506
Stylistic Analysis of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
Rene Marquez Bonifacio, Central Mindanao University, Philippines
Abstract: The study aimed to analyze the writing style of J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter
series using Noam Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar Theory. Specifically, the study sought
to find out the writing style of J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series in terms of sentence
structure, tense of the verb, and voice of the verb; and examine the deep structure writing style of
J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series in terms of number of kernel sentences in transformed
sentences, connectives used, and reductions used.
The findings showed that J. K. Rowling mostly used compound complex, declarative, simple
past, and active voice. The transformed sentences were mostly composed of about one or more
kernel sentences which had been strung effectively together through the use of connectives. The
most commonly used connectives were and, that, but, and as. The punctuation marks such as
comma, semicolon, colon, and dash were used to connect the kernel sentences together. The
pronouns he, she, it, and they were commonly omitted. Sentence structure determines the
number of kernel sentences, connectives, and reductions.
Based on the results and limitations of the study, further researches were recommended: studies
on the writing style of J. K. Rowling using other stylistic theories; studies on other novels using
Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar; studies on the other elements of novel like plot and
characters; comparative studies of the book version and movie version of Harry Potter; and
studies on Harry Potter using other literary approaches.
Keywords: style, Transformational Grammar, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling
Introduction
“Le style est l'homme même.”
“The style is the man.”
- George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-1788)
Every writer has a peculiar way of expressing himself/herself through his/her writing – his/her
distinctive style. Style is the trademark of an author. Since every author has a unique way of
expressing himself/herself, this makes him/her distinct among other writers.
507
In order to determine one’s style in writing, one needs stylistic analysis. Stylistics is a critical
approach which uses the methods and findings of linguistic science. This approach is a gauge on
how an author uses language which is depicted in his/her writings.
J. K. Rowling is one of the greatest contemporary novelist today. She is the author behind the
series novel, Harry Potter, which is a series of seven fantasy novels, namely: Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. These books
already sold millions of copies worldwide. Film adaptations were even made which was
produced by Warner Bros. and became top-grossing movies.
Objectives of the Study
The study sought to analyze the writing style of J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series using
Noam Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar Theory. Specifically, the study sought to find out
the writing style of J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter in terms of sentence structure, tense of the
verb, and voice of the verb; and examine the deep structure writing style of J. K. Rowling in her
Harry Potter in terms of number of kernel sentences in transformed sentences, connectives used,
and reductions used.
Literature Review
This discusses the related studies already conducted which were very useful in analyzing the
present study. These studies helped the researcher in building and conceptualizing the present
study.
The study of Metin Timucin (2010) entitled “Exploring the Language of Poems: A Stylistic
Study” focused on the relevance of stylistics in the analysis of poems in Teaching English as a
Foreign Language context. The study analyzed Siegfried Sassoon’s “The Rear-Guard” and
Wilfred Owen`s “Anthem for Doomed Youth.” It focused on how stylistics helped the readers in
analyzing the poems.
The study of Timucin (2010) had a bearing with the present study since it focused on analyzing
the literary pieces using stylistics. Even though the present study focused on Noam Chomsky’s
Transformational Grammar.
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The study of Barbara Cristina Gallardo (n.d.) entitled “Analysis of a Literary Work using
Systemic-Functional Grammar” focused on examining the language used by the main male and
female characters in Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw (1913) through the application of
lexicogrammatical category of transitivity, which is part of English linguist M.A.K. Halliday’s
(1985; 1994) systemic-functional grammar. The results showed that the male’s characteristics
portrayed men concerned with rational matters, while the female character represented a woman
as being more concerned with the emotional side in their relationships.
This study had a bearing with the present study because it used a language theory, M.A.K.
Halliday’s Transitivity Theory, which is a branch of Systemic Functional Grammar. The study
would be very helpful because it would serve as a guide on how a language theory is used in
analyzing a literary text even though the latter focused on examining how the different genders
used language, while the present focuses on the writing style of an author.
The study of Noriko Iwamoto (n.d.) entitled “Stylistics and Linguistic Analysis of a Literary
Text using Systemic Functional Grammar” focused on the relationship between linguistic
structures and socially constructed meanings in a narrative text. The study revealed the ideology
and power relations that underpin a literary text from a semantico-grammatical point of view.
The study had a bearing with the present study because it used a language theory but it focused
on the narratives. The results of this study would be very much helpful, most especially in the
analysis of surface structure
The study of Prashant Mishra (n.d.) entitled “A Deconstructive Stylistic Reading of Keats’ Ode
on a Grecian Urn” focused on the formal stylistic means and grammatical devices employed by
Keats in Ode on a Grecian Urn to escape any finality, absoluteness, resolution, and unification of
the opposites.
This study had a bearing with the present study since the present study focused on the study of
stylistics. This served as a guide in analyzing the author’s sentence structure, tense, and voice
writing style.
Indeed, these researches helped in building J.K. Rowling’s writing style.
Methodology
This presents the step-by-step procedure on how the researcher analyzed and came up with J. K.
Rowling’s writing style in her Harry Potter.
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In choosing the instruments of the study, Judgment Sampling was used. The researcher read first
the seven books intensively. While reading, the researcher focused on the dialogues and
narrations, especially the long sentences and with common connectives and reductions to create a
stronger pattern of the author’s writing style. Two paragraphs from each first two chapters served
as samples.
Next, the sentence structure, tense of the verb, and voice of the verb were analyzed by the
researcher. Then, the deep structure writing style was analyzed using Noam Chomsky’s
Transformational Grammar. The number of kernel sentences in transformed sentences,
connectives, and reductions were determined.
Lastly, the writing style of J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series was identified based on the
results of the analyses.
Results and Discussion
This chapter presents the paragraphs and sentences analyzed in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. The
analysis of sentence structure, tense of the verb, and voice of the verb; and the deep structure:
number of kernel sentences, connectives, and reductions are presented.
Sentence Structure, Tense, and Voice in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, two paragraphs were extracted and analyzed in the first
two chapters. The paragraph was taken in page 17. There were four sentences. The sentence
structures were complex, simple, and two compound complex. All the sentences were
declarative. The tense of the verbs was simple past. The voice of the verbs was active.
Table 1. Sentence Structure, Tense, and Voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Complex
Simple
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Active
Active
Active
Active
The second sample paragraph was taken in page 18. This paragraph had five sentences. Three
were compound complex, one simple, and one compound sentence. All were declarative. Three
were past perfect and two were simple past. Three were passive and two were active.
510
Table 2. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Simple
Compound Complex
Compound
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Passive
Active
Active
Passive
Passive
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the first paragraph was taken in pages 7-8. There
were five sentences. Four were compound complex and one simple sentence. Declarative and
past perfect tense were used. Three were active and two were passive.
Table 3. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
Compound Complex
Simple
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Active
Passive
Active
Active
Passive
The second paragraph was taken in page 23. There were four sentences. Three were compound
complex while one was compound. All sentences were declarative, simple past, and active.
Table 4. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Compound Complex
Compound
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Active
Active
Active
Active
511
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the first paragraph was taken from page 3.
Compound, complex, simple, and two compound complex sentences were combined to form the
paragraph. All were declarative. Three were past perfect and two simple past tenses. One
passive, one with no voice, and three active voices were used.
Table 5. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
Compound
Complex
Simple
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Passive
No Voice
Active
Active
Active
Paragraph 2 was taken from page 25. There were five sentences. One was complex, two
compounds, and two compound complex sentences. All were declarative, simple past tense, and
active voice.
Table 6. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
Complex
Compound
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Compound
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Active
Active
Active
Active
Active
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The first sentence was taken from pages 1-2. There were
four sentences. One was compound and the rest were compound complex. All were declarative;
two simple past and the other two were past perfect; one was active while the rest used passive.
512
Table 7. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Compound
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Active
Passive
Passive
Passive
The second paragraph was taken from page 20. There were five sentences with four compound
complex and one complex. All were declarative, past perfect, but one used no voice and the rest
used active.
Table 8. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Complex
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
No Voice
Active
Active
Active
Active
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the first was taken from page 10. There were seven
sentences: one simple, two complex, one compound, and three compound complex. Two were
declarative, two exclamatory, and three interrogatives. Five were simple past; two were past
perfect. Four were passive, one with no voice, and two were active.
Table 9. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Compound
Complex
Compound Complex
Simple
Complex
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Exclamatory
Exclamatory
Interrogative
Interrogative
Interrogative
Declarative
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Simple Past
Passive
Passive
No Voice
Active
Active
Passive
Passive
513
The second paragraph was taken from page 37. There were four sentences. Two were simple,
one compound complex, and one simple. All were declarative. Three were simple past and one
past perfect. Two were with no voice, one was passive, and one was active.
Table 10. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Complex
Complex
Compound Complex
Simple
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Simple Past
No Voice
No Voice
Passive
Active
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the first paragraph was taken from page 1. Three were
compound complex; one was compound. All were declarative. Three were past progressive and
one simple past. There were two passive and two active.
Table 11. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Compound Complex
Compound Complex
Compound
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Progressive
Past Progressive
Simple Past
Past Progressive
Passive
Active
Active
Passive
The second paragraph was taken from page 22. There were four sentences. Two were compound
complex, one complex, and one compound sentence. All were declarative. One was past perfect
with three simple past tense. There were two active and two passive.
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Table 12. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
Compound Complex
Complex
Compound Complex
Compound
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Active
Active
Passive
Passive
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the first paragraph was taken from page 2. There were
three sentences. Two were complex and one compound complex. All were declarative. Two were
simple past and one past progressive. Two were active and one was passive.
Table 13. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hollows
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
Complex
Complex
Compound Complex
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Past Progressive
Simple Past
Active
Active
Passive
The last paragraph had six sentences. Two were compound complex, one complex, and three
compound. All were declarative. Five were simple past and one past perfect. Five were passive
and one was active.
Table 14. Sentence structure, tense, and voice in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hollows
Sentence
Number
Sentence Structure
(Content)
Sentence Structure
(Form)
Tense of the Verb
Voice of the Verb
1
2
3
4
5
6
Compound Complex
Complex
Compound Complex
Compound
Compound
Compound
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Declarative
Simple Past
Simple Past
Simple Past
Past Perfect
Simple Past
Simple Past
Passive
Passive
Active
Passive
Passive
Passive
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Deep Structure Writing Style of J.K. Rowling
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, transformations and reductions were done in the chosen
paragraphs. In sentence 1, three kernel sentences were connected by which and a comma while it
was omitted. Sentence 2 had one kernel. Sentence 3 had seven kernel sentences connected by
and, three not knowing’s, as and that. Sentence 4 had four kernel sentences connected by that,
and, a semicolon, and a quotation mark; they and this were omitted.
Table 15. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
3
1
7
4
+, which +,
-it(2)
+and +, not knowing(3) +as +that
+that +and +: +“”
-they -this
Chapter 1
Kernel Sentences
Connectives/
Reductions
A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet
Drive.
It [laid] lay silent and tidy under the inky sky.
It would be the very last place you would
expect astonishing things to happen.
Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets
without waking up.
One small hand closed on the letter beside
him.
He slept on.
He was special.
He was famous.
He would be woken in a few hours' time by
Mrs. Dursley's scream.
She opened the front door to put out the milk
bottles.
He would spend the next few weeks being
prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley.
, which
He couldn't know.
At this very moment, people meeting in secret
all over the country were holding up their
glasses.
They were saying in hushed voices.
This is [for] to Harry Potter -- the boy who
lived!
that
and
-it ,
-it
and
, not knowing
, not knowing
, not knowing
as
, nor that
–they :
–this “”
Transformed Sentences
A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive,
which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the
very last place you would expect astonishing
things to happen.
Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets
without waking up.
One small hand closed on the letter beside him
and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not
knowing he was famous, not knowing he would
be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's
scream as she opened the front door to put out
the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the
next few weeks being prodded and pinched by
his cousin Dudley.
He couldn't know that at this very moment,
people meeting in secret all over the country
were holding up their glasses and saying in
hushed voices: "To Harry Potter -- the boy who
lived!"
516
The second paragraph had three kernel sentences connected by since, a comma, and but; it was
omitted. Sentence 2 had seven kernel sentences connected by and, semicolon, comma, which, as,
when, and that; two it’s were reduced. Sentence 3 had one kernel sentence with no connectives
and reductions. Sentence 4 had ten kernel sentences connected by what, but, two and’s, and four
commas; two it’s and two he’s were omitted. Sentence 5 had two kernel sentences connected by
that.
Table 16. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
3
7
1
10
+since +, but
+and +; +, which +as +when +that
-it(2)
-it(2)
+what +but +, and +,(3) +and
-it(2) –he(2)
-he(2)
5
2
+that
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, chapter 1 had three kernel sentences connected by
and, comma, and but with he reduction. Sentence 2 had one kernel. Sentence 3 had four kernel
sentences connected by semicolon, and two that’s; he was omitted. Sentence 4 had three kernel
sentences connected by and and as with he reduction. Sentence 5 had three kernel sentences with
that and and as connectives.
Table 17. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
3
1
4
3
3
+and +, but
-he
+; +that(2)
+and +as
+that +and
-he
-he
In the second sample paragraph, the first sentence had three kernel sentences with that and
comma as connectives; he was omitted. The second sentence had two kernel sentences connected
by as. Sentence 3 had six kernels connected by two and’s, 3 commas, but, and quotation mark;
three he’s were omitted.
517
Table 18. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
3
2
6
3
+that +,
+as
+and +, +,but +, “” +and
+and +,
-he
-he(3)
-he
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the first sentence had two kernels connected by
comma and because. Sentence 2 had two kernels connected by comma and who; he was reduced.
Sentence 3 had one kernel. Sentence 4 had six kernels connected by five commas, so that, and
and with three he’s as reductions.
Table 19. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
2
2
1
6
3
+, because
+, who
-he
+, so that +,(3) +, and
+, +that
-he(3)
The second sample had five sentences. Sentence 1 had two kernels connected by comma.
Sentence 2 had two kernels connected by comma and which. Sentence 3 had two kernels
connected by comma and so that. Sentence 4 had five kernels connected by two commas, and,
while, as though, and why as reductions with she as reductions. Sentence 5 had two kernels
connected by about.
Table 20. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
1
2
3
4
5
2
2
2
5
2
+,
+, which
+, so that
+, and +while +, as though +why
+about
Reductions
-she(3)
518
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the number of kernels varied between two to five with
that, comma, that, when, and, colon were used as connectives; it was omitted.
Table 21. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
+that
+, that +when
+, and +, that +what
+: +, +when +and
-it
-it(2)
In the next sample, the number of kernel sentences was between one to six connected by that,
comma, who, dash, and, semicolon, and but; he was deleted.
Table 22. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
6
4
1
3
6
+that +, +who +– +and
+; +that +– and
-he(4)
-he
+but +, and
+,(3) +; +, and
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the first paragraph had one, two, four, five or six
kernel sentences joined by so that, commas, without, and, or, that, and as; he and there were
omitted.
Table 23. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
6
2
2
4
1
2
6
+so that
+,
+,(2) +so that
-he(2)
7
5
+, and +as +, +and
+without
+and +; or +and +that
-he
-he(2)
-he(2)
-there
519
In the second paragraph, the number of kernel sentences varied from one, three, or six connected
by comma, and, that, and semicolon; it, he, and there were dropped.
Table 24. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
3
3
6
1
+, +, and
+, +that
+and +: +and +; +and
-it –he
-there –it
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the paragraph had two, five, or six kernels joined by
and, that, without, when, comma, as though, but, and why; he and it were omitted.
Table 25. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
6
2
6
+and +, +that +without
+, and(2) +when +what +,
+,
+, +that +as though +but +why
-he –it(2)
-he(2) –it
-it(3)
The second sample showed that the kernel sentences varied from two, three, or four connected
by before, comma, that, and and; she, they, and it were dropped.
Table 26. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
3
4
2
2
+before +,
+, +, +that
+and
+,
-she
-they(2) –it
520
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, two or four kernels were connected by comma, as,
which, and as though; it was omitted.
Table 27. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
1
2
3
2
2
4
+,
+as +, which +as though
Reductions
-it
-it
In the last sample, two or four kernels were connected by comma, and, whether or not, what,
semicolon, what, probably, as if, not because, dash, and but; he and they were omitted.
Table 28. Number of kernel sentences in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows
Sentence
Number
Number of
Kernel Sentences
Connectives
Reductions
1
2
3
4
5
6
4
2
4
2
2
4
+, +, and +whether or not
+,
+what +; +, probably +, as if
-he(2)
-they
-they
+and
+not because +- +-but
Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation
This section shows the summary of findings, drawing of conclusions based on the findings, and
recommendations for further study.
Of 65 sentences, 35 were compound complex, 12 compound, 12 complex, and 6 simple
sentences. This implied that Rowling’s writing style were combinations of various dependent
and independent clauses which were strung by connectives, with some reductions as the author
writes her novel. Moreover, 60 sentences were declarative, 3 interrogative, 2 exclamatory
sentences. Rowling used declarative because the genre is a novel and it is narrative in nature.
Most of the verbs fall under past aspect, where 38 were simple present, 23 past perfect, and 4
past progressive. This implied that the way Rowling narrated the story was more of actions or
events that happened in the past. In terms of voice, 36 were active, 24 passive, and 5 with no
voice of the verb. This showed that Rowling focused on the characters/doers of the action in
writing her novel.
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In terms of the number of kernel sentences in transformed sentences, it ranged between 1 to 10
kernels. The highest is 2 kernel sentences which occurred in twenty sample sentences, 4 kernels
in ten sentences, 3 and 6 kernels in eight sentences, 1 kernel in seven sentences, 5 kernels in four
sentences, 7 kernels in two sentences, and 10 kernels in one sentence, with neither eight nor nine
kernels.
Various connectives were used like punctuation marks: commas appeared 62 times, semicolon 7
times, dash 4 times, colon thrice, and quotation marks twice; demonstrative pronouns: that 19
times, which and what 4 times, and who twice; adverbs: when 4 times, not knowing thrice, why
twice, and probably once; conjunctions: and 32 times, but 7 times, as 6 times, so that and as
though thrice, or twice, while, since, before, because, whether or not, as if, and not because
appeared once; and prepositions without and about appeared twice and once respectively.
Several reductions were omitted as well. Third personal pronouns: he was omitted 34 times, it 22
times, they 5 times, and she 4 times; and determiners: this and there were also dropped, twice
and once respectively.
Overall, sentence structure determines the number of kernel sentences, connectives, and
reductions. She might be unaware, but it was explicitly shown in her novel.
Based on the results and limitations of the study, further researches were recommended: studies
on the writing style of J. K. Rowling using other stylistic theories; studies on other novels using
Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar; studies on the other elements of novel like plot and
characters; comparative studies of the book version and movie version of Harry Potter; and
studies on Harry Potter using other literary approaches.
References
Book References
Cook, V.J. & Newson, M. (2007). Chomsky’s universal grammar: An introduction. (3rd ed.) UK:
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Rowling, J.K. (1998). Harry potter and the chamber of secrets. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Rowling, J.K. (2007). Harry potter and the deathly hollows. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Rowling, J.K. (2000). Harry potter and the goblet of fire. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Rowling, J.K. (2005). Harry potter and the half-blood prince. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Rowling, J.K. (2003). Harry potter and the order of the phoenix. USA: Scholastic Inc.
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Rowling, J.K. (1999). Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Rowling, J.K. (1997). Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone. USA: Scholastic Inc.
Internet References
Gallardo, B.C. (n.d.). Analysis of a literary work using systemic-functional grammar. Retrieved
from
http://www4.pucsp.br/isfc/proceedings/Artigos%20pdf/35l_gallardobarbara_
735a762.pdf.
Iwamoto, N. (n.d.). Stylistics and linguistic analysis of a literary text using systemic functional
grammar. Retrieved from http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/3L/3L%20vol%2017%20(2)%
202011/7-Prashant%20-Mishra.pdf.
Mishra, M. (n.d.). A deconstructive stylistic reading of keats’ ode on a grecian urn. Retrieved
from
http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/3L/3L%20vol%2017%20(2)%202011/7Prashant%20Mishra.pdf.
Timucin, M. (n.d.). Exploring the language of poems: A stylistic study. Retrieved from
http://www.novitasroyal.org/Vol_4_2/timucin.pdf.