A Meta-Functional Analysis of Interpersonal Grammatical Metaphor in Biden’s State of the Union Address

Abstract

This paper is a tentative endeavor to analyze the functions of interpersonal grammatical metaphor used in Biden’s 2022 State of the Union Address based on the theoretical framework which is composed of interpersonal grammatical metaphor theory and the theory of meta-functions within systematic functional grammar. The interpersonal grammatical metaphor used in this speech is examined from two aspects as metaphors of mood and modality. Quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis are both employed to reveal the linguistic characteristics as well as the interpersonal meaning hidden in the speech, aiming at explore the meta-functions of interpersonal grammatical metaphor so that the understanding of the speech content is deepened. The research has found out that metaphor of modality is the preferred type of interpersonal grammatical metaphor in the chosen linguistic text, which mostly serves to express the speaker’s evaluation of a proposition. The metaphor of mood accounts for a lower proportion, which is mainly used to express the address function. The functions of these two types of interpersonal grammatical metaphor are mainly within the scope of interpersonal meta-function, which relates to interact with others in order to establish and maintain the social relationship. This linguistic research proves the necessity and significance of the existence of grammatical metaphor theory and to some extent enriches the research of interpersonal grammatical metaphor in spoken discourse.