics such as logogenesis, interpersonal grammar, dialogic ellipsis, classroom interaction, identity construction and drama stylistics.

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Published/Copyright: April 25, 2017

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of letters written by two fathers to their daughters in the highly acclaimed Chinese reality TV show Dad Where Are We Going, exploring how father identities are constructed through meaning choices in language use. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics, three inter-related coding schemes were developed: Speech Function (what is done), Experience (what is said) and Evaluation (how things said are evaluated). After the letters were coded, quantitative analyses were conducted of all meaning choices – realized in lexicogrammatical forms – made by the two fathers in their letters. The results reveal meaning features that function to construct the two fathers’ identities: one as a sensitive and devoted “servant”, willing to do all he can for the physical and emotional well-being of his daughter, meanwhile inclined to self-criticism and hoping to improve his performance; and the other as a perceptive and dedicated “mentor”, aware of both strong and weak points of his daughter and concerned with her personal development, setting out specific qualities and behaviors for her to acquire. The analysis demonstrates how a systematic analysis of one’s meaning choices, supported by linguistic evidence, helps to avoid selective attention to certain discourse features, apart from shedding new light on identity construction.

Funding statement: This study is supported by a special research grant from Fudan University (Grant No. IDH3152011).

About the author

Xueyan Yang

Xueyan Yang is Professor of English and Linguistics at Fudan University, China. Her research interests include systemic functional linguistics, (methods of) discourse analysis, stylistics and applied linguistics. Her major publications include Modelling Text as Process (Continuum, 2010) and over 30 articles published in refereed journals on topics such as logogenesis, interpersonal grammar, dialogic ellipsis, classroom interaction, identity construction and drama stylistics.

Acknowledgments

My special thanks go to Siqi Zhao for her help during the data-coding stage of the study, and to the anonymous reviewers for their comments and constructive suggestions that helped me so much in improving the manuscript.

Appendix: conventions used

words

The primary participant is underlined.

words

The process is italicized.

words

The secondary participant is both underlined and italicized.

E

Evaluated

Indicates a relationship with the grammatical environment

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Published Online: 2017-4-25
Published in Print: 2017-5-1

© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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