外语-英语- 20096520-杨越森-电影《国王的演讲》中对话的人际功能分析

An Analysis of Interpersonal Function of the Dialogues in the Film The King’s Speech By Yang Yuesen Submitted to the School of Foreign Studies in Partial Fulfillment to the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English (International Trade) Under the Supervision of Associate Professor Li Jiayu June, 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all those who have offered me so much support and encouragement in the process of writing this thesis. My sincere gratitude goes first and foremost to my respectable supervisor, Associate Professor Li Jiayu, who has given me great encouragement and provided me with valuable suggestions in the process of composing this thesis. Without her enlightening instruction, this paper would be impossible. My heartfelt thanks also go to other professors and teachers in the School of Foreign Studies of Hefei University of Technology, whose instructive courses and lectures are of great help to cultivating my perception and ability for future academic research. Finally, I am deeply indebted to my parents, whose constant love, care and encouragement have always been the source of my energy and determination to fulfill tasks in my life. I also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and fellow classmates, who gave me great help in both my study and my life. An Analysis of Interpersonal Function of the Dialogues in the Film The King’s Speech Abstract: The key concept of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar is meta-function, which consists of ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function. Interpersonal function means that language is used to interact with other people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to express our own viewpoints on affairs in the world, and to elicit or change others’ opinions and behaviors. This paper aims to explore the linguistic realizations of interpersonal function of the dialogues in the film The King’s Speech, the Best Picture in the 83rd Oscar ceremony, from the three aspects of mood type, modal operator and vocative address by adopting both quantitative and qualitative methods. The significances of successful realizations of interpersonal function to the role characterization, plot development and thematic construction in the film will also be demonstrated, thus deepening the understanding and appreciation of the film. The whole paper is made up of four chapters. Chapter One introduces the film The King’s Speech and the interpersonal function in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar. Literature review is also presented in this chapter. Chapter Two mainly analyzes dialogues between Bertie (King George VI) and his speech therapist Lionel Logue and investigates the realizations of interpersonal function of the dialogues from the perspectives of mood type, modal operator and vocative address by adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Chapter Three rea als the significances of successful realizations of interpersonal function to the role characterization, plot development and thematic construction in the film. Finally, a conclusion is given to summarize the whole paper. Key Words: Interpersonal function; The King’s Speech; Mood type; Modal operator; Vocative address 电影《国王的演讲》中对话的人际功能分析 摘要：韩礼德系统功能语法的一个重要概念是元功能理论，包括概念功能、人际功能和语篇功能。人际功能指语言能够让我们与他人交往，建立和保持人际关系，表达说话者的观点并影响或改变听话者的观点和行为。本文旨在通过采取定量和定性的分析，从语气类型、情态助动词和呼语三方面探究第83届奥斯卡最佳影片《国王的演讲》中主要人物对话的人际功能语言实现形式，揭示人际功能的成功实现对电影中的人物塑造、情节发展和主构建的意义，从而深化对电影的理解和欣赏。 总共分为四章。第一章介绍了电影《国王的演讲》，韩礼德系统功能语法中的人际功能及文献综述。第二章主要分析伯蒂(国王乔治六世)和他的语言治疗师莱纳尔·罗格之间的对话，通过采取定量和定性的分析方法，从语气类型、情态助动词和呼语方面探究人际功能在对话中的实现。第三章揭示了人际功能的成功实现对电影中的人物塑造、情节发展和主题构建的意义。最后一章对全文进行了总结。 关键词：人际功能，《国王的演讲》，语气类型，情态助动词，呼语 Contents Acknowledgements    i Abstract    ii Key Words    ii 摘要    iii 关键词    iii Contents    iv Chapter One  Introduction    1 1.1 Introduction to The King’s Speech    1 1.2 Introduction to interpersonal function in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar    1 1.3 Literature review    2 Chapter Two  Analysis of Realizations of Interpersonal Function in The King’s Speech    3 2.1 Mood type    3 2.1.1 Definition of mood type    3 2.1.2 Realization of interpersonal function by mood type    3 2.2 Modal operator    6 2.2.1 Definition of modal operator    6 2.2.2 Realization of interpersonal function by modal operator    6 2.3 Vocative address    9 2.3.1 Definition of vocative address    9 2.3.2 Realization of interpersonal function by vocative address    9 Chapter Three  Significances of Successful Realizations of Interpersonal Function in The King’s Speech    13 3.1 Significance to the role characterization    13 3.2 Significance to the plot development    14 3.3 Significance to the thematic construction    15 Chapter Four  Conclusion    17 Bibliography    18 Appendix    19 An Analysis of Interpersonal Function of the Dialogues in the Film The King’s Speech Chapter One  Introduction 1.1 Introduction to The King’s Speech The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, is a British historical drama film which won the Best Picture, the Best Director, the Best Actor and the Best Original Screenplay in the 83rd Oscar ceremony. Its screenplay is written by David Seidler. The story is based on the real life of King George VI of Britain (acted by Colin Firth) in the history. King George VI suffers from an acute stammer before his accession and can not make a public speech to fulfill the obligation as a royal member. He almost gives up hope of a cure, but then he engages the help of an Australian unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (acted by Geoffrey Rush). Before the World War II, he accedes as King George VI at a critical moment. With the unremitting sincere help of Lionel Logue both physically and psychologically, King George VI overcomes his stammer and succeeds in delivering a radio address upon the declaration of war with Germany which inspires people’s fighting spirit. King George VI and Lionel remain friends for the rest of their lives. Since “Bertie” is the family nickname of King George VI which is mostly addressed by Lionel in the film, the author will use “Bertie” to refer to King George VI in the following chapters in order to facilitate the readers’ understanding. 1.2 Introduction to interpersonal function in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) is founded by the English linguist M. A. K. Halliday, targeting at explaining the internal relations in language as a system network and revealing that language is a means of social interaction by taking actual uses of language as the object of study (胡壮麟 2011:288). In Hallidayan functional grammar, an essential part of SFG, language has three meta-functions which are used as the basis for exploring how meanings are created and understood. These meta-functions are ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function (Halliday 2008:29-30). Among them, the interpersonal function is defined as “an interactive event involving speaker, or writer, and audience” (Halliday 2008:106). In other words, language plays a role of setting up and maintaining appropriate social relations, and indicates the roles of the participants in communication. And “it is also a proposition, or a proposal, whereby we inform or question, give an order or make an offer, and express our appraisal of and attitude towards whoever we are addressing and what we are talking about” (Halliday 2008: 29). Based on Halliday’s study, another famous functional scholar Thompson further interprets interpersonal function as our use of language to “interact with other people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change theirs” (2008:30). On the whole, the interpersonal function not only embodies the speaker’s identity and status, but also shows his or her attitude, motivation or inference to the surroundings. According to Halliday’s theory, the interpersonal function of language can be realized lexico-grammatically by mood type, modal operator and vocative address, which are particular elements of the clause. 1.3 Literature review The previous studies on the film The King’s Speech are rather limited both at home and abroad as the film was first released in the year 2010. Most of the studies are restricted in film reviews. Other representative academic researches are listed below. Based on the cultural context theory, Yan Xiaoqian (2012) from Dalian University of Foreign Languages analyzes two Chinese subtitle translation versions of The King’s Speech from mainland and Taiwan respectively in her Master’s thesis. Yang Qing (2012) from Donghua University analyzes the dialogues in The King’s Speech from rhetorical perspective. Zhang Ping (2012) from Harbin Engineering University explores meta-pragmatic functions of discourse markers in the film. Zhou Yi (2012) from Qujing Normal University analyzes the functions of hedges by taking The King’s Speech as the case. Ma Guihua (2013) from Xi’an International University studies interpersonal metaphors of the dialogues in the film. Gong Min (2013) from Guangxi Normal University probes into the British culture presented in the film. Based on the framework of Halliday’s theory of interpersonal function, this paper is to explore the dialogues in The King’s Speech from the perspectives of mood type, modal operator and vocative address by adopting both quantitative and qualitative methods and the significances of successful realizations of interpersonal function to the role characterization, plot development and thematic construction will also be illustrated. This research will definitely improve people’s appreciation of the film. Chapter Two  Analysis of Realizations of Interpersonal Function in The King’s Speech 2.1 Mood type 2.1.1 Definition of mood type Mood is a component of a clause which plays an important role in realizing interpersonal function. It consists of two parts: “the subject, which is a nominal group, and the finite operator, which is part of a verbal group” (Halliday 2008:111). Determined by the order of the subject and finite, different mood types can be divided into two categories: the indicative and the imperative. The former also includes the declarative, the interrogative and the exclamative. (Halliday 2007:159) 2.1.2 Realization of interpersonal function by mood type In this part, the author will mainly analyze different mood types of the two dialogues between Bertie (King George VI) and his speech therapist Lionel Logue. The investigation will be carried out through the analysis of number of clauses, declaratives, interrogatives, imperatives, exclamatives and clauses ended with exclamation marks. By using mood types in the mood system to analyze dialogues, we can observe much more characters of and the relationship between the protagonists. The context of dialogue one is the first meeting between Bertie and Lionel which ends on a sour note with Bertie declaring his condition hopeless and dismissing Lionel. Later, Bertie returns to Lionel and Lionel attempts to probe the psychological roots of Bertie’s stammer, inclining his ear to Bertie’s account of pressures in the childhood. This is the setting of dialogue two. Table 2-1 The number of mood types used in dialogues between Bertie and Lionel Dialogue Mood type Dialogue 1 Dialogue 2 Bertie Lionel Bertie Lionel Clauses 117 106 48 69 65 41 Declaratives 28 42 54 23 Interrogatives 6 18 3 12 Imperatives 3 5 0 5 Exclamatives or clauses ended with exclamation marks 8 1 2 0 Other types 3 3 6 1           a. Number of clauses Eggins and Slade (2006) adopt Halliday’s theory to detect the realizations of interpersonal function in casual conversation. In the book Analyzing Casual Conversation, the number of clauses a character talks indicates the power position and relative importance a character holds in a conversation (Eggins and Slade 2006:111). In dialogue one, 48 clauses are announced by Bertie and the rest 69 clauses are all uttered by Lionel. Lionel’s use of clauses is almost one and a half times as many as that of Bertie’s. These data show that in dialogue one, Lionel plays a dominate role in the interaction while Bertie is in a subordinate position. This reflects Lionel’s leading position in the doctor-and-patient relationship. In order to make the treatment work, Lionel keeps exploring the reason of Bertie’s stammer by asking and explaining. However, as a royal member who enjoys a superior social status, Bertie is definitely reluctant to answer especially personal questions raised by Lionel. On the contrary, in dialogue two, Bertie utters 65 clauses which are more than he does in dialogue one. Compared with Bertie, Lionel just utters 41 clauses which only account for three-fifths of Bertie’s utterances and also less than his own utterances in dialogue one. This change of predominate role in the conversation is due to Bertie’s account of his traumatic experience as a child. Lionel becomes a good listener for understanding his patient’s inner feelings, so his utterances at this stage deduce. b. Declaratives The main function of declarative clause is to initiate talk exchanges, to express the speaker’s idea or attitude or to provide information. Eggins and Slade point out that “full declarative clauses are typically used to initiate conversational exchanges by putting forward information for negotiation and thus they construct the speaker as taking on an active, initiatory role in the talk” (2006:85). In dialogue one, the number of Lionel’s declaratives is bigger than Bertie’s, which suggests that Lionel plays a more active role in the interaction. He tries to engage Bertie in the conversation by giving information, such as “I assure you, no infant starts to speak with a stammer.” (Net.1.) But Bertie is not interested in Lionel’s treatment and thus only responds passively by uttering fewer clauses. Conversely, Bertie utters more than twice the number of Lionel’s declaratives in dialogue two. He takes a more active role in the exchange by telling about the pressures of his childhood. In contrast, Lionel only wants to know the facts to find the cause of Bertie’s stammer, so he speaks less than Bertie and acts as a supporting role in this dialogue. c. Interrogatives Interrogative clauses are typically used to initiate an exchange by requesting information from other interactants (Eggins and Slade 2006:85). In dialogue one and dialogue two, interrogatives uttered by Lionel are three times and four times as many as Bertie’s respectively. Taking the doctor-and-patient relationship between the two protagonists into consideration, Lionel, the doctor, takes the initiative role in their dialogues by raising more questions which are in turn dependent on the response of Bertie as the patient. d. Imperatives Imperatives often function to make commands, namely to demand that someone does something. This kind of clause positions the speaker as “having some power over the addressee” (Eggins and Slade 2006:88). Apart from being used to command, imperative clauses also have functions to make a suggestion, persuasion or plea. Those imperative clauses adopted by Bertie and Lionel convey different interpersonal meanings. In dialogue one, Bertie utters three imperative clauses and Lionel speaks five. This does not mean that Lionel has a superior position in the conversation, because three of Lionel’s imperatives begin with a polite expression “please”: “Please, make yourself comfortable.”, “Please, call me Lionel.” and “Please keep it as a souvenir.” (Net.1.) However, the imperatives uttered by Bertie are more injunctive: “Don’t tell me!”, “Don’t be ridiculous.” and “Stop calling me that!” (Net.1.) They are used out of rage. It is evident that Bertie places him in a superior social position and regards Lionel as an ordinary one among the rank and file. In dialogue two, Lionel makes 5 imperative clauses but Bertie makes zero. This reflects that Bertie changes his attitude towards Lionel from repulsion to acceptance, and turns to help. Four of imperatives adopted by Lionel are used as persuasion to encourage Bertie to sing as a helpful way to express: “Try singing it.”, “Sing it then.”, “Give me the chorus.” and “Try ‘Camptown Races’ then.” (Net.1.) This also reveals Lionel’s dominant position in the doctor-and-patient relationship. e. Exclamatives and clauses ended with exclamation marks Exclamatives and clauses ended with exclamation marks fulfill a function as conveying various emotions of speakers, such as anger, surprise, pleasure, sorrow and so on. These emotions are usually strong and passionate. In the two dialogues, Bertie uses a lot more such clauses than Lionel, which are in accordance with his temper. “Because I bloody well stammer!”, “It’s my defect!”, “I don’t care!”, “I can’t read!” (Net.1.) Take the above clauses for example, Bertie’s quick temper reflects his inner frustration of his stammer to a certain extent. According to the analysis of mood type in the dialogues between Bertie and Lionel, we can observe the change of relationship between the two characters from strangers to friends and some typical personalities of each character are also revealed. 2.2 Modal operator 2.2.1 Definition of modal operator Modality is considered as a major component realizing interpersonal function in Systemic Functional Grammar. It involves degrees and scales. Halliday establishes three basic values to formalize the modal judgment: “high, median and low” (2008:620). As an important way to realize modality, modal operators are classified by Halliday on the dimension of value, which can be shown in the following table. Table 2-2 Modal operators (Halliday 2008:116,624)   low median high positive can, may, could, might, (dare) will,would, should, shall, is/was to must, ought to, need, has/had to negative needn’t, doesn’t/didn’t+need to, have to won’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t, shan’t, (isn’t/wasn’t to) mustn’t, oughtn’t to, can’t, couldn’t,(mayn’t, mightn’t, hasn’t/hadn’t to)         2.2.2 Realization of interpersonal function by modal operator Since modal operators are key elements to express modality in Halliday’s modality system, the author will focus on modal operators to make an analysis of eight dialogues between Bertie (King George VI) and his speech therapist Lionel Logue. Social status and personalities of the characters will be revealed in this research by adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches. To investigate the interpersonal function of modal operators in detail, first we will use a quantitative approach to give a general picture of the frequency and values of the modal operators used by characters and then we will make an analysis of some typical modal operators adopted by each character in specific contexts. Table 2-3 Frequency and values of the modal operators used by Bertie and Lionel   Bertie Lionel   Modal operators Total number Proportion Modal operators Total number Proportion High can’t (12) couldn’t (2) had to (2) have to (1) must (1) 18 34% must (4) can’t (3) had to (2) mightn’t (1) need (1) 11 22% Median would (7) wouldn’t(5) will (4) shall (4) be to (2) shan’t (1) 23 43.4% will (8) would (3) be to (2) shall (2) should (1) won’t (1) 17 34% Low can (8) could (2) might (1) may (1) 12 22.6% can (11) could (6) don’t have to (2) may (1) need not (1) don’t need to (1) 22 44%               The table is based on the analysis of eight dialogues between Bertie and Lionel. It shows that the total number of modal operators used by Bertie and Lionel are nearly the same. Modal operators with median value account for the largest proportion of the total number of modal operators used by Bertie, the proportion of which is 43.4%. As for Lionel, the widely used are modal operators with low value, accounting for 44%. Besides, Bertie uses more and a higher proportion of modal operators with high value than Lionel. These differences indicate that Bertie tends to speak in an assertive way, which is corresponding to his high social status. a. Modal operators used by Bertie (1) I can’t possibly read this. (2) I can’t read!  (3) I can’t even give them a Christmas Speech.    (4) Lionel, I can’t do this! (5) Yet I cannot speak! (Net.1.) “Can’t”, which appears twelve times, is the most frequently used modal operator in the utterances of Bertie among the eight dialogues between Lionel and him. Generally, we use “can’t” to express two meanings: disability and prohibition. The above five clauses uttered by Bertie all convey the former meaning: disability. He holds that he has no ability to speak fluently, not to mention the public speaking. He lacks confidence and remains deeply pessimistic about the treatment for his stammer.  (6) Father wouldn’t allow it. (7) She pinched me so I’d cry, and be sent away at once, then she wouldn’t feed me, far far away. (8) If we were equal I wouldn’t be here. (9) I’d be at home with my wife and no-one would give a damn. (Net.1.) “Would” can be used to express futurity, possibility or volition of the speaker. In clause six and seven, Bertie uses “would” and “wouldn’t” to tell Lionel his experience in the childhood. Here “would” is the past tense of will. Clause six portrays Bertie’s father as a domineering person. He forbids Bertie from pursuing his own hobby. Clause seven describes the physical abuse by Bertie’s nanny which Bertie suffers in the childhood. In clause eight and nine, “would” cannot be replaced by will as it is subjunctive. It is used to express expectation which is difficult to come true. Bertie reminds Lionel of his royal identity and superior social status compared to Lionel. In addition, he also expresses his unwillingness to be treated. (10) “Expect I shall have to do a great deal more.” (Net.1.) This clause is uttered by Bertie after his first war time speech. “Shall” is used for predicating the future or showing one’s determination. “Have to” is concerned with an obligation with a high value. Bertie uses these two modal operators to indicate he will deliver much more public speeches in the future to fulfill his bounden duty as the King. We can observe his great perseverance in the face of own defect and strong sense of responsibility towards his nation. b. Modal operators used by Lionel (1) “You can finish that off.” (2) “You can with me.” (3) “Bertie, you can do this!” (Net.1.) Lionel totally uses eleven “can” in the eight dialogues with the highest frequency among the whole modal operators. It is used to express permission and ability. In clause one and two, “can” is used to convey permission. In Lionel’s mind, Bertie’s acute stammer is largely due to psychological defect caused by the shackles of the court. Therefore, he gives Bertie a free rein, allows Bertie to build models and encourages Bertie to sing. In clause three, Lionel uses “can” to emphasize that Bertie has the ability to make the radio broadcast. He attempts to boost Bertie’s confidence and give him a spur. (4) “We need to relax your throat muscles and strengthen your tongue.” (5) “I’m trying to get you to realize you need not be governed by fear.”    (6) “You don’t need to be afraid of things you were afraid of when you were five.” (Net.1.) “Need” is a modal operator with high value, which implies logical necessity, obligation or compulsion. Lionel uses “need” in clause four to express his strong suggestion to Bertie to train himself as advised. This typically reflects that Lionel is exercising his authority as the doctor. In clause five and six, the use of “need” in negative form reflects Lionel’s thoughtfulness for eliminating Bertie’s inner worries. These two clauses both express: it is unnecessary for Bertie to live under the shadow of his father and brother. Lionel instills confidence into Bertie and helps him escape from the shadow of fear in the childhood. After analyzing the modal operators used by Bertie and Lionel, we can realize Bertie’s high social status and prominent characters of Bertie and Lionel are also showed by some typical modal operators in specific contexts. 2.3 Vocative address 2.3.1 Definition of vocative address Vocatives are usually the terms of address to others. According to Halliday, vocative is also an element of the clause as exchange structure, but outside the scope of the mood and residue. By using a vocative, the speaker is enacting the participation of the addressee or addressees in the exchange. This may serve to identify the particular person being addressed, or to call for the person’s attention. But in many dialogic contexts the function of the vocative is more negotiable: the speaker uses it to mark the interpersonal relationship, sometimes thereby claiming superior status or power. (Halliday 2008:133-134) 2.3.2 Realization of interpersonal function by vocative address In this part, the author attempts to explore the realization of interpersonal function by analyzing different vocative addresses in eight dialogues between Bertie (King George VI) and Lionel, which will further reveal the characters of and the relationship between the two protagonists. The author will make a summary of the number of vocatives adopted by each protagonist first and then will analyze some vocative addresses in several conversations excerpted from the eight dialogues. The following tables are made based on the analysis of eight dialogues between Bertie and Lionel, in which the horizontal axis represents eight dialogues and the vertical axis stands for the number of vocatives. Table 2-4 Number of different vocatives adopted by Bertie in each dialogue As shown in table 2-4, Bertie uses six kinds of vocatives to address Lionel. In dialogue one and dialogue two, he just adopts formal vocatives “Doctor Logue” or “Doctor”. Only after the further development of their acquaintance, does Bertie call Lionel by his first or last name. Table 2-5 Number of different vocatives adopted by Lionel in each dialogue The above table shows that Lionel addresses Bertie by four kinds of vocatives, among which the vocative “Bertie” is the most common one used by Lionel during the eight conversations. He only adopts two formal vocative addresses “Sir” and “Your Majesty” once in dialogue one and dialogue eight respectively. Vocatives occurring in different contexts reveal the change of interpersonal relation between protagonists as the plot goes on. The following conversation happens when Bertie meets Lionel for the first time. BERTIE: Aren’t you going to start treating me Dr Logue?  LIONEL: Only if you’re interested in being treated. Please, call me Lionel.  BERTIE: I prefer Doctor.      LIONEL: I prefer Lionel. What’ll I call you?  BERTIE: Your Royal Highness, then Sir after that.      LIONEL: A bit formal for here. What about your name?  BERTIE: Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George.          LIONEL: How about Bertie?  BERTIE: Only my family uses that.          LIONEL: Perfect. In here, it’s better if we’re equals. (Net.1.) In this conversation, the two protagonists talk about how to address each other. Lionel suggests calling him by his first name, but Bertie insists on using more respectful vocative “Doctor”. Then, the casual address term “Bertie” suggested by Lionel is completely out of Bertie’s expectation. Poynton’s study of vocatives in Australian English has suggested that when power is equal, vocative use is reciprocal, otherwise vocative use will be non-reciprocal (1984:1-34). Therefore, mutual use of first name indicates equality and familiarity in interpersonal relationship. Lionel’s suggestion reveals his attempt to establish an equal interpersonal relationship with Bertie as friends without fear of breaching royal etiquette. On the other hand, “address by title alone is the least intimate form of address in that titles usually designate ranks or occupations, they are devoid of ‘personal’ content” (Wardhaugh 1986:259). “Doctor” is a kind of respectful vocative used by the patient in interpersonal communication. “Your Royal Highness” and “Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George” which are usually addressed by the subjects lay stress on superior status of Bertie. Bertie’s insistence on adopting formal vocative addresses reflects his strict adherence to the relationship between doctor and patient and also that between the royal member and common people.  LIONEL: I’ll put on some hot milk. BERTIE: Logue, I’d kill for something stronger. (Net.1.) After father’s death, Bertie falls into deep sorrow. He visits Lionel without appointment and seeks spiritual comfort. The above conversation happens in this context and Bertie uses last name to address Lionel for the first time. This change of vocative usage indicates Bertie’s willingness to treat the doctor as a common friend. Real changes happen after Lionel engages Bertie in a relaxed conversation and listens to his telling of pressures in the childhood. BERTIE: You know, Lionel, you’re the first ordinary Englishman… LIONEL: Australian. BERTIE: ...I’ve ever really spoken to. Sometimes, when I ride through the streets and see, you know, the Common Man staring at me, I’m struck by how little I know of his life, and how little he knows of mine. LIONEL: What’re friends for. (Net.1.) “Using another’s first name is, of course, a sign of considerable intimacy or at least of a desire for such intimacy” (Wardhaugh 1986:260). By adopting first name, Bertie is finally freed from the fetters of superior social status and constructs an equal interpersonal relationship with Lionel. He also grasps the essence of making a friend: true friendship lies in mutual trust and equal treatment regardless of status disparity. LIONEL: Your first war time speech. Congratulations. BERTIE: Expect I shall have to do a great deal more. Thank you, Logue. Thank you. My friend. LIONEL: Thank you... Your Majesty. (Net.1.) The above conversation happens after Bertie successfully makes his first wartime radio broadcast as the King. Bertie refers to Lionel as “my friend” revealing his amiable attitude towards Lionel and also his sincere gratefulness as an intimate friend. Special attention should be devoted to Lionel’s marked change in adoption of vocative. He no longer uses “Bertie” to address the King from the perspective of a common friend, he respectfully calls the King “Your Majesty” showing his esteem from the bottom of his heart. “‘Your Majesty’, which is used in England since the 17th century, is an honorific title used when addressing a king, queen, emperor, or empress” (Dunkling 1990:224). This vocative usage functions as a reminder of a monarch-subject relationship which conveys Lionel’s deep reverence for the royal dignity.      To sum up, the change of vocatives adopted by Bertie indicates the change of relationship between Bertie and Lionel from a doctor-patient and royal member-common man one to an equal one as friends. Lionel’s sincerity and great esteem for Bertie are also revealed in the vocative address analysis. Chapter Three  Significances of Successful Realizations of Interpersonal Function in The King’s Speech 3.1 Significance to the role characterization    The analysis of realizations of interpersonal function of the two characters’ utterances proves that successful realizations of interpersonal function make a significant contribution to characterizing different roles by showing prominent personalities respectively. Bertie (King George VI) is the leading role in the film The King’s Speech, his personal characters are revealed by probing into the essence behind the veil of the royal family. As a royal member, Bertie has an innate sense of superiority and pride. This can be revealed through vocative address analysis. When he first met Lionel, he refused to be called by his family nickname. Meanwhile, he insisted on using formal vocative “Doctor” to address Lionel instead of using first name. We can find that Bertie preserves the royal dignity in front of others and strictly adheres to the relationship between doctor and patient and also that between the royal member and common people. The mood features in Bertie’s utterances show that he has a quick temper. In the part of mood type analysis, after analyzing the two dialogues between Bertie and Lionel, it is obvious that Bertie adopts a lot more clauses ended with exclamation marks which are in conformity with his quick temper. On the other hand, since Bertie takes an active role by uttering more declarative clauses which describe his traumatic experience in the childhood, it is reasonable to infer that Bertie is self-abased and sensitive which are parts of the psychological reasons for his acute stammer. After exploring the modal operators used by Bertie as a whole, the statistics show that “can’t” is the most frequently used modal operator. Bertie doubts his own ability and is extremely lacking in confidence on account of his defect. Despite his shortcomings, Bertie ascends the throne and assumes the duty as the King when the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. Bertie’s strong sense of responsibility leads him to face his stammer, overcome inner fear and finally deliver a successful wartime speech which inspires people’s fighting spirit. As the speech therapist of Bertie, Lionel is another protagonist in the film. Compared with the relative reserved nationality of the British people, the general impression of Australians is considered to be forthright and casual (龚敏 2013:96). During the first meeting between Bertie and Lionel, Lionel interacts with Bertie sincerely without being servile or bumptious. He attempts to construct an equal interpersonal relationship with Bertie as friends. This is revealed by his suggestion to address each other by first name so as to soften the atmosphere. Even though the proposal is rejected by Bertie, Lionel still insists on calling Bertie by his family nickname. As the author mentioned above, Bertie has a quick temper and usually looses control of his emotions. Being quite different from Bertie in this point, Lionel is an even-tempered man. After analyzing different mood types used in dialogue one between Bertie and Lionel, we can find that Lionel remains calm in front of the bad-tempered patient and plays a more active role in their first interaction. Mood type analysis of dialogue two demonstrates that Lionel is a good listener of wide sympathies. He speaks less and sympathizes with Bertie in the pressures of his childhood. “Can” is the most frequently used modal operator in the utterances of Lionel among the eight dialogues between Bertie and him. Lionel shows care for Bertie by allowing him to build models which once was his hobby in the childhood but is entirely forbidden by his father. Lionel also spares no effort to help Bertie recognize his ability to overcome own defect and become an estimable monarch. By adopting other modal operators like “need not”, Lionel assists Bertie in escaping from the shadow of fear in the childhood and revives Bertie’s confidence. After Bertie successfully makes his first wartime radio broadcast, Lionel changes the use of vocative and respectfully calls the King “Your Majesty”. This reveals that in Lionel’s heart, he maintains a distance from Bertie and never oversteps the boundaries of the monarch-subject relationship. We can observe his inner reverence for the royal dignity. 3.2 Significance to the plot development In historical drama film, characters invariably function as agents of the plot and bear certain logical relationship with one another, so that the development of the film usually hinges upon the interaction and conflict between them. The analysis of realizations of interpersonal function of the two characters’ utterances reveals the change of relationship between them, thus promoting the development of the plot in the film. The relationship between Bertie (King George VI) and Lionel is the main thread running through the film. Analysis of different mood types used in dialogue one indicates that Bertie shows no interest in the treatment and plays a passive role in the whole interaction. Some modal operators in Bertie’s utterances also express his unwillingness to be treated by Lionel. During this first counseling session, Bertie insists on adopting “Doctor Logue” or “Doctor” to address Lionel, refuses and even gets angry when Lionel calls him by his family nickname. It is thus obvious that the relationship between Bertie and Lionel remains on the doctor-patient and the royal member-common man level. However, in the part of mood type analysis, Bertie utters more clauses in dialogue two and becomes more active in the conversation. In contrast to the more injunctive imperatives he utters in dialogue one, Bertie makes no imperative clause this time which reflects the change of his attitude towards Lionel from repulsion to acceptance. In addition, he utters more declarative clauses to confide in Lionel by exposing the pressures of his childhood which reflects his great trust in Lionel. At the end of this conversation, Bertie addresses Lionel by his first name and treats him as a common friend. They finally establish an equal interpersonal relationship with each other. 3.3 Significance to the thematic construction To explore the theme of a film makes it possible for us to comprehend the essence of the work in a better way and also enables us to gain a profound perception of life in reality. The investigation of realizations of interpersonal function of the dialogues between the two characters in the preceding chapter serves to construct the theme of the film The King’s Speech. Just as the saying goes, there are spots even on the sun. Indeed, nobody is perfect in the world. Each one of us has a defect in a certain kind of aspect more or less. Some people regard the defect as an insuperable obstacle in life while others look on it as a booster for consistent pursuit of a better self. In the beginning of the film, Bertie is sorely afflicted with his stammer and hopelessly tongue-tied when it comes to public speaking. Through the mood type and modal operator analysis, Bertie’s deep-rooted fear and self-degradation are clearly revealed in front of our eyes. But at the same time, he feels a strong sense of responsibility towards his nation and therefore confronts and struggles with his defect with grim determination. His speech therapist Lionel also spares no effort to remedy his defect and rebuilds his confidence, which can be observed in chapter two. Lionel treats Bertie as a friend at the outset and shows constant sincere loving care for him. With the unremitting assistance of Lionel, Bertie’s stammer becomes a motive force for self-improvement and self-perfection. In the process of correcting stammer, Bertie overcomes inner fear, realizes his own worth and also grasps the essence of making a friend: true friendship lies in mutual trust and equal treatment regardless of status disparity. Through the above analysis, we can grasp the theme of the film: the importance of inner courage, dogged persistence and true love from friends to overcome difficulties in life. Experiencing hardship is an important and unavoidable aspect of any individual’s development of character and competence. Therefore, a certain amount of hardship is necessary in one’s life. On the other hand, we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control our attitude towards what happens to us. If we can believe in ourselves and be positive towards hardship and failure, we will not only bring our abilities into full play, but achieve success finally. Moreover, everyone needs friends in life. A word of encouragement from a friend can take the “t” out of “can’t”, the “un” out of “unable” and the “im” out of “impossible”. That is what friends are for―providing support when we need it, from a roof over the head to a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on. Good friends help us enhance our confidence and free from many difficulties in life. Chapter Four  Conclusion To summarize, this paper proves the feasibility of applying interpersonal function in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar to dialogue analysis and also offers a unique insight into interpreting film works. The thesis has explored the realizations of interpersonal function of the dialogues between Bertie (King George VI) and his speech therapist Lionel Logue in the film The King’s Speech through analysis of mood type, modal operator and vocative address. The analysis proves that successful realizations of interpersonal function make a significant contribution to the role characterization. Prominent personalities of each character are revealed: Bertie is quick-tempered, self-abased, sensitive, responsible and persevering. Lionel is even-tempered, sincere, and neither haughty nor humble in front of bigwigs. In addition, the analysis reveals the change of relationship between the protagonists from a doctor-patient and royal member-common man one to an equal one as friends, which further promotes the development of the plot in the film. Finally, the investigation of realizations of interpersonal function serves to construct the theme of the film: the importance of inner courage, dogged persistence and true love from friends to overcome difficulties in life. It is hoped that the paper can widen the scope of research on The King’s Speech. Due to the limitation of the size and scope, the present research mainly focuses on studying the interpersonal function realized through mood type, modal operator and vocative address. There are still other realization forms of interpersonal function, such as appraisal system and tense system. Further studies can be carried out from these aspects and the findings will be more fruitful. Bibliography [1] Dunkling, L. A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address [M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1990. [2] Eggins, S. and Slade, D. Analyzing Casual Conversation [M]. London and Oakville: Equinox, 2006. [3] Halliday, M.A.K. Studies in English Language [M]. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2007. [4] Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2008. [5] Poynton, C. “Names as vocative: forms and functions” [J]. Nottingham Linguististics Circular 13(1984):1-34. [6] Thompson, G. Introducing Functional Grammar [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2008. [7] Wardhaugh, R. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics [M]. Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell, 1986. [8] 龚敏：“从《国王的演讲》看英国民族电影的回归”[J]，《电影文学》，2013年第6期，第95-96页。 [9] 胡壮麟：《语言学》[M]，北京：北京大学出版社，2011。 [10] 马桂花：“《国王的演讲》中的人际语法隐喻探析”[J]，《电影文学》，2013年第4期，第79-80页。 [11] 闫晓倩：“从文化语境视角研究《国王的演讲》字幕翻译——大陆与台湾地区的译本对文化信息的处理”[D]. 大连：大连外国语学院，2012。 [12] 杨青：“电影《国王的演讲》对白的修辞学研究”[J]，《电影文学》，2012年第7期，第82-83页。 [13] 张屏：“《国王的演讲》中话语标记语的元语用分析”[J]，《长春学院学报（社会科学版）》，2012年第2期，第41-44页。 [14] 周怡：“以《国王的演讲》为例分析英语电影中模糊限制语的功用”[J]，《中国——东盟博览》， 2012年第4期，第30、56页。 [15] Net. 1. Seidler, D. The King’s Speech Appendix Item One  The Two Dialogues Analyzed in 2.1