An analysis of micro-structures and macro-structures of six Philippine narrative texts in English

• Main Author: Carreon, Edwina Sacramento
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 1986
• Subjects: Discourse analysis, Narrative; English language > Discourse analysis
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/1305
• Institution: De La Salle University

The dissertation discusses the implications of the micro- and macro-structure results, as well as those of the methodologies employed for analysis on linguistics research, Philippine stylistics, and the teaching of English as a second language to Filipino students. Data consist of 6 Philippine narrative texts in English, 3 of them published between 1936 and 1969 3 between 1972 and 1983. Nick Joaquin, Gregorio Brillantes and Arturo Rotor are the authors of the stories. The dissertation studies two elements of discourse micro-structure (nominal groups and verbal groups) and also analyzes two levels of discourse macro-structure. The analysis of micro-structures focuses on the identification, classification, and quantification of the nominal and verbal groups found in samples taken from the beginning, middle and end of each story. Systemic grammar's concepts of cline and delicacy are used to describe and classify, while quantification is done through frequency measures and other forms of statistical analyses. On the other hand, the macro-structure analysis involves the mapping out of the stories' notional or plot structure and the stories' surface structure, and the analysis of the relationship between these two narrative levels. Longacre's (1983) typology for narrative discourse structure serves as framework for the investigation.Descriptive and ANOVA results show, among other things, that the three writers' later stories contain significantly more of the complex, delicate nominal constructions than their earlier stories. Of the three writers, Brillantes is found to be the most nominal and the least verbal, while Rotor appears to be the least nominal of all. Results also show that the writers are inclined towards a particular pattern of verbal use, each consistently preferring one verbal group over another. Verbal frequency and type appears then to be a consideration in the description of individual styles but not in the description of group styles. The study of the macro-structures reveal that a) both notional and surface structures of the six narratives generally conform to Longacre's narrative structure and typology, and that b) the notional structures are manifested in surface structure by grammatical and rhetorical devices similar to those listed by Longacre (1983).