A Transitivity Analysis of the British Queen’s Parliament Speech

This study analyzes the parliament speech delivered by the British queen under the framework of transitivity through the employment of qualitative and quantitative methods. The function and distribution of the transitivity process in the speech are explored, aiming at revealing the linguistic feature of the speech so that the understanding of the linguistic characteristics and the speech content is deepened. The study finds out four process types in the speech, among which the material process accounts for the largest proportion, with the relational process, the mental process and the existential process followed. There is no verbal and behavioral process in the speech. The material process shows the vigorous actions of the government. The relational process makes the power of the government closely connected with the country and the citizens, and the mental process implies the government’s outlook on the future and the confidence to do all the work well. This linguistic pattern shows the seriousness and authority of the speaker and the study concludes that the specific linguistic structure determines the implied meaning of the utterance.