Coherent Function of Interrogative Mood Metaphor in Academic Discourse: Thematic Progression Pattern Perspective

Abstract

This paper investigated the coherent functions of interrogative mood metaphors in an academic context based on Halliday' model of mood metaphor [1] and Zhu's theory of thematic progression (TP) pattern [2]. With a focus on the strategies of linking the themes and rhemes in the metaphorical clause to those of surrounding clauses, this paper identified three main modes of information flow patterns. In the mood metaphor (S) and the sentence before it (S-1), the information current is often progressed in a concentrated way since the metaphorical questions often serve as enforcements of its former sentence. Concentrated Progression is also often used in the S and the sentence after it (S+1) to answer the previous metaphorical questions, serving the purpose of appealing to authority. Besides, Constant Progression, as a simple liner pattern of message current, occurs in S and S+1 to enhance the reading comprehensibility when introducing a concept to readers or to highlight the key viewpoints as evaluating the proposition in S. This paper has pedagogical implications for academic reading and writing practices of native and non-native researchers.