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3.6.1.1 Identifying Moves
First of all, I divided every piece of e-mail into moves. Halliday identified the move as the unit which expresses speech function, while
Martin 1992:59 defined it as a discourse unit whose unmarked realization is a clause selecting independently for MOOD.
To be consistent with Martin’s definition of a move 1992 and Eggins and Slade’s 1997, I used grammatical criteria for the identification of
move. Thus, such clauses which do not select independently for mood as dependent clauses, embedded clauses and quoting or reporting clauses were
not considered as separate moves, for examples:’Please advice when you can arrange it’ e-mail 1, pair 4, ‘I suppose you still keep it in your factory,
right?’ e-mail 1, pair 5 and ‘Did you send 1 roll as requested?’ e-mail 1, pair 6. The underlined clauses are dependent on the main clauses and
cannot independently select their own moods so that they are not considered separate moves.
3.6.1.2 Coding Speech Functions
After dividing every piece of e-mail into moves, I assigned each move a speech function label using a framework offered by Eggins and Slade
1997. However, as the framework offered by Eggins and Slade is intended for an analysis of a casual conversation, I added to it some additional labels
for some typical moves in correspondence, i.e. compliment and writer’s identity for the closing moves.
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The labeling was done contextually: that is, the function of each move was decided in relation to its relationship to prior moves. Hence, each move
in the initiatory and responsive e-mails was given a speech function label in relation to the prior moves in the same e-mails and each move in the
responsive e-mails was given a label in relation to the function of the corresponding move in the initiatory e-mails which is being responded to,
for example: ’It is about 10,000 kgs per 20 ft container’ e-mail 2, pair 2 is labeled an answer because it is a response to ‘how many kgs per 20t ctnr?’
e-mail 1, pair 2 which is labeled question:open:fact.
3.6.1.3 Interpreting Speech Function Analysis
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