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The Grammar of Experiential Meaning : TRANSITIVITY. Widhiyanto Universitas Negeri Semarang widhiaistuti@staff.unnes.ac.id. Introduction.
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The Grammar ofExperiential Meaning: TRANSITIVITY Widhiyanto UniversitasNegeri Semarang widhiaistuti@staff.unnes.ac.id
Introduction • From MOOD system: In order to sustain a dialogue successfully, participants must keep negotiating, they must keep exchanging commodities, playing the roles of demander or giver, initiator or responder, as they either argue about information or transfer goods and services.
Introduction • With the benefit of MOOD SYSTEM, it is possible to suggest how interactants are creating and clarifying their role relationship with each other. • In fact, it would not be possible for them to create relationships WITHOUT talking about something. Their talk has CONTENT; it makes representational, or experiential meanings.
Introduction • Thus we need to recognize that in order to take parts in texts, participants must make not only Interpersonal meaning but also experiential meaning. • We must also recognize that these type of meanings are being made simultaneously. • This simultaneous encoding of experiential and interpersonal meanings is achieved through the simultaneous structuring of the clause which together are making up the text.
Experiential meaning: Clause as Representation • How phenomena of the real world are represented as linguistic structures. • There are three semantic categories used: 1. Circumstances 2. Processes 3. Participants
Circumstances • Answer such question as when, where, why, how, how many, and as what. • They realise meaning about: • Time: when; is probed by when, how often, how long. • Place: where; is probed by where, how far. • Manner: how • Means: by what means; is probed by what with. • Quality: how; is probed by how. • Comparison: like what; is probed by what like.
Circumstances • Cause: why • Reason: what causes the proces; is probed by why or how. • Purpose: the purpose; is probed by what for. • Behalf: for whose shake; is probed by for whom. • Accompaniment: with(out) who or what; is probed by who or what else. • Matter: about what or with reference to what; is probed by what about. • Role: what as; is probed by as what.
Processes • are central to TRANSITIVITY • Kinds of goings on. • Seven different type of Processes: • Material • Behavioral • Mental • Verbal • Relational • Existential • Meteorological
Ideational Function • One way to describe a clause in functional terms is in relation to how it represents our experiences of the world. • This is called the ideational function. • This ideational function of language involves representing three main aspects of our experiences.
3 Main Aspects of Experiences • People, things or ideas in the world – called Participants • Physical activities, mental activities or states of being – called Processes • Conditions or circumstances in which these activities are occurring – called Circumstances
Group and Phrase • The linguistic structure of a noun group, verbs group, prepositional phrase or adverbial group may involve a single word or group of words. • Examples …
Participants Participants can be categorised in various ways:
Noun Group • A NG is a group of words with noun as the focal point. • It may include Classifiers and Describers, Numeratives, Determiners, Embedded phrases or clauses, or Nominalisations. • NG may also be referred to as nominal group • A NG may comprise a number of nouns linked together, referred to as a noun complex.
Noun Group Within a NG, different classes of words serve different functions. • Classifiers • Typically classify the Participants • They place the Participant into a particular category or classification. • They can be nouns, adjectives, e.g. stean trains, primary colours, almond trees.
Noun Group • Describers • They are adjectives that serve the functions of describing more precisely. • They provide information such as size, colour, shape or qualities, e.g. large, red, round, huggable,
Noun Group • Numeratives They provide information about number or measurement such as five or first. • Determiners They serve the function of pointing out, querying or indicating ownership, such as which, whose, that.
Noun Group • Embedded phrase or clauses They serve the function of defining more precisely the Participant being referred to, e.g. the girl with dark hair, the book which I lost. • Nominalisation They are a form of abstraction in which a process is turned into a thing, e.g. the killing of the dolphins.
Noun and Pronoun • Nouns and pronouns are classes of words which may represent a single participants, a group or class of Participants, or a number of Participants.
Proper Nouns • Proper nouns refer to names of particular people, places or events. • They mark the status with the use of a capital for the first letter of the word. The Round Table Conference New South Wales The Prime Minister Beverly and Geoffey The 2008 Olympics Holden and Ford
Classifiers • Classifiers function to categorise a participant by allocating it to a particular class or subclass. • They indicate what ‘type of thing’ it is in relation to other classes. • Classifiers can be distinguished from describers in that it is not possible to insert the word ‘very’ the classifiers, e.ga very long match, but not a very tennis match. The tennis match (as opposed to ‘the football match’) The igneous rock (as opposed to ‘the sedimentary rock’) Human communities (as opposed to ‘animal communities’)
Describers • Describers in noun group are generally adjectives. • They describe attributes of the Participants such as size, colour, shape or qualities. • They may indicate degree of comparison within their form - known as comparative and superlative -, e.g. little – less – least; beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
Numeratives • Numeratives in the noun group usually consist of either ordinal numbers (e.g. first, second, last) or cardinal numbers (e.g. some, one, fifty). • They may indicate precise and definite information about size, weight, or order or give indefinite information such as few, many.
Determiners Determiners in a noun group are used to query or point to a particular Participant, or to indicate ownership or possession.
Embedded Phrases or Clauses • querying • which • whose • what • Which hat will you wear? • Whose car is that? • What music do you prefer? • pointing out • that • these • those • That big dog bites. • These shoes are too small. • Those tiny flowers smell sweet. • ownership • my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, etc. • My house is near hers. • His tail wags constantly. • Their cat and dog fight.
Nominalisations • Nominalisations may also be a component of a noun group. • Nominalisation involves the transformation of a process into a thing.
Examples • His winning the race was quite remarkable. • The breeding of wild birds in captivity is morally questionable. • The slaughtering of seals is a sad affair.
Nominalisations • Nominalisations may be represented as abstract nouns, gerunds or participles. • Abstract nouns include those which commonly end in –ment, -tion, -al, -age, -ityas in preferment, agitation, proposal, reportage, longevity. • They are commonly found in scientific writing.
Noun Complex • Two or more nouns or pronouns may be linked together to form a noun group. • This is referred to as a noun complex. Sharks, whales, fish, crabs and coral live underwater. She and her friend want to come. Wind and waves beat on the rock. Love and duty matter most. My friend and I are not likely to come.
Material Processes • Material Processes are those when obvious action takes place. • Someone or something is carrying a physical action. • They are represented in the language by words such as walk, do, act or jump. • They are commonly found in texts such as recounts, procedures and explanations.
Mental Processes • Mental processes are those which represent mental activities of thinking, perceiving or feeling.
Verbal Processes • Usually involve a participant who is human or who has been given human attributes. • They are represented in the language by words such as say, ask, tell, etc. • They are commonly found in narrative, exposition texts, among others.
Relational Processes • Relational Processes are those which establish states of being or having. • They are concerned with who or what someone or something is or what they have. • They are represented by words such as be, seem, have, etc. • They are commonly found in information reports and exposition texts.
Verb Groups • Processes of doing, thinking, and saying, and the state of being and having are represented in the clause by verb groups. • A verb group may comprise a single verb or a group of words. • It may include auxiliaries and non-finite elements such as participles.