Download Madalina CERBAN, A Systemic Functional Description of the Simple

Madalina CERBAN, A Systemic Functional Description of the Simple Sentence
Structure, Editura Universitaria, Craiova, 214 pagini, 2009, ISBN: 978-606-510-6581
UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA: ROMANA / LIMBA STRAINA
INVATAMANT LA DISTANTA
SUPORT DE CURS
DISCIPLINA: Curs OPTIONAL
Anul III Semestrul II
TITULARUL DISCIPLINEI: lector dr. Madalina Cerban
TEMA nr. 1. Introduction to Systemic – Functional Linguistics
UnităŃi de învăŃare
• Defining functional grammar
• Constituents
• Applications of systemic Functional Linguistics
Obiective
• StudenŃii trebuie să înŃeleagă conceptul de gramatica funcŃională
• StudenŃii trebuie să înŃeleagă diferenŃele dintre gramatica systemicofuncŃională şi alte tipuri de gramatici
• StudenŃii trebuie să fie capabili să recunoască constituenŃii unei propoziŃii
• StudenŃii trebuie să înŃeleagă importanŃa lingvisticii sistemico-funcŃionale,
modurile în care aceasta poate fi folosită
Timpul alocat temei: 2 ore
Bibliografie recomandată :
Bloor, Thomas, Bloor, Meriel. The Functional Analysis of English. A Hallidayan
Approach. Second edition. London: Arnold, 2004.
Dik, Simon. Studies In Functional Grammar, Amsterdam University Press, 1980
Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter,
1996.
Fries, Peter. On the Status of Theme in English: arguments from discourse in Forum
Linguisticum 6, pp. 1-38, 1981.
Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar, second edition, Arnold,
London, 1994
Halliday, M.A.K. On Grammar, eds. Jonathan Webster, London & New York:
Continuum, 2003.
Ghadessy, Mohsen. Thematic Development in English Texts, London: Pinter, 1995.
Martin, J.R. English Text: System and Structure, Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1992.
Lyons, John. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1968
Matthienssen, Christian & Bateman, John. Text Generation and Systemic- Functional
Linguistics, Pinter, London, 1991
Matthienssen, Christian; Painter, Claire & Martin, J.R. Working With Functional
Grammar, Arnold, London, 1997
Thompson, Geoff. Introducing Functional Grammar, Arnold, London, 1996
R. Quirk and J. Svartvik, A Corpus of English Conversation, Eds. 1980.
1.1. Defining Functional Grammar
Functional grammar is a way of looking at grammar in terms of how grammar
is used. In the filed of linguistics, the main alternative to functional grammar is formal
grammar which is concerned with what we can say what we can not say. Functional
grammar is not genetically oriented. It focuses on the development of grammatical
systems as a means for people to interact with each other – functional grammar sees
grammar as shaped by the way we can get on with our lives. Its orientation is social
rather than biological. Functional grammar regards language as an instrument of
social interaction by means of which human beings can communicate with each other
and thus influence each other’s mental and practical activities. The ability of human
beings to carry on social interaction with each other can be called communicative
competence (Hymes, 1972). From the functional point of view linguitics theory is
concerned with the role language plays in communicative competence. From this it is
immediately clear that, though a functional theory of language can distinguish
between the system of language and the use of language, it would aviod studying one
without taking into consideration the other aspect. In fact, such a theory is especially
interested in the relationship between the system and its possible uses.
Functional grammar is a theory which will try to explain syntax and semantic
principles in terms of the pragmatic purposes and requirements of verbal interaction.
Functional grammars are used for a variety of tasks. First of all, they are used
for describing languages in functional terms. Many of the principles of functional
grammar we are studying belong to Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar
(1994) and were initially worked out for the Chinese which was the first language
Halliday studied in detail. Afterwards he developed these principles in his work on
English grammar.
Function Grammar is much richer semantically than any other formal or
traditional school grammar. This makes the analysis more profound when it comes to
interpreting a text, the grammar has been designed to be relatively easy to apply to
texts.
Compared to traditional school grammar and formal grammar, you will find
that functional grammar makes use of class labels like noun, verb or adjective which
we already know. Beyond these, functional grammar makes extensive use of function
labels such as Actor, Process, Goal, Theme, Rheme, Deictic, Classifier and so on,
many of which may be new to you.
Text Analysis – Three Levels of Function
The first problem you will face when using functional grammar for text
analysis is the problem of what to analyse. How do we divide a text into pieces so that
IFG analysis can be applied to? Fortunately, most texts offer you some help.
If you are dealing with a written text, then it will probably be divided into
sentences for you. These units, beginning with capital letters and ending with a full
stop, are a good starting point. There is a useful description of punctuation in relation
to functional grammar in Halliday.
The most important unit for a functional grammar analysis is the clause rather
than the sentence. In order to identify clauses you have to start using what you know
about grammar to divide a text. Basically, there are three ways:
1. one is what Halliday calls ideational. This involves looking for processes
into a text - processes name events taking place or relationships among things. Then
you divide the text up into processes and whatever ‘go with them’. Knowing what a
verb is, you can think of looking for processes as looking for verbs. You remember
from traditional school grammar the notion that verbs are ‘action’ words. This can be
useful as long as you keep in mind that lots of verbs (e.g. be and have) refer to
relationships, not actions.
2. Another way is what Halliday calls interpersonal. This involves treating a
text as a dialogue. Basically, this means dividing the text into things you can argue
with.
3. A third way is what Halliday calls textual. This approach takes advantages
of the fact that texts may tend to return to closely related starting points at the
beginning of successive clauses.
1.2. Constituency
Here is an example of analysing a sentence in functional terms:
Those shoes are wrecking my feet.
Clause
Actor
Process
nominal group
Goal
verbal group
nominal group
Deictic
Thing
Finite
Event
Deictic
Thing
determiner
noun
verb
verb
determiner
noun
those
shoes
arewrecking
my
feet
We can see in this example that the layering in the tree diagram reflects the
organization of grammatical choices. The top two layers are oriented to clause choices
and to the functional structures resulting from them: clause: Actor + Process + Goal.
The next two layers are oriented to group/ phrase choices and to the functional
structures resulting from them: e.g. nominal group: Deictic ^ Thing. The final layer is
oriented to word choices whose functional structure is not developed.
Let’s take one more step and analyse the following sentence:
Wearing those shoes is wrecking my feet.
As we work through the analysis of this clause we find that the Actor is not a
nominal group as we normally expect, but is in fact another clause. So, at the point
where we might expect to have run out of clause choices and be making nominal
group choices, we find the clause choices opened up again.
Clause
Actor
[clause]
Process
verbal gr.
wearing
Process
verbal group
Finite
Event
verb
verb
Goal
nominal gr.
those
shoes
are
Goal
nominal group
Deictic
Thing
pronoun
noun
wrecking
my
feet.
When choices are opened up again in this way, at a lower rank, we say that
one unit has been embedded inside another clause.
Alongside embedding, there is another method in which clause analysis gets more
complicated, method called complexing. Let’s take the following example:
Those shoes are wrecking my knees and ankles,
where we can notice two groups of coordinated nominal groups. The second group
expands the information presented by the first one, but is serving the same clause
function. It is not that the clause has two Goals, but rather that the clause's Goal is a
nominal group complex.
Clause
Actor
nominal group
Deictic
Thing
Determiner noun
Those
shoes
Process
Goal
verbal group
nominal group complex
Finite Event
Deictic Thing
verb verb
determiner
nominal gr.
are wreking
my
feet and
ankles.
The arrow shows the interdependency between the two nominal groups. Note
that, with complexing, we get more choices of the same kind of meaing- in this case,
nominal groups choices followed by nominal groups choices; this contrasts with
embedding where, in the example above, we had clause choices of a different kind.
Complexing occurs at all ranks in the grammar. Suppose we take the example:
Those shoes are hurting my bruised and battered feet.
In this case we have an example of word complexing inside the nominal group
describing the feet. Here, the description of the feet, its Epithet, consists of two
adjectives, co-ordinated with each other. As with complexing in general, instead of
one round of choices, we have more of the same- two rounds of foot description
instead of one.
Actor
nominal group
group
Deictic
Thing
determiner
noun
Complex
noun
Clause
Process
Goal
verbal group
Finite
verb
Event
verb
Deictic
nominal
Epithet
determin.
adj. linker adj.
Thing
Adj.
Those
shoes
are
hurting
my
bruised and battered
feet
1.3. Applications of systemic functional grammar
In this chapter, we have introduced methods of analysis that can be used to
give insight into how the English language is structured. Each method of analysis can
be seen as a hypothesis about part of the structure of English. We can see, for
example, that the analysis of clause exchange (by splitting it into its constituents)
divide the clause up to five kinds of constituents, each having its of distinct
characteristics: Subject, Finite, Predicator, Complement and Adjunct. Similarly, the
analysis of clause as message in terms of Theme-Rheme and Given-New shows that
the information is structured by the ordering of two sets of parallel elements selected
on the basis of the speaker's and hearer's shared understanding and on the textual
constraints that govern the speaker's choice of a starting point for the clause.
These hypotheses lead us to the theory based on the idea that language is a set
of systems.
In this sub-chapter we try to answer to some important questions such as: How
can we test the truth of individual hypotheses and the validity of the theory? What use
has the theory to the non-linguist who may nevertheless have an interest in language
and the use of language: the teacher, the writer, the politician, the translator, the
literary critic, the therapist, and so on? If a functional theory of language has any
validity, it should (…) render insights into the way language works in social
interaction (Bloor and Bloor, 2004: 213).
Halliday (1995, xxix) described a theory as 'a means of action'. By this he
means that we should he able to use a theory and the hypotheses related to it as the
basis for a very wide range of tasks, not only as our aim of understanding the nature
and functions of language, but also more practical tasks like helping people to learn
foreign languages, improving our writing skills, or training interpreters. Halliday, in
fact, lists 21 distinct applications of functional linguistics and warns that there are
more.
1.3.1. Writing in science and technology
One area of interest for applied linguistics is the way in which scientific and
technical ideas are expressed in English. Many people, both native speakers and nonnative speakers, find scientific language extremely difficult to access, and it is
sometimes believed that this type of language acts as a barrier for young children
interested in science. There are also many adults, with no training or technical
background, working for example in journalism or in arts, who have needed in the
recent years to learn how to use a computer and have found the instruction manuals
difficult to understand. Such problems of learning and translating scientific texts have
led to an analysis of this type of texts.
Halliday and Martin in Writing science: literacy and discursive power analyse
the problem from two points of view: the identification of the particular
characteristics of scientific texts and the issues involved in educating children to use
and understand the language according to specific contexts. In both these tasks they
use aspects of functional grammar to analyse and describe language and to explain
how it developed historically in the way it did.
Among the specific grammatical features of scientific writing discussed by
Halliday and Martin (1993) there is grammatical metaphor and in particular the
nominalization of processes. Grammatical metaphor resembles traditional metaphor
(mainly lexical) in that it involves a choice between a more or less straightforward
realization of meaning. But the choice has to take into account more the correct
grammatical options than the lexical options. “As there is no suggestion that literal
expression is intrinsically better or worse than metaphorical expression, there is no
suggestion that congruent forms are better or worse than grammatically metaphorical
ones” (Bloor and Bloor, 2004: 127).
Different contexts may demand different alternatives, and that’s why register
and genre are extremely important. Situational and textual factors have a great
influence on the options in a particular sentence. Although congruent and
grammatically metaphorically alternatives seem to be simple variant ways of saying
the same thing we can notice that any difference in expression means a difference in
meaning.
Nominalization allows a process, more obviously realized as a verb, to be
realized as a noun and as a result to become a participant in a further process. If we
use a verb to express a process in a declarative clause, it is necessary to give the verb
a Subject and, in the case of some verbs, like describe for example, also a
Complement. This entails expressing the participants in the process. However, if we
nominalize the process, we can exclude the participants relating to the process, as we
can see from the following examples:
e.g.
Hamilton described the theory of Einstein.
The description is incomplete.
With the use of the verb in the first example, it is necessary to include a
reference to the person who described the theory (Hamilton in this case) and also a
reference to what he described (theory of Einstein). In the second example we do not
need to include any of the participants due to the nominalization of the verb.
The tendency to use nominal groups has a number of major effects on the
scientific text. First, it is a means to present the scientific information in an objective
way, omitting the people that try to observe it or transmit it. This facilitates the
expression of general ‘truths’ and ‘claims’ about the nature of the world. Secondly, it
gives the writer a wide choice of elements for Theme position in the clause. In this
way a process can easily become the starting point in the clause and the agents (or
even other processes) are left to the end of the clause (in Rheme position) where they
carry more communicative dynamism. Thirdly, the process can become the Head of a
nominal group or a classifier of a nominal group. For example, nominal as Head : oil
gallery lubrication, technical information, and nominal as Classifier: lubrification
process, information technology. Furthermore, the nominalization of processes
enables the author to express relationships in a very concise way, for example: cause,
result, reason) between processes as in the following examples:
e.g.
Evaporation causes cooling.
The rate of growth depends on the temperature.
We can notice that verbs like depend on, cause, result in express ‘internal
relations’ between different parts of the clause. ‘Cooling’ is an example of a gerund
form of a process and is representative of an alternative form of nominalization in
English.
Nominalization and other grammatical characteristics of scientific texts are
discussed by Martin who shows in details how important they are for the expression
of scientific knowledge and how people without scientific training should use the
appropriate scientific language especially at an early age. Referring to the primary
education, Martin observes that people sometimes complain that science uses too
much technical language which makes science difficult to understand. The problem is
scientists can not do his or her job without the technical discourse. “Not only it is
compact and therefore efficient, but most importantly it codes a different perspective
on reality, a perspective accumulated over centuries of scientific enquiry. It constructs
the world in a different way. Science could not be science without deploying technical
discourse as a fundamental tool. It is thus very worrying when syllabus documents
discourage teachers from using technical language with students, especially in early
years” (Halliday and Martin, 1993: 172).
Lassen (2003) who worked on accessibility and acceptability in technical
manuals supports Martin’s position. She was interested in finding out about the
different attitudes of expert and non-expert readers to specialist texts. The conclusion
of her empirical research was that people for whom these scientific texts were written
had no problem in understanding them.
Martin does not deny the possibility of popularizing science in order to explain
scientific research to non-scientists. School textbooks are a type of popularization of
scientific knowledge, but efficient textbooks should introduce gradually the important
technical language foe expressing scientific concepts and functions such as
classifications, definitions, explanation, analysis so that the student is oriented into
scientific discourse.
A scientific text can be analysed form a functional perspective using the tools
of thematic analysis and the description of processes, mood and modality. In this
paper we have chosen the thematic analysis. In order to exemplify the Thematic
progression in a scientific text we have chosen a technical text which was taken from
a set of ESP materials and try to see whether the patterns of selections supports the
structure of the text or not. The text is a taxonomizing report, presenting a
classification of conducting substances.
Before starting analysing the text we consider necessary to draw a distinction
between the two ways the structure of a clause can be analysed: Given-New structure
and Theme-Rheme structure.
Theme is one of the two systems that organize the information presented in the
clause, the other being of Information. And, although our concern in this analysis is
with Theme it will be useful to distinguish it from that of Information. While Theme
uses position within the clause to organize information into an initial orientation
followed by the Rheme, the system of information uses intonation to highlight what is
particularly newsworthy in the message. The new element in the clause is being
stressed as we speak, containing a tonic syllable. The fact that we have both Thematic
structure and Information structure in the language makes it possible for a writer or
speaker to choose to put New information in the Thematic position and Given
information in the Rheme position. As we mentioned before, in spoken English we
can use special emphasis and intonation to indicate that we are presenting New
information in Theme position instead of the Rheme position which would be more
normal. We can make a contrast, for example, between The kettle’s boiling which has
the New element at the end of the clause, and The kettle’s boiling (not the milk) which
has the New element in initial position of the clause. However, in written English, it is
more difficult to vary the relationship of Theme and Rheme to Given and New,
respectively. In the vast majority of English written sentences, Theme is realized by
the same constituents as Given, while the Rheme and the New information are
realized by the rest of the clause. In the text we are analyzing in this chpater one
should note that conductors, isolators and semiconductors tend to be realized last in
the clauses of the text, as what Halliday calls New; they are not woven systematically
through Theme to constitute the method of development. In the text below Topical
Themes are written in bold face; marked Themes are underlined, and the New
elements are written in italic:
Title: Conductors, Insulators and Semiconductors
Introduction: If we connect a battery across a body, there is a movement of free
electrons towards the positive end. This movement of electrons is an electric
current. All materials can be classified into three groups according to how readily
they permit an electric current to flow. These are conductors, insulators and
semiconductors.
Topic sentence 1: In the first category are substances which provide an easy path
for an electric current.
All metals are conductors, however some metals do not conduct well. Manganin, for
example, is a poor conductor. Copper is a good conductor, therefore it is widely used
for cables. A non-metal which conducts well is carbon. Salt water is an example of
a liquid conductor.
Topic sentence 2: A material which does not easily release electrons is called an
insulator. Rubber, nylon, porcelain are all insulators. There are no perfect
insulators. All insulators will allow some flow of electrons, however this can usually
be ignored because the flow they permit is so small.
Topic sentence 3: Semiconductors are midway between conductors and insulators.
Under certain conditions they allow a current to flow easily but under others they
behave as insulators. Germanium and silicon are semiconductors. Mixtures of
certain metallic oxides also act as semiconductors. These are known as thermistors.
The resistance of thermistors falls rapidly as their temperature rises. They are
therefore used in temperature-sensing devices.
(Glendinning, E.H., English in Electrical Engineering and Electronics)
The distribution of information as Theme and the minimal domain of New in
each clause have been specified assuming that Tonicity is unmarked throughout the
text; in other words assuming that the text will be read with the tonic falling on the
last salient syllable of each information unit. The unmarked tonality has been assumed
with the information unit corresponding to a single clause.
It is clear that the text systematically maps conductors, insulators and
semiconductors on New. This makes good sense in the introduction of the text and in
its topic sentences where these categories are being introduced and established as an
anticipated method of development of the text. However, this results in a recurrent
association of new information with final position (where it has not been predicted)
and old information with final position (where the reader expects news). It thus
inverts the unmarked distribution of given and new information in the English clause
and in this respect it is not surprising that students find the reading and comprehensive
exercise a difficult one. The text poses a set of tricky questions, one of the most
important being how the author of this text managed to systematically invert the
positions of given and new information.
A rather different application of functional grammar to academic writing has
concerned the use of different verbal processes in research articles. The so-called
“reporting verbs” commonly functions as sources of projection, as in the following
examples:
e.g.
He pointed out/ claimed that the marketing strategy was wrong.
The professor explained that the theory had changed the world.
These are generally known as “reporting verbs” since they are use to introduce
the ideas and views of cited authors whose wok is reported. Their use in research
articles has drawn some attention, especially with the preparing teaching materials for
academic purposes for non-native English students.
Using a functional model, Thompson and Ye Yiyun (1991) propose a
classification of reporting verbs used in the introduction of technical texts, identifying
three types of such verbs:
(i) textual verbs which refer to processes in which the verbal expression is an
obligatory component, such as: state, write, point out, deny.
(ii) mental verbs which refer primarily to mental processes, such as: believe,
think, consider.
(iii) research verbs which refer primarily to the mental and physical processes
that are part of research work, such as: measure, calculate, find, obtain.
Conclusion: From the observations above and from the analysis of a technical
text we can observe that this type of functional research has proved to be an efficient
tool for practical analysis, understanding the language of science and technology.
1.3.2. Language as discourse
The question of how to speak or write more effectively has interested
educators and critics for hundreds of years. And there are a lot of books and leaflets
which have been written about how to write as convincingly as possible. Although
classical rhetoric considered the relationship between language and communicative
effects in some detail, most educational approaches in recent times (at least for
English) have focused on matters such as preparation and planning and how to
approach the topic without even discussing language. For public speaking and
lecturing, we find advice on tone of voice and volume, and for writing, on correct
layout and the mechanics of spelling and punctuation, but lexicogrammar is largely
neglected, except for pointing out common stylistic 'errors'.
Most people would agree that language users differ in their ability to communicate effectively. There is an intuitive concept of 'valued text', which is to specify
which instances of speaking or writing that are considered 'better' in some ways than
others. Yet it is very difficult sometimes to explain precisely why one speaker or
writer seems better than another. We tend to use vague descriptive terms such as
'clearer', 'more interesting', 'easier to understand', but novices often find that advice
given in such terms is not of much practical use. When reading his students’ essays, a
teacher ‘write more clearly’ or "confusing' at the end of the essay, and a teacher might
also specify the differences between the clear writer's text and the poor writer's text.
In recent research in applied linguistics, some of the techniques of functional
grammar are being used to discover the precise features of valued texts, and there is
clearly a lot of scope for further work in this area, not only for educational purposes
but also for business, journalism, politics and other fields where effective
communication is important. Recently, for example, interest has been expressed in the
discourse of public administration and calls have been made for application of strong
analytic methods to this area.
Methods of linguistic analysis give us the tools for investigating the characteristics of valued text, and a number of research studies have identified measurable
characteristics of such texts. The outcomes can be used to evaluate the relative
success of written and formal spoken language, and to make useful comparisons
between texts. We illustrate this type of study with typical examples.
Berry (1989) uses the analysis of Theme to investigate children's ability to
write appropriately in the specific genre of a guidebook for tourists. The task of
writing a town guide was set as a writing competition for schoolchildren. Some
children clearly captured a recognizably adult style for a tourist guide (e.g. Grantham
is 108 miles north of London), especially in their selection of third person topical
Themes, whereas others used a less appropriate style with first and second person
pronoun Themes, e.g. I think Grantham is a nice place to visit. Berry concludes that
more successful writers were able to control their thematic choices more consistently
than the less successful writers.
McCarthy and Carter (1994) show how an advertisement for holidays utilizes
contrastive thematic structure within the same text. The persuasive section of the text
is written in an interactional, informal style, with the use of personal pronouns (we
and you) in Theme position:
e.g.
You could be enjoying a five star holiday.
The 'small print' section of the text, where the restrictions and regulations are
lasted, displays a more formal style with a different selection of Themes (e.g. To
qualify you must be over 21; Present owners are not eligible). McCarthy and Carter
claim that the latter type of writing can 'distance the reader from the text' and
discourage 'any sustained reading of this section', which may be to the advantage of
the advertiser. Such work is, of course, of interest to copywriters, but studies like
these also provide a strong argument for raising the linguistic awareness of
consumers, since readers who are aware of linguistic tricks are better equipped to
evaluate texts.
Anderson and Davison (1988) use the comparative research in order to analyse
the concept according to which short sentences and simple clauses are easier to
understand than clause complexes or clauses with multiple embedding. Analysing a
wide body of research in this area, they concluded that complex clause structures can
actually facilitate text comprehensibility because clause relationships are more clearly
indicated.
Tyler (1994) studied the same statement on pieces of spoken English,
concentrating on the effect of hypotactic and paratactic structures on the
comprehensibility of lectures. Previous research had shown that native speakers of
English used more hypotactic structures than paratactic structures in planned spoken
discourse. Tyler found that there the statement according to which less complex
structures are easier to understand cannot be entirely be proved. One analysis found
that a text with plenty of hypotactic structures and embedded relatives is easier to
understand than another with simpler structures.
Thompson (2004) agrees with Tyler that a quantitative analysis (such as
counting sentence length, lexical density, or number of clauses per sentence) is only
part of the story. Since hypotaxis can signal the speaker's intended logical and
prominence relations, it can work as a comprehension aid. To discover why complex
structures are sometimes easier to understand, we need to consider functions within
the text, or possibly within whole context of use.
It is clear that there are significant grammatical features of valued texts that
can be learned by speakers or writers who wish to improve their communication
skills. For evaluating the communicative text we need a rich linguistic system, such as
provided by functional lexicogrammar in order to identify what is successful within
its own communicative context.
1.3.3. Language development
Children's acquisition of language and their early language development are of
interest to educators, psychologists, the medical profession and parents. SFL has been
used as an analytic tool in both of these applications following Halliday's (1975)
original study of a child's acquisition of English as a mother tongue using a functional
model. Halliday (2003b) is a selection of Halliday's extensive work on child language.
A major contributor to this application as well as to language in education is
Painter, who, in 1999, has recorded and analyzed the way a pre-school child uses
language as a learning tool and the ways in which the child constructs meaning. This
is particularly interesting in that it shows how and when a child begins to talk about
abstract entities and develops reasoning skills, using the grammar needed to express
conditions, cause and effect, and so on.
Martin (1989) considers factual writing by both children and adults within a
systemic functional framework and draws comparisons between them. The book is
revealing about the state of language education at the time and Martin made a strong
case for the importance of a sound approach to the teaching of writing by linguistically informed teachers. It was also ground-breaking in its focus on the
importance of lexical and grammatical metaphor as a means of establishing
'objectivity' in expository writing and of the need for children to be exposed to such
stylistic devices. In an application of grammatical analysis, Martin (in Halliday and
Martin, 1993: 211-13) uses Theme analysis to show the differences between the
writing of a young writer and the more complicated writing style of an older writer on
the same topic. The older writer used much lengthier themes than the younger writer,
who uses Themes such as I, you and there.
Applied linguists such as Carter and McCarthy argue that teachers not only
need to pass on language skills to their students, they also need to understand the
processes of language development that their students undergo and the uses (and
varieties) of language in the society at large. Working within a systemic functional
framework, with a clear focus on discourse, they consider that children should grow
up with a better understanding of how language is used to construct social practices
(including political and institutional structures, the media, advertising, and so on).
These different applications within an educational context are illustrated in works
such as McCarthy and Carter (1994) and Carter and McRae (1996).
Further evidence of the importance of systemic functional framework can have
for language education can be seen in the work of Butt et al. (2000), an introductory
course on systemic linguistics, which also includes advice for teachers. Like Carter
(1997), they consider that a text-based approach to language education should be
firmly based in the context of language use. However, they differ from Carter in
recommending the teaching of a standard meta-language for talking about language
both for teachers and students in school.
Lock (1996), in his introductory book on functional English grammar for
teachers, supports the view that there is a place in school for 'grammar as a source for
making and exchanging meanings in context'. He argues that a systemic functional
approach can be used to facilitate communication in all its modes.
Halliday himself has been personally involved in applying his insights to
teaching ever since the early days of Systemic Functional Linguistics when he was a
co-author with Mclntosh and Stevens of the influential work The linguistic Sciences
and Language Teaching, first published in 1964. This work provided guidance for a
whole generation of teachers, textbook writers and teacher trainers on the phonology
and intonation of English and language for specific purposes.
Over the years, probably the most widespread Hallidayan influence on
language teaching has been his work on cohesion. Nowadays work on cohesion often
relate to specific genres, but from the date of the publication of Cohesion in English
(1976) by Halliday and Hasan, it attracted the attention of teachers of English as a
foreign language, who realized that there was an aspect of English that had been
seriously neglected. The textbooks written before that time did not explain the most
cohesive devices in a systematic way, as well as certain aspects of the grammar,
particularly the nature of ellipsis and substitution in English. Nowadays, all general
course books and most reading and writing courses incorporate work designed to help
learners grasp the cohesive devices of written English.
It is only recently, however, that teachers and course designers have become
aware of the aspects of textual coherence, such as thematic patterns.
In one study, Bloor and Bloor (1992) identified three types of stylistic
problems in written academic texts caused by unusual use of the Theme-Rheme and
Given-New dimension of the grammar. They found that inexperienced writers do not
always have sufficient command of the grammatical devices that can be used to
control the position of Given and New information in the clause. Since there can be
no recourse to intonation and stress in written English, they suggest that more
attention needs to be given in teaching to this aspect of the grammar. A sophisticated
writer in an academic context needs a good control of the grammar of thematic
equatives, predicated theme, and the various exponents of textual theme as well as an
understanding of the distribution of Given and New information. This control is, of
course, often intuitive, but there is no doubt that some writers, particularly those
working in a foreign language, can be helped to improve their style by teachers who
can raise their awareness of such issues.
In other respects, functional grammar has been particularly useful in the
development of course design in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for
Academic Purposes. Munby's work (1978) on the design of communicative
syllabuses, which calls for close attention to appropriate language use in course design
for adult learners, is based on the assumption that ‘language varies as its function
varies’.
1.3.4. Stylistic analysis
The discussion of valued texts leads, almost inevitably, to the thought of great
works of literature since these are the texts most highly valued in literate societies. In
non-literate societies, spoken rhetoric and story telling are equally highly valued and
speakers are honored for their contributions. Of course, we are not suggesting here
that scientific, academic and media texts and so on should be less valued in their own
contexts than literature (Kress, 1998).
The language of literature became of much interest in the last few decades,
and this led to what came to be known as stylistics, which used linguistic techniques
to support the investigation of literary texts.
Of historical interest is Leech's A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry, which
was published in 1969, but, by the 1970s, some of Quirk’s work referred to 'the new
stylistics' which was firmly grounded in systemic Functional Grammar. Style in
Fiction written by Leech and Short (1981: 382) was a key work in establishing the
type of analysis that could prove insightful to our understanding of literature. They
considered themselves influenced by Halliday, the Prague School and Chomsky. They
applied the metafunctional theory of Halliday and see language within literature as
contextually governed.
Overall, the work in stylistics varies in the attention given to the role of
different metafunctions in literary texts as well as to the degree in which analysis is
quantitative or qualitative. Some analysis focuses more on the ideational, some on the
interpersonal and some on the textual.
Halliday's key work of 1971, which looked in some detail at Golding's novel
The Inheritors, compares the language at different stages of the novel, largely in the
variable use of linguistic patterns. Each of the three sections of the novel is written in
a different style, each with a preferred set of grammatical patterns, such as nominal
group modification and transitivity options. The language is shown to reflect the
behaviour and social interaction of the characters and communities represented. Thus,
the first style, supposedly used by a character from pre-history with a limited
construct of the world around him, has very few instances of human Actors, Humans
more often appearing as 'affected' participants in mental processes. In addition, in this
section of the book, Golding uses an ‘excessive’ number of circumstantial elements,
mostly concerning objects in the natural environment ('in the bushes', 'under water',
etc.). Consequently, there is no cause-effect relationship expressed in this part of the
book. Halliday contrasts this style with those used in the other two sections, making
the point that the frequency of linguistic forms establishes a 'norm' within a particular
text, or part of a text, which may differ from the rest of the literary work and may not
represent the linguistic norms of the language as a whole.
1.3.5. The Influence of language
Since language is a human social phenomenon, it develops and changes as
people use it for social purposes. Much of our understanding of reality (our models of
the world and the way in which we represent the world) is dependent on language.
Usually we take this for granted and imagine that we can talk and write about the
world in a completely objective way, using language as a tool that is separate from
our experience, but, if we stand back, and look at the language that we use or the
language that is used around us, we can see how the words and grammar picture
reality in certain ways that at the same time reflect our attitudes and influence our
future perception of the world. Halliday (1990) illustrates this with the way in which
modern societies use the word grow with favorable connotations even when writing
about activities that may not be good for the planet in any real long-term ways.
Starting from the association of growth with such ideas as the growing child or the
growth of food and plants, we can now talk about economic growth, industrial
growth, growth in air transport, and so on, and, regardless of reality, the idea that
'growth is good’ permeates the language. He quotes from the Sydney Morning Herald,
12 March 1990, to the effect that the annual market forecast of an airplane
manufacturing company 'says airline traffic to, from and within the Pacific area will
lead the growth with rates unmatched anywhere else in the world' and adds that 'the
rationale for a more optimistic outlook includes prolonged air travel expansion driven
by continued growth in discretionary incomes'. This relates to a very common, but
questionable idea of Western culture that 'more is better' and 'bigger is better'.
The example of growth is a good example of how a particular ideology can
become set into the form of the language (in this case the lexical item grow).
Andersen, who used linguistic approaches to look at political issues and at
power and success in the academic world, believed that, although our experiences are
largely shaped by the discourses of the societies in which we grow up, we can use our
consciousness to re-articulate our experience:
“Language can help us to become aware of the unconscious pressures that
operate on the ways we think and behave. These pressures are not all related to deep
and distant experiences lost in our infancies, but also to immediate social expectations
that we should act out certain roles, behave and talk in certain ways. We can become
more aware of these pressures and so make ourselves less liable to be influenced by
them” (1988: 123).
Fairclough (1989) comments on the range of linguistic features that he has
noted in his investigations into the exercise of power relations in discourse, and adds
that he hopes his readers who do not have a background in language analysis will
appreciate how a close analysis of texts can help us to an understanding of power
relations and ideological processes in discourse.
In an article from 1999, he explains that his objective is to show how a
systematic and detailed textual analysis can add to a variety of current approaches to
discourse analysis.
In the earlier work, while stressing that description is only one stage in critical
discourse analysis (the others are interpretation and explanation), Fairclough specifies
the type of linguistic analysis that is appropriate for critical investigations into
language use and suggests ten questions concerning vocabulary, grammar and textual
features that we can ask about the features of a text. The questions concern the choice
of words, grammatical form and text structure in terms of their experiential values
(how is the speaker/writer's experience of the world represented?), relational values
(how are social relationships between interactants expressed?) and expressive values
(how are the speaker/writers attitudes to the topic expressed and social identities
revealed?).
Evaluation test
I. Answer the following questions:
1. What is systemic- functional grammar?
2. What are the uses of this type of grammar?
3. What are the three levels of text analysis?
4. What is a tree diagram?
5. How do we identify a constituent?
II. Identify constituents in the following sentences:
1. I have a black and white dress.
2. That small blue-eyed boy is my neighbor.
3. Swimming is his favourite pastime.
4. To go to America has always been her dream.
5. Those houses will be finished soon.
Tema nr. 2: Theme - clause as message
UnităŃi de învăŃare
• Characterization of Theme
• Thematic Development Within a Text
• Types of Themes
• Problems in Identifying the Theme
Obiective
• StudenŃii trebuie să poată identifica temele în structura propoziŃiilor
• StudenŃii trebuie să îşi însuşească importanŃa temelor în dezvoltarea textelor
• StudenŃii trebuie să fie capabili să recunoască tipurile de teme în funcŃie de
funcŃia şi de structura lor
• StudenŃii trebuie să poată identifica elementele de dificultate care apar în
identificarea diferitelor tipuri de teme
Timpul alocat temei: 4 ore
Bibliografie recomandată :
Bloor, Thomas, Bloor, Meriel. The Functional Analysis of English. A Hallidayan
Approach. Second edition. London: Arnold, 2004.
Dik, Simon. Studies In Functional Grammar, Amsterdam University Press, 1980
Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter,
1996.
Fries, Peter. On the Status of Theme in English: arguments from discourse in Forum
Linguisticum 6, pp. 1-38, 1981.
Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar, second edition, Arnold,
London, 1994
Halliday, M.A.K. On Grammar, eds. Jonathan Webster, London & New York:
Continuum, 2003.
Ghadessy, Mohsen. Thematic Development in English Texts, London: Pinter, 1995.
Martin, J.R. English Text: System and Structure, Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1992.
Lyons, John. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1968
Matthienssen, Christian & Bateman, John. Text Generation and Systemic- Functional
Linguistics, Pinter, London, 1991
Matthienssen, Christian; Painter, Claire & Martin, J.R. Working With Functional
Grammar, Arnold, London, 1997
Thompson, Geoff. Introducing Functional Grammar, Arnold, London, 1996
R. Quirk and J. Svartvik, A Corpus of English Conversation, Eds. 1980.
2.1. Characterization of Theme
The system of Theme is concerned with the organization of information within
individual clauses and, through this, with the organization of a larger text. Thus the
following versions of ‘the same’ clause- sized piece of information embody
alternative THEME choices:
Your reporter repeatedly interrupted her replies.
Her replies were repeatedly interrupted by your reporter.
Repeatedly, your reporter interrupted her replies.
Every clause is organized as a message related to an unfolding text. The
system of THEME organizes the clause to show what its local context is in relation to
the general context of the text it serves in.The system is concerned with the current
point of departure in relation to what has come before, so that it is clear where the
clause is located in the text- how its contribution fits in. The local context or point of
departure is called THEME. The rest of the message of the clause is what is
presented against the background of the local context- it is where the clauses moves
after the point of the departure. This is called RHEME. The clause as message is thus
organized in THEME + RHEME. In English and many other languages this
organization is ‘realized’ positionally: Theme is realized by initial position in the
clause and the Rheme follows.
THEME: point of departure of clause as message; local context of clause as a piece
of text. Initial position in the clause.
RHEME: non- Theme- where the presentation moves after the point of departure;
what is presented in the local context set up by Theme. Position following initial
position.
Theme is one of the two systems that organize the information presented in the
clause, the other being that of INFORMATION. And although our concern is with
Theme, it will be useful to distinguish it from that of information and, at various
points, to make links between the two systems.
While the Theme uses position within the clause to organize information into
an initial orientation followed by the Rheme, the system of Information uses
intonation to highlight what is particularly newsworthy in the message. The New
element in the clause is foregrounded by being ‘stressed’ as we speak (more
technically, it contains a tonic syllable). For example
A: Which one is Lindy’s boy?
B: He ‘s the tall one.
Rheme
New
2.2. Thematic Development Within a Text
The choice of Theme for any individual clause will generally relate to the way
information is being developed over the course of the whole text. In the following
text, the overall discourse theme concerns reptiles and their subtypes; clause by clause
the Themes are selected to indicate the progression from reptiles in general to ‘some
reptiles’, ‘many reptiles’ and so on:
Reptiles were the first animals with backbones that could live on land all the time.
Some reptiles we know today are snakes, lizards and turtles. Many of the early
reptiles grew very large. Two large, early reptiles were….
This progression of Themes over the course of a text is referred to as the text method
of development.
2.3. Types of Themes
We have described the Theme as providing the local context for the
information in the rest of the clause. An important aspect to this is that the clause can
be contextualized in terms of all three of its metafunctional perspectives: textually,
interpersonally and ideationally. The theme of a clause can thus have textual,
interpersonal and ideational stages. The ideational stage to the Theme is known as
topical. The Theme component in a clause may unfold from one metafunctional
perspective to the next.
The Theme of the clause always concludes with a ‘topical’ element, and
indeed there may be only a topical theme, as in Reptiles were the first animals with
backbones that could live on land all the time. The textual and interpersonal stages to
the theme may or may not be present. The next section will illustrate each different
type of Theme.
1. Ideational (Topical) Theme
The ideational stage of the Theme, known as topical Theme, can be recognized as
the first element in the clause that expresses some kind of ‘representational’ meaning.
More technically, it is a function from the transitivity structure of the clause. It may be
a participant as in:
e.g.
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin.
The house was gloomy.
or it may be a circumstance giving information about time, place, manner, cause etc.
as in:
e.g.
In 1876 Shaw joint her mother and sister in London.
Occasionally, it may be the process as in:
e.g.
Says Mr. Smith: ‘It’s too early to draw any conclusions yet.’
Marked and Unmarked Topical Theme
If the first topical element of a declarative clause is also the Subject of the
clause then the Theme choice is a neutral or ‘unmarked’ one, which gives the Theme
no special proeminence. By making use of the system of VOICE (the alternation
between ‘active’ and ‘passive’) it is possible to vary the choice of unmarked Theme:
John
bought a bunch of roses.
Unmarked Theme/ Subject
Rheme
A bunch of roses
was bought by John.
Unmarked Theme/ Subject
Rheme
However, when the topical Theme of a declarative clause is not the Subject, it
gains a greater textual prominence. Non- subject Themes are ‘marked’ Themes and
are often important in structuring the larger discourse. Here are some examples of
marked themes:
Someday,
you
Marked Theme
Subject
…….Rheme…………………………….
Jasmine,
Marked Theme
‘ll understand that
I
love the smell
Subject
…….Rheme…………………………….
2. Interpersonal Theme
The interpersonal part of the Theme, if present, includes one or more of the
following:
a.The Finite, typically realized by an auxiliary verb. Its presence in thematic position
signals that a response is expected, as in:
e.g.
Should they be doing that?
Are you coming?
Don’t touch that!
b. A Wh- element, signalling that ‘an’ answer is required from the addressee.
e.g.
Why can’t you come over tonight?
How did school shape up?
c. A Vocative, identifying the addressee in the exchange:
e.g.
Mr. Wolf, may we cross your garden?
d. An Adjunct, typically realized by an adverb. It provides the speaker’s comment or
attitude towards the message. For example:
e.g.
Sadly, it doesn’t look like the old places will be around much longer.
Perhaps, woman are better doctors.
One final type of interpersonal Theme consists of first and second person ‘mental’
clauses which expresse the speaker’s opinion.
e.g.
I should think there would probably be some of them that you’ll never see.
I don’t suppose you need Old English.
Do you think I should take…?
You know bitter beer should be sharp.
Halliday regards these as “ interpersonal metaphors”, meaning that they can be
regarded as comparable with Adjuncts like probably and treated as interpersonal
Themes.
3. Textual Theme
Textual Themes almost always constitute the first part of the Theme, coming
before any interpersonal Themes. They give thematic prominence to textual elements
with a linking function.
a. Structural conjunctions, linking two clauses in a coordinating relation:
e.g.
Jasmine, I love the smell of, but napalm I adore.
or marking one clause as dependent on another:
e.g.
The interviewer asked whether there would be a change in direction.
The Minister said that there was no need to amend the legislation.
b. Relatives, relating a dependent clause to another clause:
We heard Prof. Smith’s lecture, which was a great disappointment.
Relative elements serve both as textual and topical Theme since, as well as
relating clause to a preceding one, they serve to specify a participant.
c. Conjunctives, providing a cohesive link back to previous discourse:
Furthermore, this alternative would be far too costly.
Note that conjunctives may or may not be thematic depending on whether they
occur first in the clause. For example, later is thematic in Later they offered details
about the agreement, but it is not thematic in He later offered a brief, televised
apology.
d. Continuatives, indicating a relationship to previous discourse:
e.g.
Well there was a lot of trouble when you got there, wasn’t it?
Summary of Types of Themes
All three metafunctions contribute to the Theme of a clause; the last, and the
only obligatory, stage of a Theme as it unfolds from left to right in the clause, is the
ideational part. If you analyse a clause for Theme from left to right, the most central
question is how far the Theme extends to the right, i.e. where the boundary between
Theme and Rheme can be drawn. The Theme extends from the beginning of the
clause to include any textual and/ or interpersonal elements that may be presented and
also the first experiential element, that is a circumstance, process or participant.
Extending the Thematic Principle Beyond the Clause
The thematic principle of textual organization can also be seen operating with
respect to units larger than the individual clause. One such case is where two or more
clauses are linked together within a ‘clause complex’ (the sentence of written
English). Where a dependent (modifying, subordonate) clause precedes the main
clause it can be interpreted as having thematic status for the clause complex as a
whole, as in Although the play was well- acted, the characters ultimately failed to
engage our sympathies. In a similar way, the initial clause complex of a paragraph
may be seen as functioning as a kind of ‘paragraph Theme’ while the introductory
paragraph itself has a thematic status regarding the text as a whole.
2.4. Problems in Identifying the Theme
There are several problems that can appear while identifying the Theme,
problems which are going to be presented below:
a.
How do we identify the unit of analysis? Theme is a system of clause, so the
first step in undertaking a Theme analysis is to identify the clause boundaries in the
text. To divide your text into clauses you need to look for verbs or groups of verbs.
These are the elements expressing processes of doing, saying, perceiving, thinking,
feeling, being or having. Here are some examples of clauses with the verbs in bold:
e.g.
I’ll be waiting for you.
You will tell him, won’t you?
I want to be alone.
It’s alive.
We’ll always like him.
Some utterances such as greetings (Hello, Good bye), exclamations (Good
Lord, Oh, My God) or minimal conversational moves (Oh!) do not have any verb.
These minor clauses have no Theme- Rheme structure and can be simply left aside.
One kind of clause which may lack a Theme is the non-finite clause without Subject.
e.g.
He went to the cupboard to fetch his grandmother the glasses.
His hobby was collecting stamps.
(non-finite clauses)
Such non-finite clauses have been deprived from their Theme for interpersonal
reasons, so that the whole clauses can be counted as topical Theme. In other words the
Process which begins the clause does nt serve as topical Theme:
He
went to the cupboard to fetch his grandmother her glasses.
Theme
Rheme
Rheme
His hobby
was
collecting stamps.
Theme
Rheme
Rheme
b. Which is the boundary between Theme and Rheme? Theoretically, Theme
is a pulse of information at the beginning of the clause, but practically speaking we
need to make a decision about where Theme begins and stops. The principle to
remember is that everything up to and including the first ‘ topical’ (experiential)
element will count as the Theme. In elliptical clauses where the two clauses are linked
by coordination, the Subject of the second clause may be ellipsed or ‘understood’.
e.g.
He looked furiously at her and ( ) began to shout.
Identifying the Metafunction
1. Textual or Interpersonal?
a. Yes and No
Yes and No may be interpersonal or textual in function. POLARITY is an
interpersonal system, and when yes or no initiates a response to a yes/ no
interrogative, it functions as an interpersonal theme:
e.g.
A: Did you get a newspaper today?
B: No, I didn’t.
No is interpersonal Theme.
However, yes or no may also serve a continuative function, signalling a new
move (by the same or by a different speaker) simply by maintaining the current
polarity. In these cases they will be phonologically weak and are textual Themes,
linking the new move to what went before:
e.g.
A: Bad news about John’s job.
B: Yes, it is.
Yes is textual Theme
A: We won’t go to the beach today.
B: No, it’s too windy.
No is textual Theme.
Oh, okay and now are other textual continuatives, which similarly mark a response
move in dialogue or a fresh initiation in monologue.
b. Adjuncts
It is easy to confuse initial Adjuncts which have a textual, linking function and
those which have an interpersonal, modal function. Some of the Adjuncts most
frequently confused are listed below:
Textual
In fact
Anyway
At least
In conclusion
Interpersonal
Evidently
Broadly speaking
Obviously
Provisionally
2. Interpersonal or Topic?
a. Time expressions
Expressions of frequency (‘usuality’ Adjuncts) such as sometimes or often are
interpersonal rather than experiential in nature.
Interpersonal
(Usuality)
At times…
Often….
Usually…
Occasionally…
Topical
(Temporal Location/ Extent)
In the mornings…
On Saturdays….
Three times a day….
That particular year…
The Theme predication test is a useful way to discriminate topical Theme. In
the following examples, the second version has the element in doubt as a predicate.
Only a topical element can successfully function as a predicated Theme:
On Saturdays we used to go jogging
It was on Saturdays we used to go jogging.
On Saturdays is topical theme.
Usually Jeremy is too drunk.
* It is usually that Jeremy is too drunk.
Usually is not topical theme.
b. Question words
Interrogative Wh- items such as Where, Why, When, How are both interpersonal
and topical. This is because they play a role both in the interpersonal structure of the
clause- as the Wh- function- and in the transivity structure of the clause, as participant
or circumstance. This is true for both of direct and indirect (reported) whinterrogative clauses. For example:
Who
interpersonal
topical
Theme
‘d even know
who
you were?
Rheme
interpersonal
topical
Theme
Rheme
3. Textual or Topical?
a. Relative pronouns
Note that relative items (such as who[m], which, whose) play a role in the
transitivity structure of a clause as well as performing a lnking function, thus they are
both topical and textual Themes.
She spoke to Dr. Jones,
who
did his best to help her.
textual
topical
Theme
Rheme
b. Reference items
A reference item, such as this, is sometimes wrongly viewed as a textual Theme in
an example like the following:
e.g.
For many years, girls have fared worse than boys in mathematics and science
subjects. This has resulted in a number of special programs….
However, although this is certainly textual in its function as a cohesive item, it
counts as a topical Theme because it is a participant in the clause structure.
c. Temporal expressions
It is easy to confuse a textual linker combining two clauses or sentences in a
temporal relation with a temporal circumstance specifying a time setting for its clause.
Textual Themes are underlined in the following examples:
e.g.
As he sat in the barn he watched Bern coming and going about his work. At
last the beggar said…
Now look at circumstances functioning as topical Themes:
e.g.
In 1925, the playwright was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Betwwen
the ages of fifty- seven and sixty- seven, Shaw wrote such dramas as
Heartbreak House, Back to Methuselah, St. Joan. During his lifetime, he was
besieged by offers to film his plays…
Further temporal examples are given below:
Textual
Previously….
Finally….
Later…
Topical
Before breakfast…
By the end of the race……
At 5 o’clock…..
Conclusions
The system of THEME is a textual resource at clause rank for presenting the
clause as a message (piece of text) in the unfolding text. It organizes the clause into
two parts by specifying a point of departure for the addressee in his/ her interpretation
of the clause.
The point of departure of the clause as message, what is called THEME, is
realized by initial position in the clause, and it is followed by the non- Theme, The
Rheme. The Rheme provides the information to be processed within the local
environment specified by the Theme.
There are three possible components to the Theme of a clause: textual,
interpersonal and topical (i.e. ideational). As a general principle, finite clause in
English will select an ideational function (typically participant or circumstance) as
topical Theme. The first element in the clause realizes the topical Theme while
preceding textual or interpersonal elements constitute textual and interpersonal
Themes. For example:
Well, naturally,
most people
don’t discuss these things in public.
Textual
Interpersonal
Topical
…………………………Theme………………………
…………………..Rheme………………….
Evaluation test
I. Identify topical Themes in the following sentences:
1. He is out.
2. You are just in time for a little walk.
3. One must not complain.
4. That’s a very good idea.
5. This room does not need air.
6. Nobody sits out in this time of the year.
7. His argument just crumbled.
8. He was fat and bunchy.
9. The clock was still saying five minutes to eleven.
10. A peaceful smile came over her face.
II. Identify interpersonal Themes in the following sentences:
1. Maybe you call them sparrows.
2. Of course he does.
3. Perhaps you will not notice it.
4. Frank, this is fantastic.
5. For God’s sake, you had me worried.
6. Honest to God I stood you up.
7. Are you sure?
8. Was he a famous poet?
9. What shall we do?
10. How old are you?
III. Recognize long Themes in the following text and consider how they have been
used to organize the description:
The land was cold and white and savage. Across it there ran thread of frozen
waterway, with dark spruce forest looming on either side. Along this waterway toiled
a string of wolfish dogs, hauling a sled of birch-bark. On the sled, along with the
camp-outfit, was lashed a long and narrow oblong box. In front of the dogs, on white
snowshoes, toiled a man. Behind the sled came a second man. On the sled in the box
lay a third man, whose life was at an end – a man whom the Wild had beaten down
and conquered. The bodies of the live men were covered with soft fur and leather.
Their faces were blurred and shapeless under a coating of crystals from their frozen
breath. All around them was a silence which seemed to press upon them as water does
upon a diver.
(J. London: White Fang, Abridged edition N. Farr, Pendulum Press, 1977)
Tema nr. 3: Mood – clause as exchange
UnităŃi de învăŃare
• The definition of mood
• Structure of the Mood element
• Polarity and Modality
• Structure of the Residue
• Identifying structural elements
Obiective
• StudenŃii trebuie să poată identifica modurile în structura propoziŃiilor
• StudenŃii trebuie să îşi însuşească structura elementelor din mod
• StudenŃii trebuie să fie capabili să recunoască modurile de exprimare a
polarităŃii şi modalităŃii
• StudenŃii trebuie să poată identifica tipurile de elemente din Mood.
Timpul alocat temei: 4 ore
Bibliografie recomandată :
Bloor, Thomas, Bloor, Meriel. The Functional Analysis of English. A Hallidayan
Approach. Second edition. London: Arnold, 2004.
Dik, Simon. Studies In Functional Grammar, Amsterdam University Press, 1980
Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter,
1996.
Fries, Peter. On the Status of Theme in English: arguments from discourse in Forum
Linguisticum 6, pp. 1-38, 1981.
Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar, second edition, Arnold,
London, 1994
Halliday, M.A.K. On Grammar, eds. Jonathan Webster, London & New York:
Continuum, 2003.
Ghadessy, Mohsen. Thematic Development in English Texts, London: Pinter, 1995.
Martin, J.R. English Text: System and Structure, Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1992.
Lyons, John. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1968
Matthienssen, Christian & Bateman, John. Text Generation and Systemic- Functional
Linguistics, Pinter, London, 1991
Matthienssen, Christian; Painter, Claire & Martin, J.R. Working With Functional
Grammar, Arnold, London, 1997
Thompson, Geoff. Introducing Functional Grammar, Arnold, London, 1996
R. Quirk and J. Svartvik, A Corpus of English Conversation, Eds. 1980.
2.1. The definition of MOOD
The system of MOOD belongs to the interpersonal metafunction of the
language and is the grammatical resource for realizing an interactive move in
dialogue. For example, each of the following alternatives has a different interactional
status and each embodies an alternative MOOD choice:
Example
Mood
The spy came in from the cold.
declarative
Did the spy come in from the cold?
interrogative: yes/ no
Who came in from the cold?
Where did the spy come from?
interrogative: wh-
Come in from the cold!
imperative
If we look at each of these as a possible move in a dialogue, we can see that
one difference between them lies in the role of the speaker – the speaker may be
giving something to the addressee or demanding something of him/ her. Moreover,
the ‘something’ here will be either information or goods and services. While goods
and services exist independently of language (and can be exchanged without
accompanying language) information is constitued in language and has no existence
outside the symbolic exchange.
The key to a semantic understanding of a dialogue is the metaphor of
symbolic exchange among the persons taking part , which gives us the two notions of
(i)
the role taken on by an interactant in the exchange and;
(ii)
the nature of the exchange- good and services versus information.
Table 1:
good and services
information
giving
OFFER
(various)
STATEMENT
declarative
He will help me.
demanding
COMMAND
imperative
Help me!
QUESTION
interrogative
whWho will help me?
yes/ no Will you help me?
proposal
proposition
As you can see from the table 1, (i) and (ii) combine the traditional speech
functional categories of statement, question, offer and command. Statements and
questions involve exchanges of information and are called propositions while offers
and commands are exchanges of goods and services called proposals. These semantic
categories are realized by grammatical MOOD options.
So far we have been looking at single clause examples, but to understand
interpersonal grammar it is important to focus on its role in realizing dialogues which
is essentially an interactive, collaborative process. To explore the role of the MOOD
further, let us look more closely at a minimal example of dialogue. In the following
dialog exchange A demands information and B gives on demand:
e.g.
A: What the hell is structuralism?
B: It’s a form of analysis, dear.
The most central aspect of this passage of dialogue is that it is acted out as an
exchange between A and B. The example above is, semantically, a demand for
information (question) followed by a piece of information (statement) realized
grammatically as ‘interrogative: wh-‘ and ‘declarative’, respectively.
Structurally, the exchange revolves around two parts: is structuralism?- It is
and What the hell- a form of analysis. The first is the MOOD element, here the
combination of Subject and the Finite verb, while the other is the Residue element
(which may involve one or more elements). You can see that the order of the Subject
and Finite element within the MOOD element is interpersonally significant. In this
exchange, it switches from MOOD (Finite^ Subject), indicating that the clause is
interrogative, to MOOD (Subject^ Finite), indicating that the clause is declarative:
e.g.
A:
B:
What the hell
is
……..Residue…..
………….Mood………….
Finite Subject
It
‘s
…..Mood……
Subject
Finite
structuralism?
a form of analysis, dear.
…………Residue……………
The example above also illustrates other interpersonal choices. For example, B
chooses to respond It’s a form of analysis, dear rather than It’s a form of analysis,
thus naming the addressee with a good and services Vocative embodying an
interpersonal attitude, an undearment (dear).
2.2. Structure of the Mood element
The Mood element makes the clause ‘negotiable’ and consists of Finite,
Subject and sometimes Modal Adjuncts. The finite makes a cluase negotiable by
coding it as positive or negative and by grounding it, either in terms of time (it is/ it
isn’t: it was/ it wasn’t: it will/ it won’t) or in terms of modality (it may/ it will/ it must
etc). The Subject is the element in terms of which the clause can be negotiated. Modal
adjuncts add meanings related to the speaker judgement or to the positive/ negative
aspect of the Finite. Table 2 outlines the class of unit which typically realizes
functions within the Mood element.
Table 2: Functions within the Mood element
function
(i). Finite
(ii). Subject
(iii). modal adjunct
class of unit
finite verb
(typically)
nominal group
adverbial group
example
has
the girl
already, unfortunately
Unfortunately
the girl
has
already
done it.
…………………………….Mood………………………………………………..
……..Residue….
Modal adjunct
Subject
Finite
Modal adjunct
(comment)
(mood)
To test a Subject role, add a Moodtag. In the tag the Subject will be repeated
as a pronoun, as in The girl has already done it, hasn’t she? In a similar way, the
Finite can be identified as the verb which reappears in the Moodtag.
As shown above, there are two kinds of Modal adjunct: the mood Adjunct and
the comment adjunct. The mood Adjunct construes meaning most closely related to
those of the Finite, which comment Adjuncts provide an attitude towards, or comment
upon, the exchange itself of the information being exchanged.
It is the structure of the Mood element which distinguishes the principal mood
types (of declarative, interrogative, imperative), as shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Relation of Mood selection and Mood structure
Example (Mood in bold)
Mood selection
indicative
declarative
non- exclamative
exclamative
interrogative
yes/no
whimperative
Mood element
present
they^will build the house.
how quickly^ they^will build the house?
Subject^ Finite
Wh^ Subject^ Finite
will^they build the house?
Finite^ Subject
What^ will^they build?
Wh^ Finite^ Subject
-----------
build the house!
2.3. Polarity and modality
The Mood element of the clause is also where the interpersonal resources of
POLARITY (positive/ negative) and MODALITY (probability etc.) are realized in
English. These meanings can be expressed either as a feature of the Finite or as a
separate Mood adjunct.
Finite
mood adjunct
polarity
hasn’t
not
modality
may
perhaps
For instance:
e.g.
He
may
..Mood…..
Su
Fi
be at home
…..Residue….
:
He
is
perhaps
……….Mood……………
Su
Fi
Adjunct
at home
Residue
There are four main kinds of Modality: probability, usuality, obligation and
readiness. Halliday refers to probability and usuality together as modalization, which
he associates with propositions (statements and questions); he refers to obligation and
readiness as modulation, which is associated with proposals (offers and commands).
See the below table:
mood Adjuncts
Kind of Modality
Finite: modal
(modalization)
probability
may, might, can, could, will,
would, should, must
probably, possibly,
certainly, perhaps,
maybe
usuality
may, might, can, could, will,
would, should, must
usually, sometimes,
always, never, ever,
seldom,rarely
(modulation)
obligation
may, might, can, could, should,
must
definitely, absolutely,
possibly, at all costs, by
all means
readiness:
inclination
ability
may, might, can, could, will,
would, shall, must
can, could
The Interpretation Of Subject As An Interpersonal Function
Halliday interprets Subject as an interpersonal function, not as a textual or
ideational one. He approaches it from dialogue in the first instance rather than just a
monologue. Halliday’s notion of ‘moral responsibility’ as the characterization of
Subject may take a while to understand; but it is crucial to an understanding to the
category of Subject in English. You can see it most clearly in clauses that express
proposals- imperative clauses and indicative clauses with a modal auxiliary indicating
obligation or readiness (modulated indicative clauses).
For example:
- proposal in the form of an imperative ‘you do’: implicit Subject you:
e.g.
Oh, don’t (you) say that!
Don’t (you) touch me!
(you) be quick, will you?
- proposal in the form of a modulated indicative clause: Subject in bold:
e.g.
You mustn’t mind what a sick person says.
You should go to bed.
You can go to sleep.
Shall I pour you another glass?
Can we give you a ride home?
Here the Subject is responsible for the success of the proposal. But you can
also get a sense of Subject as the modally responsible element in propositions –
indicative clauses negotiating information when you consider the potential embodied
in the combination of Subject and Finite:
e.g.
Meg: You slept like a log last night.
Pete: Did I?
Meg: I was the belle of the ball.
Pete: Were you?
Meg: Oh, yes. They all said I was.
Meg: Well, I bet you don’t know what it is.
Pete: oh, yes, I do.
These examples indicate that the Subject is also modally responsible in an
indicative clause realizing a proposition. In propositions we might characterize the
meaning of Subject in terms of that element of meaning which the speaker assesses to
be most at risk; most likely to be a candidate for the listener rejecting the proposition.
Thus characterized, the Subject is a kind of variable and the Residue a constant.
Extended to proposals, this interpretation would imply that proposals are most at risk
in terms of who is responsible for carrying them through, rather than whether they
should be done in the first place.
In contrast to Halliday’s dialogic approach to Subject, most recent linguistic
work has tried to interpret it in textual terms as a grammaticalization of ‘topic’ in a
monologic environment. But, as you have seen, (topical) Theme and Subject are only
conflated in the unmarked case (in declarative clauses). Furthermore, the
interpretation of Subject as a grammaticalization of ‘topic’ entirely fails to account for
its contribution to Mood together with Finite and facts that follow from that, such as
the following:
a. As already implied, modulations (obligations and inclinations) are oriented
towards the Subject of the clause, not towards any other elements. Thus, in you
shouldn’t say that word, ‘you’ (Subject) rather than ‘that word’ (Complement) is
vested with obligation.
b. When a clause is negative, the negation normally starts with Finite and
affects the whole of residue, but Subject is not negated: it is the element with respect
to which something is affirmed or denied, etc- he - he has bought something for you/
hasn’t bought anything for you.
2.4. Structure of the Residue
The Residue consists of Predicator, sometimes also of Complement(s), and
sometimes also of Adjunct(s).
Residue functions:
function
(i)
Predicator
(ii).
Complement(s)
(iii).
Adjunct(s) with
ideational role
of
circumstance
class of unit
example
non-finite (part of)
verbal group
(typically)
nominal group
(typically)
adverbial group/
prepositional phrase
been given
my aunt
out of pity
For example:
These flowers have just
been given
my aunt
out of pity
Predicator
Complement
Adjunct
Mood
Residue
Whereas the Finite specifies the domain of arguability as through time or
modality, the Predicator may specify features of temporality or modality (or other
domains) that are related to whatever specification is made in the Finite. For example,
e.g.
She
was
going to respond.
Su
Fi
Predicator
Here the primary tense in the Finite establishes arguability in terms of past
(was) in relation to ‘now’, while the secondary tense in the Predicator specifies future
(going to) in relation to the past.
The difference between Complements and Adjuncts is that the Complements
are potential Subjects, whereas Adjuncts are not.
e.g.
She gave my aunt these flowers out of pity.
My aunt was given these flowers out of pity.
These flowers were given to my aunt out of pity, but not
Out of pity was given these flowers my aunt.
Wh- : an itinerant function
One particular interpersonal clause function is sometimes found in Mood and
sometimes in Residue. This is the Wh element, which always combines or ‘conflates’
with another function. If it conflates with the Subject, it becomes part of the Mood
element, if it conflates with a Complement or Adjunct it becomes part of the Residue.
For example:
Who
has
seen
the new Schwarzenegger movie?
……..Mood…………
Wh/Subject
Finite
…………….Residue…………………………………………..
Predictor
Complement
When
did
you
Residue…
Wh/Adjunct
….Mood……………..
Finite
Subject
see
it?
……Residue……..
Predicator
Complement
Elements Which Are Outside the Mood Residue Structure
Some elements of clause structure fall outside the Mood + Residue (+
Moontag) structure. These include (i) interpersonal elements which are not part of the
proposition or proposal being negotiated and (ii) textual elements which have no
interpersonal role at all.
(i) Interpersonal elements:
Vocative:
Identifies the addressee in the exchange
e.g.
Madam, you’ll look like a flower, won’t you?
Vocative
Expletive:
e.g.
Mood …..Residue……….. Moontag
Expresses attitude towards the exchange itself or the
information being exchanged
Heavens, you’ll look like a flower, won’t you?
Expletive
Mood …..Residue……….. Moontag
(ii) Textual elements:
Continuative: yes, no or structural conjunction, such as and, but, or, when,
while.
e.g.
yes, it usually does
……..Mood……..
rain
Residue
Semantically, the fact that all these parts fall outside the Mood-Residue
structure means that these elements are not part of the proposition or proposal being
negotiated. They relate to it by indicating its textual relevance as a message (by means
of continuatives or conjunctions) and by indicating the addressee (by means of the
Vocative) and by indicating speaker stance (by means of Expletive), but they do not
form part of what is being negotiated.
The Unit of Analysis
Every ‘major’ clause in English will embody a choice from the MOOD
system. Such choices are also inherent in elliptical clauses, where all or part of Mood
or Residue may be absent. For example:
e.g.
A: Did you get a newspaper today?
B: No, I didn’t [
]
elliptical declarative
There are, however, two kinds of clause which do not embody a Mood choice as
the following:
a. The ‘non-finite’ clause, such as: to give a book, giving her a book, having given
her a book, etc. Such clauses are not grounded or bounded by the tense or
modality meaning carried in a Finite element and are consequently not arguable or
negotiable. They generally consist of Residue only, although sometimes a Subject
is present as in her having given him a book.
b. Minor clauses are a second kind of clauses without Mood. They are ‘minor’
because they are not open to any kind of major systems of Theme, Mood or
Transitivity. Such clauses such as oh, hi, thanks, may, however, fulfill a minor
speech functional meaning and thus they can serve an interpersonal function as a
greeting, or like. They have a semantic role in dialogue but can simply be ignored
when analysing the Mood grammatically.
Identifying Structural Elements
Sometimes it is difficult to identify structural elements due to the particular
structure of the clause. Here are some of the most important problems raised by the
Mood Structure:
1. Finite and Predicator realized together
In the simple present or simple past tense, the Finite function is combined with
that of Predicator; this is shown in the analysis by writing Finite/Predicator.
simple past
simple present
Mary
had
Subject
Finite/Predicator Complement.
her baby.
John
feels
Subject
Finite/Predicator Complement
angry.
Note that, for purposes of emphasis, negation and tagging, The Finite is
realized separately from the Predicator, through the auxiliary verb do.
emphatic
tagged
negative
Mary
did
have
her baby,
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Complement
didn’t
she?
Finite
Subject
Mary
didn’t
have
her baby.
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Complement
Note the contrast with bare imperatives:
simple present
You
swim
Subject
imperative
well.
Finite/Predicator Adjunct
(you)
swim
well!
Subject
Predicator
Adjunct
2. Adjuncts: in Mood or in Residue?
Modal Adjuncts have meanings related to those of the Finite (e.g. probably relates
to might) and/ or involve a measure of speaker ‘intrusion’ through an expression of
judgement (presumably) or inclination (gladly). Adjuncts in the Residue lack this
intruding function and differ in that they also carry ideational meaning. The Modal
Adjuncts, most frequently confused with circumstantial Adjuncts in the Residue are
the Mood Adjuncts of usuality and time as follows:
(I). Usuality: always, often, sometimes, never, seldom, etc. Usuality is an
interpersonal system because, like modality, it involves gradations between positive
and negative, thus involving speaker judgement and a close relationship to the
meaning of the Finite.
(II). Time: yet, still, already, once, soon, just. It may be less obvious that mood
Adjuncts of time are purely interpersonal in function, since time is an area of meaning
also prominent in circumstantial Adjuncts like: at 6 o’clock that evening on January.
What distinguishes the mood Adjuncts is that they are concerned with time from the
perspective of speaker expectation and judgement. The mood Adjuncts of time, unlike
the circumstantial Adjuncts, are referenced to the moment of speaking and indicate
the speaker’s expectation regarding the timing or the duration of the activity. Being
purely interpersonal, they can not become the focus of theme predication, e.g. It was
still/ just/already that he came is not possible.
3. Yes and no: modal Adjunct or conjunctive Adjunct?
Yes and no may be either interpersonal or textual in function. When they
constitute or initiate a statement in response to a question, statement, command or
offer, they are interpersonal in function and thus a modal Adjunct as the following
examples illustrate:
A: Did you bring the keys?
B: Yes, I did.
A: Peter brought the keys.
B: No, he didn’t.
A: Peter, bring the keys!
B: Yes, yes.
A: I’ll bring the keys, shall I?
B: Yes.
On other occasions, yes or no do not realize a polarity choice in a response, but
function as continuatives with a purely textual function, simply linking the polarity
with what has gone before. In such a case, no switch in polarity from the previous
move is possible and the yes or no will be phonologically weak:
A: Peter’s been having a difficult time at work.
B: Yes he’s had a bad year all round.
In the example above, yes is textual rather than interpersonal in character
(conjunctive rather than modal Adjuncts).
4. Phrasal verbs: how far does the Predicator extend?
English is rich in ‘phrasal verbs’, which are formed of a lexical verb and an
adverb or preposition, such as look for, look at, go for, go out, call up, etc. In terms of
content, the ideational meaning being represented, these phrasal verbs function as a
single unit. However, since this is not the meaning we are concerned with when we
analyse Mood and Residue, it does not constitute a good reason for treating the adverb
or the preposition as part of the Predicator. On the contrary, Halliday in Introduction
in Functional Grammar prefers to treat the adverb or the preposition as an Adjunct or
part of an Adjunct.
We
didn’t
give
the books
out.
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Complement
Adjunct
He
won’t
wait
for us.
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Adjunct
They
didn’t
give
in
to the union.
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Adjunct
Adjunct
They
Subject
won’t
be waiting
too long
for us.
Finite
Predicator
Adjunct
Adjunct
The analysis allows for generalizations concerning the order of Adjuncts
relative to each other. Thus a modal Adjunct that could precede a Complement, such
as unfortunately in They won’t be borrowing, unfortunately, any good books can also
precede a prepositional phrase serving as Adjunct, as in they won’t be waiting
unfortunately for any good books. However, this interpersonal Adjunct could not
occur between the preposition and the noun in the prepositional phrase serving as
Adjunct- they won’t be waiting for, unfortunately, any good books. The analysis
suggests, in other words, that one Adjunct can not interrupt another.
Ambiguous POLARITY
We can test the polarity value of a clause by adding a Moodtag (if the clause is
declarative or imperative; if it is interrogative, just check the related declarative
instead). In the unmarked case, the Moodtag always reverses the polarity of the Mood.
For example, They like sweets, don’t they?; you haven’t got a clue, have you? In the
normal case, there will be little doubt regarding the polarity value. However there are
at least three types of situation that may cause some analytical problems, as follows:
1.
The negative polarity value can appear in sentences expressing usuality or
degree. The clause is still negative, even though you don’t find a not and even though
the negative is scaled down from the definite no: They seldom come here nowadays,
do they?; He can hardly speak English, can he?
2.
The negative is a feature of the Subject: Nothing upsets her, does it?; Nobody
believes him, do they? (contrast with negative Complements: He believes nobody,
doesn’t he?)
3.
The negative polarity has been ‘transferred’ to a mental projecting clause
serving as a metaphorical modality: I don’t believe this is the right move for us, is it?
Here the clause this is…. looks positive, but it is not; the negative polarity is realized
within the metaphorical modality I don’t believe.
‘Will’ : Tense or Modality?
‘Will’ as a modal auxiliary may realize Primary Tense in some situations and
Modality in others. For example, Dan will know the answer is ambiguous if it is out of
context. Actually, it may be ambiguous even in context. Whether the ‘will’ is
expressing future Primary Tense or Probability depends on whether it is related to
Dan is going to know the truth (realizing tense) or Dan must know the truth (realizing
probability).
Dan will know the truth:
future tense
Dan is going to know the truth (tomorrow when he reads the newspaper).
Dan will know the truth:
Dan must know the truth (because he was there at the time).
I bet Dan knows the truth (because he was there at the time).
probability
Similarly, whether ‘will’ expresses Primary Future Tense or Modality should
be judged according to the most likely contextual clause:
I’ll open the window.
future tense
I’m going to open the window (when I paint the room).
I’ll open the window.
I offer to open the window.
modality
Conclusions
Locating MOOD
Mood is an interpersonal resource at clause rank for constructing the clause as
a proposition or proposal for negotiation in dialogue. Mood is the grammaticalization
of the semantic system of SPEECH FUNCTION associated with dialogue. Selection
in Mood are, in turn, realized phonologically by selections in Tone. For example, a
move giving information (a statement) is realized by a declarative clause, which is, in
turn, realized by a tone group with a falling tone.
The options in the system of Mood gain their realization in structures of the clause
and in selection in Tone.
Interpersonal Structure
We can now add to our consideration of any text an analysis of the
interpersonal organization of the clause as a move in an exchange, as a contribution to
the development of dialogue. This means that there is an element for enacting a
speech function , the Mood element, potentially an element for eliciting a response to
the speech function, the Moodtag, and an element that expresses the rest of the
proposition or proposal being negotiated through the speech function, the Residue.
The interpersonal structure of a clause is thus Mood + Residue (+ Moodtag).
The Moodtag grounds the proposition or the proposal by providing a ‘modally
responsible’ element- the Subject- and by providing terms for negotiation in choices
Tense/ Modality and Polarity carried by the Finite and/ or mood Adjuncts.
In addition, there may be interpersonal elements that fall outside this modal structure:
the Vocative element which addresses to the listener, and the Expletive which
expresses attitude towards the exchange itself or the information being exchanged.
Interpersonal structure and textual structure
The Mood ^ Residue structure is an interpersonal strand or layer alongside the
textual Theme ^ Rheme structure discussed in the previous chapter. The two
structures constitute different, complementary functional perspectives on the clause.
Madam,
you’
ll look like a flower.
Interpersonal
Topical
Theme
Rheme
Vocative
Mood
Residue
The difference between the two functional perspectives is shown in the
different set of variants each displays. Textually, we find related variants such as:
Madam, you’ll look like a flower : You’ll look like a flower, Madam : Like a flower
you’ll look, Madam
Interpersonally, these are all declarative clauses, and thus do not contrast.
Interpersonal variants differ in Mood; for example:
Madam, you’ll look like a flower : Madam will you look like a flower? : Madam who
will look like a flower? : Madam, look like a flower!
Textually, these clauses are all alike in having unmarked (topical) Theme. We
can add one further set of examples to bring out the difference between textual and
interpersonal variation: interpersonally, Madam you’ll look like a flower, won’t you?
is related to Madam, you’ll look like a flower, you will. In the first variant, the tag is
concerned with eliciting an indication of the listener’s state of agreement with the
proposition in the interaction in a dialogue (e.g. No, I won’t), while in the second
sentence it serves to present a reminder of the Theme at the end of the clause (a
strategy used in certain varieties of English).
In conclusion, we need to recognize different patterns of meaning relating to
different metafunctions, but simultaneously present in any clause.
Evaluation Test
I. Practicing the tag questions. Construct a related clause with a tag and underline the
Subject and Subject tag:
1. You heard me.
2. That’s shocking.
3. No one said anything.
4. We could have done something about it.
5. There is no need to be getting snotty.
6. Jimmy’s the one that should be getting snotty.
7. Linda is hitting me.
8. The hot shower refreshed them.
9. Don’t start that.
10. Make us a cup of tea.
II. Identify Mood and Residue in the following sentences:
1. Can Tracy watch?
2. You do not care about that.
3. They looked for John.
4. She plugged in the kettle.
5. We watched over their baby.
6. Fortunately, they have already had lunch.
7. Finally, they all left.
8. They lost, surprisingly.
9. I didn’t meet anyone though.
III. Identify modality type. Pick out the most plausible kind of modality realized in the
following clauses (ability, inclination, obligation, probability, usuality).
1. That must be Jane.
2. You ought to get yourself in the car.
3. You might see them there.
4. He never arrives before six.
5. Am I allowed to go?
6. I should finish this work by tonight.
7. That is only fashion.
8. I promise I’ll go.
9. Will you marry me?
10. She said she was pregnant.
IV. Classifying Mood Adjuncts:
1. Riddler was absolutely beside himself.
2. Obviously he was upset.
3. Robin had not even become his partner.
4. His parents were already dead.
5. By all means see it.
6. He readily agreed to join the firm.
7. In fact, he has just started it.
8. He mainly did it for fun, of course.
9. Possibly they just haven’t yet arrived.
10. She was utterly shocked.
Tema nr.4: Transitivity- clause as representation
UnităŃi de învăŃare
• The system of transitivity
• Types of clauses
• Relation to Other Metafunctions
Obiective
• StudenŃii trebuie să poată identifica elementele de transitivitate în structura
propoziŃiilor
• StudenŃii trebuie să îşi însuşească caracteristicile semnatice are diferenŃiază
diversele tipuri de propoziŃii
• StudenŃii trebuie să fie capabili să recunoască tipurile de propoziŃii
Timpul alocat temei: 4 ore
Bibliografie recomandată :
Bloor, Thomas, Bloor, Meriel. The Functional Analysis of English. A Hallidayan
Approach. Second edition. London: Arnold, 2004.
Dik, Simon. Studies In Functional Grammar, Amsterdam University Press, 1980
Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter,
1996.
Fries, Peter. On the Status of Theme in English: arguments from discourse in Forum
Linguisticum 6, pp. 1-38, 1981.
Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar, second edition, Arnold,
London, 1994
Halliday, M.A.K. On Grammar, eds. Jonathan Webster, London & New York:
Continuum, 2003.
Ghadessy, Mohsen. Thematic Development in English Texts, London: Pinter, 1995.
Martin, J.R. English Text: System and Structure, Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1992.
Lyons, John. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1968
Matthienssen, Christian & Bateman, John. Text Generation and Systemic- Functional
Linguistics, Pinter, London, 1991
Matthienssen, Christian; Painter, Claire & Martin, J.R. Working With Functional
Grammar, Arnold, London, 1997
Thompson, Geoff. Introducing Functional Grammar, Arnold, London, 1996
R. Quirk and J. Svartvik, A Corpus of English Conversation, Eds. 1980.
4.1. Transitivity: processes and participants
The ideational metafunction is concerned with ideation. Grammatical
resources for construing our experience of the world is around us and inside us. One
of its major grammatical systems is TRANSITIVITY, the resource for construing our
experience the flux of 'goings-on', as structural configurations; each consisting of a
process, the participants involved in the process, and circumstances attendant on it.
According to functional grammar, passivisation analyses the clause from the
point of view of its meaning – meaning in the sense of content. The clause can be seen
as an exchange between the speaker and the listener, but can also be seen as a way of
representing patterns of experience because it embodies a general principle for
modeling experience: the reality is made up of processes.
Functional grammar identifies three major types of process: material, mental
and relational, each with a small set of subtypes. In addition, there are three further
process types: the behavioural, verbal and existential.
Halliday considers that the material, mental and relational are the three main
types of process in the English transitivity system. But there are also further
categories located at the three boundaries. Between the material and mental processes
there are the behavioural processes which represent the outer manifestation of the
inner feelings and actions. Between the mental and relational processes there are the
verbal processes which represent the relationship construed in the human
consciousness and enacted in the form of language. Between the relational and the
material processes there are the existential processes which simply recognise the
phenomena “to be”, “to exist” or “to happen”.
The six types of process are illustrated in the table below:
Process
type
material
Subcategory
mental
relational
behavioura
l
verbal
existential
event (i.e.
happening)
action (i.e. doing)
perception
cognition
affection
attributive
identifying
Example clause
(processes in bold)
The water boiled
She stirred the coffee.
Maggie saw the killer.
She forgot his name.
She liked his music.
The champion was strong.
John was our director.
The baby cried.
The lawyer replied.
There are three books on the
table.
The framework of a process as set up in the grammar of a clause is very
simple, consisting, in principle, of three components:
(i)
the process itself;
(ii)
participants in the process which can be Actor, Goal; Senser,
Phenomenon; Carrier, Attribute and so on
(iii) circumstances associated with the process which can be Cause,
Location, Manner (including means and instrument), Accompaniment,
and so on.
The process is typically realised by a verbal group, the participant is typically
realised by a nominal group and the circumstance is realised by the adverbial group or
a prepositional group.
Mother
put
the baby
carefully
in the craddle.
participant process
nominal
verbal
group
group
participant circumstance circumstance
nominal
adverbial
prepositional
group
group
group
“The concepts of process, participant and circumstance are semantic
categories which explain in the most general way how phenomena of the real world
are represented as linguistic structures” (Halliday, 1995: 109)
4.1.2. Process Types
The concepts of process, participant and circumstance can not be used in
analysing the clause from a grammatical point of view because they are too general.
We need to identify the specific functions which are more specific and different
according to the type of process. We have to mention that these specific functions are
related to the three main types of process and they have their own participants. Unlike
the participants, the circumstances are general for all six categories of types of process
because they are less involved in the process than the participants.
According to Halliday the types of process have the following types of
participants:
Process
type
material
mental
relationa
l
behaviour
al
verbal
existential
Subcatego
ry
attributive
identifyin
g
Participants
Actor, Goal
Senser,
Phenomenon
Carrier, Attribute
Token, Value
Behaver
Sayer
Existent
Example clause
(processes in bold)
She stirred the coffee
Maggie saw the killer.
The champion was
strong
John was our director
The baby cried
The lawyer replied
There are three books
on the table.
Four types of process types – material, mental, verbal and relational- cover the
gramatical and semantic space of ‘goings on’ and they constitute a particular
framework for interpreting and representing it by means of clauses in English. The
core types can be identified by means of all of the probes used to identify different
transitivity types. The tests are designed in order to help us explore the structure of the
clause in question.
The general tests for understanding the transitivity structures are the
following:
(i) Is it possible to use alternative verbs in the structure? In order to determine
the process type it is useful to ask what other verbs would function in the same way.
This helps to sort out the verbs that can be used in more than one type of transitivity.
For example, the verb make can be used in a material clause in the sense of ‘produce’
and in a relational clause in the sense ‘to be’ (or ‘cause to be’). Thus, it made a good
drink is ambiguous between material 'it (e.g. the appliance) produced a good drink'
and relational 'it (e.g. the mixture) was a good drink'.
The verb make can also be used in two different structures: a relational one when the
verb make behaves like the verb be (e.g. This makes a good stuffing) and an existential
one (e.g. The chef makes a good stuffing).
(ii) Can participants be omitted or not? To check whether a structure is related
to a familiar one we have to compare two similar structures with more or fewer
participants. This helps to show the difference between behavioral and verbal.
e.g.
He sang her a song (behavioral):
*He sang her.
He told her a story (verbal)
:
He told her.
(iii) What other structures can the participants be found in? In order to
differentiate among types of process it is important to check the alternative structures
where the same participants can be used.
e.g.
That lonely child breaks my heart
It might look as a material clause, but if we analyse the structure That he is so lonely
breaks my heart we immediately realize that the clause is rather mental as the Subject
of the second sentence is a ‘fact’.
An important problem which appears in the analysis of the process type is
when the predicate is made of two lexical verbs:
e.g.
He gave up smoking.
They seem to have a lot of money.
They were requested to leave.
She ended up explaining my situation.
In all above cases, there is only one predicate in a single clause with a single
process which is realised by a complex of two verbal groups. For example the process
seem to have is made of seem and to have. In the analysis of the transitivity the second
verb (the non-finite form) is relevant for the process type. Thus, They seem to have a
lot of money is a relational one.
In a verbal group complex the first group (the primary group) may be finite or
non-finite; it is the primary group that carries the mood of the clause.
e.g.
She tried to finish her work.
She was trying to finish her work.
What she was trying to do was to finish her work.
Trying to finish her work, she forgot about the appointment.
The secondary group is always non-finite, this being the realization of its
dependent status. It may be perfective with or without ‘to’ or imperfective.
e.g.
She tried to help her sister.
She made John help her sister.
She likes playing tennis.
The other non-finite form, the passive past participle usually stands for the
perfective,
e.g.
I wanted it to be done./ I wanted it to have been done.
but in fact it is neutral because in other context the distinction isn’t present.
e.g.
I saw it be/being done.
Note the difference between these constructions and the constructions with two
processes, and hence with two clauses.
e.g.
He got up and drank some water.
He left having told them the news.
He went to catch the bus.
Where there are two distinct processes like this (i.e. two clauses), each one can
be associated with its own circumstances.
e.g.
He left at 6 o’clock, having told them the news quickly.
He went in a hurry to catch the bus for London at 12 o’clock.
More difficult to analyse are the similar examples in which the first lexical group has
a mental or verbal meaning
e.g.
He wanted to buy a new car.
John’d like to visit Japan.
The Prime Minister claimed to have fired the Minister of Internal Affairs.
According to functional grammar these constructions must be analysed as a
single transitivity configuration.
e.g.
He
wanted to buy
a new car.
Actor
Process: material
Goal
This analysis doesn’t imply that the choice of participant is restricted by the
lexical verb in the first lexical group, meaning that only some entities can be
construed as a major participant. Due to this reason it may be preferred an alternative
analysis which gives equal status to both verbal groups by considering them as
separate processes.
e.g.
He
wanted
to buy a new car.
Actor
Process: mental
Process: material
Goal
The interpretation here is that there are two clauses forming a clause complex,
just as in cases where each process has its own set of participants and circumstances,
as in the following examples.
e.g.
He wanted you to buy a new car tomorrow.
He told us he would buy a new car tomorrow.
4.1.2. Circumstances and other elements
When discussing a clause, we have to analyse also the circumstances besides
the process types. When we identify a unit as a circumstantial element of clause
structure, we have to make sure that it does not actually serve another function. In
particular, circumstances have to be distinguished from:
(i) participants;
(ii) qualifiers in nominal groups;
(iii) depended clauses in clause complex
(iv) conjunctive adjuncts (textual)
(i)
Participants
(a). Circumstance or participant with phrasal verbs. Because of the large
number of phrasal verbs in English it is difficult to decide whether to interpret a
structure as process + circumstance or process + participants.
e.g. We
looked at
the castle.
Behaver
Process: behavioural
We
looked
Phenomenon.
at the castle.
Behaver
Process: behavioural
Location.
Generally speaking, the preposition must be considered part of the process.
e.g. They
called for
a change.
Actor
Process
Verbiage
They
called
for a chat.
Process
Cause
Actor
The best test is to check if the ‘circumstance’ can function as part of Theme
predication.
e.g.
*It was at the castle they were looking.
It was for a chat they called.
When the prepositional phrase can function as a predicated Theme, as in the
second case, this is likely to function as a circumstance.
Location or Beneficiary? The prepositional phrase is considered Beneficiary if
it can occur in an alternative position in the clause without preposition.
e.g.
She sent the parcel to New York
Location
She sent the parcel to her aunt.
Beneficiary
*She sent New York a parcel.
She sent her aunt a parcel.
(b). Manner: means or Agent? An Agent is a participant in the clause,
although when it apperas as a by phrase in a passive clause it may be difficult to
distinguish from a Manner circumstance. Nevertheless, only the participant can
function as a Subject in an active form of the clause.
e.g.
The window was broken.
by a stone.
Agent
He was chosen for that task by chance.
Manner
Thus the active form of the first sentence is A stone broke the window while
the active form of the second sentence is They chose him for that task by chance.
(ii)
Qualifiers in nominal groups
(iia). Circumstance or qualifier? A prepositional phrase may function as a
circumstance in the clause or may also be embedded as the qualifier part of a nominal
group.
e.g.
He hit the man
with a stone.
Circumstance
He hit the man
with grey hair.
Qualifier
It is important to pay attention not only to the form of the unit, but also to its
function. A test to differentiate between them is to check whether the phrase
represents the circumstance of the process, answering where, when, how, etc
regarding the process.
e.g.
The man across the street is my teacher.
The report commented on a number of inconsistencies in their stories.
In these examples the prepositional phrases in italics are embedded into the
nominal groups functioning as participants. Thus across the street defines the man; it
does not provide the location of the process. Similarly, in their stories does not tell
where the report commented on. Because they are part of a nominal group, these
phrases can not function as Themes.
e.g.
*Across the street the man is my teacher.
*In their stories the report commented on a number of inconsistencies.
Compare the sentences above with the following ones:
e.g.
Sixty children travelled from local schools to take part to the festival.
The commission criticized a number of officials in its report.
In these clauses the prepositional phrases can be interpreted as setting the
process. Because their function as circumstances, they can occur as marked Theme.
e.g.
In its report the commission criticized a number of officials.
(iii)
Depended clauses in clause complex
There are some difficulties to differentiate between circumstances and
depended clause in clause complex. Location, manner, cause and so on can appear as
part of the clause in the form of a circumstance. However, these meanings can also
occur as a separate clause with its own process configuration, such as by sending emails, when she was a young girl, etc
Such clauses can be considered ‘dependent’ or ‘secondary’. Here are some
examples of clauses that are dependent in clause complexes but might be mistaken as
circumstances.
e.g.
Mr. Brown had managed to fulfil the task main clause
by sending e-mails to everybody concerned. secondary clause
When she was a little girl
secondary clause
she liked watching cartoons.
main clause
(iv)
Conjunctive Adjuncts (textual)
A problem which can occur regards the difficulty of identifying the
circumstance and the textual conjunctive. Circumstances and textual conjunctive are
functionally distinct, but there can be easily mixed up within the semantic domain of
space-time.
e.g.
Earlier, several attempts have been made.
In this example earlier marks a temporal relation. Such relations in text are
conjunctive and if they are made explicit, they are marked by elements serving as
Conjunctives within the clause. By contrast, circumstances of time construe time as an
aspect of a process , representing a location in time, in terms of a time interval such
as: in the morning, on Monday, before Christmas, in terms of the now of speaking
such as: now, yesterday, tomorrow, in terms of an event such as: after breakfast,
before the meeting, during the day.
We can test the difference by checking whether the element can be the focus
of Theme predication. For example, Earlier, several attempts have been made. is
perfectly fine while it was earlier that several attempts had been made is clearly
outside the domain space-time.
The border between circumstances and conjunctives is not very definite. For
example, there are unambiguous textual items with a clear anaphoric sense: earlier
means ‘earlier than this’, previously means ‘before this’; all this connect the clause to
the previous text. Then there are circumstances which provide a time reference within
the clause they occur such as: earlier than 1980; before the World War II, after the
meeting.
In between these there are those items which have a noun representing a
period of time (year, day, month, etc) as the central ‘Head’ element and which are
modified by an item with conjunctive implications in the text: next, previous,
following, etc. Because they can be the focus of Theme predication (only for topical
themes) they can be analysed as circumstances.
We can conclude that when considering the clause from the perspective of the
experiential metafunction, the relevant systems are known as TRANSITIVITY and
the clause itself is interpreted as a process configuration. Notice in particular the three
types of components: the process itself, the participants involved in the process and
the circumstances associated with the process. The key to differentiate between
participants and circumstances lies in the degree of involvement in the process: the
participants are centrally implied in the process while circumstances are less centrally
involved; in fact it is more correct to say that circumstances are rather associated with
than involved in the process.
4.2. Types of clauses as representation
4.2.1. Material Clauses
4.2.1.1. General Considerations
Material clauses construe doings and happenings. Generally, they are concrete:
changes in the material world that can be understood as:
- motion in space
e.g.
She drove down the coast.
- changes in physical state
e.g.
The lake froze. The butter melted.
However, such concrete material processes also serve as a model for
construing our experience of change in abstract phenomena. For example, Prices fell
throughout this period construes movement in an abstract space of measurement.
Similarly, together with the wind destroyed most of the city we have their arguments
destroyed her theory. In fact, ‘material’ covers both concrete and abstract processes.
The Goal is either actually brought into existence by the doing (building a
house, bake a cake, compose a song), or it exists prior to the doing, but is affected in
some way. In the latter case, the Goal can be tested with do to/ with, as in what did
she do with the chair? or What she did with the chair was to move it. Also, it can also
be accompanied by a representation of the result of the impact, such as a new
location:
e.g.
She moved the chair into the corner.
or quality
e.g.
She scrubbed the chair clean.
4.2.1.2. Transitive and intransitive material clauses
As we have mentioned above, in a material clause there is always a
participant, called the Actor. “This participant brings about the unfolding of the
process through time, leading to an outcome that is different from the initial phase of
the unfolding” (Halliday, 2004: 180). This outcome is due to the Actor itself, and in
this case we have an intransitive construction, called happening in functional
terminology. In other cases, there is another participant in material clauses, the Goal.
In these constructions the outcome is on Goal in the first place rather than the Actor.
In this case we have a transitivity construction, called doing in functional
terminology.
e.g.
The dog
jumped.
Actor
Process
The dog
bit
the child.
Actor
Process
Goal
The term Goal means ‘directed at’, but Halliday considers that the concept of
extension is the correct one which comprises the transitivity and intransitivity.
According to this theory the verb to jump is intransitive, and the verb to bite is
transitive. We also have to notice that the Actor appears in both constructions because
the dog has the same function in both examples.
The assumptions that lie behind the notions of Actor and Goal are valid for
material clauses, but also for other types of processes. Material clauses construe
‘doing-and-happening’. They express the notion that some entity ‘does’ something
which can be done, in transitive constructions, ‘to’ some other entity. This can be
tested with do to/ with test mentioned above.
As a result we can have two forms of representation in clauses with both Actor
and Goal:
(i). operative (active)
e.g.
The dog
bit
the child.
Actor
Process: Active
Goal
Subject
Finite Predicator
Complement
……….Mood………… ……………Residue……………
Theme
………………Rheme…………………
e.g.
(ii). receptive (passive)
The child
were bitten
by the dog.
Goal
Process: Passive
Actor
Subject
Finite Predicator
Adjunct
…………Mood………… ……………Residue………….
Theme
…………………Rheme……………….
The contrast between ‘operative’ and ‘receptive’ is a contrast in voice open to
transitive clauses. Both clauses have the same configuration Actor + Process + Goal,
but they differ in how these roles are mapped on interpersonal functions in the modal
structure of the clause. In the ‘operative’ clause the Actor and the Subject are the
same, so it is given modal responsibility and in the unmarked case it is also the
Theme; the Goal is mapped on the Complement, so in the unmarked case it is also the
Rheme.
4.2.1.3. Types of material clauses with additional participants
We have discussed so far two types of participants, the Actor and the Goal.
The Actor is an inherent participant in both transitive and intransitive material
clauses; the Goal is an inherent participant in transitive material clauses. In addition to
these roles there are a number of other participant roles which may be involved in the
process of a material clause. These are: Scope, Recipient, Client, and Attribute.
e.g.
Scope:
Recipient:
Client:
Attribute:
They were crossing the Hyde Park.
Did he give you the papers?
They bought a toy for our baby.
He was shot dead.
From all these additional participants, Scope is the most frequently used in all types of
material clauses. Recipients and Clients occur in different environments:
- Recipients occur only in transitive clauses of ‘extending’ type which express a
transfer of goods. Here the Goal represents the goods being transferred.
e.g.
They sent him an angry letter of complaint.
- Clients may also appear in an intransitive clause which has no Goal, but has Process
and Scope:
e.g.
Mary played a tune.
or only Process:
e.g.
Mary played for me.
In order to show that they are Clients it is necessary to add a Scope element in
final position:
e.g.
Mary played for me – played a tune for me – play me a tune.
Like the Goal, both Recipient and Client are affected by the Process, but while
the Goal is the participant that is affected by the process, the Recipient or the Client is
the one that benefits from it. In contrast, the Scope of a material clause is not affected
by the performance of the process. The Scope either construes the domain over the
process takes place or the process itself. This means that a material clause can be
either Actor + Process + Goal or Actor + Process + Scope. There are two types of
Scopes:
(i). The Scope may construe an entity which exists independently of the
process, but which indicates the domain of the process.
e.g.
You will drive across the whole country.
The whole country represents the participant that cane nter into different kind
of process. In the same time the whole country specifies the range of the Actor’s
driving. The Scope is the domain of the process rather than another name for the
process itself.
(ii). The Scope may be not an entity, but rather the name for the process.
e.g.
The team decided to play an aggressive game.
Let us consider the following example: I play tennis. In this statement tennis is
the Scope. The game f tennis is not an entity because there is no such thing as tennis
except the act of playing it. Similarly with sing a song; the definition of song is ‘act of
singing’. Halliday analysis these examples wondering why English expresses these
processes as if there were a kind of participant in the clause. In other words, why we
do not say simply play instead of play games? “The answer is that the structure
enables us to specify further the number and king of processes that take place”
(Halliday, 2004:193). The main types of ‘process Scope’ are as follows:
e.g.
general
they play games
specific: quantity
they played five games
specific: class
specific: quality
they played tennis
they played a good game
All these types can be combined:
e.g.
They played five games of good tennis.
This patterns has formed expressions such as take a bath, do a translation,
make a mistake. Here the verb is lexically empty, the process of the clause is
expressed only by the noun functioning as Scope. These constructions are very used
in modern English because they have a great potential that is open to nouns, in
contrast to verbs, for being modified in different ways. It is hard to replace the nouns
with verbs in examples such as: do a little dance, take another quick look, make
serious mistakes.
The above constructions are different from constructions such as The painting
hasn’t done the evaluation yet, where if the Scope is replaced by the process hasn’t
valued, on the one hand this would require an explicit Goal, and on the other hand it
could not be made specific with the. The resulting nominal groups can then function
as Themes and also as participants in other clause types. It is used to label Scope in a
material clause as either ‘entity’ or ‘process’.
e.g.
The child
crossed
the street.
Actor
Process: Material
The woman
is making
Actor
Process: Material
Scope: entity
a translation.
Scope: process
The Scope is used especially in intransitive clauses which have only one direct
participant, namely only Actor, without Goal. As a result there s difficult to
distinguish between a Scope and a Goal: both can be interpreted as nominal groups
following verbal groups serving as Process. Nevertheless, there are some differences
between a Scope and a Goal. The Scope can not be tested with do to/ with while the
Goal can. The Scope can never have a resultative Attribute added within a clause,
while the Goal can:
e.g.
They hammered the metal flat.
meaning that the result was that the metal has become flat where the metal is Goal,
while
e.g.
They crossed the field flat.
where the field is the Scope.
In conclusion we can say that certain types of material clauses can have an
additional participant: a Scope, a Recipient, a Client or an Attribute. Scope, recipient
and Client are clearly treated by the grammar as participants. However, at the same
time they are clearly located at a certain distance from circumstances on the cline
between participants and circumstances, which is reflected in the fact that they may be
marked by prepositions in some cases.
4.2.1.4. Concrete and abstract material clauses
Material clauses do not necessarily represent concrete, physical events; they
may represent abstract doings and happenings:
e.g.
The painter created a work of art.
They will surely succeed.
As the process becomes more abstract the distinction between the Actor and
the Goal is more difficult to draw. With a concrete process it is usually clear which
role every participant is given.
e.g.
The boy kicked the ball.
The boy is the Actor.
e.g.
The boy was kicked.
The boy is the Goal.
With abstract processes we often find together operative and receptive forms
with little difference:
e.g.
The two schools
combined.
Actor
The two schools
were combined.
Goal
4.2.2. Mental Clauses
4.2.2.1. General considerations
As we have stated above, material clauses are concerned with our experience
of the material world. Unlike material clauses, mental clauses are concerned with our
experience of the world of our consciousness. They are clauses of sensing: “a mental
clause construes a quantum of change in the flow of events taking place in our
consciousness”. (Halliday, 2004: 197). The main difference between these two types
of clauses is that the mental clauses are not construed as material acts.
e.g.
I don’t like vegetables.
I hate being told what to do.
When the clause refers to present time, the tense of the verbal group serving as
Process is the simple tense rather than the present progressive which is a characteristic
of the material clauses.
e.g.
I hate vegetables.
I am hating vegetables.
The latter example requires special interpretation, being marked:
e.g.
I am hating vegetables more and more.
The mental clauses have all the same Subject: I with the exception of the
imperative clauses which have the Subject you. They serve to construe the speaker’s
own process of consciousness. This is in fact an important property of mental clauses:
The Subject is expressed by a nominal group denoting a conscious being. In contrast
with the Subject, the Complement is realized by a nominal group that can denote any
type of entity: human beings, animals, substances, abstractions. This results from the
following examples:
e.g.
I hate loneliness, where loneliness is the Complement, but * Loneliness hates
me, where loneliness is the Subject.
4.2.2.2. The structure of mental clauses
Mental clauses are made up of one inherent participant called the Senser – the
participant sensing, i.e. involved in conscious processing, and one further participant,
the Phenomenon which is the participant being sensed.
(i). The Senser
The Senser is always a human participant, the one that ‘senses’, i.e. feels,
thinks, wants or perceives.
e.g.
Mary liked the gift.
Senser
In fact, the main characteristic of the Senser is that it is ‘endowed with
consciousness’. With particular creatures we choose to endow with consciousness
when we talk about them may vary according to who we are, what are we doing, or
how we are feeling at that time.
e.g.
I have a cat. She likes milk.
In this case the Senser is expressed by an animal, but the owner endows her
with consciousness.
“Conscious beings” are typically persons , but they can also be:
- a human collective
e.g.
The Romanian people like traveling.
- a product of human consciousness
e.g.
The film imagines a perfect world.
- a part of a person
e.g.
It is believed that the brain thinks of its organization.
In this category we can also include figurative expressions such as: it breaks
my heart, it blew my mind.
While the Senser is construed as being endowed with consciousness in metal
clauses, this does not happen in material clauses. In material clauses no participant has
to be human. As a result, the Actor of a material clause is much less constraint than
the Senser of a mental clause.
(ii). The Phenomenon
While the Senser is highly constraint, the other participant in mental clauses,
the Phenomenon, is reversed. The set of things that can take on role this role in the
clause is not only restricted to any particular semantic or grammatical category, it is
actually wider than the set of possible participants in a ‘material’ clauses. It may be
not only a thing, but also an act or a fact.
e.g.
You recognize her?
I learnt the lesson a long time ago.
The thing construed as Phenomenon may even be a metaphorical one, a
nominal group with a nominalization as Head denoting a process or quality.
e.g.
The organization discovered abuses.
These ‘things’ could all appear in a ‘material’ clause. However, the concept of
‘thing’ is extended in ‘mental’ clauses “to include macrophenomenal clauses where
the Phenomenon is an act and metaphenomenal clauses where the Phenomenon is an
act”. (Halliday, 2004: 204).
In macrophenomenal clauses the Phenomenon is expressed by a non-finite
clause denoting an act:
e.g.
I saw him coming early at home last night.
In metaphenomenal clauses the Phenomenon is expressed by a finite clause
denoting a fact:
e.g.
I regret very much that I was away from home.
4.2.2.3. Types of mental clauses
According to Halliday, there are two types of mental clauses: of emotion,
cognition and perception.
e.g.
emotion:
I appreciated the fact that you kept quiet.
cognition:
You can imagine his reaction.
Perception: He heard a scream.
The sub-categories have different patterns of use in certain ways. One of the
most striking is that some mental processes are ‘reversible’; namely, in talking about a
mental process it is equally possible to have the Subject role filled either by the
human participant in whose mind the process occurs or by the phenomenon which
triggers the process. This happens most easily with mental processes of emotion. The
following examples shows the phenomenon functioning as Subject:
e.g.
This news
seems to puzzle
her.
His laziness
never worried
him.
The realization
horrified
her.
Phenomenon
Process: mental
Senser
This reversibility follows from the semantics. The process can be seen either
as sensed by the human participant or as triggered by the phenomenon; for example,
when I receive a present I can talk about it in terms of liking or disliking this present.
It is also possible to use a passive clause, especially to bring a human Senser into the
Subject position.
e.g.
She
was puzzled
by this news.
He
was never worried
by his laziness.
She
was horrified
by the realization.
Senser
Process: mental
Phenomenon
Note that in this case the passive clauses seem unmarked, and the active
clauses are more frequently used.
The other sub-categories of mental processes tend to be less easily reversible
than emotion processes. They are used in active clauses having the Senser functioning
as Subject. In some cases they can be reversed by using wordings that are to some
extend metaphorical (usually encoding the mental process as if it were a material
process:
e.g.
An awful thought
has just struck
me.
A flash of color
caught
her eye.
Phenomenon
Process: mental
Senser
4.2.2.4. The projection
It is not always to judge whether a clause is embedded into the Phenomenon
role or whether it is ‘projected’ as a separate clause by the mental process (see the
next chapter). The first thing to consider is what category of mental clause is
involved, since perception clause do not project, such as enjoy, like.
When a mental process is involved, it may be necessary to distinguish an
embedded clause functioning as Phenomenon from a projected clause. One test is to
see whether the element in question can function as Subject in the passive counterpart.
If it can, it is a participant (Phenomenon). Consider the following examples:
e.g.
The supervisor wanted them to leave.
Jane thought the idea was great.
Did you discover who did it?
He accepted that he was wrong.
They understood that there would be cancellation fee.
If we try to find the passive counterparts, we see that this is possible only for
the final two examples:
e.g.
* (For) them to leave was wanted by the supervisor.
* (That) the idea was great was thought by Jane.
* Was who did it discovered by you?
(The fact) that he was wrong was accepted by him.
(The fact) that there would be a cancellation fee was understood by them.
We can conclude that only them to leave and that the idea was great are
projected clauses, not participants.
Another test that can be applied in doubtful cases is that of Theme predication.
As a participant, a Phenomenon is available for a Theme predicated clause regardless
a projected clause or not. Thus,
e.g.
* It was (for) them to leave that was wanted by them.
* It was (that) the idea was great was thought by Jane.
* Was it who did it discovered by you?
* It was (the fact) that he was wrong that was accepted by him.
* It was (the fact) that there would be a cancellation fee that was understood
by them.
4.2.3. Relational clauses
4.2.3.1. General considerations
Halliday’s category of relational clauses is a generalization of the traditional
notion of ‘copula’ constructions. Relational clauses construe being, and do this in two
different modes – attribution and identification. There are two principal relational
clause types, with different sets of participant roles:
(i). attributive clauses with Carrier + Attribute
e.g.
Mary
is
intelligent.
Mary
is
an intelligent girl.
Carrier
Attribute
(ii). identifying clauses with Token + Value
e.g.
This man
was our former president.
Token
Value
Our former president was this man.
Value
Token.
The fundamental difference between attributive and identifying is the
difference between membership (attributive) and symbolization (identifying). Carrier
and Attribute are of the same order of abstraction, but differ in generality as member
to class, subtype to type (e.g. Elephants are mammals; Elephants are huge animals).
Token and Value are of different orders of abstraction, they are related symbolically
(e.g. Elephants are my favourite animals; Mary is our leader). Martin, Mathiessen
and Painter (1997) identify several typical kinds of meaning relations which occur
between Token and Value in an identifying clause:
Token
expressio
n
Symbol
Value
content
Form
symbolize
d
meaning
Name
referent
Function
filler
Position
holder of
position
Actor
role
Typical verb
(other than be)
express, mean,
represent
stand for,
reflect, spell
translate as,
mean
name, call
function as,
serve as
vote, elect
act as, play
Example
Dove represents the
symbol of peace.
Red stands for danger.
‘Caine’ means dog
They named the baby
John.
the reservoir serves as
city’s water supply
The people voted him
President.
She played Queen
Elisabeth.
4.2.3.2. Types of Relational Clauses
All the examples given above are of intensive relational clauses. It is also
possible for relational clauses to involve an additional meaning feature, making them
intensive, possessive or circumstantial. In such a case two participant roles may be
‘conflated’ in the only clause element. Examples:
Max
has
lots of energy.
Carrier/Possessor
Process: attributive
Attribute/Possession and
possessive
Max
owns
the property.
Token/Possessor
Process: identifying
Value/Possession
and possessive
The trees
are
around the house.
Carrier
Process: attributive
Attributive/Location
The trees
surround
the house.
Token
Process: identifying
Value and circumstantial
(i). Attributive and Identifying Relational Clauses
As in the two previous cases analysed above (material and mental clauses),
some problems can appear while trying to identify a certain type of clause. In this
chapter we are concerned with the problems that can appear in drawing difference
between Attributive and Identifying clauses. The most important test that must be run
is the test of reversibility. Compare:
e.g.
John is short. : *Short is John.
(attributive)
John is the captain. : The captain is John. (identifying)
Attributive clauses have only one participant that can serve as Subject - the
Carrier. Consequently, these clauses have no passive counterparts and are not
reversible
The reversibility test distinguishes easily between ‘quality’ type attributive
clauses and identifying ones, but it is not successful if the clause is a nominal type
attributive. Compare:
e.g.
John is short. : *Short is John.
(attributive)
John is a good captain. : A good captain is John. (?)
This last example is tricky because its reversal still makes sense. The clause
needs to be considered in context; for example:
e.g.
A: Tell me something about John.
B: John is a good captain.
In this case, B’s answer is an attributive clause (and B could not reply A good
captain is John). However, the following dialogue shows the clause in a different
context:
e.g.
A: Tell me the name of a good captain.
B: Captain is a good captain/ A good captain is John.
B’s reply is an identifying clause and therefore reversible. The question is
whether the clause assigns class- membership or gives an example of something. If it
assigns class membership, it is attributive; if it exemplifies, it is identifying.
In general, it is best to replace the unmarked intensive verb be with another
verb, a more specific one when we run the test of reversibility in order to distinguish
between attributive and identifying clauses. If the reversal makes sense in the context
then the clause can be taken as identifying. This can be done with John is a good
captain:
e.g.
John exemplifies a good captain:
A good captain is exemplified by John.
(ii). Token and Value
There are cases in which it is difficult to make a correct distinction between
Token or Value. They differ in meaning as we said above. If we have difficulty in a
particular case in determining which participant is Token and which Value, we can
apply the following rule: if the clause is active, as in John exemplifies a good captain,
then the Subject is a Token. If the clause is passive, as in A good captain is
exemplified by John, then the Subject is the Value. To apply the test when the
relational verb is be simply replace be with another relational verb and see whether
the clause is active or passive. For example:
e.g.
This piece of work
is our best effort.
Subject: Token
This piece of work
represents our best effort.
Subject: Value
4.2.3.3. Identified and Identifier
We have mentioned that relational clauses are reversible, but there are cases in
which the meaning is not exactly the same. In order to describe the differences, the
functional grammar has introduced two more labels: the Identified and the Identifier.
They are used to label the same participants as Token and Value, but from another
perspective. Let analyse the following examples:
e.g.
This used to be our house.
Our house used to be this.
The only cure is rest.
Rest is the only cure.
In order to demonstrate the differences between these sentences, we need to
expand the context in which the sentences were or might be used. For example, the
second sentence on the left column occurred in a conversation:
e.g.
“What shall I do to feel better?”
“The only cure is rest”.
The emphasis falls on the word rest, representing the new information,
identifying the speaker’s preferred cure. Thus ‘cure’ is the Identified, the entity being
identified, and ‘rest’ is the Identifier, the way in which the cure is identified.
e.g.
This
used to be
our house.
The only cure is
rest.
Identified
Process: relational, Identifier
identifying
On the other hand, if we go back to our second example, the new version
would be more likely to be said in a context of a conversation about the ways in which
‘rest’ can be beneficial.
e.g.
[Well, from many options], rest is the only cure.
What has happened here is that the only cure is now the new information: the
speaker identifies one of the main uses of ‘rest’. Note that we assume that the stress
falls on the second participant.
e.g.
Our house
used to be
this.
Rest
is
the only cure.
Identified
Process: relational, Identifier
Identifying
We can say that the main stress in identifying clauses typically falls on the
Identifier (or one of the words in the group that expresses the Identifier). Since the
main stress indicates the new information in a clause, the Identifier is typically being
mentioned for the first time. On the other hand, the Identified is typically a participant
that has already been mentioned or whose existence, it is assumed, will be known by
the addressee. If have to notice that, if the pattern changes, the roles of Identifier and
Identified also change. In the examples above the order is Identified + Identifier, but
there are cases where the stress is on the first participant, and so the order is Identifier
+ Identified.
The functions of Identified and of Identifier are not the same with the
functions of Value and Token. Value and Token depend on the external semantic
properties of the two ways of referring to the entity. In most cases the Value appears
in front position. Identified and Identifier depend on the language event. The
Identified and the Identifier analysis helps us to see how a particular event unfolds.
There are possible all combinations: Both the Identified or the Identifier can be the
same participant as Value and Token, and they can appear in both positions.
4.2.4. Verbal Clauses
Verbal clauses represent processes of ‘saying’, but this category includes not
only the different modes of saying (asking, commanding, offering, stating), but also
semiotic processes that are not necessarily verbal (showing, indicating). The central
participant is the Sayer – the participant saying, telling, stating, informing, asking,
demanding, commanding, offering, threatening, suggesting, and so on. It can be a
human or human-like speaker, but it can also be a symbolic source.
e.g.
She told me not to be late
He asked too many questions.
They asked me – whether I could leave at once.
They told me – what time it was.
In addition, a verbal clause may also represent the addressee of a speech
interaction, as the Receiver. The Receiver is like a verbal Beneficiary, and can often,
but not always, be marked by to:
e.g.
They told me – to leave at once.
They said to me – to leave at once.
The ‘content’ of saying may be represented as a separate clause (a locution)
quoting or reporting what was said:
e.g.
She said – that she’d be back.
They told me – to leave at once.
She asked – whether it was too late.
This quoted or reported clause is called projected clause in functional
grammar, and it is not a constituent part of the verbal clause, but is a separate clause
in a projecting clause complex. This is proved by the unusual passive construction
which can be obtained (to leave at once was said to me by them)
However, in addition to being constituted in a projected clause, the content of
saying may also be construed as a participant:
e.g.
They told me a white lie.
She asked him a question.
They said a few words.
This is a kind of verbal range, indicating the scope of saying in terms of a
generic category (e.g. story, tale), a speech functional category (e.g. lie, question) or a
lexico-grammatical one (e.g. word, phrase).
4.2.4.1. The Processes in Verbal clauses
The process of a ‘verbal’ clause is realized by a verbal group where the lexical
verbs one of saying. The verb may be unaccented as in a ‘relational’ clause or
accented in ‘material’ one. The tense is also intermediate between that of material and
relational. When the Sayer is expressed by a nominal group denoting a conscious
speaker the tense can be present simple or present progressive.
e.g.
I say this things all the time.
Were you saying you were wrong when I walked in.
4.2.5. Other types of process: behavioural and meteorological processes
The behavioural type has both characteristics from mental clauses because
they display processes of psychological behaviour, and the participant that is labelled
Behaver is similar to the Senser from mental clauses. At the same time, the process is
more like a ‘doing’ which is the kind of process the material clauses express.
The existential type has both characteristics from relational clauses because
the verb that is used is the same: the verb to be. On the other hand, the existential
clauses share characteristics with material clauses due to the fact that any kind of
phenomenon can be construed as ‘thing’.
e.g.
There was a misunderstanding.
Existential
A misunderstanding occurred.
Material
I.Behavioural Clauses: between mental/verbal and material
Behavioural clauses represent physiological processes as well as mental or
verbal activities. Most behavioural clauses have only one participant which is
essential to the realization of the Process and which is called, as we stated above, the
Behaver. They construe human behaviour as an active version of verbal and mental
processes, meaning that saying and sensing are construed as activities.
The mental clauses that share characteristics with the behavioural clauses are
of: perception, cognition and affection. The verbal clauses that share characteristics
with the behavioural clauses are those which express forms of behaviour.
Nevertheless, there are two grammatical differences between mental and
verbal clauses on the one hand and the behavioural clauses on the other hand.
(i) Behavioural clauses can not project, i.e. they can not occur with a reported
clause.
e.g.
They thought it.
They thought he had left.
Mental
They mediated the conflict.
*They mediated he had left.
Behavioural
Jamie explained everything.
Jamie explained that he was coming.
Verbal
Jamie laughed.
*Jamie laughed that he was coming.
Behavioural
(ii). Another difference between behavioural clauses and mental clauses of
perception is that in the former ones we can not use the present continuous, while in
the latter ones this thing is possible.
e.g.
I’m looking at him.
Behavioural
I see him/ I can see him.
Mental: perception
I’m listening to John.
Behavioural
I hear/ can hear the child playing. Mental: perception
I’m tasting the soup.
Behavioural
I taste/can taste salt in the soup.
Mental: perception
Similar verbs used in mental clauses of perception are: to see, to observe, and
in behavioural clauses: to look at, to view, to stare, to observe, to look over.
Alongside the mental clauses of perception, behavioural clauses include
categories reflecting mental clauses of cognition and affection, as well as verbal ones.
e.g.
Be quite! I’m thinking.
Mental: cognition
I think he is smart.
Behavioural
Similar verbs used in mental clauses of cognition are: to know, to believe, and
in behavioural clauses: to puzzle, to solve, to work out, to think, to mediate.
e.g.
The children were enjoying themselves. Mental: affection
They smiled with happiness.
Behavioural
Similar verbs used in mental clauses of affection are: to fear, to like, to
frighten, to scare, to alarm, to disgust, to please, to amuse, to upset, and in
behavioural clauses: to frown, to grin, to gasp, to tremble, to shake.
e.g.
She told me she was coming by plane.
Verbal
They all talked at once.
Behavioural
Similar verbs used in verbal clauses are: to say, to talk, to tell, to ask, and in
behavioural clauses: to moan, to mutter, to chatter, to gossip, to talk, to speak, to sing,
to praise, to cough.
Behavioural clauses also include more material-like subtypes. “The border
area between material processes and behavioural ones is covered by two main types,
physiological processes, such as to twinch, to shiver, to tremble, to sweat, and social
processes – to kiss, to hug, to embrace, to dance, to play, etc. Both these subtypes
share some characteristics with verbal clauses from different angles:
- physiologically: to cough, to gasp
- socially: to dance, to sing, to talk.
II. Existential Clauses: between material and relational clauses
Existential processes have only one participant: the Existent. This type of
processes has two main forms of grammatical realization:
(i). with a copula verb and an empty there as Subject:
e.g.
There were four cars in front of our house.
There were twenty people in the party.
The word there in such clauses is neither a participant nor a circumstance, it
has no function in the transitivity structure of the clause. We can observe this by
making the question Where are? Which can not be the answer to There were twenty
people in the party, and we can not say it is there that were twenty people at the party.
(ii). with a copula verb, the Existent functioning as Subject and usually with a
circumstantial Adjunct of time or place:
e.g. There
will be
a fight
at the next meeting.
Process: Existential
Existent
Location: temporal
Process
Circumstance
A fight
will be
at the next meeting.
Existent Process: Existential
Location: Temporal
Subject
Circumstance
Twenty people were
at the party.
Existence
Process: Existential
Location: place
Circumstance
In an existential clause the there signals the process type but does not function
as a Location circumstance, nor does it represent a participant. However, existential
clauses frequently have a circumstance of Location and if it occurs in thematic
(initial) position, the existential there may be absent:
e.g.
All around them
was
a deep silence.
Location
Process: Existential
Existent
Another common way of locating an existential process in time and space is to
add a non-finite clause to the Existent:
e.g.
There is someone waiting at the door.
There is a man to see you in the hall.
The Existent and the non-finite clause form a clause complex.
Existential clauses are typically formed with the verb to be. This is why they
are similar to relational clauses. The same sentence can function as a relational clause
in a different context. Let’s use the example above:
e.g.
Twenty people were in the party.
In a relational clause twenty people functions as Carrier, and in the party as
Attribute. Compare with: Twenty people were apolitical.
The other verbs that can appear in existential clauses can not be interpreted as
relational, being different from either ‘atrributive’ or ‘identifying’. According to their
grammatical features, Halliday and Matthiessen divided the verbs serving as Process
in existential clauses:
Type
Verbs
neutral
exist
to exist, to remain
happen
to occur, to come about, to happen, to take place
+ circumstantial
time
to follow
place
to sit, to stand, to lie, to hang, to emerge, to
grow
abstract
to erupt, to prevail, to flourish
Existent clauses also resemble material clauses due to the fact that any kind of
phenomenon can be construed as a thing, namely person, object, abstract notions, but
also any kind of action or event.
e.g.
Is there going to be elections next year?
There was building reparation last week.
These sentences can be rephrased as material clauses:
The elections are going to take place next year.
The building was repaired last week.
Meteorological clauses
A special attention should be paid to meteorological clauses which are a
special case between existential clauses and the material ones. Some meteorological
processes are construed as existential clauses,
e.g.
There was a storm/ a gale/ a shower.
and some are construed as material clauses,
e.g.
The wind is blowing.
The sun is shinning.
There is also a special category which is unique in English, the clauses made
up of it + present continuous:
e.g.
It is raining. It is snowing.
This type does not have any participant in it. It serves the interpersonal
function of Subject, like there in existential clauses, but it has no function in
transitivity. This is the reason for which we can not ask the question: What is?, can
not function as Theme (we can not say It is what is raining). These clauses can be
analysed as consisting of a single element, the Process, they are the case between
material and existential clauses.
Conclusion:
We can conclude that although behavioural and existential clauses are
considered to be minor types of clauses, they share characteristics with the major
types of processes: material, mental, verbal and relative, being sometimes difficult to
be identified. Behavioural processes remind us that transitivity categories are not
always very definite and sometimes they overlap. Existential processes can be defined
in negative terms, expressing the simple existence of an entity without predicating
anything else of it.
Exercises
I. Practising the tense test. Write a clause agnate to each of the following examples
which would be used to comment on action or states concurrent with the moment of
speaking.
A small boy stood bravely on the ramparts.
A small boy is standing bravely on the ramparts.
He had a crown on his head. He has a crown on his head.
1. He will have a scepter in his hand.
2. The young king calmed the crowds.
3. The lad was James V of Scotland.
4. His father had fallen in battle.
5. James wanted his uncle's sword.
6. Only his closest attendants knew his identity.
7. The farmer saw the battle on the bridge.
8. He said that his name was 'The Goodman of Ballengiech'.
II. Practicing the *do to/do with' test. Write a clause related to the [ample, which
asks a question focusing on the process (formed with do to or do)
The farmer was wielding his flail against
What did the farmer do with his flail?
1. The man led James to the barn.
2. The farmer had been threshing corn.
3. They admitted the bondsman immediately.
4. James led Willie through the palace.
5. He removed his hat.
6. He gave him the farm.
7. Feuding divided the country.
8. Ruffians attacked the king.
9. He brought water to the king.
III. Discriminating process types. Label the following clauses appropriate as material
or mental.
1. The ruffians robbed him.
2. The king retreated to a nearby bridge.
3. The farmer saw the battle.
4. The farmer wanted a farm of his own.
5. Kinsmen performed the service for 300 years.
6. The king was amused by his wonder and comment.
7. Nothing could please me more.
8. ...whenever the king should pass over the land.
9. How will I recognize the king?
10. Willie suddenly realized the true rank of the man.
IV. Discriminating process types. Label the following clauses appropriately as
material or relational:
Willie had been threshing corn.
He must be either you or me.
material
relational
1. All but the two of us are bareheaded.
2. Willie had rescued the king.
3. He had a crown on his head.
4. He became king.
5. Willie fell to his knees.
6. My name is Willie.
7. He was content with his lot.
8. This promise was kept.
9. He was attacked by ruffians
10. Who are you?
V. Identifying clause elements. Find the process, and each participant and
circumstance in the following clauses, as shown in the example.
Long ago
a small boy stood
on the ramparts.
circumstance
participant
process
circumstance
1. The sight of their king calmed the crowds.
2. This lad was James V of Scotland.
3. Shortly after his birth his father had fallen in battle.
4. Disorder spread throughout the kingdom.
5. In the hall, Mum took off his boots.
6. One day he was attacked by a band of ruffians.
7. He retreated to a nearby bridge.
8. Jamie put on his thickest jersey.
9. The farmer had been threshing corn in his barn.
10. He travelled with the king.
VI. Discriminating circumstance types. Label the underlined circumstance in the
following clauses, as in the examples.
e.g. Jamie had slept in London.
Location: place
He lay with open eyes.
Manner; quality
1. ...and they exploded to bits.
2. Are you going out?
3. You can come with me.
4. Some of the people were standing in a ring, holding the ropes.
5. They pulled the ropes again.
6. They rang for several minutes.
7. Now the bells were ringing sweetly again.
8. “See you in the morning”.
9. James dressed as a woman.
10. ...wielding his flail against the attackers.
11. He wanted to own the farm for himself.
12. Willie prepared for his important journey.
13. You will know him by his hat.
14. He played a trick for a laugh.
15. According to Willie, he was just a yeoman.
16. He laughed in spite of himself.
17. It seemed odd to him.
VII. Differentiating identifying and attributive clauses. Label the following
clauses as attributive or identifying.
e.g. He had a crown on his head.
attributive
This lad was James V of Scotland.
identifying
James V of Scotland was this lad.
1. His mother was the regent.
2. The lion represents courage.
3. James became adventurous and resourceful.
4. At 16 he was an experienced fighter.
5. He was both wise and good.
6. His name was Willie.
7. That was only a foolish dream.
8. Who are you?
9. The king must be either you or me.
10. All but the two of us are bareheaded.
XIV. Existential clauses. Underline the Existent role in the following example:
There were his carrots in a sack and on the table (there) was a fine cooked goose.
1. In his hand there was a royal sceptre.
2. There will be a continuing struggle.
3. In the townships, there had been a riot.
4. There was a rose in the vase.
5. On the table lay some tattered books.
VIII. Identifying participants (behavioural clauses). Analyse the follow clauses for
Behaver, Range and Target.
e.g.
They
praised
Caesar.
Behaver
Target
They
sang
a carol.
Behaver
Range
1. She took a bow.
2. He insulted his audience.
3. She drove the car.
4. They scaled the wall.
5. He slandered his rival.
6. She blamed the judges.
7. She gave a speech.
8. He smiled a most compelling smile.
9. He pondered the problem.
IX. Discriminating mental from attributive clauses. Identify the following clauses
as mental or relational attributive.
e.g.
Joanna was very excited.
relational attributive
I don't believe it.
mental
1. I didn't know.
2. The play upset him.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
I wasn't aware of that.
The children could see from a distance.
Joanna was very upset.
But I did see him.
None of the children believed it except Sylvia.
Sylvia always had good ideas.
I've never felt so irritated.
X. Discriminating material from attributive clauses. Identify the following as
relational attributive or material.
e.g.
Night grew cold.
relational attributive
Stranger things happen.
material
1. The play begins at six.
2. She became upset.
3. The paint turned brown.
4. The term ends in November.
5. A problem arose with that solution.
6. It gets bad sometimes.
7. A bridge appeared in the distance.
XI. Discriminating Range from Goal. Pick out a Range or a Goal in each of the
following examples.
e.g.
He never gave it a thought.
Range
He picked up a stone and threw it. Goal(s)
1. We're doing 'The Coventry Carol'.
2. I'll have to find a place to rest.
3. I will sing you beautiful songs.
4. He pulled his little broken wing along.
5. Why would they do that to such a little bird?
6. He made a nest.
7. He smelted that smell in every nook and cranny.
8. They had a game of catch.
9. They licked their fingers.
10. The Sergeant kicked another cannon ball.
11. They climbed the wall.
12. He had the best dinner ever.
XII. Discriminating Token and Value. Label the Token and Value functions be
following relational identifying clauses, as in the examples.
e.g.
She 's
the one.
Token
Value
The last thing we want
is
you to go.
Token
1. What was the last item on the programme?
2. The student's response is a site for surveillance.
3. Now was the time for everyone to join in.
4. The basic mechanism is one where the teacher supervises the student.
5. It's his fault.
6. The view of English that I have developed represents a minority position.
7. It was the best concert ever.
8. One of the results is that real differences are obscured.
9. What is immediately striking is the manner in which it works.
10. The exercise doesn't involve composing a written response.
XIII. Types of attributive clause. Label the Carrier and Attribute in following
relational attributive clauses; also note whether the clause is intensive, possessive or
circumstantial.
e.g.
I
have
plenty of carrots.
possessive
Carrier
Attribute
It
wasn't
any use.
intensive
Carrier
Attribute
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
He was in the phone booth.
It was a tracksuit.
He grew thoughtful.
Has he got a plan?
The fare seems exorbitant.
That's easy.
He had a sore head.
Where's our lunch?
Here are his paw marks.
XIV. Discriminating circumstances from other elements. Label the participants
and circumstances in the following clauses.
e.g.
As
the snowflakes
fell,
the two girls
danced.
Actor
Actor
1. On Christmas eve, he crept out to his woolshed.
2. He ran away out of fear.
3. He had a surprise for them all.
4. The sledge began moving, because the ground sloped down.
5. They saw some toys in the sack.
6. In no time at all, he made a top.
7. They ate the icing on the cake.
8. They ate the icing off the cake.
9. What did the youngsters say on our arrival?
10 Can I see the presents you got from Santa?
XXV. Differentiating verbal and identifying clauses. Analyse the following clauses
as verbal or relational, assigning Sayer or Token Value labels as appropriate.
e.g.
He
said hello.
Sayer
verbal
1. Ulan means 'rain'.
2. The report reflected their intelligence.
3. The last item on the programme said Secondary School Choir - Carol.
4. Our protest shows we're against apartheid.
5. It means peace in our time.
6. It indicates the lack of consensus on the issue.
7. The clouds suggest rain.
8. The report revealed they're intelligent.
9. He indicated he'd be there at six.
XV. identifying process in each of the following clauses. Label the participants.
e.g.
Temperature affects
humidity.
Token
Process: identifying: causal Value
1. Night follows day.
2. These voting patterns resulted in a hung Parliament.
3. He faced tremendous opposition.
4. Taking on a new job is related to increased stress.
5. Pressure influences rainfall.