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Clause as representation

Lecture 7. Clause as representation. Clause as representation. Metafunctions: Ideational (construes human experience) – Transitivity Interpersonal (enacts human relationships) – Mood Textual (creates discourse) – Theme/Rheme

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Clause as representation

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  1. Lecture 7 Clause as representation

  2. Clause as representation • Metafunctions: Ideational (construes human experience) – Transitivity Interpersonal (enacts human relationships) – Mood Textual (creates discourse) – Theme/Rheme • Logical (links between components rather than unit–whole) Ideational function • Experiential (modelling a domain of "knowledge" – construing organic ‘wholes’)

  3. Clause as representation • Processes, participants, circumstances • – setting up taxonomies of events, things and qualities

  4. Clause as representation

  5. Processes • Michael looked at her for a moment. Then he began to laugh. 'I'm so sorry,' said Michael, 'but it did sound comic, the way you said it! Cheer up, there's no tragedy. I have to go to the village this evening, and I'll fetch your suitcase then. It'll be quite safe at the White Lion. Did you have any lunch by the way? We were wondering about you.

  6. Processes • Three questions that can be asked about any process and the clause of which it forms a nucleus: • What kind of process is it? • How many participants can/must be involved in the process? • What roles can/must those participants play?

  7. Processes • material (‘doing’, ‘causing') • behavioural (‘acting’) • mental (‘thinking’, ‘sensing’, 'evaluating') • verbal (‘saying’) • relational (‘being’, ‘having’) • existential (‘existing’, ‘appearing’)

  8. Material processes • Associated participants: Actor & Goal Actor. the participant always inherent in a material clause. The Actor can be animate (‘action’) or inanimate (‘event’). The process it participates in may or may not extend to affect another participant, the Goal.

  9. Material processes • Actor Process         GoalThey were making supper. • Actor   Process CircumstanceThe car crashed into a tree • Goal Process CircumstanceRome was not built in a day.

  10. Mental processes • Associated participants: Senser & Phenomenon Phenomenon. Participant role in the transitivity structure of a mental clause: the phenomenon sensed by the Senser. (Senser in bold; Phenomenon in italics.)

  11. Mental processes • She saw them. She saw them leaving the house. • These people don’t understand functional grammar. • She recognized the dilemma she and every teenager around her found themselves in. • One professor felt we should get our feet dirty.

  12. Mental processes • Sarah fears nothing. Nothing frightens her. • His behaviour disgusted many people. / Many people condemned his behaviour.

  13. Relational processes • attributive: Associated participants: Carrier & Attribute • identifying: Associated participants: Token & Value (Identified & Identifier) • A Carrier is construed as being ascribed or attributed to an Attribute: the relation can be interpreted as one of class-membership – the Carrier is construed as a member of the class described by the Attribute.  

  14. Relational processes

  15. Relational processes • Identified       IdentifierToken       process     ValueI am the villain. • Identifier               IdentifiedValue          Process   TokenThe villain is me.

  16. Verbal processes • Associated participants: Sayer and Verbiage (+ Receiver) • She told me the story of her life. • He couldn't say a word.

  17. Existential processes • Associated participant: Existent (+Circumstance) • There is a fly in my soup.

  18. Behavioural processes • Associated participant: Behaver (+Range) • He was laughing. • They hummed a little tune. • We were watching the news.

  19. Grammatical characteristics of process types • Material: typically occur with the progressive in the present tense Mental: typically occur in the simple present tense Relational: typically occur in the simple present tense

  20. Grammatical characteristics of process types • Halliday 138: behavioural sharing characteristics of material and mental verbal sharing characteristics of mental and relational existential sharing characteristics of relational and material

  21. The Range Participant • "the element that specifies the range or scope of the process" • "elaborates or enhances the process" (Martin et al 118) •  a ‘complement’ which • forms a semantic relationship with the verb (cognate, or close in meaning) • specifies part of the process • is not affected by the process

  22. I gave a description of the person I saw. (verbal process) They speak English. (verbal process) We played tennis the whole afternoon. (material process) They were singing folksongs. (behavioural) He played the guitar. (material) We visited the church. (material)

  23. ‘Circumstantial-like’: They have walked several miles. (material) I climbed that mountain because it was there. (material) They reached the North Pole. (material) We spent the whole morning in town. (material)

  24. The Beneficiary (material and verbal processes) • The duke gave my aunt a teapot. (Recipient – 'to whom?') I sent a letter to everyone who lived in the neighbourhood. (Recipient) She did me a favour. (Client – 'for whom?') She posted a letter for me. (Client) They asked me a lot of questions. (Receiver – 'to whom?') The general shouted at them. (Receiver) "Stay with her!" he had said to Mrs. Allen. (Receiver)

  25. Target (verbal processes) • Can you describe the person you saw? He read and criticized her novel.

  26. Circumstances • Location: Temporal (when?) – She’ll arrive on Thursday.  Spatial (where?) – She lives in Birmingham. • Extent: Temporal (for how long?) – She has lived there for eight years. Spatial (how far?) – It slid halfway over the floor. • Manner (means/quality/comparison) (how?) – Daddy went off quite happily at 7.40. He answered with a smile.

  27. Circumstances • Cause: Reason (why?) – We have to be there early as it’s Friday. • Purpose (what for?) – He popped over for a chat. • Behalf (who for?) – He’s doing the shopping for me. • Contingency (concession) – Despite his eagerness he’s unlikely to succeed. • Accompaniment (who/what with?) – She returned with(out) her gun / with her friend.

  28. Circumstances • Role: Guise (what as?) – He returned and remained at the hotel as an inoffensive tourist. • Product (what into?) – The constable's features broadened into a grin. • Matter (what about?) – I'll wager he learns more about you than you about him. • Angle (from what point of view?) – To a great mind, nothing is little.

  29. Ergativity • Central concepts:ProcessMedium: Participant, typically the subject of the sentence (‘the entity through the medium of which the process comes into existence’ – Halliday p 164) Agent: ‘Doer of the action’ corresponding to Actor (‘the participant functioning as an external cause’ – Halliday) Range: covers all ‘object’ roles

  30. I opened the door. (Agent – Process – Range) The door was opened. (Medium – Process) The door opened. (Medium – Process) • Oil floats on water. (Medium – Process – Location) The sugar dissolved. (Medium – Process)

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