ANALYSIS OF THANK YOU M’AM: HALLIDAY’S METAFUNCTIONS

Three meta-functions of language are identified by M. A. K. Halliday in Systemic Functional Linguistics, i.e. the ideational function, the interpersonal function and the textual function. Each of the three metafunctions is about a different aspect of the world. The ideational metafunction is about the natural world in the broadest sense, including our own consciousness. The interpersonal metafunction is about the social world, especially the relationship between speaker and hearer. The textual metafunction is about the verbal world, especially the flow of information in a text. The short story “Thank You M’am” is stylistically analyzed applying the three Metafunctions of Halliday to find out if this analysis helps in better understanding of the text.