Exploring Syntactic Derivation: Analysis of Clause Projections in Undergraduate Students' Requests

Abstract

Students’ request clauses are widely studied pragmatically. However, limited syntactic analysis has been observed. The present study utilized a descriptive qualitative research design to syntactically analyze the maximal projections and recursions of thirty-two (32) request clauses sent by undergraduate students to their professors. The clauses included in this study are all written in English. The analyzed clauses of students often use the Tense Phrase (TP) and the Complementizer Phrase (CP) to project their requests. Furthermore, the paper’s request clauses usually merge an Infinitival Tense Phrase with a Finite Tense Phrase. This made TP the most recurring projection. Conversely, CP did not recur frequently, as it is commonly used as a projection through Tense-to-Complement (T-to-C) Movement. It is concluded that students utilize this principle when framing an indirect request. Meanwhile, they use TP as the head projection of their requests when constructing a direct request. Moreover, both syntactic strategies are initiated using modal verbs. Therefore, it is inferred that the request clauses of the students use modal verbs as the head act of their requests. Finally, a comparative study between various contexts of request is recommended to have a holistic understanding of the syntactic features present in request clauses.