Import Quotas

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sentences contain linguistic expressions that serve to indicate the illocutionary force of the sentence. To illustrate this, we may consider the following examples:

1) I promise I will not fight again. 2) I order you to stop shouting.

Only certain verbs (which Austin called performatives), like order or promise, have the property of allowing the speaker to do the action the verb names by using the verb in a certain way. Other verbs cannot be used in this way, and thus, for instance, saying „‟I nag you to pick up your clothes‟‟ is not nagging (Green, 1989:67). Searle‟s (1967) later systemization of Austin‟s work, in which he proposes a typology of speech acts based on felicity conditions (the social and cultural criteria that have to be met for the act to have the desired effect), became very influential. Austin and Searle‟s position can be formulated by saying that all utterances not only express propositions, but also perform actions. The illocutionary acts, or, more simply, the speech act, is at a privileged level within these actions. Gricean conversational maxims are relevant to our analysis, but speech act falls outside the scope of this study.

2.8 Theoretical Framework: The Hallidayan Systemic Functional Grammar

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Interactional Sociolinguistics is suitable for our analysis in view of its ability to explicate language switch. The Systemic Functional Grammar is apt for the lexical and grammatical analysis of the interactions.

The Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) is considered apposite for this study in view of its emphasis on semantics and contextetual relations. It is a full blown theory of grammar developed by the British linguist - Michael Halliday- in his 1965 works. SFG views language as a behaviour, matches form to function, places premium on context and examines meaning in relation to context (Halliday 1985). Meaning in relation to context occupies a prime of place in Systemic Functional Grammar.

In consonance with the above, J.R. Firth (1957) opines that meaning is the function of a linguistic item in its context of use. Buttler (1985) validates Firth‟s assertion by saying that although context of situation is central to SFG, it is just one kind of context in which linguistic units could function. He adds that other contexts are provided by the levels postulated to account for various types of linguistic patterning. SFG thus offers us a medium to observe, analyze and account for intra-textual lexical relations. Leech (1985) asserts that examples of such relations are: antonyms, synonyms, hyponyms etc. They all account for contextual meanings. Conversely, referential meaning can be accounted for through endophoric and exophoric references (Lyons, 1979).

Unit, structure, class and system are the four grammatical categories set up by the SFG that demonstrate how relationships between linguistic items can be consistently handled.

Unit accounts for stretches that carry grammatical patterns, while structure depicts an arrangement of elements ordered in places and examines the similarities between successive events.

Deducible from the above is that linguistic units occur purposely in texts to perform certain functions. Language performs three basic functions in texts. One, the ideational function is the expression of context i.e. the expression of the speaker‟s view of the real world and the inner world of his own. Two, the interpersonal function establishes and maintains interpersonal relations that language serves. Three, the textual function shows

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how language provides a link between itself and the features of the situation in which it is used (Halliday 1970).

Moreover, Halliday‟s systemic theory underlies his functional grammar that views grammar as constantly meaningful. Consequently, SFG is a theory of „meaning as choice‟

(Halliday, 1985). It is premised on the vista that language plays a certain role for its users as a social group, thus endowing it with a sociolinguistic nature. Halliday (1985) consequently focuses absolutely on the functional part of grammar which is the interpretation of the grammatical patterns in terms of configuration and function. He asserts this is appropriate for the analysis of both spoken and written texts. Then, language in use and how language is used are the focus. The context of situation and context of culture by which means the meaning of the text is derived exhibit these.

Halliday (1961), therefore, explains the three different levels at which linguistic levels should be accounted for in textual analysis. These are: substance, form and context.

Substance refers to the materials of language, that is, phonic (audible noise) or graphics, which are visible marks. Form is the arrangement of these audible noises and materials into meaningful events, while context accounts for the relation of the form to the non-linguistic features of the situation where language is used.

Form relates at two levels: lexical and grammatical levels. Therefore, the SFG is organized in a manner that the meaning of a linguistic event derives from a combination of its formal meaning and contextual meaning (Malmkjaer, 2002). The contextual meaning is accounted for in its relation to external factors and the formal by its operation in the network of formal relations. Situational variables and appropriate language use are accounted for at the contextual level, while linguistic features are accounted for at the formal level. Consequently, there is an interface between form and function for meaning generation in texts.

Going by the above, the Systemic Functional Grammar is considered apt for the analyses intended in this study. Accordingly, we will examine language use in doctor-patient verbal interactions from the point of view of the SFG.

CHAPTER THREE

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction

This study is situated within Discourse Analysis. This field of Linguistics has the attention of many linguists, hence the array of approaches to it. In actual fact, new approaches have also emerged, partly to fill the hiatus created by earlier methods of analysis. Some examples of these new approaches are Typological Discourse Analysis (TDA), Forensic Discourse Analysis (FDA) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).

Each of them deals with a different social issue.

This section offered a description of the steps adopted in carrying out this study. It discussed the pilot study and explained its relevance to this research. It discussed how the texts for this work were collected and how the data were got from the corpus of discourse interactions. It also discussed the methods of data presentation and analysis.

3.1 Pilot Study and Findings of the Pilot Study

Prior to the conduct of this research, a pilot study (Discourse Functions of the Elements of the Discourse Units in Doctors‟ Verbal Interactions with Patients in Selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria) was undertaken to test the validity and resource potential of the context of this research. It sought to: i)find out if the area of research had adequate resource and potential to warrant a full study of the discourse devices in the verbal interactions between doctors and patients and ii), investigate the possibility of accessing the data and whether the data were analyzable. Therefore, the pilot study started out to get the data and examine the discourse devices employed in doctors‟ verbal interactions with patients in the south-West and North-Central geo-political zones of Nigeria.

The pilot study came up with the following discoveries. The data revealed that the language resource available in the clinical interviews was rich for linguistic analysis because it offered a pool of features to explore therefrom. Concerning language use in the study with particular reference to discourse units which the pilot study sought to research into, the following were discovered:

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(i) Manipulation of the elements of the discourse units enabled doctors to obtain good and adequate information to diagnose the patients.

(ii) Exchange, move and act were the only discourse units involved in the verbal interactions.

(iii) Act is the lowest on the hierarchical rank scale but yet constituted the raw material from which both exchange and move were realised.

(iv) Topic exchanges were initiated by elicitation.

(v) Moves were highly mobile and, when looked at more closely, moves earlier seen to belong to particular acts may actually be seen to belong to others.

(vi) Elicitation was used more than all the other acts as it was the major linguistic tool through which the doctors obtained information from the patients on chief concern (CC), history of present illness (HPI), family history (FH), social history (SH) and other active problems (OAP).

(vii) The successful conduct of the pilot study invigorated the zeal to embark on this research. The pilot study offered a lot of insight into the possible challenges that would have been a cog in the wheel of progress of the study, especially in relation to data collection.