A Textual Analysis of Selected Text Messages of Male and Female

Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 2(4):290-295 (ISSN:2141-6990)typically includes one or more of the followingelements: a finite verb, a Wh-element, a vocative, oran adjunct (typically an adverb). The interpersonalTheme mainly conveys the writer’s attitude towards,comment on or assessment of the message of theclause. The ideational or Topical Theme is theelement of the clause that expresses some kind ofrepresentational meaning. Technically, it is a functionfrom the transitivity structure of a clause whichimplies that it can be a participant, a circumstance (i.egiving information about time, place, manner, cause,etc, or a process. It is important to remember thatevery clause must contain one and only one topicalTheme. Once the Topical Theme has been identified,all the clause constituents to the right can beconsigned to the Rheme role (Eggins, 1993).Another point we need to make about Theme is toexplain the system in the Theme network thatdistinguishes between Marked and Unmarked Theme.According to Eggins (1993) the term “Unmarked”simply means ‘most typical/usual ‘, while “Marked”means ‘atypical’/‘unusual’. Eggins further notes thatTheme predication is another strategy to producingMarked Themes. To Eggins, all predicated Themesare in some sense Marked, since the subject of theoriginal clause is made Rheme in the predicatedversion. She notes that skillful writers choose MarkedThemes to add emphasis to their texts. As a way ofconcluding, we can distinguish between clausesmarked or unmarked for theme through the elementin the first position, which results from choice theindividual makes- whether it is marked or unmarked.We chose SMS text messages as the data for thisstudy because SMS text message service is one of thecheapest mailing services students can afford. It ispersonal and direct from one person to another. SMSis asynchronous, that is it does not require theimmediate attention of the receiver. It is neitherunobtrusive nor disturbing as cell-phones could beput in vibration during lectures.The objectives of this study are; (i) to identify theThemes and Rhemes of the selected texts messages;(ii) to find out the relationship between Simple andMultiple Themes, and (iii) to find out the relationshipbetween Marked and Unmarked Themes.Systemic Functional Linguistics and the Study ofSMS in EnglishThe approach to the study is Systemic FunctionalLinguistics (SFL). SFL is suited to different analysesin linguistic stylistics because of its usefulness fordescribing actual instances of language use. Apartfrom seeing language as a medium of expression oras a means of communication or interaction betweenindividuals or group of individuals, SFG also viewslanguage as a means of organizing other people, anddirecting their behavior (Halliday 1970). Thisperception of language has been closely related to thedemands that we make on it and the functions itserves. However, the usefulness of a synthesis ofstructural and functional approaches has also beenapparent in the works of some linguists, especiallythe Hallidayan and Prague Schools. To them, theparticular form taken by the grammatical system of alanguage is closely related to the needs that languageis required to serve. This framework deals with theideational functions of language which is concernedwith grammatical resources for constructing ourexperience of the world around and inside us. It dealswith interpersonal function of language which createssocial subjects or identities or the relationshipbetween them, and lastly, it deals with textualfunction of language which gives room for contentand form analysis. This textual function is the targetof this study.METHOD OF DATA COLLECTIOThe data for this study were forty (40) SMS textmessages collected from cellular phones of twenty(20) males and twenty (20) females between the agesof 18-30. The respondents were undergraduatestudents of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ifeand the University of Ibadan, Ibadan. The twouniversities are located in the south western part ofNigeria. The analysis is based on the thematicstructure of the clauses, that is, the theme-rhemeforms. The theme, which is the most important partof a clause, could be Marked or Unmarked; it couldbe Simple or Multiple. The themes were identifiedand analyzed. The percentage total of occurrences ofMarked, Unmarked, Simple and Multiple themeswere calculated using the formula below;Marked Theme (% occurrence) =Total number of Marked Themes x 100Total number of ThemesUnmarked Theme (% occurrence) =Total number of Unmarked Themes x 100Total number of ThemesMultiple Themes (% occurrence) =Total number of Multiple Themes x 100Total number of ThemesSimple Theme (% occurrence) =Total number of Simple Themes x 100Total number of ThemesRESULTS AD DISCUSSIOSThe analysis of themes of female and male SMS textmessages are presented in Tables 1 and 2 below. Theresults show that 51 clauses were marked for theme,this makes the percentage usage of the marked themeof both male and female to be 66%. 29 clauses wereunmarked for theme, and this makes the percentageof occurrences of unmarked theme to be 36%. It isfound out that the percentage of occurrences of theMarked Theme is higher than that of the Unmarked291

Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 2(4):290-295 (ISSN:2141-6990)Theme. This might be due to the fact that thePredicator, the Complement and the Adjunctelements that make up the Marked Themes are morethan those of the ‘Subject’ element in the datacollected.TABLE 1. Analysis of Theme and Rheme of Female SMSThemeClause Theme Rhememarked unmarked simple multiple1 I can hear drums of uncommon successX Xand record breaking excellence2 Alas, thechorusIs chantn ur name X X3 Are u ready to dance? X X4 It is ur turn to excel. X X5 O Allah touch the people X X6 I care for with your mercy X X7 Keep them safe and happy X X8 Remind them of your love X X9 Guide and greatly, especially the one reading this XXbless them message10 Adam and ate luv X XEve11 Romeo & made love X XJuliet12 Julius Ceaser fought 4 lov X X13 While Samson die 4 luv X X14 Valentine also did X X15 what can u do to reciprocate my lov. X X16 After a yr of havg to live without u.,,, X X17 I ’ve realized X X18 I lost me when I lost u X X19 I miss u X X20 I don’t miss u & u alone, X X21 ‘I miss u & m together X XRemember dat young Jewis lad with 2 fish & 5 XX22loaves,23 Love is blind bcos it can not see theimperfection of its partnersX X24 And love can see bcos it only love one person XXperfectly at a particular time25 The sun has no foundation, yet hanging in the XXspace26 Do I hear u say Amen? X X27 Once in ur beautiful life & yet another new & XXexpectant year has just began.28 May God perfect your life. X X29 May all be abundantly regained in this new year XXopportunity lost of your life.in the previousyears30 May all the lay hands on prosper X Xthings u31 Omniscience be at ur sides X XGod32 U will never encounter memory failure andX Xur cyber will never be down in Jesusname33 As kings don’t beg to rule, X X34 princes don’t beg for honour X X35 A lion doesn’t beg its prey for food X X36 U will never beg to succeed in life X X37 D higher u go X X38 Geography claims d cooler it becomes, X X39 May u find ur academic work easier X X40 And, at d end excel in flying colour Amen. X X292

Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 2(4):290-295 (ISSN:2141-6990)be because female are more careful in their choice ofwords in order to be coherent than male. There issignificant difference in the male and female usage ofMarked and Unmarked themes. In the case of theMarked themes, male has higher number ofoccurrences, this might be because most males do notwaste time in making their point in discussions. Theygo straight to the point and thereby prioritize whatthey actually want their audience or reader tounderstand. In the case of the Unmarked themes,female has the higher number of occurrences, thismight be because females by their nature want to sayeverything and this makes them to be more detailedin their expressions.COCLUSIOThis study has been able to reveal the significanceand realization of organizational structure of textmessages using functional linguistic approach. It hasalso been able to explore Marked and UnmarkedThemes in structuring of information in textmessages. It has further showed the interplay ofSimple and Multiple themes. It moreover revealedthat Theme – Rheme were often realized by the samestructural elements in the text messages and theelements that were often given thematic status weremainly realized by nouns and pronouns. It is clearfrom the study that the analysis of componentstextual organization is a tool in enhancing a properunderstanding of texts and pinning down the intendedmessage of writers through what they fronted andgiven thematic status.REFERECESBloor, A. & Bloor M. (2004): The FunctionalAnalysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach (2 ndedition). London: Arnold.Eggins, S. (1993): An Introduction to SystemicFunctional Linguistics: London. Pinter Publishers. Pp45-47.Halliday, M.A.K. (1970): “Language Structure andLanguage Function”, inLyons, J. (ed) New Horizons in Linguistics. England:Penguin BooksHalliday, M.A.K (1994): Introduction to FunctionalGrammar (Second Edition). London: Edward Arnold295