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KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 165

The Relationship Between ’s and Tense Choice in CEO Letters ความสัมพันธ์ของศิลปะการโน้มน้าวใจตามแนวคิดของ อริสโตเติ้ล กับการเลือกใช้ Tense ในสาส์นจากประธานกรรมการบริหาร

Saifon Sa-adkaew (สายฝน สะอาดแก้ว)* Dr.Sasi Jungsatitkul (ดร.ศศิ จังสถิตย์กุล)** John Draper***

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between tense choice and Aristotle’s rhetoric, , and , in CEO letters. First, in order to be able to examine the tense choice in each persuasive , the content of CEO letters was allocated to the three modes following the study on Rhetorical Appeals in Thai Annual Reports by Chakorn (2008). Next, a quantitative was conducted to examine the frequencies of tense choice within each mode by counting the finite verb forms in main and subordinate clauses. Finally, a sentential contextual analysis then followed to explain how the basic meanings and uses of the dominant tenses serve the associated persuasive functions. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that there tends to be a relationship between tense choice and Aristotle’s rhetoric. In addition, the results from sentential contextual analyses showed that the basic meanings and uses of tense choice as defined in general served the persuasive functions.

บทคัดย่อ การวิจัยศึกษาความสัมพันธ์ของการเลือกใช้ Tense กับวิธีการโน้มน้าวใจตามแนวคิดของอริสโตเติ้ล ในสาส์นจากประธานกรรมการบริหาร วิธีการดังกล่าว ประกอบด้วย การโน้มน้าวใจโดยความน่าเชื่อถือของ ผู้เขียน (Ethos) การโน้มน้าวใจโดยการให้เหตุผลข้อเท็จจริง (Logos) และ การโน้มน้าวใจโดยการเร้าอารมณ์ ของผู้อ่าน (Pathos) เพื่อสามารถหาความถี่ของการเลือกใช้ Tense ในแต่ละวิธี ในขั้นตอนแรก ผู้วิจัยแบ่ง เนื้อหาของสาส์น เข้าสู่สามกลุ่มวิธีการโน้มน้าวใจตามการศึกษาวิธีการโน้มน้าวใจตามแนวคิดของอริสโตเติ้ลใน รายงานประจำ�ปีของประชากรในปี2551 หลังจากนั้นนักวิจัยได้หาความถี่ของการเลือกใช้ Tense ในแต่ละวิธี โดยนับกลุ่มกริยาแท้ที่อยู่ในประโยคหลัก และอนุประโยค หลังจากนั้นผู้วิจัยวิเคราะห์เนื้อหาในระดับประโยคเพื่อ อธิบายว่าความหมายและการใช้ Tense แบบพื้นฐานสนับสนุนวิธีการโน้มน้าวใจอย่างไร ผลจากการวิเคราะห์

* Student, Master of Arts in English, of and Social , Khon Kaen ** Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University *** Lecturer, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University 166 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555

หาความถี่ของ Tense สะท้อนให้เห็นว่า มีแนวโน้มของความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างการเลือกใช้ Tense และวิธีการโน้ม น้าวใจดังกล่าว และผลการวิเคราะห์เนื้อหาในระดับประโยคที่ตามมาแสดงให้เห็นว่าความหมายและการใช้ Tense แบบพื้นฐานสนับสนุนสอดคล้องกับวิธีการโน้มน้าวใจดังกล่าว

Key Words: Aristotle’s rhetoric, Tense choice, CEO letters คำ�สำ�คัญ: ศิลปะการโน้มน้าวใจตามแนวคิดของอริสโตเติ้ล การเลือกใช้กาล สาส์นจากประธานกรรมการบริหาร

Introduction suggests that rhetorical function influences When the trading became truly the choice of tense. However, persuasive rheto- international, there was a demand for ric was not included in their studies despite business English courses as the English its counterparts in all and modes of has been used as a tool to sur- [9, 10]. vive in economic competition with other Realizing the importance of persua- countries [1]. However, Thais still have low sion in business contexts, some researchers English proficiency according to the TOEFL have studied persuasive discourse by using the score data summary reported by Educational Greek framework of western rhetoric; i.e., the Testing Service, 2009. According to some error of Persuasive Rhetoric as structured analyses of the compositions and translations by Aristotle: Ethos (convincing by produced by Thai learners, tense misuse is the competence); Logos ( from ); top-ranked error [2, 3, 4, 5]. Therefore, the and Pathos (emotional appeals) [11, 12]. researcher aimed to suggest an effective way Following the Aristotelian Concept of of tense teaching to Thai learners in order to Persuasive Rhetoric, Chakorn [13] ana- solve the problem. lyzed these three modes of in 54 In Thai context, the tense teaching Thai CEO letters. The study showed that and learning has focused on time reference. Aristotle’s rhetoric was an important part of In most text, tense and aspect are intro- CEO letters. However, these studies do not duced in terms of temporal reference despite investigate any relationship between the the that tense serves not only for time three persuasive modes and any grammatical relations, but also for other purposes such structures. as subject matter and rhetorical functions In terms of business English, there in scientific and technical discourse [6, 7, 8]. are many types of written texts such as Realizing the relationship between tenses and business letters, memos, business plans, and purposes, Taylor [7] aimed to identify factors that annual reports (Robinson, 1991 cited in [14]). affect tense choice. He concluded that the An annual report is considered one of many tense choices were associated with the marketing tools. Shareholders and inves- rhetorical functions. Similarly, Martinez [8] tors review it to make decisions on invest- KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 167 ment. However, it is suggested that investors were analyzed by the researcher and a native not only consider the content, but also the English speaker with one year experience of attitudes and intentions of chief executive teaching English to undergraduates officers [15]. The attitudes and intentions are in Thailand. She was trained by the usually presented in CEO letters. Undoubt- researcher using the Handbook for Analysis edly, because of the main purpose to persuade of Persuasion in CEO Letters constructed by readers, the art of persuasion is clearly the researcher based on the result of the study found in CEO letters [11, 12, 13]. by Chakorn [13] and Aristotle’s theory of Considering the important role of rhetoric. In addition, an , the other CEO letters to maintain stockholders’ and native speaker who is familiar with investor’s confidence in a company, the Aristotle’s three obvious persuasive rhetoric in CEO letters, because of his experience in political debate the serious problem with tense use on the as a debater and an adjudicator, was consulted part of Thai learners, and the relationship on how to improve the categories. Following between tense choice and rhetorical functions, the suggestions, the categories for classifica- the researcher that the use of tenses tion (Appendix 1) were improved and ready in CEO letters in relation to the rhetorical for the use in the main analysis. During the functions deserves more consideration. pilot study, not only was the effectiveness of the tool improved, but the researcher (considered to be another user of the research In order to be able to suggest the tool) also acquired additional knowledge of tense teaching in relation to the persuasive the three persuasive modes and was better function, the relationship between tense able to classify the content of the letters into choice and the persuasive modes must be the three modes with 83.75 % of inter-rater examined. Therefore, this study aimed to reliability. In addition to the Categories of identify the frequency of tenses in each mode Persuasive Modes for Classification which of persuasion as defined by Aristotle and to were improved during the pilot study, the explain the relationship between tense choice other research tool was a table for counting and persuasive functions. In other words, both finite verb forms in the corpus. It was qualitative methods and quantitative methods constructed by the researcher and checked by were required. an expert based on the English tense-aspect Before the main analysis, a pilot system from Celce-Murcia and Larsen- study was done to evaluate the reliability Freeman [16]. The research tools were used of the Research Tool, the Categories of in the main analysis containing three main Persuasive Modes for Classification (Ap- stages as presented below. pendix 1). The contents of four CEO letters In the first stage, using the corpus of ten CEO letters from the world’s top 168 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555 hundred multinationals with various lengths the tense occurrence in each mode, consid- from many types of company published ering the tense functions as described by online in 2009, the researcher categorized each Celce-Murcia and associating them with CEO ’s content into Ethos, Logos and the persuasive functions found in the CEO Pathos following the categories of the letters. persuasive modes. Next, the researcher examined finite verb phrases in both main Results clauses and subordinate clauses following The results of the quantitative the research by Taylor [7]. Using the table analysis review the tense choices for the for counting tenses, the researcher classified persuasive modes: Ethos, Logos and Pathos. the verb group by form relying on the Scope In addition, the results of the contextual for Tense Counting constructed by the analysis help to explain how the basic researcher based on the research methodology meanings and uses of tenses support the of Taylor [7], and checked by an expert who persuasive modes. has been teaching grammar to undergradu- To answer the question of which ates for more than twenty years. After that the tenses are dominant in each mode, Table 1 frequency was calculated into percentages and presents the distributions and frequencies of transformed into bar charts, ready to be these forms by mode. analyzed. Finally, the researcher analyzed

Table 1 The distributions of finite verb forms in the three persuasive modes in the corpus of Table 1 Theten distributions letters of finite verb forms in the three persuasive modes in the corpus of ten letters

Verb forms Ethos Logos Pathos Number % Number % Number % 1. PS 177 38.7 216 33.1 151 55.1 2. Pt. S 84 18.4 275 42.1 31 11.3 3. FS 103 22.5 35 5.4 23 8.4 4. PP 43 9.4 53 8.1 22 8.0 5. M 33 7.2 34 5.2 29 10.6 6. PC 16 3.5 37 5.7 12 4.4 Rare 4 tenses 1 0.2 3 0.5 5 1.8 Totals 457 99.9 653 100.1 273 99.6

According to Table 1, even though there is According to the cross-mode , it is not a one-to-one relationship between tense choice and evident that the present simple tense is primarily used persuasive functions, the results of the quantitative in Pathos, the past simple tense mostly in Logos and the analysis show that there tended to be a relationship future simple tense is used mostly in Ethos. Even between tense choice and Aristotle’s rhetoric though it cannot be stated that a tense can be used for (persuasive functions) in CEO letters since the results only one specific mode, this comparison reflects the clearly show that each persuasive mode has dominant tendencies for using certain tenses in certain modes as tenses. Ethos has the present simple tense, the future can be seen in the following bar chart. simple tense and the past simple tense. The past simple and the present simple tenses are dominant in Logos. Pathos contains primarily the present simple tense.

Figure 1 Finite verb forms in the three persuasive modes in the ten CEO letters Table 1 The distributions of finite verb forms in the three persuasive modes in the corpus of ten letters

Verb forms Ethos Logos Pathos Number % Number % Number % 1. PS 177 38.7 216 33.1 151 55.1 2. Pt. S 84 18.4 275 42.1 31 11.3 3. FS 103 22.5 35 5.4 23 8.4 4. PP 43 9.4 53 8.1 22 8.0 5. M 33 7.2 34 5.2 29 10.6 KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 169 6. PC 16 3.5 37 5.7 12 4.4 Rare 4 tenses 1 0.2 3 0.5 5 1.8 AccordingTotals to Table457 1, even though99.9 653 According100.1 to the 273cross-mode 99.6 there is not a one-to-one relationship comparison, it is evident that the present between tense choice and persuasive simple tense is primarily used in Pathos, the According to Table 1, even though there is According to the cross-mode comparison, it is functions, the results of the quantitative past simple tenseevident mostly that the inpresent Logos simple and tensethe is primarily used analysisnot show a one -tothat-one thererelationship tended between to betense a choicefuture and simple tense is used mostly in Ethos. in Pathos, the past simple tense mostly in Logos and the relationshippersuasive between functions ,tense the results choice of theand quantitative Even though it cannot be stated that a tense Aristotle’sanalysis rhetoric show (persuasivethat there tend functions)ed to be ain relationship can be used forfuture only simple one specifictense is usedmode, mostly this in Ethos. Even CEO lettersbetween since tense the resultschoice clearly and showAristotle’s that rhetoriccomparison reflectsthough it the cannot tendencies be stated thatfor ausing tense can be used for each persuasive(persuasive mode functions) has indominant CEO letters tenses. since the certainresults tensesonly in certain one specific modes mode, as can this be comparison seen reflects the Ethos has the present simple tense, the in the following bar chart. clearly show that each persuasive mode has dominant tendencies for using certain tenses in certain modes as future simple tense and the past simple tense. tenses. Ethos has the present simple tense, the future can be seen in the following bar chart. The past simple and the present simple tenses aresimple dominant tense and in the Logos. past simple Pathos tense. contains The past simple primarilyand the the presentpresent simple simple tenses tense. are dominant in Logos. Pathos contains primarily the present simple tense.

FigureFigure 1 FiniteFinite verb verb forms forms in the in three the persuasivethree persuasive modes in themodes ten CEO in the letters ten CEO letters

To explain this phenomenon, a simple tense is used mostly when offering a sentential contextual analysis follows guarantee. To guarantee, the future simple to explain the relationship between the tense is used for giving a promise to the read- rhetorical functions and their associated ers to reassure the readers and to enhance tenses as presented below. In Ethos, the future the of the company. To explain this phenomenon, a sentential tense is used mostly when offering a guarantee. To contextual analysis follows to explain the relationship guarantee, the future simple tense is used for giving a between the rhetorical functions and their associated promise to the readers to reassure the readers and to 170tenses as presented below. In Ethos, the future simple วารสารวิจัยenhance มข. the(บศ.) credibility 12 (1) of the: ม.ค. company. - มี.ค. 2555

TableTable 22 The The basic basic meanings meanings of future of future simple simpleserving theserving persuasive the persuasivefunctions in Ethos functions in Ethos

Persuasive Examples Basic meanings and uses of functions future simple

Guarantee: - We will continue to apply our exploration An to take place at some promise to capabilities.... (L1.22) definite future time

- The Group will also strengthen the overall balance…..(L2.27)

- The Group will continue to place top priority on.....(L2.30)

- We will operate in an environment where the differences between well and poorly managed banks will be more evident. (L6.30)

- …we will buy back about CHF 15 billion of Nestle’s shares during 2010 and 2011,… (L8.44)

According to the examples in Table 2, In Logos, the past simple tense is the writersAccording of the toCEO the lettersexamples reassure in Table the2, the mostly used to Inreport Logos, the the economic past simple overview, tense is mostly used readerswriters of about the CEO the letters company’s reassure thefuture readers action. about the the company’sto report the actionseconomic overview,and its theoperative company’s actions Often,company’s they future promise action. the Often, readers they what promise they the results.and The its writersoperative are results. reporting The writerssituations are reporting willreader dos whatin the they next will operative do in the year. next Therefore,operative year. that alreadysituations happened. that already This happened. tense Thisis used tense is used theTherefore, future the simple future simpletense, tense, whose whose basic basic use use is when operativewhen operative results results are are reported. reported. Some economic isfor for action action taking taking place atplace some atdefinite some future definite time, is economicoverview, overview, policies policiesand nsand are actionsalso written in the future time, is mostly used. It can be said are also written in the past simple tense. mostly used. It can be said that the future simple tense past simple tense. Table 3 illustrates the relationship that the future simple tense is widely used Table 3 illustrates the relationship between inis widelythe corpus used in because the corpus it becauseis usually it is usuallyused toused the sub-functionsbetween the sub of- functionsLogos and of Logosthe basic and the basic promiseto promise the the readersreaders what what action action will take will place take in the meaningsmeanings of the of pastthe past simple simple tense. tense. placefuture. in the future.

KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 171

Table 3 The basic meanings of past simple serving the persuasive functions in Logos Table 3 The basic meanings of past simple serving the persuasive functions in Logos

Persuasive Examples Basic and functions uses of past simple

Economic - 2009 was a year in which the Group faced significant Past condition overview: challenges. (L2.2) economic - The economic environment was challenging for refining and situation, marketing in 2009. (L3.22) economic crisis - In a number of important respects, 2009 was a year of transition. (L7.1)

Operative - To channel our skills more quickly, more effectively and more Completed action in action: action economically, last year I reorganised our business units. (L1.47) the past report - It also strengthened controls over investment, optimised investment portfolios and vigorously reduced costs and improved efficiency. (L2.5)

- We continued to enhance our financial strength during 2009. (L7.20)

Result of - The reliability of our refineries also improved. (L1.4) Completed action operation: - And our cash inflows and outflows were broadly balanced in Past condition financial data, both Upstream and Downstream. (L1.6) improvement, - The profit of S&P “industrial” companies declined 16% in

2009. (L4.35)

According to Table 3, past economic situations; therefore, the past simple tense is found as overview is oftenAccording provided to in Table CEO 3,letters; past therefore, economic arethe many most frequenttimes written tense of Logos.in past simple as the past overviewsimple is mostlyis often used provided for this subin -CEOmode. letters;Also, action andIn the Pathos, situation the presentalready simple occurred tense and is the operativetherefore, action pastand r esultsimple are ismany mostly times used written for thisin appeared.dominant tense.The completedIt is used toactions express and thanks, past show past sub-mode.simple as the Also, action operative and the actionsituation and already result resultscommitment can be to reported society, asshow the requirement in Logos. for occurred and appeared. The completed actions and past continued support, and visualize future prospects. The results can be reported as evidence in Logos. To use of figurative language and the concern of the writer conclude, all mentioned sub-modes involve past 172 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555

To conclude, all mentioned sub-modes involve the requirement for continued support, and past situations; therefore, the past simple visualize future prospects. The use of figura- tense is found as the most frequent tense of tive language and the concern of the writer Logos. to the readers are also found primarily in the In Pathos, the present simple tense present simple tense. These can be seen in is the dominant tense. It is used to express Table 4. to the readers are also found primarily in the present simple tense. These can be seen in Table 4. thanks, show commitment to society, show

Table 4 4 The The basic basic meanings meanings of present of present simple serving simple th servinge persuasive the functionspersuasive in Path functionsos (Cont.) in Pathos

Persuasive Example Basic meanings and functions uses of present simple Thanks: gratitude - Thank you for investing in Chevron. (L3.48) Perception of feelings - We are grateful for your support, and we will prove that occurs at the moment ourselves worthy of your trust. (L4.259) of speaking - I appreciate your continued trust in our company and in our team's ability to innovate and deliver results. (L5.74) - We are profoundly thankful for your support. (L7.25) Commitment to - Chevron’s performance and growth are intrinsically Habitual actions in the society: connection linked with the communities where we operate. present to community, (L3.28) benefit to society - Funds from this program support efforts across the country to help our young people succeed in school and go on to good careers.(L5.63) Anticipation of - Providing solutions requires technical breadth, Fact or general truth support: customer and societal trust.(L4.179)

anticipation for - I look forward to seeing our revitalised organisation investment and succeed in 2010 and beyond. (L1.54) association - Providing solutions requires technical breadth, customer value and societal trust. (L4.179) Visualizing future - I believe we can also achieve good growth in mature Fact or general truth: prospect: positive markets. (L6.105) prediction, implied - But Chevron employees have risen to challenges for promise, more than 130 years…. And I’m confident we will confidence of good continue to do so. (L3.46 & 47) results

to the readers are also found primarily in the present simple tense. These can be seen in Table 4.

Table 4 The basic meanings of present simple serving the persuasive functions in Pathos (Cont.)

Persuasive Example Basic meanings and functions uses of present simple Thanks: gratitude - Thank you for investing in Chevron. (L3.48) Perception of feelings - We are grateful for your support, and we will prove that occurs at the moment ourselves worthy of your trust. (L4.259) of speaking - I appreciate your continued trust in our company and in our team's ability to innovate and deliver results. (L5.74) - We are profoundly thankful for your support. (L7.25) Commitment to - Chevron’s performance and growth are intrinsically Habitual actions in the society: connection linked with the communities where we operate. present to community, (L3.28) benefit to society - Funds from this program support efforts across the country to help our young people succeed in school and go on to good careers.(L5.63) toKKU the readersRes J are(GS) also 12 found (1) primarily: January in the - Marchpresent 2012 simple tense. These can be seen in Table 4.173 Anticipation of - Providing solutions requires technical breadth, Fact or general truth

support: customer value and societal trust.(L4.179) Table 4 The basic meanings of present simple serving the persuasive functions in Pathos (Cont.) Tableanticipation 4 The for basic meanings- I look forwof presentard to seeing simple our serving revitalised the or persuasiveganisation functions in Pathos (Cont.)

investment and succeed in 2010 and beyond. (L1.54) Persuasive Example Basic meanings and association - Providing solutions requires technical breadth, functions uses of present simple customer value and societal trust. (L4.179)

VisualizingThanks: gratitude future - ThankI believe you we for can investing also achieve in Chevron. good (L3.48)growth in mature PerceptionFact or general of feelings truth:

prospect: positive - markets.We are grateful (L6.105) for your support, and we will prove that occursbelief at the moment

Tableprediction, 4 The implied basic meanings - Butourselves of Chevron present worthy employeessimple of yourserving have trust. the risen (L4.259) persuasive to challenges functions for in Pathos (Cont.)of speaking

promise, - moreI appreci thanate 130 your years…. continued And trust I’m inconfident our company we will and Persuasive Example Basic meanings and confidence of good continuein our team's to do ability so. (L3.46 to innovate & 47) and deliver results. functions uses of present simple results (L5.74) - We are profoundly thankful for your support. (L7.25) The use of - They are the ones who give life to the words "people Fact or general truth Commitment to - Chevron’s performance and growth are intrinsically Habitual actions in the figurative language: innovating for people."(L5.72) society: connection linked with the communities where we operate. Perceptionpresent of feelings word repetition, - Americans are angry. People around the world are to community, (L3.28) that occurs at the moment angry.(L4.235) benefit to society - Funds from this program support efforts across the of speaking - As such they are also absolutely aligned with “Good Food,country Good to help Life”. our (L8.53)young people succeed in school and go on to good careers.(L5.63) ConcernAnticipation of writer of - ProvidingCompanies solutions have a clear requires responsibility technical breadth,to treat their Fact or general truth tosupport: reader: employeescustomer value appropriately. and societal (L7.70) trust.(L4.179 )

understandinganticipation for the - WeI look consider forward the to allocation seeing our of revitalised profits to orsharganisationeholders to reader’sinvestment needs, and besucceed one of in our 2010 most and important beyond. (L1.54)management sensitivityassociation to the - responsibilities.Providing solutions (L9.45) requires technical breadth, readers, promise to customer value and societal trust. (L4.179) repayVisualizing the readers future - I believe we can also achieve good growth in mature Fact or general truth: prospect: positive markets. (L6.105) belief

prediction, implied - But Chevron employees have risen to challenges for uses of the present simple tense serve the persuasive promise,According tomore Table than 4,130 there years…. are And I’mexist confident at the we willmoment of speaking. Examples According to Table 4, there are relationships functions of Pathos. It is noted that the basic meanings relationshipsconfidence of good between continuethe sub-functions to do so. (L3.46 and & 47) include thanks to the readers by expressing between the sub-functions and the basic uses of the of the present simple tense which is mostly related to theresults basic uses of the present simple tense. a feeling of gratefulness; a commitment presentBasically, simple the tense. present Basically, simple the simple is used tense to societyfact orby generaltelling thetruth readersmostly ofserve habitual the persuasi ve iswhen used thewhen writer the writer mentions mentions an an action action presently presently or actionfunctions supporting of Pathos society; more thana feeling Logos showwhose- definition habitually or habitually happening happening or a fact,or a generalfact, generaltruth, or ing requirementis a way of for persuasion continued by support, fact. To idea explain the perceptions truth, or perceptionsof feeling that of occur feeling or exist that at theoccur moment or or beliefphenomenon, of the writer the result abouts of the the study economic show that the fact of speaking. Examples include thanks to the readers by about the companies’ operation is mostly reported as expressing a feeling of gratefulness; a commitment to the past action in the past simple tense. society by telling the readers of habitual action supporting society; a feeling showing requirement for Conclusion and Discussion continued support, idea or belief of the writer about the The results of the quantitative analysis review economic situation in the form of the use of figurative the tense choices for the persuasive modes: Ethos, Logos and Pathos. In addition the results of the language; the concern to the readers by the contextual analysis help to explain how the basic of the present situation of the company; and how it will meanings and uses of tenses support the persuasive benefit the reader. To conclude, the basic meanings and modes. 174 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555 situation in the form of the use of figurative of the relationship between the rhetorical language; the concern to the readers by the functions and the dominant tenses show that explanation of the present situation of the the persuasive functions were served by some company; and how it will benefit the reader. basic meanings and uses of their associated To conclude, the basic meanings and uses of tenses. the present simple tense serve the persua- To conclude, this study supports the sive functions of Pathos. It is noted that the hypothesis that tense choice can be related to basic meanings of the present simple tense the persuasive functions (Aristotle’s rhetoric) which is mostly related to fact or general in CEO letters. In agreement with studies [7, 8, truth mostly serve the persuasive functions 17, 18], the present study shows that the of Pathos more than Logos whose definition rhetorical uses of tense in CEO letters can is a way of persuasion by fact. To explain the also be explained by temporal factors and by phenomenon, the results of the study show the basic meanings of the tenses. that the fact about the companies’ operation The results of the study reflect the is mostly reported as the past action in the equal and inseparable importance of basic past simple tense. meanings and uses of tenses and the rhe- torical functions. In other words, both the Conclusion and Discussion rhetorical functions and the basic meanings The results of the quantitative analysis and uses of tense affect the tense choice. review the tense choices for the persuasive Apart from the present study, the modes: Ethos, Logos and Pathos. In addition relationship between rhetorical functions and the results of the contextual analysis help to tense choice has been mentioned by Martinez explain how the basic meanings and uses of [8], and Malcolm [18]. These studies indicate tenses support the persuasive modes. that there is a statistically correlation Even though there is not a one-to- between tense choice and rhetorical functions in one relationship between tense choice and specific professional contexts, such as persuasive functions in CEO letters, there scientific, technical, humanities, economic, are the dominances of specific tenses in each and business discourse. In addition, Taylor mode. The use of the future simple tense [7] examined the relationship between tense dominates in Ethos; the past simple tense choice and other rhetorical functions, viz., dominates in Logos; and the present simple Deictic Function ( through which tense dominates in Pathos. the writer communicates with the reader), In addition, the contextual analysis and Referential Function (references to other also emphasizes and clarifies the relationship sources) which are unique to the journal between Aristotle’s rhetoric and tense choice article . However, the rhetorical in CEO letters. The results of the analysis functions which were examined in the present KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 175 study are different. They were persuasive could be done on persuasive writing in other functions (Aristotle’s rhetoric) which are business genres such as the business memo, unique to CEO letters. business letter, business plan, business proposal, etc. The relationship between Recommendations tense choice and Aristotle’s rhetoric in those As mentioned earlier, this researcher business in which a persuasive realizes the serious problem of tense function is at the centre or whose main misuse in Thai learners and aimed to make purpose is to persuade should be analysed. recommendations for tense teaching in Moreover, further study can be conducted on relation to Aristotle’s rhetoric. The findings other persuasive texts in other areas such as of this study show the possibility of certain language use in Sciences, Psychology, , recommendations on tense teaching and Politics, etc. Similar to this study, the tense learning in relation to persuasive rhetoric. choice of these texts should be analyzed in To teach grammar in relation to relation to their rhetorical functions. rhetorical function, this researcher recommends During the sentential contextual tense teaching using the rhetorical grammar analysis, it was found that the issue of approach because of the advantages of the vocabulary deserved more consideration since approach presented below. it tends to determine the persuasive modes. In rhetorical grammar teaching, While the relationship between the rhetorical the learners learn how a given grammatical function and tense choice can be described, concept creates and/or alters meanings. the persuasive modes can also relate to some According to Lefstein [19] while rule-based specific vocabulary. To better understand grammar teaching tends to focus on how to write CEO letters effectively, besides rules to be obeyed, one’s correctness, and tense choice an analysis on the relationship decontexualised grammar exercises, between vocabulary and persuasive function rhetorical grammar teaching focuses more on should be looked at. meaningful . Micciche [20] Moreover, to identify the effectiveness states that tense teaching and learning in of tense teaching in the rhetorical-grammar the rhetorical grammar approach will help approach in the persuasive context, this the learners not only to acknowledge these researcher recommends further research relationships, but also to understand the on tense teaching based on the rhetorical- feeling and attitude of writers. This will help grammar approach. In further research, the lead to achieving meaningful and purposeful most frequently used tenses in the corpus of language use. persuasive writing should be taught to one The present study has focused solely or two groups of students. The content used on the genre of CEO letters. A further study in the teaching should be from persuasive 176 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555 business writing. The students’ attitudes and variety of type. Therefore, a bigger size of achievement could be measured to determine the corpus is recommended. In other words, the effectiveness of the teaching. Hopefully, more CEO letters should be used in further further research based on the rhetorical- analysis so that better generalization of the grammatical analyses would help solve the rhetorical functions could be made. problem of tense misuse in Thai learners As long as is according to many error analyses previously used for examining aspects of the structure referenced [2, 3, 4, 5, 21]. and function of language in use, discourse Even though the results of this study analysis of grammatical structure and support the hypothesis that tense choice persuasive functions is necessary because can be related to the persuasive functions of the fact that all genre and modes of (Aristotle’s rhetoric) in CEO letters, there are discourse may have persuasive components some limitations that need to be addressed. [9, 10]. However, there are not many As mentioned earlier, in the first rhetorical-grammatical analyses focusing stage of this study, the CEO letters were on the persuasive modes. The present study taken from annual reports published online has led to a picture of tense use in business by the world’s top-ranked multinationals. persuasive writing. Further research on the At first, the researcher tried to collect CEO relationship between grammatical structures letters from the most successful multinationals and persuasive functions are recommended. (the world’s top ten multinationals). Hopefully, further rhetorical grammatical However, not all top ten multinationals publish analysis will lead to more options for effective the annual report online. Therefore, only five grammar teaching and learning. letters are from the top ten multinationals. The other five letters are taken from Reference multinationals which from lower ranks (nos. 1. Wiriyachitra, A. 2006. Report on the 13, 20, 36, 84, and 86). To conclude, the CEO reform of university foundation English letters in the corpus are from the world’s top curriculum. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from hundred multinationals. http://www.apecneted.org/resources/ In addition, in choosing the CEO downloads/Rep letters, the researcher tried to construct a 2. Chownahe, P. 2000. An error analysis corpus which included a sufficient range of of English compositions written by text and various types and ethnic origin. Mattayom Suksa Six students. Master However, the proportions of ethnicity are not thesis in English, Graduate School, equal. Half of the letters (five letters) are Khon Kaen University, Thailand. from English native speaking countries. In addition, the small corpus size limits the KKU Res J (GS) 12 (1) : January - March 2012 177

3. Boonyavanich, S. 2002. An analysis 12. Zhu, Y. 2001. Comparing English and of some structural problems in Thai- Chinese persuasive strategies in trade English translation of the third-year fair invitations. Document Design, undergraduate students at Burapha 2 (1), 2-17. University. Master thesis in English, 13. Chakorn, O. 2008. Rhetorical appeals in Graduate School, Burapha University, Thai annual reports: An investigation Thailand. of the authority’s language in the 4. Ayurawatana, N. 2002. An error analysis executive letter during Asia’s economic of fourth year English majors. Master crisis. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from http:// Independent Study in English, Graduate www.businesscommunication.org/ School, Burapha University, Thailand. conventionsNew/proceedingsNew/ 5. Sattayatham, A. and Honsa, S. 2007. 2009New/Ora-OngChakorn.pdf Medical students’ most frequent 14. Veerachaisantikul, A. 2007. A corpus errors at Mahidol University, Thailand. analysis of multi-worldexpressions Asian EFL Journal, 9 (2), 9. in newspapers: A case study of the 6. Noochoochai, P. 1978. Temporal aspect Bangkok Post. Master thesis in in Thai and English: a contrastive English, Graduate School, Khon Kaen analysis. Doctoral dissertation, New York University, Thailand. University. 15. Brown, C. M. 1999. Evaluating annual 7. Taylor, V.L. 2001. Tense usage in academic reports: The value of annual reports in writing; a cross-disciplinary study. investment planning: Brief Article. Black Published master’s thesis in English, Enterprise. Retrieved July 25, 2010 University of Victoria, Canada. 16. Murcia, M. C. and Freeman, D. L. 1999. 8. Martinez, A. 2010. Tense Occurrence The grammar book: an ESL/EFL teacher’s in Economic and Business Journalistic course. New York: Newbury House. Articles Compared to General-Topic Ones. 17. Shaw, P. 2011. for the correlation Retrieved August 2, 2010, from http://www. of voice, tense, and function uji.es/bin/publ/edicions/jfi2/tense.pdf in reporting verbs. Retrieved January, 9. Johnstone, B. 2002. Discourse analysis. 2011 from http://applij.oxfordjournals. Australia: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. org/content/13/3/302.full.pdf 10. Smith, S. C. 2003. Modes of discourse: 18. Malcolm, L. 2002. What rules govern The local structure of texts. Cambridge: tense usage in scientific articles? English Cambridge University Press. for Specific Purposes, 6(1), 31-43. 11. Hyland, K. 1998. Exploring corporate rhetoric: Metadiscourse in the CEO’s letters. Journal of Business Communication, 35(2), 224-245. 178 วารสารวิจัย มข. (บศ.) 12 (1) : ม.ค. - มี.ค. 2555

19. Lefstein, A. 2009. Rhetorical grammar 21. Baker, W. 2002. English past simple & and the grammar of schooling: Teaching present perfect in relation to Thai learners. “Powerful Verbs” in the English Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www3. National Literacy Strategy. telus.net/linguisticsissues/thai.html and Education, 20 (4). pp. 378-400. 20. Micciche, L. R. 2004. Making a Case for Rhetorical Grammar. The National Council of Teacher of English. Retrieved April 15, 2011 fromhttp://www. csunedu/~bashforth/305_PDF/305_PDF_ Grammar/MakingACaseForRhetorical- Grammar_Micciche.pdf