An Analysis of the Interpersonal Function of Joe Biden’s Inaugural Speech

Abstract

Interpersonal function of language was first put forward by Halliday and it has been added by some scholars, which is one of the three meta-functions of language. It helps us establish and maintain social relationships. This paper analyzes the inaugural speech of Joe Biden based on interpersonal function and conducts both a quantitative approach and a qualitative approach. This research has found: In personal pronoun system, Biden used the first person pronoun most frequently in his inaugural speech. In modality system, medium-value modal verbs were used most, followed by low-value modal verbs and high-value modal verbs. In mood system, declarative sentences were used most often, which made his speech more objective and reasonable. In tense system, present tense appears most often in the speech, followed by future tense and past tense. In evaluation system, different resources have helped to achieve the interpersonal function.