A Transitivity Analysis of Dean’s Message in a University Context: An Analysis of Gender Variations in Academic Written Discourses
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Abstract
According to Halliday's theory of transitivity, readers can completely understand a text by identifying the precise language features that convey the author's purpose and intention. This paper focuses on analyzing a variety of process categories applied in academic written discourse at a university level. However, little research has compared the discourse patterns of male and female professors. Therefore, the current paper aims at investigating and comparing gender differences in academic written discourses between male and female deans’ messages within a university setting. This study adopts critical discourse analysis of Halliday’s theory of transitivity process types, representing the framework for this research. To examine transitivity process types, qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Independent sample t-test has also been used to determine whether there is an effect of gender on the prevalence of transitivity process categories. The results disclosed that material processes are the most prevalent ones in both female and male deans’ messages. Moreover, the results revealed that there is no substantial effect of gender on the prevalence of transitivity process categories. Examining the roles and circumstances of participants could yield more relevant information for future studies.
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References
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