The research aims to realize the ideational meaning analysis of the opinion
texts of New York Daily News newspaper written by different-race writers related
to the charter school issue. It conducts to discover the similarities and differences
among them. Finally, it aims to reveal the writers’ reasons in using particular
ideational meaning, regarding the theory of socio-cultural and race in United
States.
The research belongs to descriptive qualitative research and employs total
sampling technique since it involves all of the clauses within the opinion texts
written by Joshua Greenman (White American) and Stanley Crouch (African
American). This research focuses on ideational meaning, including experiential
meaning and logical meaning. The data were examined with the technique of
content analysis based on SFL, and are producing some points;
First, from the analysis of lexicogrammar, the White writer tries to create
social and societal situation about the concrete phenomena he has experienced
through material process, while the Black one expresses his opinion about his
projection of the phenomena by using mental behavioral process. Moreover, in
revealing logical meaning, both writers employ complex clause. Besides to give
deeper information, it also contains intended meaning to persuade the readers to
stand on their side.
Second, based on the context of socio-cultural and race, the another reason of
the White writer using particular ideational meaning is he wants to show his power
to criticize the government through his writing freely and explicitly because he can
use his freedom of the press from the first time it is guaranteed by the First
Amendment. Meanwhile, the African American writer judges the government in
smoother way due to the inferiority of Black race, yet it has significant impact on
some measures of public opinion even political behavior.