A Comparative Study of Style and Content in Golestan & Baharestan on the Basis of Ideational Metafunction

Abstract

For the analysis of any text based on Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), three matafunctions are considered: textual, interpersonal, and ideational. The ideational matafunction is divided into experiential and logical functions. In experiential function, language expresses the experiences of the outside world. The product of this function is transitivity that is used to specify different types of processes found in the verb. In the present study, after analyzing randomly selected anecdotes and wisdoms in Golestan and Baharestan, the differences between the applications of verbs in the two texts were analyzed using experiential function. Despite the significant differences in Sa’di and Jami’s writing style, the results of comparing selected parts indicated less application of behavioral and existential processes, and more frequency of relational and material processes. As a result, it may be concluded that although Sa’di and Jami have not discussed the origins of the issues in the two works, they have given greater consideration to the actors’ behavior as well as their account of events. It suggests that the use of different types of processes depends more on the content of the two works than on their writing style and linguistic characteristics.

Keywords

• golestan
• baharestan
• systemic functional grammar
• ideational matafunction