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1. Name: Tan Wenjue (Amanda) Student NO. 16104956G
“Donald Trump, Let Me Ask You”
The Thematic Choice in Khan’s Speech
1. Introduction
Among the many voices of protest against Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering
the United States, the speech delivered by Khizr Khan at the Democratic National Convention stood
out. Khizr Khan is the father of an American Muslim Army solider, Capt. Human Khan, who
sacrificed his life in the Iraq War for his country and was honored by Hillary Clinton as “ the best of
America.” With his wife Ghazala standing by his side, Khizr Khan challenged Trump directly in his
speech and called on people to vote for Hillary Clinton. This short but powerful speech instantly
received considerable attention and the video of the speech (see, YouTube) has gone viral. In
addition to the powerful language, the speech also played on the emotional story with a range of
semiotic resources including the facial expression, gestures, intonation and the impressive wait and
pause before speaking. Given that the speech has attracted so much attention and caused a great
sensation, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at it. In this brief report, I will follows systemic
functional linguistics (SFL) to analyze the speech text and the textual metafuction in particular,
which is a significant conceptualization for SFL. With the textual metafunction as the emphasis,
three aspects on the choice of Theme will be demonstrated specifically: the use of the personal
pronouns, the use of interpersonal Theme and Thematic progression, to deconstruct how Khizr
Khan, the speaker, made clear to us the core essence of his underlying concerns through the
linguistic choices.
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Textual Metafunction and Definition of Theme
As Thompson (2014: 41) argues, meaning is essentially equivalent to function within the systemic
functional linguistics (SFL) approaches to the language study and the meanings are realized through
three metafunctions simultaneously: ideational, interpersonal and textual. The ideational
metafunction uses language to represent the world, the interpersonal metafunction exchanges
information, and it is through the textual metafunction that the ideational and interpersonal
meanings are construed coherently into its social context (Butt et al., 2004: 6; Forey & Sampson
forthcoming). As Butt et al. (2004) interpreted, the textual function organizes the other two
meanings, ideational and interpersonal, ‘as a flow of information that is possible for listeners and

2. readers to process’. This is achieved within the textual metafunction through the system of Theme
and Rheme. Theme refers to what comes first of the clause while the Rheme is all of the rest of the
clause (Thompson, 2014: 147). The definition given by Halliday and Matthiessen (2014: 89)
preferably identified Theme as “the element that serves as the point of departure; it is that which
locates and orients the clause within its context” and the remainder of the message within a clause
as Rheme. Theme and Rheme together constitutes the information distributed within the clause.
2.2 Identification of Theme
When identifying the Theme in a clause, the most typical approach builds on Halliday and Matth-
iessen’s (2014:89) identifications that “Theme extends from the beginning of the clause and up to
(and including) the first element that has a function in transitivity”. This definition of Theme differ-
entiates itself from the work of other scholars, with Davies (1997), Ravelli (1996), Martin and Rose
(2007), Forey (2009) all suggesting that the boundary of Theme needs to include everything up to
the Subject of the clause. By allowing the Subject as part of the Theme, Ravelli (1996:191) argued
that this makes the thematic selections much clearer and helps to evaluate the unfolding of the text.
Therefore, in this article, including the Subject as part of the Theme is adopted to analyze the selec-
ted text so as to have a better understanding of the flow of thematic development through the text
(Davies, 1997; Berry, 1995; Ravelli, 1996; and Forey, 2002).
2.3 Constituents of Theme
As mentioned above, the Theme can be seen as the ideational starting point of a clause which
signals what the message is about. This further shows that Theme must include an experiential
element, either a participant, a process or a circumstance, which labelled as the ‘topical Theme’ or
‘experiential Theme’ within the textual metafunction (Thompson, 2014; Forey & Sampson,
forthcoming). In accord with the three metafuntions of language, i.e. the textual, the interpersonal
and the ideational (experiential), what occurs in initial position within a clause can be categorized
as textual, interpersonal or topical(experiential) Themes, as Shown in Table 1(Halliday 1994: 54;
Ping, A. L. 2004). That is to say, in addition to the topical Theme, textual or interpersonal elements
might be selected to initiate the message within a clause and be a part of Theme. Textual Theme,
normally continuative, structural and conjunctive elements, such as ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘as a result’,
functions to relate the clause to the preceding text. Interpersonal Theme, which is typically realized
through the vocative, modal or mood-marking elements, such as ‘unfortunately’, ‘frankly speaking’,
convey the text producer’s judgements and thus signal a kind of viewpoint from which the

3. addressees are oriented to see the information within the clause (McCabe, A., & Heilman, K. 2007;
Thompson, 2014: 162; Forey & Sampson, forthcoming). If a textual or interpersonal Theme
precedes the topical Theme, we call it the multiple Theme (Forey & Sampson, forthcoming).
2.4 Theme markedness
In English, the Subject is typically picked up as the Theme, and we choose the Subject as the
Theme “unless there is a good reason for choosing something else” (Halliday, 1994: 4). As Forey
(2002) stated, “when the Theme is conflated with the Subject”, such a Theme is then defined as the
unmarked Theme. When the Theme is “something other than the subject” (Halliday, 1994: 4), it
refers to the marked Theme choice.
2.5 Thematic Progression
Thematic progression is another concept within the systemic functional grammar framework and
was first introduced by Danes (1974). It is used to track how the Theme-Rheme system works to
connect the clauses within a text and therefore mold a cohesive and coherent text( Forey &
Sampson, forthcoming). As Thompson( 2014) pointed out, thematic progression helps us to
understand how themes within each clause relates to the previous Themes and Rhemes, and how
these choices work to develop a complete text. Three dominant patterns of thematic progression are
generally identified, including “linear thematic progression”, “constant thematic progression” and
“derived thematic progression” (Danes, 1974: 118; Thompson, 2014: 175). In linear progression,
the Theme of a clause derives from the Rheme of the preceding clause (Thompson, 2014: 175). In
constant progression, the Themes of clauses keep the same, i.e. connects back to the theme of the

4. previous clause (Thompson, 2014: 175). In derived progression, the Themes of the clauses derive
from the hyperTheme (Thompson, 2014: 175).
3. Findings
3.1 The use of Personal Pronoun as unmarked topical Theme
A rough analysis of Khan’s touching speech indicates a preponderance of conscious choice of the
use and shift of “we”, “he” and “you” as the grammatical Subject and the unmarked topical Theme
of the clause. As shown in Appendix I, in the very beginning of the speech text, the speaker
deliberately uses “we” five times successively in the topical Theme positions (from clause 1 to
clause 5). This choice could be interpreted from the intensely personal nature of Khan’s speech.
With his wife Ghazala standing at the side, Khan initiates his speech by identifying his family as
patriotic Muslim Americans which shows their patriotism and loyalty to America. On the other
hand, the use of the inclusive “we” establishes an intimate tie between the speaker and hearers,
which successfully win the support of the audiences by identifying with them as the “in-group”, the
part of the diverse society of America. The use of “we” as the potential subject and unmarked
Theme also can be seen in the last three clauses in which Khan concludes with a clear call on the
listeners to act and do something. By using “we”, Khan claims the shared responsibility for
appealing to the audiences to vote and select the right president (Here refers to Hillary Clinton) for
the Americans in order to build up a better and stronger America. This can be viewed as
ideologically and politically motivated, and can also be illustrated as the speaker throwing the
responsibility on the addressee. From the political perspective, the advantage of thematizing the
personal pronoun “we” lies in the fact that the speaker includes the addresses and establishes a
shared responsibility within this certain groups of people( Bramley, 2001:76f; Håkansson, 2012).
The clauses 11 and 12 see a constant thematic choices of “he” highlighting a conscious contrast
between Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s attitudes towards the disadvantaged groups includ-
ing Muslims, other immigrants, etc. The following part shifts the thematic choice by employing dif-
ferent personal pronouns “you”, signifying the new information as the prominence comes to Don-
ald. The thematic choice of “you”, including the elliptical theme “you” in the imperatives, directly
criticized Trump’s ignorance about the U.S. constitution and blamed Trump for his inaction for the
whole country. As pointed out by Allen (2007:13f), this particular “you” can be a typical way em-
ployed by many politicians to criticize their oppositions.

5. 3.2 The use of Interpersonal Theme
As discussed earlier, the Theme of a clause might comprises some other elements in addition to the
topical Theme, which includes either textual or interpersonal one. In view of the genre as the
political speech, which always expect a certain kind of response to fulfill the speaker’s specific
purpose, the interpersonal dimension of the speech text is therefore more salient. The way to realize
this interpersonal meaning includes the adoption of the vocatives and the finite operators, etc
(Martin et al, 2010: 25). According to Halliday & Matthiessen( 2014: 108), vocative typically refers
to a personal name. As can be seen from the Appendix I, in the Clause13 and Clause 14, Khan
commences his utterance with a vocative, “Donald Trump”, closely followed with “Let me ask you”
and another several repetitions of “Have you” which act as a direct conversation and challenge to
Trump, questioning his understanding of the U. S. Constitution, and even presenting his own copy.
Here the speaker chooses to ask “Have you…?” but does not really expect information, instead he
just wants to make Donald Trump realize his mistakes. The choice of interpersonal Theme here not
only functions as an interaction with Donald Trump but also can be seen as an illocutionary act of
attracting the audiences’ attention and informing them about a “true” Donald Trump, which implies
that voting for Trump is definitely a disaster.
3.3 Theme Progression
As a means to retain cohesion of the text, the thematic progression is a noticeable feature that we
should particularly look at. Throughout the whole text, Khan frequently employed the pattern of
constant Theme, i.e. the Theme of the clause becomes the Theme of the subsequent clause. As can
be seen in the Appendix 2, from the very beginning of the speech text, the speaker, Khan
deliberately exploited the repetition of “We” as the Theme to give coherence to his speech (i.e. from
Clause 1 to Clause 5). Through this continuous choice of the same Theme, Khan seems to establish
and convey the idea that he is also an American, and this is a country which belongs to all Muslim
Americans and other immigrants. In light of the feature of spoken genre, the simple repetitions of
the Theme is easy to understand and effectively impress the audiences. The concluding part of the
text echoes the introductory one, where Khan still employed the unmarked topical Theme “we”
three times successively, presenting the very clear and simple information to all the Americans, i.e.
“we” can solve the problems by joining hands instead of building walls. We are strong together, and
the leader for “us” is definitely Hillary Clinton.

6. The closer study of the Theme indicates that the unmarked choices outnumber the marked one, in
which the topical Theme happens to conflate the Subject. This typical unmarked choice of Theme
seems natural considering that audiences tend to choose simple Themes, both lexically and
syntactically, which again makes contribution to the very smooth constant thematic progression.
The marked choice of Theme does exist within the text, such as “Tonight”, “Like many
immigrants” and “If it was up to Donald Trump” to realize the ideational meaning, which
respectively highlights that the immediate “now” action should be taken, reminds the audiences that
they are all on the same team and rebukes Donald Trump by a conscious contrast with Hillary
Clinton. However, these limited choices of marked Theme are not chief factors which keeps the text
coherent.
4. Conclusion
The textual metafunction analysis of Khan’s speech has revealed that the speakers’ choice of Theme
and his control over the thematic progression exert significant influences on the cohesion and co-
herence at the level of discourse. Combining the power of his son’s story with the carefully crafted
choices of Theme and the thematic structure, Khan made his speech surprisingly effective and suc-
cessful which has struck a chord with many people, and has even been recognized as the most
touching and powerful moment in the convention and the most devastating blow to Trump. The
speech itself has achieved its political concerns through the selection of either simple unmarked
Themes (Subject pronoun as the theme) or the interpersonal Themes. Comparatively limited marked
Themes has been employed as the topic switching devices that allows contrast while introducing
new information. In view of the context of speech, the speaker’s discreet selection of the Theme and
the use of constant thematic progression helps develop the flow of information and creates prosodic
and powerful language. A further detailed research on the varieties of thematic distribution would
be needed in order to fully understand how language is used in the context of speech to convey
meaning beyond words and particularly how the interpersonal meaning within the context of speech
is realized through the language of evaluation and how the speaker can maximally engage a wide
swath of the audiences in order to convey the meaning.
(2,338 words)
References

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Appendix I
Textual Theme Interpersonal
Theme
Topical:
marked
Topical:
unmarked
Rheme
Tonight, we are honored to
stand here as
the parents of
Capt. Humayun
Khan, and as…
to our country.
Like many
immigrants,
we came to this
country empty-
handed.
We believed in
American
democracy—
that with hard work
and the
goodness of this
country,
we could share in
and contribute
to its blessings.
We were blessed to
raise our three
sons in a nation
where they
were free to
be…dreams.
Our son, Humayun, had dreams of
being a military
lawyer.
But he put those
dreams aside
the day he
sacrificed his
life to save his
fellow soldiers.

9. Hillary Clition was right when
she called my
son “the best of
America.”
If it was up to
Donald Trump,
he never would
have been in
America.
Donald Trump consistently
smears the
character of
Muslims.
He disrespects
other
minorities,
women, judges,
even his own
party
leadership.
He vows to build
walls
and (he) ban us from this
country.
Donald Trump, you are asking
Americans to
trust you with
our future.
Let me ask you:
Have
you even read the
US
constitution?
I will gladly lend
you my copy.
In this
document,
look for the words
“liberty” and
“equal
protection of
law.”
Appendix I

10. Appendix 2 Thematic Progression Khan’s speech
(1) Tonight, we are honored to stand here as the parents of Capt.
Humayun Khan, and as patriotic American Muslims with undivided loyalty to our country.
(2) Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed.
(3) We believed in American democracy-
Have you ever been to
Arlington
Cemetery?
Go look at the graves of
the brave
patriots who
died defending
America—-
you will see all
faiths, genders,
and ethnicities.
You have sacrificed
nothing and no
one.
We can’t solve our
problems by
building walls
and snowing
division.
We are Stronger
Together.
And we will keep
getting stronger
when Hillary
Clinton
becomes our
next President.
Appendix I

11. (4) that with hard work and the goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute
to its blessings.
(5) We were blessed to raise our three sons in a nation where they
were free to be themselves and follow their dreams.
(6) Our son, Humayun, had dreams of being a military lawyer.
(7) But he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save
his fellow soldiers.
(8) Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son “the best of America.”
(9) If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America.
(10) Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims.
(11) He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own
party leadership.
(12) He vows to build walls and ban us from this country,
(13) Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future,
(14) Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution?
(15) I will gladly lend you my copy.
(16) In this document, (you) look for the words “liberty” and “equal protection of law.”
(17) Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery?
(18) (You) Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending
America-
(19) you will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities.
(20) You have sacrificed nothing and no one.
(21) We can’t solve our problems by building walls and sowing
division.
(22) We are Stronger Together.
(23) And we will keep getting stronger when Hillary Clinton becomes
our next President.
Appendix III