freddi fg for eflstudents 2004

Functional Grammar: An Introduction

for the EFL student

A coursebook by Maria Freddi

Functional Grammar Studies for Non-Native Speakers of English Series EditorD.R. Miller

Table of ContentsForeword of Series Editor

Preface ........................................... .... sl . 4

Chapter 1 - Why study grammar? ........................ sl. 6

1.1. The Text-Context connection .................. .... sl. 10

1.2. Formalism vs. Functionalism .................. .... sl. 21

1.3. The Grammar-Meaning connection ............... .... sl. 26

Keys to exercises ................................. .... sl. 30

Chapter 2 – Ways with Words ........................... sl. 35

2.1. The Rank Scale ............................... .... sl. 37

2.2. The Nominal Group ............................ .... sl. 50


Chapter 3 - Interpersonal Meanings .................... sl. 69

3.1. The MOOD SYSTEM .............................. .... sl. 75

3.2. The MODALITY SYSTEM .......................... .... sl. 89

3.3. The APPRAISAL SYSTEM ......................... .... sl. 101


Chapter 4 - Ideational (Experiential and Logical)

Meanings ................................. sl. 111

4.1. The TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM ...................... ... sl. 113

4.2. Grammatical Metaphor (Ideational) ............ ... sl. 162

4.3. Clauses in combination:

the Clause-Complex ............................. s l. 169

Keys to exercises ................................. ... sl. 195

Chapter 5 - Textual Meanings ......................... sl. 198

5.1. THEME and RHEME .............................. ... sl. 200

5.2. Non-Structural Cohesive devices .............. ... sl. 214

Keys to exercises ................................. ... sl. 227

Appendix A–

Test sample items .................................. .. sl. 235

Keys .............................................. ... sl. 239

Appendix B–

List of texts ..................................... ... sl. 240

i

Foreword Donna R. Miller Series Editor It is with great pleasure that I present the first three e-books of this new series of Functional Grammar Studies for Non-Native Speakers of English, which is contained within the superordinate: Quaderni del Centro di Studi Linguistico-Culturali (CeSLiC), a research center of which I am currently the Director and which operates within the Department of Modern Foreign Languages of the University of Bologna. The first three volumes of this series:

• M. Freddi, Functional Grammar: An Introduction for the EFL Student • M. Lipson, Exploring Functional Grammar • D.R. Miller (with the collaboration of A. Maiorani and M. Turci), Language as Purposeful: Functional Varieties of Texts

have as their primary ‘consumers’ the students of the English Language Studies Program (ELSP) in the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature of the University of Bologna, for whom they are the basic coursebook in each of the three years of the first-level degree course. They are the fruit of from 2 to 4 years of trialling, which was a vital part of an ‘ex-60%’ research project, financed in part by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, that I first proposed in 2002 and that is now into its third and final year, but which had already been initially set in motion when the reform of the university system was first made known back in 1999.

Without going into undue detail about what the reform meant for language teaching in the Italian universities, I’ll just say that in the first-level degree course our task is now twofold: parallel to the many hours of traditional EFL practice with mother-tongue speakers, there are lectures which aim at providing, over the three years, a metalinguistic description of English grammar in a functional, socio-semiotic perspective. The contents of these volumes are thus progressive and cumulative. In the first year a ‘skeleton’ of the Hallidayan Functional Grammar model is taught; in the second it is ‘fleshed out’, and in the third it is ‘animated’, as it were, put into practice, being made to work as a set of analytical tools for the investigation of the notion of register, or functional varieties of texts. A fourth volume on translation of text-types in this same perspective is also in the planning stages.

This kind of metalinguistic reflection on the nature of the language being taught and on how it works is thus relatively new for Faculties of LLS in the Italian university system. Its justification is essentially the premise put forth by F. Christie (1985/1989) apropos of the L1 learner’s education: i.e., that explicit knowledge about language on the learners part is both desirable and useful. It is our conviction

ii

that such an insight not only can but should be extended to the L2 learning situation. In short, foreign language learning at the tertiary level should not be merely a question of the further development of students’ competence in communicative skills; it should involve learning not only the language, but about the language. Indeed, what scholars define as the ‘good’ adult language learner has long been known to readily attend to language as system and patterns of choice (Johnson 2001: 153). To design and implement this component of the syllabus and try to create the required synergy with the more practical work being done by the native speaker collaborators, so as to lead to better and more holistic L2 learning, needed, however, serious reflection and experimentation. Hence the project mentioned above, in which both Freddi and Lipson and other researchers and teachers took part.

Developing what began as sketchy class notes into proper coursebooks that would serve the needs not only of those coming to lessons, but also of those many who, alas, don’t was one important aim of the project. Another was monitoring the success of the new dual pedagogical syllabus by means of various quantitative and qualitative studies, the details of which I will not go into here. I will, however, say that the revised curriculum has proved to have a rate of success that I don’t dare yet to quantify. Moreover, a significant proportion of the students who have reached the end of their degree course report not only that they have understood what it was we are trying to do, but that they are actually convinced that our having tried to do it is valuable! Some even add that by the end they actually came to enjoy what at the beginning seemed to them a slow form of torture!

But what was it that we were trying to do, and by what means? As already said or at least implied above, we wanted, firstly, to get the students to reflect on the workings of language, tout court, and the specific functions of the English language, in particular. To do that, we wanted to investigate with them the grammar of English, but we knew we’d have to chip away at the die-hard myths surrounding the study of grammar that see it as a boring, or even elitist, enterprise, one that is basically meaningless. We chose a functional grammar as we are firm believers in the language-culture equation. We chose the Hallidayan model because its lexico-grammatical core is inextricably tied to meaning-making on the part of human beings acting in concrete situational and cultural contexts, and we believe our students must be offered language awareness in this wider and richer perspective.

Our approach in these e-coursebooks is consistently language-learner oriented: we have tried, in short, to keep in mind the fact that our students are L2 learners and take account of their practical learning experiences, and not only that of the complementary EFL component of their English courses. In aiming at helping them develop as learners and more particularly at empowering them through an increasing awareness of the functions of the English language in a variety of more, but also less, dominant socio-cultural contexts, we obviously aimed at working on their intercultural consciousness as well. These considerations dictated the choice for an explicit critical pedagogy that would make the workings of language as visible, and as attainable, as possible to our students (Cf. Martin 1998: 418-419). At the same time it also dictated the choice of the linguistic framework we’ve adopted, as it sees language as a vital resource not only for behaving, but also for negotiating and even modifying such behavior, and views the study of language as an exploration of “…some of the most important and pervasive of the processes by which human beings build their world” (Christie 1985/1989: v). It is our hope that we are

iii

helping our students to be able not only to participate actively in these processes, but also to act upon them in socially useful ways. Such a hope is conceivably utopistic, but some amount of idealism is eminently fitting to a concept of socially-accountable linguistics conceived as a form of political action (Hasan & Martin (eds.) 1989: 2). It is also surely indispensable when attempting to break what is, in terms of our specific pedagogic setting, wholly new ground. We leave aside the thorny issue of English as global lingua franca, acknowledge merely that it is, and propose that these materials are proving to be effective teaching/learning resources for improving English literacy outcomes in that particular setting (Cf. Rose 1999).

From what has been said, it follows that the linguistic theory we adopt here is, at the same time, a social theory. The same cannot be said of the course that our students take (and that is obligatory in most degree courses in foreign languages and literature in Italy) in General (and generally formalist) Linguistics. As most of the students in our degree course opt to study English, this series was also conceived as a way to ensure they are provided with another way of looking at what a language is. Undoubtedly, the contrast in frameworks often slips into conflict, but we feel that their being rather uncomfortably caught between sparring approaches is a crucial part of their education – and we are starting to see that it has its positive payoffs too.

Donna R. Miller

Bologna, 10 November, 2004

Cited References: Christie F., 1985/1989, “Foreword” to the series in ‘educational linguistics’, Australia: Deakin University Press; Oxford: Oxford University

Press. Hasan R. & J.R. Martin (eds.), 1989, Language Development: Learning Language, Learning Culture (Meaning and Choice in Language:

Studies for Michael Halliday), Norwood, N.J.: Ablex. Johnson K., 2001, An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, London, Longman.

iv

Martin J.R. 1998 “Linguistics and the Consumer: the Practice of Theory”, in Linguistics and Education 9 (4): 411-448. Rose D., 1999, “Culture, competence and schooling: approaches to literacy teaching in indigenous school education”, in F. Christie (ed.),

Pedagogy and the Shaping of Consciousness: Linguistic and Social Processes, London & New York: Continuum.

4

Despite its forbidding reputation, grammar is one o f the most interesting aspects of language study.

This coursebook introduces English grammar from a Hallidayan systemic-functional perspective, which w ill be extended in the 2 ° volume of this series, and related to different text-types in the 3 °.

The main purpose is to offer an account of how the English clause works in relation to its context of use. The idea is that lexico-grammatical choices speakers make be come fully meaningful depending not just on the channel of communication, but also on the relationship between interlocutors and the purpose of what is said.

The handbook necessarily takes for granted on the p art of the students a knowledge of the grammar of their ow n language. Also, though only to a certain extent, it builds on elementary knowledge of the grammar of English, in an attempt to bridge the gap between more traditional accounts of how it works and the Hallidayan approach .

Preface

5

Together with the other authors in this series, I t oo am utterly convinced that an understanding of the natu re of language, of how it works is not a natural by-produ ct of knowing how to use language, even for native-speake rs. On the contrary, I firmly believe that knowing about a language does help become better users, that is, be tter readers, better writers, better speakers and listen ers of that language.

I therefore hope that, in providing EFL learners wi th a new analytical tool, they will become aware of the resources which English has and improve their learn ing of it at the same time.

Students are also encouraged to practice their gram matical analysis and develop their awareness with reference to mini-texts (titles, headlines, blurbs, and the like ) of their own choosing.

6

Chap. 1- Why study grammar?

� Why study grammar?

� Why study Functional Grammar?

� What is new about the Hallidayanfunctional approach?

� Why is it attractive?

7

The assumption of this course is that knowledge of grammar

facilitates language learning, that it helps produc e and

understand texts in English. What follows is taken from the

lexicographic definition of Grammar in the OED Online .

[ad. OF. gramaire (F. grammaire), an irregular semipopular adoption (for the form of which cf. OF. mire repr. L. medicum, artimaire repr. L. artem magicamor mathematicam) of L. grammatica, ad. Gr. Γραµµατική (scil. Τέχνη art), fem. of γραµµατικος adj., of or pertaining to letters or literature, f. γραµµατα letters, literature, pl. of γραµµα letter, written mark, f. root of γραφειν to write. Cf. Pr. gramaira (prob. from Fr.). Old Fr. had also a learned adoption of the L. word, gramatique, parallel with Sp. gramática, Pg., It. grammatica, G. grammatik, Welsh gramadeg. In classical Gr. and L. the word denoted the methodical study of literature (= ‘philology’ in the widest

modern sense, including textual and aesthetic criticism, investigation of literary history and antiquities, explanation of allusions, etc., besides the study of the Greek and Latin languages. Post-classically, grammatica came to be restricted to the linguistic portion of this discipline, and eventually to ‘grammar’ in the mod. sense. In the Middle Ages, grammaticaand its Rom. forms chiefly meant the knowledge or study of Latin, and were hence often used as synonymous with learning in general, the knowledge peculiar to the learned class. As this was popularly supposed to include magic and astrology, the OF. gramaire was sometimes used as a name for these occult sciences. In these applications it still survives in certain corrupt forms, F. grimoire, Eng. GLAMOUR, GRAMARYE.]

8

Task 1- Analyse the following text: what are the wor ds you already know? And which are those you are not sure about? Can you understand this text? That is, can you tell who is writing to whom about what?

We at Kier recognise the importance in executing th e construction works here at 20 King Street, in a saf e and hazard free environment for both the general public and local businesses. The process of developing a worki ng structure with the public and local business contin ues and remains on going. We therefore require feedback, ad vising us of any measures you feel we should take whilst o n this project, as to maintain a correct environment to wo rk and live in.

In return we would ask that should you see this bui lding being vandalised or in such state that requires eme rgency services, then you call them direct and report the incident that you are witnessing. We would then hop e to be contacted ourselves on:

0207 930 9216 or 0208 464 3377 or 07747760173

Thank you for your Assistance.

Mr. G. Whittle

Kier Group

10

Non-LinguisticLevel

SEMANTICS (meanings)

LEXICO-GRAMMAR(wordings)

PHONOLOGY/ GRAPHOLOGY(sounds/symbols) Linguistic

Level

Language takes place in CONTEXT. The meanings we construct in using language are strictly linked to both the cultural and situational context in which language is used.

Language takes place in CONTEXT. The meanings we construct in using language are strictly linked to both the cultural and situational context in which language is used.

Fig. 1- The text-context connection I

(Adapted from Martin 1992)

Language is a set of lexico-grammatical options realizing certain meanings and being expressed through the phonic or graphic matter.

Language is a set of lexico-grammatical options realizing certain meanings and being expressed through the phonic or graphic matter.

1.2.The Text - Context Connection

11

Context of Situation

Semantics

Lexico-Grammar

Fig. 2- The text-context connection II

12

The Context of CultureHalliday (1994: xv) says that “any evaluation of a text requires an interpretation also of its context”.

In order to analyse language in use, therefore, a t heory of grammar will have to take into consideration not ju st the text, but also the context, both situational and cu ltural. The model will put together context, meaning and gr ammar realizations.

In part, we understand the meanings of sentences be cause we know the vocabulary (lexis) and the grammatical str uctures (as speakers, we follow regular patterns in our sel ections of both). This makes it possible to communicate successfully, even if sometimes interpretation is a mbiguous and miscommunication possible. In the same way, we understand the meanings of speakers because we know something of the culture in which texts are embedde d.

How do we define culture ?

The context of culture can be understood in terms o f the beliefs, ideas and ideologies, worldviews and value systems that are constructed in language.

13

The Context of SituationIn modern linguistics ‘context’ came to refer to the NON-VERBAL environment and generally includes who’s talking to whom, when and where, and how. According to Hallida yanlinguistics, the context of situation can be descri bed by three variables:

FIELD is both the kind of social activity effected and the topic or subject-matter. It is sometimes translated with “campo d’azione”.Answers the question “What’s going on?”

TENOR is the people involved in the language event, the mo re permanent (social roles or statuses) and more tempo rary (discourse roles) relations established. Answers the question “Who’s taking part?”

MODE is the function accorded to the text, the rhetorical aim. Answers the question “How’s language being used?”

Halliday derives his notion of the c.o.s from the anthropologist Malinowski. I quote, “the situation in which words are uttered can never be passed over as irrel evant to the linguistic expression” (Malinowski 1923: 306).

Halliday derives his notion of the c.o.s from the anthropologist Malinowski. I quote, “the situation in which words are uttered can never be passed over as irrel evant to the linguistic expression” (Malinowski 1923: 306).

14

Mode

Mode can be understood as the part language plays. It includes:- the channel of communication, whether phonic (e.g. face-to-face communication, radio, telephone, etc.), or graphic (e.g. book, newspaper, written note, scientific article, etc.), or some combination of the two (e.g. CD-ROM); - the medium , degrees of spoken-ness/written-ness, i.e. whether the text is more lexically dense (high incidence of lexical vs. grammatical words) and packaged (in nominalised strings, for example), or more lexico-grammatically intricate (in complex combinations of clauses); - the nature of the exchange, dialogic or monologic , and whether it is spoken and spontaneous, or written-to-be-read, or written-to-be-spoken, and thus prepared, or at least semi-prepared.

15

MediumThe notion is a complex one. It has to do with degrees of writtenness and degrees of spokenness on a continuum ,i.e. lexical density (high incidence of lexical vs. grammatical words) and grammatical intricacy (complex clausal organisation), and with degrees of spontaneity.

Task 2- Compare the two extracts on slide 16 and 17 to have a grasp of this important distinction: what features do you find most typical of either two? Where do you think the extracts were drawn from?

16

Extract A-An increasingly large number of television programmes coming from the United States, i.e. serials, sitcoms, soap operas, and the like, have increased the business of dubbing in countries such as Italy, which have always traditionally dubbed rather than subtitled. Commercial reasons like this together with the need for highly trained translators have aroused new interest on the part of academics in the theoretical issues involved in dubbing. The questions I would like to pose here are, firstly, at which point does translating cease and dubbing take over? In other words, what exactly is the difference between translation proper and adapting a script for the TV screen? And, secondly, can Dialogue Analysis provide the dubbing scriptwriter with useful criteria for a critical reading?

(From Freddi 1998 Dialogue Analysis and Multimedia Translation )

17

Extract B -

Well, Mrs. Moss, I think you should avoid sleeping pills if you can. You may come to rely on them completely and find it impossible to sleep without them. I’d suggest some other remedies, perhaps very obvious ones. Have you tried drinking herb tea, like camomile, before you go to bed? This can help you relax. You could also try listening to music or reading.

(From Lipson 2001-2002)

18

RegisterNote that these three variables of context, namely Field , Tenor and Mode, define the register to which a text belongs. There is an inextricable, systematic association between context and text (the extra-linguistic situation and the linguistic/verbal realizations) and vice versa : the context activates the meanings (i.e. the Semantics) that are realized in and by the grammar (i.e. lexico-grammar).Thus a register can be defined as a “culturally specific text-type which results from using language to accomplish something” (Gerot & Wignell1994: 17).

Examples of registers are: the lecture, the research article, various types of service-encounters, etc.

19

Task 3- Analyse the exam-situation in terms of Field , Tenor and Mode .

Task 4- Identify the following registers and describ e the three variables of the contextual configuration:

a) Wash and dry a 450g chicken, boned and skinned. C ut into small, similar-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Ad d the spices ( 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric), some salt and two tbsp of olive oil and mix together. Cover and chill for at least an hour. Thread the chicken, 2 medium red onions an d 4 baby sweet green peppers alternatively along 4 long skewers. Cook over hot coals on a barbecue for 10-1 5 minutes, turning frequently and basting with extra oil during cooking, until tender and cooked through. Se rve hot or cold. If you wish, add a dressing of greek yogurt , flavoured with a pinch of paprika, a pinch of cumin , some mint and crushed garlic, plus a pinch of salt, to t aste.

b) Well, Well, Mrs. Moss, I think you should avoid s leeping pills if you can. You may come to rely on them com pletely and find it impossible to sleep without them…

20

c) Volvo. For life.

d) Christmas Greetings and Best Wishes for the Comi ng Year.

e) Subject: Fwd: Re: University meetingDate: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 14:06:52 +0200From: Joanna <xxxxx>

To: [email protected]

>At 11.13 30/06/2003 +0200, you wrote:>>Hi Sandra,>>>>Maria suggested that we try and have a meeting together. When >>would be a ggod time?>>>>Hope everything is well with you.>>>>Best wishes.>>>>Joanna

21

In order to start answering the questions in slide 6, let us consider this advertisement.

Task 5- What aspects of the sentence do we want to consider in providing a linguistic description of the following travel advertisement of a British region?

(Based on Thompson 1996: 2)

1.2.Formalism vs. Functionalism

22

The basic philosophy of a FORMALIST :

� Grammar is an abstract set of rules .

� The primary concern is with the forms of grammatical structures and their relationship to one another.

� Grammar = morphology and syntax

� Grammarians often use made up sentences to illustrate rules.

23

The basic philosophy of a FUNCTIONALIST:

� Grammar is a system of human communication and allows speakers to make and exchange meanings .

� The primary concern is with the functionsof grammatical structures and with their meanings in their context.

� Grammar = lexico-grammar

� Grammarians aim at using sentences drawn from real world sources, authentic pieces of linguistic evidence.

Note, however, that formal analyses must at some stage take account of meaning and function, and functional analyses must at some stage take account of form.

Note, however, that formal analyses must at some stage take account of meaning and function, and functional analyses must at some stage take account of form.

24

In the history of language study in the West, there have been two somewhat different theoretical conceptualizations of grammar. Both have their origins in Ancient Greece, there have been many variations, but we can still trace these two strands of thinking today (Matthiessen & Halliday 1997).

1) In one, language is a set of rules, rules for specifying structures, for example the construction of a transitive sentence with verb + accusative. This perspective is that of logic and philosophy in the foregrounding of the sentence as the basic unit of language, organized on a logical model into Subject + Predicate . Since the sentence is the basic unit, it is studied in isolation .

Why do we need FG then?

25

2) In the other view, language is a resource for making meanings. This perspective is that of rhetoric and ethnography in the foregrounding of the text ( discourse ) as the basic unit of language, organized according to the rhetorical aim. Since text is the basic unit, the sentence is studied in its discourse environment .

Moreover, Matthiessen and Halliday 1997 observe that at this stage in the history of human-kind, we need a richer theory of grammar to meet the challenges of the age of information . To the new needs of our society and new purposes of language use corresponds a new theory of language .

For example, in the field of education, one should ask, how do we give access to and transfer knowledge through language?, or in the field of language teaching, how do we help people learn a foreign language?, or in the field of media studies, what is the best way to explain and describe the way language works in advertising a product, as in slide 21?

26

The founder of the theory says:

Language is a semiotic system: meaning is created in language.

(M.A.K. Halliday 1994)

‘Functional’ means that we are foregrounding the role of grammar as a resource for construing meaning.

(M.A.K. Halliday 1994)

1.3.The Grammar-Meaning Connection

27

The claim that “meaning is created in language” hints at the philosophical issue of the locus of meaning and the relation between language, meaning, thought and reality.

Similarly, the claim that “grammar is considered a resource for making meaning”, entails that grammar equals meaning and vice versa (see Figure 3, sl. 30).

There is in fact circularity between meanings and grammar in that meanings are realized or constructed in and by the grammar, which means that they are accessible to speakers only via the grammar and that grammar has an internal meaning creating role. How can we have access to a semantic category without its grammatical realization? For example, how are we to understand the semantic category ‘temporality’(‘time’) in different languages, unless we explore the grammatical resources that realize it (tense, etc.)? Thus, there is no point in asking which determines which.

28

SEMANTICS( MEANINGS)

LEXICOGRAMMAR

( WORDINGS)

(fro m Miller 2000-2001)

Fig. 3- The Grammar-Meaning connection

29

To sum up:

� Functional Grammar focuses on languageuse.

� It is descriptive , more than prescriptive, in its examination of actual occurrences of spoken and written language and the contextof their use

� It aims at:- showing how meaning is made

- understanding and interpreting texts .

30

Keys to exercisesTask 1-

Glossary:

hazard free = not dangerous

Vandalised = damaged on purpose

Witnessing = seeing

We, ourselves = the reference for the 1st person pl ural subject-pronoun is the Kier Group, which also coincides wit h the writer of the text (sender of the message), Mr. Whittle, as r epresentative of the group

You = the 2nd person plural pronoun refers to the a ddressee and reader of the text (receiver of the message)

The importance of granting a safe working environme nt at the construction works at 20 King Street = the main top ic of the text, a declaration of intents (Function is Informative)

…advising us of any measures you feel we should tak e whilst on this project, as to maintain a correct environment to wo rk and live in = complex combination of clauses (dependent and embed ded)

In return we would ask that should you see...then y ou call them direct...we would then hope= modal verbs are used t o modalize the message, however, this second part of the text is a clear call for action, almost an injunction (Function is Exhortato ry)

Thank you for your Assistance = this line is the cl osing addressing the readers in a direct way, asking for their help and action.

31

Task 2- The first paragraph of Extract A is characterised b y nominalization: long Nominal Groups (NGs) functioni ng as participants within the clause as representation. S uch NGscontain a high number of lexical or content words, while the number of clauses is very low. If we count up the l exical words and divide them by the number of clauses we g et the lexical density of the paragraph. If this number is high, then the paragraph is more likely to be an instance of t he written medium. The second paragraph has more clauses (in o rder to identify them, count up the verbs of both independe nt and dependent clauses). These are questions in form, bu t function as research questions, which will be addressed and investigated by the author of the research paper.

On the other hand, Extract B shows signs of its spo ken nature. Among others, the continuative well , and the direct form of address, the vocative, Mrs. Moss , which are both typical of spoken English; then, there are many independent co ordinated clauses as well as dependent, subordinated clauses (identify the verbs). Grammatical intricacy is more typical o f spoken discourse. The topic (remedies for insomnia) togeth er with the high incidence of prescriptive deontic modality lead us to think that this is an instance of doctor-patient tele phone interaction.

32

Task 3-

The exam-situation is defined by:

1) its Field: an activity that tests the acquired knowledge of the student; the subject-matter of the exam, e.g. s ay, an exam on Elizabethan literature;

2) its Tenor: namely the examiner/-s and the examin ee engaged in the exchange (the hic et nunc ), with their social, semi-permanent roles or statuses (teacher-student) and their ongoi ng discourse roles: the teacher’s discourse role consists in ask ing questions and giving feedback on the student’s answers;

3) its Mode: the channel is phonic, the medium is m ore spoken than written, and a dialogue, even though the inter action is semi-planned rather than spontaneous. Where can the medium be put in the continuum between spokenness and writtenness ? (see Gerotand Wignell 1994: 159 ff.)

Task 4-

a recipe-

Field: giving instructions on how to prepare chilli -chicken skewers

Tenor: writer-general readership

Mode: graphic channel, more written than spoken med ium

33

Task 4- cont’d

b) a telephone conversation-Field: advising on how to overcome a medical proble m, remedies against insomniaTenor: doctor-patient Mode: originally phonic channel, medium is spoken

c) an adField: the activity of advertising in order to sell a car Tenor: Volvo company-potential buyersMode: graphic channel (originally multi-modal, i.e. including the visual mode of images), medium is more written than spoken

d) a greeting cardField: Christmas greetingsTenor: very generic and impersonal, no explicit tra ce of sender or receiver Mode: graphic channel (maybe multi-modal if includi ng an image, medium is writtene) an e-mailField: activity of making an appointment, a Univers ity meetingTenor: 3 colleagues Mode: graphic channel, medium mixed, written but wi th features of spokenness

34

Task 5-

The following issues can be highlighted: what is th e writer doing with the imperative? The sentence is i ndeed an order or command realized by the imperative Mood (“spend”), but being an ad, it functions more like an invitation. Why didn’t the writer choose an indicat ive statement form? Who is the addressee of this command/invitation? And whom does the adverbial “together” include?

Also, why is the time one spends in that part of Br itain characterised as being worthwhile (“quality time”)? Then, what features of the graphic co-text, includi ng lay-out, pictures, that is, the visual semiotics, trigger the grammatical choices and affect the mess age of the sentence?

Therefore, what is the ultimate purpose of the sent ence? What is its function, i.e. its meaning?

35

Chapter 2- Ways with Words

In order to approach a text, we need to be able to break it down into smaller, more manageable units, so, for example, into sentences (those units of the writing system beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full-stop), which in turn can be broken down into clauses, (which combine with each other to form a text), which can be broken down into groups of words, and so on. We therefore need to start looking in a more systematic way at the units of grammar on which our analysis is going to be based.We will then identify their functions within ONE clause, and we will eventually go back to how clauses are put together to form a text.

36

The Rank Scale is defined as:

the layered part-whole relationship that occurs among the units of grammar (Halliday 1994: 23) .

Larger units are made up out of smaller units (e.g. sentences consist of clauses, which consist of groups of words, which, in their turn, consist of words, which, in their turn, consist of… see following slide).

Each unit consists of one or more of the next smaller, and sometimes these can be conflated:

Ex. Stop!

= one sentence

= clause

= one group

= one word

= one morpheme (ex. based on Halliday 2004: 9)

2.1. The Rank Scale(or, the constituent structure of

grammar)

37

MORPHEME

WORD

GROUP

CLAUSE

TEXTA TEXT is a meaningful instance of language, a coherent whole that makes sense to someone that knows the language; it is indeterminate in length (it can be the Stop! above, or consist of one or more volumes). It consists of one or more CLAUSEs , i.e. a group of words with at least one Verb (or Verbal) GROUP (VG). But clauses can also have Noun (or Nominal) groups, (NG), Adjectival Groups, Adverbial groups (AG), and Prepositional Phrases (PP).These in turn are made up of at least one WORD. Words have both content (lexical) and function (grammatical). They are made up of at least one MORPHEME. Morphemes are the smallest distinctive unit of grammar having meaning.

Fig. 4- The Rank Scale

38

An example of a TEXT could be the one already seen in sl. 9 and 10:

We at Kier recognise the importance in executing th e construction works here at 20 King Street, in a saf e and hazard free environment for both the general public and local businesses. The process of developing a worki ng structure with the public and local business contin ues and maintains on going. We therefore require feedba ck, advising us of any measures you feel we should take whilst on this project, as to maintain a correct environment to work and live in.

In return we would ask that should you see this bui lding being vandalised or in such state that requires emergency services, then you call them direct and r eport the incident that you are witnessing. We would then hope to be contacted ourselves on:

0207 930 9216 or 0208 464 3377 or 07747760173

Thank you for your Assistance.

Mr. G. Whittle

Kier Group

39

A text can be broken down into sentences and into CLAUSES:

We at Kier recognise the importance in executing the construction works here at 20 King Street, in a saf e and hazard free environment for both the general public and local businesses.

The sentence above is made up of just ONE clause, although a very a long and qualified one, and in particular one independent clause, as there is only one finite verb (recognise). Some of you might notice, however, a non-finite verb (executing), and might argue that this is another clause, a dependent one. However, later we will see that this second clause loses its status of clause, as it were, it is down-ranked, becoming a constituent within a group, namely the Nominal Group. This phenomenon is called Embedding. Thus, here the second clause (in executing…) is embedded as part of the NG “the importance” (see sl. 56 ff.).

40

Clauses combine to form a CLAUSE COMPLEX:

The CLAUSE is the basic unit of analysis in this model and is considered to be representative of the text as an instantiation of a meaning potential.

The process of developing a working structure with the public and local business continues and maintains ongoing.

We therefore require feedback, advising us of any measures you feel we should take whilst on this project, as to maintain a correct environment to work and live in.

In the sentence above you have two coordinated clauses (the second of which has the Subject elided), both independent, both with finite verbs ( continues,

maintains ), they form a clause-complex.In the next one there is one independent clause (with the VG require ), and two dependent, both with non-finite verbs ( advising, as to maintain ). The other two verbal groups ( feel, should take ) are in embedded clauses, as are the last two, ( to work and live in).

41

Each clause can be broken down into groups:

We at Kier = 1 Nominal Group (1 pronoun + 1 embedded, qualifying Prepositional Phrase)

recognise = 1 Verbal Group

the importance in executing the construction works here at 20 King Street, = 1 Nominal Group

in a safe and hazard free environment = 1 Prepositional Phrase

for both the general public and local businesses = 1 Prepositional Phrase

The process of developing a working structure with the public and local business = Nominal Group

continues = Verbal Group

(it) = ellipted pronoun, thus Nominal Group

maintains = Verbal Group

Ongoing = Adjectival Group

42

More examples of VERBAL GROUPS, VG, (and of what are called Verbal Group expansions) are:

We recognised .Lexical Verb + Finite [-ed, Simple Past](or Predicator)

We have recognised .

Finite [have, Present] + Lexical Vb. + [-ed, Perfec t](or Predicator)

We should have recognised .Finite [should, Modal Auxiliary] + [have, Present] + Lexical Vb. + [-ed, Perfect](or Predicator)

43

Task 3- Underline the VGs in the following examples:

1- Stella got the first prize.

2- He must have left.

3- The reply had been accepted as valid.

4- The duke gave my aunt this teapot.

5- I would have thought so.

6- Sanctions against the country should be eased.

7- We would then hope to be contacted.

8- The building requires emergency services.

9- They seldom come to Italy.

10- Did you take my glasses?

44

In the clauses analysed so far there was no example of ADVERBIAL GROUPS (AG). Again, an Adverbial Group can be made up of one word only, one Adverb, as in the examples below:

They left the room quickly .

They seldom come to Italy.

or even of a modified Adverb, as in:

They come to Italy very rarely .

They don’t come to Italy quite often enough for their tastes .

45

Each group in its turn can be broken down into WORDS:

We at Kier = 1 NG, 3 wordsrecognise = 1 VG, 1 wordthe importance in executing the construction works here at 20 King Street, = 1 NG, 11 wordsin a safe and hazard free environment = 1 Prepositional Phrase (henceforth PP), 7 wordsfor both the general public and local businesses = 1 PP, 8 words

More examples of words are:

Tall, a, book, serendipity, the, cross-check.

46

Each word is identified by both its

Content, that is its lexical or conceptual value,

and its

grammatical Function, that is, its relation to other words in the clause.

The total meaning of a word is the sum of both these aspects.

Furthermore, we can distinguish between:

Lexical words (= also ‘content words’), they function in lexical open sets rather than in closed grammatical systems;

Grammatical words (= also ‘empty words’), they have no lexical or conceptual content, they have only their grammatical function.

47

The image shows an entry of the lemma ‘and’ taken from the MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, MacMillan 2002.

Task 1- Look up in one or more dictionaries both a grammatical (e.g. ‘the’) and a lexical word (e.g. ‘red’), and compare the entries with the content-function distinction in mind.

48

Each word can be broken down into MORPHEMES, the smallest unit of grammar:

Execut-ing is formed from the lexical morpheme execut- and the grammatical morpheme –ing for the Gerund;

Work-s is formed from the lexical morpheme work- and –s indicating the Plural.

A useful exercise to improve your command of lexis is practising word formation, as in the example below. Notice how morphemes change the word-class (or part of spe ech):

Safe Adjective (Adjectival Group)

Safe-ty Noun (NG)

Safe-ly Adverb (AG)

Un-safe Adjective (Adjectival Group), an antonym of ‘safe’

49

Task 2- Identify the morphemes and their function in the following examples:

A, kindness, trees, soften, moisten, approbation, approval, recital, proposition, proposal, employer , transfer, presume, receive, deduce, away, alone, unselfishly.

These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species - that mystery of mysteries (C. Darwin, The Origin of Species)

50

2.2. The Nominal GroupIn the English grammar the NG is an extremely produ ctive unit and an economic way to represent reality linguistic ally, thanks to its structural capacity to be expanded bo th to the left (pre-modification) and to the right (post-modi fication), something we have already seen with reference to AG s above. This is why considerable space is dedicated here to this interesting language structure and to its functions .

You will learn how to decode the logical and experi ential relations between the various elements within a NG, and this will help you read and understand different texts. There is a special type of text, which Halliday 1994 calls “l ittle texts” whose grammar is reduced to one NG exclusivel y: these include titles, newspaper headlines, road signs, an d the like.

As is illustrated below, the relationship between t he elements within a NG can be seen from two different perspectives: 1)the logical, highlighting the hiera rchical relationship between the head noun and its modifier s, and 2)the experiential, which stresses the type of sema ntics, or meanings, instantiated.

51

Modifier | Head Noun = logical relation

A | book

Deictic | Thing = experiential relation

A | book

53

Notice that the Classifier + Thing structure is of particular importance in technical and scientific texts : Adjectives, but also Nouns and Participles, often function as Classifiers.

E.g. weak force , ecological problems , water pollution ,living organism , virtual reality , virtual-realitygenerator , quantum theory , memory capacity , information technology , etc.

Notice the difference between:A fascinating movie

Epithet(=objective/subjective quality)

A De Niro movie Classifier

(=what kind/type?)

Pre-Modification cont’d : Classifier

54

Those books | with colourful pictures

Qualifier = often a prepositional phrase (PP) or a clause providing additional defining or circumstantial information about the Thing.

ExamplesA Room with a View(Title of a beautiful novel by E.M. Forster) Deictic + Thing + Qualifier

(PP with Deictic + Thing)

The street [around the corner]The man [at the train station]People [[who have been involved in the accident]]The woman [at the reception]The news [[(that) you gave me yesterday]]

Her attitude [to emancipation] doesn’t help.(ex. based on Thompson 1996: 23)

Post-modification: Qualifier

55

EmbeddingNote that the common meaning of ‘embedded’ is ‘fixed firmly and deeply’.

Note that the common meaning of ‘embedded’ is ‘fixed firmly and deeply’.

Another way to look at the post-modification of the NG, the Qualifier, is by means of its status within the group: what is happening is that the PP or clause becomes a part of, and inserted into the Thing (i.e. the Head Noun) by delimiting, defining and specifying it. This is why we say that it is embedded. The characteristic embedded clause is the DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE (also called ‘restrictive’ relative clause, or ‘identifying’ in some formal accounts of grammar), where the relative pronoun can be omitted. So, for example,

Every cup [[you taste]] gives you an exquisite coffee

Embedded defining relative clause

experience.

In short, as Halliday points out (1994: 188), embedding allows a unit (here a NG) to be expanded by inclusion of another unit from a higher rank (e.g. a clause) or the same rank (another NG).

56

All defining relative clauses are embedded and function as Qualifier. Compare the example in the slide above, every cup you taste , with the following one, where we have a NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE (or ‘non-restrictive’):

Stella , whom you met yesterday, is coming with us to the Lighthouse.

Notice that in a written text, a non-defining relative

clause is usually signalled with a comma corresponding

to a pause in spoken discourse. The meaning of a NON-

DEFINING relative clause is different from that of a

defining one, in that it introduces a kind of gloss, an

extra-comment elaborating on the primary clause. So, it

differs in function from the embedded clause, which is

an integral part of the NG.

57

Task 4- Identify the embedded PPs or embedded clauses in the following examples. Say what kind of clause it is. Use the square brackets (singles for PP and doubles for clauses) to signal the embedded element.

1. Experiments in the dehydration and evaporation o f milk were carried out. (ex. from Thompson 1996: 23)

2. Singing in the bath is a funny habit.

3. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.

4. The team was hard to beat.

5. This is the man whose views I normally agree wit h.

6. The theme of this week is ‘bakery’.

7. Here you have the measure of his arrogance.

8. Please find enclosed the agreement terms you pro posed.

9. Her decision to resign was a surprise for everyb ody.

10. The child in the garden is my youngest cousin.

58

Task 5- Analyse the following NGs for the experiential structure:

A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes(“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”J.K. Rowling)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Title of a famous play by Shakespeare)

Task 5a- Analyse all the NGs you can identify in the two pictures on slide 59:

60

Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic (or Grammar as System and Grammar as

Structure)

I went to the theatre on Sunday

I went to the movies last night

He ‘s going home tonight

Go home! _______

Fig. 5- Paradigm and Syntagm

61

With reference to the figure above, it is helpful t o note what Matthiessen and Halliday 1997 say about the distinction and dynamic relationship between these 2 axes:

System and structure theorize the axes of organisat ion in language, namely the paradigmatic or vertical axis and the syntagmatic, or horizontal axis.

System is a point of choice (e.g. indicative vs. im perative within the MOOD system, or past vs. future within t he TENSE system), whereas structure is a sequence of combina tory possibilities, a sort of patterning.

The concept of choice is fundamental in language: a paradigm is the list of options from which a speake r makes a choice. Each choice or selection the speaker make s (the vertical dimension) contributes to the wording and thus affects the structure (the horizontal dimension).

Lexis and Grammar are inseparable:

LEXICO-GRAMMAR.

62

In the course of these lessons we will be introducing a range of semantic functional labels which reflect the fact that word classes (or, parts-of-speech) do not express only one kind of meaning and can have more than one function .

Take a Noun (or NG), a Verb (or VG), another Noun (NG) and yet another Noun (NG) and put them in a sequence and mutual relation such that you get the Subject Verb (or Predicate) Complement Object structure of the English clause:

The duke gave my aunt this teapot. (From Halliday 1994: 30)

S V C O

Although both my aunt and this teapot are NGs, their function within this clause is very different. In fact, my aunt is the indirect Object expressing the Beneficiary of the action expressed by the Verb, while this teapot is the direct Object, or Goal of the action.

Language is multifunctional

63

The same clause could be rewritten as Subject Verb Object Adjunct ( SVOA):

The duke gave this teapot to my aunt.

S V O A

In this second formulation, the form has changed, the NG my aunt has become a PP, to my aunt, while the function is the same, that is, Beneficiary of the action.

Also, according to Halliday (1994: 31), the duke is Subject in a threefold sense:

(i) Grammatical Subject (Subject)= that of which something is being predicated, having number and person agreement with the Verb;

(ii) Logical Subject (Actor)= the doer of the action;

(iii) Psychological Subject (Theme)= that which is the concern of the message, what the speaker (or writer) has in mind to start with.

64

‘The duke’ is thus contemporaneously Subject-Actor-Theme, that is, all three functions are combined in oneNominal form.

This is typical of the standard, unmarked form of a statement-type clause, where what is called the Subject in traditional grammar occurs in initial position and also functions as ‘doer of the action’.

In other words, the function ‘Subject’ is looked at from both the point of view of its structural characteristics (e.g. the number and person agreement with the verb, or the element that can come first in the clause) and of its semantics, highlighting the various strands of meaning (e.g. the doer of the action, the concern of the message). It is thus broken down into a set of functions that show the complexity of language and its multi-functionality.

65

Keys to exercisesTask 1- no keys are suggested

Task 2-

A, kind+ness, tree+s, soft+en, moist+en, ap+prob+at ion, ap+prov+al, re+cit+al, pro+pos+ition, pro+pos+al, e mploy+er, trans+fer, pre+sume, re+ceive, de+duce, a+way, a+lo ne.

Th+ese, fact+s, seem+ed, to, me, to, throw, some, l ight, on, the/th+e, origin, of, specie+s, th+at, myster+y, my ster+ie+s

Task 3-

1- got

2- must have left

3- had been accepted

4- gave

5- would have thought

6- should be eased

7- would hope; to be contacted

8- requires

9- come

10- did take

66

Task 4-

1. [in the dehydration and evaporation [of milk]]

Embedded PP with Embedded PP

2. [in the bath] Embedded PP

3. [[you want to know]]

Embedded clause, defining relative

4. [[to beat]]

Embedded clause, infinitive

5. [[whose views I normally agree with]]


6. [of this week] Embedded PP

7. [of his arrogance] Embedded PP

8. [[you proposed]]


9. [[to resign]]

Embedded clause, infinitive

10. [in the garden] Embedded PP

67

Task 5-

Non-Spec. Deictic + Epithet (objective) + Epithet ( obj.) + Thing + Qualifier (Epithet + Thing)

A= Non-Spec. Deictic +

Midsummer Night’s = can be considered one Classifie r +

Dream = Thing

or

Midsummer Night’s = Possessive (within Possessive: Midsummer = Classifier + Night’s = Thing)

Task 5-aScience Museum | Information | Map.Map = Thing (Head) + pre-modification.

Within pre-modification from right to left:

Museum= Classifier of MapScience= Classifier of MuseumScience Museum= Classifier of Map, but alsoScience Museum= Classifier of Information (services )

Keys to exercises cont'd

68


Task 5-aClarks. The Original Desert Boot. The story of a le gend. = 3 NGs

1) Thing.

2) From left to right:

Spec. Deictic + Epithet + Classifier + Thing

3) Spec. Deictic + Thing + Qualifier (=PP providing additional defining information about the Thing)

Note that this is the typical telegraphic way that ads compress meanings, leaving their relations only vag ue and at most implicit. Indeed, there are relations, although indeterminate; possible readings of what h as been ellipted include:

“Clarks ARE The Original Desert Boots. They ARE (REPRESENT) THE story of a legend”, or even: “Clark s, WHICH are the Original Desert Boots, ARE the story of a legend”, with the second NG functioning as a non-defining relative clause.

69

Chapter 3- Interpersonal Meanings

Task 1- Consider the following exchange, where does it take place, who are the interlocutors, (the TENOR), that is, who is talking to whom? Which features of language reveal them?

TIT FOR TAT.

“When I recently asked my husband, ‘Why are those trousers lying on the bed?’, he replied: ‘Because t hey need washing.’ If it happens again, how can I respon d without causing a bad atmosphere between us?”

“Empty the kitchen bin on the bed ‘because the rubb ish bag needs taking out’. Park your car in the hall ‘because the oil needs changing’. Just remember, he started it.”

70

Clause as Exchange

One function of language is as a means of construct ing

interaction ; the clause is organized as an interactive event

involving a speaker/writer and a listener/reader.

The speaker/writer together with his/her interlocut or(-s)

(listener/reader) engage in a social and discoursal relation,

by assuming discourse roles.

For example, when you ask a question, you act as se eker of

information, and the addressee may (or may not) tak e on the

role of supplier of the information being demanded.

We will then ask:

a) What kind of interaction is taking place?

b) What are the lexico-grammatical resources used t oconstrue the interaction?

71

Basic SPEECH FUNCTIONS

demanding

QUESTIONWhat is your favourite drink?

Is coffee your favourite drink?

COMMANDSuggestive: Invitation, Recommendation

Let’s get some coffee, (shall we?)

Coercive

Make me some coffee!

Spend some quality time together in Northumbria.

propositionsproposals

STATEMENTI drink coffee every morning.

OFFERWould you like some coffee?

Have some coffee.

I’ll get you some coffee.

giving

informationgoods & servicesCommodity

Act

Table 1- The 4 basic speech functions

72

As can be seen in the table above (adapted from Halliday 1994: 69), interaction, when thought of in terms of the types of meanings being exchanged, can be reduced to four main moves corresponding to the two acts of giving or asking for information (respectively, statement and question), and to the other two of giving or asking for something, either good or service (respectively, offer and command).

In other words, interaction is seen as a sequence of propositions and /or proposals.

From the point of view of the listener/reader, there are various ways in which he/she can comply with the discourse role he has been assigned and contribute to carry on the interaction initiated by the speaker/writer (see the following table).

73

disagreementagreement

Dispreferred

response

Preferred responseSpeech function

disclaimeranswerQuestion

acknowledgement Statement

refusalundertakingCommand

rejectionacceptanceOffer

Notice that not all communicative functions need averbal response , e.g. a command is successful if the action demanded is carried out (non-verbal response).

Table 2- Speech functions and responses (adapted fro m Halliday 1994: 69)

74

Examples of:

Response to offer: Yes please/No thanks.

Response to command: Listener does something, i.e. carries out the command, or doesn’t do it.

Response to statement: Listener acknowledges the proposition by either agreeing or disagreeing (e.g. Yes / Right / mm / No, that’s not true, etc. )

Response to question: Yes/No, I didn’t know, etc.

TAGS signal explicitly that some feedback is required and what kind of feedback it is expected to be (i.e. the kind of reaction).Ex. Let’s get some coffee, shall we?

You drink coffee every morning, don’t you?

TAGSTAGS signal explicitly that some feedback is required and what kind of feedback it is expected to be (i.e. the kind of reaction).Ex. Let’s get some coffee, shall we?shall we?

You drink coffee every morning, dondon ’’ t you? t you?

75

3.1. The MOOD SYSTEM

Indicative

Imperative

Clause

Declarative

Interrogative

Yes/no (polar)

Wh-(content)

(Statement)

(Question)

(Command, Suggestion)

Adapted from Matthiessen and Halliday 1997

Fig. 6- The system of MOOD

76

The communicative (or speech) functions we have been considering are variously construed in the clause by means of grammatical choices made within the MOOD system, as can be seen in the figure above. Notice that there are at least three standard ways to make an offer (see the examples in Table 1 sl. 71). Moreover, there being no one-to-one correspondence between grammar and semantics, there are, for example, also Moods other than the imperative you can choose to give a command (e.g. Will you shut up, please?, with a modalizedinterrogative).

There is one particular component of the clause that is involved in the grammatical variation that occurs and that is essential for carrying the exchange between the speakers and hearers forward.

This is called the Mood block: it is made up of two parts, each of which has a particular semantic

contribution to make to the clause: the Subject , which

is the nominal component and the Finite , the verbal component (see following slide).

77

Subject = the grammatical Subject of earlier terminology, i.e. that of which something is being predicated, having person and number agreement with the verb (see slide 63).

Finite = that part of a VG which expresses TENSE (past, present, or future) by reference to the time of uttering, or MODALITY (e.g. can , could , must , etc.), and POLARITY, i.e. positive/negative validity.

Past Present Future

Now =Time of uttering

The Mood block

78

Finiteness is thus expressed by a verbal operator , which is either temporal or modal . Notice that in some instances (unmarked declarative simple past, e.g. She left her old job, or simple present with positive polarity, e.g. She now works for IBM) the finite element and the lexical verb are ‘fused’ into a single word:

The forms of the verb DO (does/doesn’t, did/didn’t, etc.) function as Finite in interrogative, negative

and contrastive clauses :

Ex. A: Do you know Stella?

B: No, I don’t (know her).

Ex. A 1: You don’t know Stella, do you?

B1: Yes, I do know her.

that teapot to my aunt

Subj . give + [Past]

gaveThe duke

The TAG test: Subj. and Finite are repeated in the TAG!

The TAG test: Subj. and Finite are repeated in the TAG!

79

Residue: Predicator, Complement, Adjunct

How do we analyse the elements that fall outside the mood block? The other main component of the structure of Mood is the Residue. The Residue consists of elements of three kinds: the Predicator, the Complement (one or two at most), and the Adjunct (which may be numerous).

Predicator = the non-finite, the VG minus the Finite (i.e. the main temporal information or the modal operator).

Ex. The duke is drinking .

Subj. ^ Finite ^ Predicator

80

Complement = the Object or Complement of many other grammars; it is the element that has the potential of being the Subject, but is not; it is typically realized by a NG or an Adjectival Group.Ex. The duke is drinking his cup of coffee .

Subj. ^ Finite ^ Predicator ^ Complement

Adjunct = an element giving extra, or ‘adjunctive’, information about the other elements of the clause; it is typically realized by an AG or PP.Ex. The duke never drinks coffee in the

evening .Subj. ^ Fin. + Predic. ^ Complement ^ Adjunct

There are also elements outside the Mood and Residu e structure: among these, Vocatives (e.g. Stella , can you get the dog out?), Expletives (e.g. Get that bloody dog out!), Conjunctions and Conjunctive Adjuncts (e.g. And don’t let the dog in again!)

There are also elements outside the Mood and Residu e structure: among these, Vocatives (e.g. Stella , can you get the dog out?), Expletives (e.g. Get that bloody dog out!), Conjunctions and Conjunctive Adjuncts (e.g. And don’t let the dog in again!)

81

Therefore, the ordering of Subject and Finiteshows whether information/goods & services are being given or asked for. In other words, what goes in the mood block is dictated by the mood type .

The mood block has “a clearly defined semantic function: it carries the burden of the clause as an interactive event ” (Halliday 1994: 77).As the following dialogue shows, the part of the message which is being picked up and re-used to keep the exchange going is precisely the mood block.

The MOOD block and its function

82

Mother Beauty, you cruel girl, what have youdone to your sisters?

Beauty Nothing Mother, they did it to themselves.

Salmonella It's Beauty's fault, she ruinedmy beautiful hair.

Rubella And she sprayedthe soda siphon all over my beautiful nightie.

Listerine And she knockedme down and saton me.

All (Pointing) She did it mother!

Beauty Oh no I didn't .

Others Oh yes she did.

Audience Oh no she didn’t.

Beauty Oh no I didn’t . etc.

Mother Well, I don't know what to believe. Tell me Salmonella darling, what did that nasty Beautydo to you?

(from Beauty and the Beast. A pantomime.)

83

Perfect examples of the ‘clause as an interactive event’ are the dialogues between principals and the semi-improvised interactions between actors and audience in pantomimes*** .Notice the function of the mood block in the extract given above: it is the pivot of the whole negotiation between participants in the exchange, and the shifts of Subj. and Finite keep the interaction going (did you, they did, she did, I didn’t, she did, she didn’t etc.)

***(from the NSOED in CD-rom) pantomime . A traditional theatrical performance, orig. in mime, now consisti ng of a dramatized fairy tale or nursery story, with musi c, dancing, topical jokes, and conventional characters , freq. played by actors of the opposite sex from the characters, chiefly performed in Britain around Christmas.

***(from the NSOED in CD-rom) pantomime . A traditional theatrical performance, orig. in mime, now consisti ng of a dramatized fairy tale or nursery story, with musi c, dancing, topical jokes, and conventional characters , freq. played by actors of the opposite sex from the characters, chiefly performed in Britain around Christmas.

We can now look more closely at the order of Subject and Finite and how changing that order changes the mood.

Pantomimes

84

Subj.

ResidueMood block

Adjunct

(Circumstantial)ComplementPredicatorFinite

in the eveningcoffeedrinkdon’tI

INDICATIVE declarative : Subj. ^ Finite

INDICATIVE interrogative, Yes/No question :

Finite ^ Subj.

Finite

ResidueMood block

Adjunct

(Circumstantial)ComplementPredicatorSubj.

in the evening?coffeedrinkyouDo

The MOOD system and its syntagmatic realizations

85

INDICATIVE interrogative, Wh- question, and Wh- = Subj.: Wh- ^ Finite

otherwise, Wh- ^ Finite ^ Subj., if Wh- = Circumstance/Complement

Subj.

Mood block Residue

ComplementFinite[-ed] + Predicator

my coffee?drankWho

EXCLAMATIVE: Subj. ^ Finite (see declarative)

What a fool he is !

Mood blockResidue

SubjectFinite

my coffee?isWhere

86

IMPERATIVE, unmarked: the Mood element is missing. The Subj. is not specified and by default can only be the addressee (‘you’).

Predicator ComplementComplement

some coffee!meMake

Adjunct (Circ.)

in Northumbria.

Predicator Complement

some quality time Spend

IMPERATIVE, marked for pos./neg. polarity : the Finite is present

Finite

Do

Adjunct (Circ.)

in Northumbria!

Predicator Complement

some quality time spend

Finite

Don’t

Adjunct (Circ.)

to Northumbria!

Predicator

go

87

IMPERATIVE, marked for person :

Finite ^ Subj. (if negative polarity)

Complement

some coffee!

Subj .

you

Adjunct

(conjunctive)

And

Complement

me

Predicator

make

Adjunct

(Circ.)

without me!

Subj .

you

Finite

Don’t

Adjunct

to Northumbria

Predicator

go

IMPERATIVE, marked for person :

the Subj. is present (if positive polarity)

88

A word on MARKEDNESS:

Markedness (it. Marcatezza)= a meaningful choice; having a feature which is not that expected or predicted by some general principle (i.e. from other features).Thence, in general, of any unit, construction, configuration, etc. which is in any way a special case, or which is simply less frequent, more rare.(from The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics)

Ex. I will see you. -unmarked, default

Compare with the following example where the order of words is marked, (cf. thematic structure):

Ex. You I will see. -marked, meaning ‘you and nobody else’

89

3.2. The MODALITY SYSTEMTask 2- In the text below, identify all the expressi ons of modality you already know, modal verbs, modal Adjun cts, etc. What meanings do they express?

General TipsOne of the most common reasons for Brits getting in to trouble with the police in Europe is dazzling other road us ers. Modern halogen headlights often need to be adjusted by a g arage to prevent dazzling, otherwise deflector strips can be used. “It’ll be a major problem for British drivers on th e continent”, says Barry Johnson, of the AA’s Interna tional Motoring Services.Another old danger is the translation of diesel. It is often referred to as ‘gasoil’ or ‘gazole’, not to be confu sed with gasoline.The future may hold even more pitfalls because a pl anned European enforcement network could make traffic off ences transferable between EU members. This means a drink -driving offence on holiday will no longer be forgotten at h ome. You can’t say you have not been warned.( The Times July 2001)

90

Modality can be defined as the grammatical resource by which speakers/writers communicate degrees of their opinions;thus, it can be seen as the intermediate space between the positive and the negative poles, or, the various kinds of indeterminacy that fall in between .

Pos. Neg.Yes certainly , maybe, possibly, etc. No

always, usually , often , seldom , rarely , never

91

(I) EPISTEMIC modality or MODALIZATION:

Is the expression of degrees of PROBABILITY (or likelihood ), and degrees of USUALITY (or often-ness ).

There are various resources in the lexico-grammatical repertoire of English that a speaker can choose from to express these epistemic meanings:

(1) a finite modal operator ( may, can , will , etc., see slides 95-97)

(2) modal Adjuncts ( possibly , certainly , maybe, etc.)

(3) both (1) and (2) together (see example on slide 93)

(4) expressions such as It is usual for… , It is likely that… I think that…

Epistemic comes from Greek επιστηµη meaning ‘knowledge’

Epistemic comes from Greek επιστηµη meaning ‘knowledge’

92

(II) DEONTIC modality or MODULATION:

Is the expression of degrees of OBLIGATION (or necessity ), and degrees of INCLINATION , (or willingness ).

There are various resources in the lexico-grammatical repertoire of English that a speaker can choose from to express these deontic meanings:

(1) a finite modal operator ( must , should , will , etc., see slides 95-97)

(2) modal Adjuncts ( gladly , willingly , etc.)

(3) both (1) and (2) together (see example on slide 94)

(4) expressions such as It is necessary… , It is required that… , x is supposed to… , x is willing to… ,etc.

Deontic comes from Greek δεον meaning ‘duty’

Deontic comes from Greek δεον meaning ‘duty’

93

Some examplesThat will be Stella.Modalization (epistemic modality) realized by a fin ite modal operator

That’s probably Stella.Modalization (epistemic modality) realized by a mod al Adjunct

That’ll probably be Stella.Modalization (epistemic modality) realized by both a finite modal operator and a modal Adjunct

That must be Stella.Modalization (epistemic modality) realized by a fin ite modal operator

Stella usually arrives later.Modalization (epistemic modality) realized by a mod al Adjunct

MODALIZATION is linked to the INDICATIVE mood and t he exchange of information: the meaning is maybe (i.e. either yes or no) or sometimes (both yes and no), i.e. some degree of probability or usuality.

94

You should pay your taxes.

You must take your medicine.

Modulation (deontic modality) realized by a finite m odal operator - linked to command (expression of duty according to a standard of what is right)

Shall I close the door?

I will help you with the washing up.

Modulation (deontic modality) realized by a finite m odal operator- linked to offer (expression of willingness)

MODULATION is linked to the IMPERATIVE mood and the exchange of goods & services: the meaning is “x is wanted to/wants to”, i.e. some degree of obligation or inclination (see Halliday 1994:356).

More examples

95

MODAL OPERATORS(traditionally called modal auxiliaries)

� are always FINITE and therefore always part of the Mood block;� have no Subj.- Finite number agreement (e.g. She must leave);� form interrogatives by being placed in front of the Subject (e.g. Must sheleave?);� are followed directly by NEGATIONS (e.g. She mustn’t leave)� some have NO PAST tense forms (e.g. for must , had to is used: She had to leave)

(based on Lock 1996)

96

ought to

must

should

shall

could

can

might

may

would

willNotice that can also expresses Capacity (or Ability) , a category of modality which doesn’t fit perfectly into either the epistemic or deontic type:e.g. Those students can speak English.

Compare with the use of ‘can’to express degrees probability: This can’t be Stella; it’s too early!or degrees of obligation (prohibition, lack of permission):You can’t go there!

Finite modal operators:

97

SEMI-MODALS� are always FINITE and therefore always part of the Mood block;� can have Subj.-Finite number agreement (e.g. He need s to do it);� form interrogatives with/without DO (e.g. Do you need to do it? / Need you do it?); � form negatives with /without DO (e.g. He doesn’t need to do it / He needn’t do it)

dare

need

Used + to

infinitive

Have + toinfinitive

� are always FINITE and therefore always part of the Mood block;� form interrogatives and negativeswith/without DO (e.g. Does he have to go there? He didn’t use to go there, but in British English, Has he got to go there? He used not to go there)

Used to expresses USUALITY in the past!

98

MODAL ADJUNCTSAs we have already seen, modal Adjuncts can be used to express nuances of modality. What follows is an incomplete list of some of the most common ones:

Probability: probably , possibly , maybe, certainly , etc.Usuality: usually , sometimes , never , etc.Willingness: willingly , readily , gladly , etc.Obligation : definitely , absolutely, etc.

There are also other meanings that can be expressed through a modal Adjunct, among others,Temporality: yet , still , once , already , etc.

Typicality : occasionally , generally , etc.

These elements can function as MOOD ADJUNCTS, as they tend to occur within the Mood Block of which they are part, between the Subject and the Finite. See, for example:But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

99

The main difference between these two types of inte rpersonal Adjuncts is in the scope of their meaning: Mood Adj uncts are limited to the VG, whereas Comment Adjuncts refer t o the whole clause.

The main difference between these two types of inte rpersonal Adjuncts is in the scope of their meaning: Mood Adj uncts are limited to the VG, whereas Comment Adjuncts refer t o the whole clause.

See also:

He definitely won’t be there on time.

However , the same Adjuncts, depending on the position they have and on the extension of their meaning, togethe r with the intonation patterns with which they are uttered, ca n also

function as COMMENT ADJUNCTS, as in:

Definitely, he won’t come.

Other examples of comment Adjuncts include:

unfortunately , hopefully , surprisingly , of course , in my opinion , frankly , to be honest , apparently , no doubt , provisionally , etc.

Comment Adjuncts can be moved much more freely with in the clause than Mood Adjuncts. They are typically posit ioned at the beginning (as in the example above), in the mid dle, or at the end of the clause, and are separated from the r est by a comma, or commas.

100

Task 3- Identify the elements expressing the various kinds of modality in the following examples. Say what kin d of modality it is.

a) We definitely won’t be there on time.

b) Harry’s team will probably lose on Saturday.

c) I think he’ll almost certainly pass the exam.

d) Housework will probably be done by robots in 300 4.

e) That can’t be Stella. She’s never on time.

f) This must be Harry. I recognise his knocking.

g) You must take your medicine!

h) Stella should practice the piano more regularly.

i) When we were kids, we used to spend part of our summer in Britain.

101

3.3. The APPRAISAL SYSTEM

In discussing Appraisal, we are moving from strictly structural grammatical issues towards ATTITUDINAL LEXIS and lexical choices (remember, however, that we are dealing with LEXICO-GRAMMAR! See slide 61). APPRAISAL SYSTEMS are defined by Martin (2000: 145) as the lexico-grammatical resources used to express and negotiate emotions, judgments and evaluations, together with resources for amplifying and engaging with these evaluations.The simplest and most basic type of Appraisal is the indication of whether the speaker/writer thinks that something is GOOD or BAD, but there are many other scales of evaluation , as shown in the following slides. Notice also that any word class can construe evaluation.

Notice that the modellingof the system is still ongoing!

Notice that the modellingof the system is still ongoing!

102

Task 4- Look up all the words you don’t know in the dictionary, give a synonymous alternative wherever possible. What kind of evaluation/attitude is the writer cons truing?

DESPERATE TEENAGER. I am going to a party soon, and there is a boy I really fancy, but I do not know the right thing to say to him. I want to sound seductive and flirty. Also, I am not sure what to wear. I’m looking for make-up ideas. Please help – this is a cry for help from a desperate teenager.

103

APPRAISAL SYSTEMS give us a realization of interpersonal

semantics in that they have to do with how interlocutors

feel, the judgments they make about others’ behaviour,

and the value they place on the various phenomena of

their experience.

The appraisal can be either explicit or implicit. It is

explicit if there is a clear linguistic marker of the

evaluation going on , if there is an element appraised,

usually in the immediate vicinity of the appraisal, and

as long as a specific appraiser is retrievable in the

text.

In this coursebook we will only be dealing with the

major system of Appraisal, ‘Attitude’ and its explicit

realizations, leaving out the analysis of the other

attendant systems and their lexico-grammatical resources

(see vol. 2 in this series).

104

The major APPRAISAL system of ATTITUDE is broken down into:

Judgment, Affect and Appreciation.

(Adapted from Martin 2001)

Fig. 7- The system of APPRAISAL

105

As the resource for construing human emotions(happiness, sadness, fear, frustration, in/security, dis/satisfaction, etc.), and the physical expressions that are evidence of such emotions (so, for example, crying or smiling, etc.), AFFECT is central to the other two sub-types, it is the common core from which the others derive.

JUDGMENT constructs moral evaluations of human behaviour expressing either social sanction or social esteem. (Draws upon Halliday’s 1994 account of the English system of Modality).

APPRECIATION is the evaluation of objects and products according to aesthetic principles, or social value. E.g. clear definition , powerful arguments , beautifulvase , old-fashioned concept , an incredible mess,profound implications , catastrophic policies, fun game, spectacular sunrise.

106

1. It is so unfair that she did that.

2. He is always frank in his dealings with his

colleagues.

3. So, Liza Minelli and David Gest have split up.

Such a bizarre , dysfunctional union of freaks could

only end one way: divorce.

4.You have worked determinedly to achieve what is now coming your way.

5. Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gautier were the

first to show the newly empowered aggressive woman on

their catwalks.

Some examples of JUDGEMENT:

107

Task 5- Identify all the elements expressing the writer’s attitude (appraisal) and say what kind of appraisal it is.

DESPERATE TEENAGER. I am going to a party soon, and there is a boy I really fancy, but I do not know the right thing to say to him. I want to sound seductive and flirty. Also, I am not sure what to wear. I’m looking for make-up ideas. Please help – this is a cry for help from a desperate teenager.

108

Task 1-

The text is a written exchange between MRS MILLS (w ho solves all your problems) and a female reader in the probl em letters section of The Sunday Times Style Magazine. The rea der poses a problem (Indicative mood), and asks for advice (Int errogative mood). The writer answers with suggestions, dos and don’ts (Imperative mood).

Task 2-

need to be adjusted = deontic, obligationcan be used = deontic, obligationwill be = epistemic, probabilityIt is often referred to as = epistemic, usualitynot to be confus ed with = deontic , obligation (negative, prohibition)may hold = epistemic, probabilitycould make = epistemic, probabilitywill no longer be forgotten = epistemic, probabilitycan’t say = deontic, obligation

Keys to exercises

109


Task 3-

a) definitely won’t = epistemic, certainty

b) will probably = epistemic, probability

c) I think, ’ll almost certainly = epistemic, high probability

d) will probably = epistemic, probability

e) can’t= epistemic, likelihood; never= epistemic, usuality

f) must= epistemic, certainty

g) must= deontic, obligation

h) should= deontic, suggestion/recommendation

i) used to= epistemic, usuality

110

Task 4-desperate = worried, distressed fancy = likeseductive and flirty = attractive and attracted to him

The writer (a typical adolescent female voice) expr esses her insecurity and is asking for advice on how to impro ve her look and behaviour so has to become irresistible.

Task 5-

DESPERATEteenager = Adj./Epithet, Affect: unhappiness

really fancy = VG/ mental Process, Affect: inclination/desire

the right thing to say to him = Adj./Epithet, Judgment/Apprec iation

seductive and flirty = Adj./Attribute, Affect

not sure what to wear = Adj./Attribute, Judgment

this is a cry for help = NG/Thing, Appreciation: social value

from a desperate teenager = Adj./Epithet, Affect: unhappiness


111

Chapter 4 – Ideational (Experiential and Logical) Meanings

Task 1- Consider the following text. What is the rea lity being represented there? What is going on? Which words (o r groups of words) help us understand the topic or subject-matter? And what parts-of-speech (word classes) do these belong to?

Chapter Eleven- QuidditchAs they entered November, the weather turned very c old. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost.Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows, defr osting broomstickson the Quidditch pitch, bundled up in a long molesk in overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaverskin boots. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second p lace in the House Championship.Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, se cret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn’t know which was worse – people telling him he’d be br illiant or people telling him they’d be running around underneath him , holding a mattress.

112

Language is used to represent our experience of rea lity, or the world around us; it is a means of constructing and expressing it. The question, therefore, is “what is reality made up of primarily?” Reality is made up of events, ‘goings-on’, or PROCESSES and of entities, PARTICIPANTS inh erent to them. We will then ask:

a) What are the kinds of Processes?b) How are they realized in the lexico-grammar?

a) There are Processes which express the ‘outer’ exp erience, i.e. actions and events (e.g. do, eat, go), others which manifest the ‘inner’ experience, i.e. cognitive and affective states (e.g. feel, think). There is a third type of process which is that of relating one fragment of reality t o another (e.g. ‘ x is a’).

b) The clause functions as REPRESENTATION: each cla use constructs an action, event or state in the materia l and/or mental world, as well as the animate and inanimate participants involved and, possibly, the circumstan ces in which it occurs.

Clause as representation

113

What is the status of Processes in the

grammar? Processes are realized in the

grammar by VGs. They are the core

constituents of the Transitivity system which

includes:

1)the PROCESSitself,

2)typically one or more of the inherent

PARTICIPANTS in the Process, and,

3) sometimes , the CIRCUMSTANCES associated

with it; these are optional.

4.1.The TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM

114

These ideational (experiential) functions (or meanings) are usually taken on by VGs NGs, and AGs, or PP:

AG, or PP or to a lesser degree a NG.

CIRCUMSTANCES

NG or Adjectival Group

PARTICIPANTS

VGPROCESS

MEANINGS GRAMMAR

are realized in/by

115

On Sunday my sister made a delicious cake.

On Sunday= PP Circumstance (when?)

my sister= NG Participant (which does the action)

made= VG Process (the action)

a delicious cake = NG Participant (which receives the action)

Adapted from Gerot and Wignell (1994)

116

Notice the distinction between a prepositional phrase as Circumstance (slide 115 above) and embedded prepositional phrases (slides 54 ff.)

A helpful clue for distinguishing between the two functions is as follows,

if you can move it, without changing the meaning of the clause, then the PP is usually functioning as Circumstance:

On Sunday my sister made a delicious cake.

My sister on Sunday made a delicious cake.

If you cannot move it, then it is an embedded PP functioning as post-modification:

My sister made a delicious cake with white icing .

*My sister with white icing made a delicious cake.

117

MATERIAL- of the external world

MENTAL- of the internal world

RELATIONAL- relating parts of experience

But there are also other categories located at the boundaries, namely behavioural, verbal and existential.

Types of Process

118The cover of Halliday 1994

119

Ex. I left.left= VG, material Process, a doing confined to the doer of the action I = NG, a participant, the doer of the actionfunctioning as ACTOR

Ex. I left Cambridge.left= VG, material Process, a doing directed to a receiver of the action I= NG, a Participant, the doer of the action functioning as ACTORCambridge = NG, Participant, the receiver of the action , functioning as GOAL*

MATERIAL Processes (of ‘doing’)

*Notice that here since nothing is really ‘done’ to the receiver of the action, namely the element ‘Cambridge’ , it is more accurate to call it RANGE rather than GOAL (see slide 126 for more examples of Range).

The original reads:

Left Cambridge by car at 9.30 in a mist. (from My Name Escapes Me , by Alec Guinness)

*Notice that here since nothing is really ‘done’ to the receiver of the action, namely the element ‘Cambridge’ , it is more accurate to call it RANGE rather than GOAL (see slide 126 for more examples of Range).

The original reads:

Left Cambridge by car at 9.30 in a mist. (from My Name Escapes Me , by Alec Guinness)

120

Ex. I left Cambridge by car .

by car = Prepositional Phrase (PP), a CIRCUMSTANCEof (Manner) Means

Ex. I left Cambridge by car at 9.30 .

at 9.30 = PP, a CIRCUMSTANCEof Time

ACTOR= the one which perpetrates/is responsible for the action

GOAL= the one to whom/which the process is extended, to whom/which something is being done

RANGE= what specifies the scope of the doing

121

The GRAMMAR of MATERIAL Processes

1)TRANSITIVE vs. INTRANSITIVE

clauses

2)PARTICIPANTS: ACTOR and GOAL

3)PARTICIPANTS: BENEFICIARY and

RANGE

4)TENSE

122

1) Transitive vs. Intransitive Clauses

The Goal has been defined as the element to which t he

process is extended, thus clauses with a material P rocess

and one participant, the Actor, are INTRANSITIVE , while

clauses with two participants, Actor and Goal, are

TRANSITIVE . In this way, transitivity can be seen in terms

of extension vs. non-extension of the Process.

Compare the following sentences:

Ex. The smoke rises from his cigarette .

1 participant = Actor

Ex. You should raise your hands .2 participants = Actor and Goal

See also the following examples found in Halliday (1 994)

123

Transitive clauses: active into passive

Ex. They have cancelled the show .

have cancelled= material Process, an active VG, a t ransitive clause

they= Subject + Actor

the show= Object + Goal

Ex. The show has been cancelled by them .

has been cancelled= material Process, a passive VG

the show= Subject + Goal

by them= PP + Actor

Compare the two clauses below:

a) The show has been cancelled by them.

b) The show has been cancelled.

In a) the Actor is there, although expressed as Prepositional Phrase , whereas in b) the agent is deleted. Note that the passive voice allows for agency deletion, i.e. the suppress ion of the doer of the action. In certain texts, e.g. newspaper rep ortage, this could well result in a serious distortion of the fa cts.

124

2) ACTOR and GOAL

In a material Process clause, the Actor is not necessarily a human or conscious participant.

Compare:

Ex. The glass fell.

Actor = The glass, an inanimate participant

Ex. I broke the glass.

Actor = I, an animate participant

As already shown under Transitive vs. Intransitive clauses, the Goal can or cannot be present (see slides above).

125

3) Other Participants functions: Beneficiary and Range

Ex. He gave the book to me .

(or He gave me the book.)

gave= material Process

He= Actor

the book= Goal

(to) me = Beneficiary

Beneficiary= the one to whom or for whom the process is said to take place.

126

Examples of Range:1) take a shower , have a bath , take a look , play tennis , play a game , give a smile , etc. 2) ride a bike , climb the mountains , sign your name , etc.

Range= the element that specifies the scope of the process. Nothing is being done to this element. This phenomenon, at least the one exemplified by the first set of examples, is known to traditional grammar asDELEXICALISATION, i.e. the representation of the process has entirely shifted onto the participant.

More examples:

I need to take an early start .

He took a huge bite .

Halliday (1994: 144)/ “In traditional grammar the Beneficiary is the logical indirect Object as much as the Actor is the logical Subject and the Goal the logical direct Object. The Range is the logical cognate Object.”

Halliday (1994: 144)/ “In traditional grammar the Beneficiary is the logical indirect Object as much as the Actor is the logical Subject and the Goal the logical direct Object. The Range is the logical cognate Object.”

127

The unmarked option for material Processes is the PRESENT CONTINUOUS, whereas the marked option, at least in British and North-American English, is the PRESENT SIMPLE, signalling a general, habitual action:

Ex. They are building a house.

Ex. They build a house (general or habitual).

Ex. I am eating an apple.

Ex. I eat an apple a day, to keep the doctor away.

4)TENSE

128

MENTAL Processes (of ‘sensing’)

Ex. Stella liked her new hairstyle.liked= mental ProcessStella= SENSERher new hairstyle= PHENOMENON

Ex. This computer doesn’t like me.doesn’t like= mental Processthis computer= SENSERme= PHENOMENON

SENSER= the one who senses, perceives, feels. This first Participant is ALWAYS human or personified.

PHENOMENON= the thing or ‘fact’ which is sensed, perceived, felt.

129

The GRAMMAR of MENTAL Processes

1)PARTICIPANT:SENSER

2)PARTICIPANT:PHENOMENON

3)PROJECTION

4)TENSE

5)BIDIRECTIONAL SEMANTICS

130

1)SENSERIn a clause of mental Process, the sensing participant, i.e. the SENSER, is always human or human-like, that is it is credited with consciousness (see examples), whereas in a material Process no human or conscious participant is required (e.g. The glass fell).

Task 2- Identify the Senser and the Actor:

1. They destroyed the economy and created chaos.2. The boss wants you in his office.3. The empty house was longing for the children’s a ntics.4. He was being pursued.5. Hardly anyone had seen Harry.6. I enjoy practically all classical music.7. The glass broke.8. Please, return the form to this address.9. People will be running around, holding a mattres s.10. If you don’t know the answer, just guess.

antics = funny ways of behaving

131

2)PHENOMENONThe Phenomenon sensed can be not only a ‘person’ or ‘thing’, that is, a phenomenon of our experience (e.g. He realized his mistake), but also a FACT, that is, more of what is called a ‘meta-phenomenon’, i.e. something that is constructed as a sort of ‘pre-packaged’ participant, typically in the form of an embedded that-clause . This latter status is often signalled by the word fact itself. Among the verbs that can take FACTS are: know, acknowledge, realize, accept.

FACT as PHENOMENON:

He realized that he had made a mistake . (I.e. ‘the fact’)

He realized (the fact) that she had left .

(The fact) that she isn’t here worries me.

132

Mental Processes can project what was traditionally known as reported and direct speech .

Stella thought (that) it was a wonderful gift.

(I.e. ‘+that clause’, traditionally called Reported Speech)

Stella thought to herself : “This is a wonderful gift!”

(I.e. ‘+quote’, traditionally called Direct Speech)

The difference, semantically, between projection and embedded ‘fact’ is that the latter is merely entering into the Process without being projected by it.

3)PROJECTION

133

The unmarked present tense for mental Processes isthe PRESENT SIMPLE, whereas the marked option isPRESENT CONTINUOUS, signalling the inceptive meaning of the Process:

Ex. I don’t understand you.

Ex. I am not understanding you very well.

(inceptive, meaning ‘at the current time’)

Ex. I enjoy classical music.

Ex. I am enjoying this music, it’s performed greatly.

4)TENSE

134

5)BIDIRECTIONAL SEMANTICS

Mental Processes can be realized in two directions, in fact either the Senser or the Phenomenon can be grammatical Subject, still keeping the clause in the active voice. Compare:

Ex. I admired the piano performance. I = Subj. + Senser the piano performance = Obj. + Phenomenon

Ex. The piano performance impressed me.The performance = Subj. + Phenomenon I/me = Obj. + Senser

(i.e. I was impressed by the performance.)

In the two examples above, the grammatical roles within the Mood-Residue structure change, while the representational functions stay the same: the Senserin both cases is the first person pronoun ‘I/me’representing the voice of the speaker, while the Phenomenon sensed is ‘the piano performance’.

135

please

delight

frighten

amaze

puzzle

convince

impress etc.

like

enjoy

fear

wonder at

not understand

believe

admire

Verbs of please typeVerbs of like type

Table 3- Mental Processes (based on Halliday 1994: 1 17)

In table 3 below some of the most common pairs are given. Notice the difference between, for example, Ex. People fear you.Ex. You frighten people.

136

Task 3- Try to classify the following mental Processes into sub-types, labeling them according to their semantics, i.e. their meaning.

See, feel, think, taste, admire, realize, believe, need, baffle, like, understand, please, puzzle, know, smell, worry, impress, strike, imagine, doubt, notice, fancy, hear, delight.

137

RELATIONAL Processes (of ‘being’)

Ex. Maxine is wise. is= relational ProcessMaxine = CARRIERwise = ATTRIBUTE ‘ x is a’, that is, ‘ a is an attribute of x ’

Ex. Stella is the leader.is= relational ProcessStella = IDENTIFIEDthe leader = IDENTIFIER‘ x is a’, that is, ‘ a is the identity of x ’

What about?: Ex. Stella is a leader.‘x is a’, that is, ‘ x is a member of the class of a’is= relational ProcessStella = CARRIER a leader = ATTRIBUTE

138

Relational Processes = a relation is set up between two entities. There are 3 types of relation: INTENSIVE, POSSESSIVE and CIRCUMSTANTIAL. Each type can be eit her ATTRIBUTIVE or IDENTIFYING.

“ x is a” –INTENSIVE ATTRIBUTIVE:

Ex. Stella is wise.

-INTENSIVE IDENTIFYING:

Ex. Stella is the leader.

“ x has a” –POSSESSIVE ATTRIBUTIVE:

Ex. Stella has a grand piano.

–POSSESSIVE IDENTIFYING:

Ex. The grand piano is Stella’s.

“ x is on , for , at , in , along , etc. a” –CIRCUMSTANTIAL ATTRIBUTIVE:

Ex. The grand piano is in the corner.

–CIRCUMSTANTIAL IDENTIFYING:

Ex. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July

139

� Relational attributive = an entity (CARRIER) has some quality (ATTRIBUTE) ascribed or attributed to it.

� The NG functioning as Attribute is typically indefinite: it has either an adj. or a common noun as Head and no article at all, or an indefinite article such as ‘a’.

� The probe for relational attributive is what…like?, or how?

� Relational attributive clauses are not reversible.

The following examples of relational attributive illustrate these points:

a. This cake is delicious!b. He’s not a very good student.c. These clothes are very expensive.d. You are a fool.

140

� Relational identifying = a relationship of identity is being set up between two entities, an IDENTIFIED and an IDENTIFIER.

� The NG functioning as Identifier is typically definite: it has either a common noun as Head, with the definite article, or other specific determiner, or else a proper noun or pronoun.

� The probe for relational identifying is which? , who?(or what? if the choice is open-ended).

� Relational identifying clauses are reversible (if x = a, then a= x ).

The following examples illustrate these points:

e. Stella is my neighbours’ dog.f. His dream was the World Cup.g. My name is Bond, James Bond.h. This sentence is the best example of an identifying clause.

141

Thompson (1996: 88) points out that, as a rule of t humb, we can say that the main stress in an identifying c lause typically falls on the Identifier. In fact, the Identified is considered to be a participant that h as already been mentioned or given, whereas the Identi fier is typically mentioned for the first time or new (n otice that the main stress typically indicates the new information in a clause).

Thompson (1996: 88) points out that, as a rule of t humb, we can say that the main stress in an identifying c lause typically falls on the Identifier. In fact, the Identified is considered to be a participant that h as already been mentioned or given, whereas the Identi fier is typically mentioned for the first time or new (n otice that the main stress typically indicates the new information in a clause).

There are various verbs, apart from ‘be’, that real ize relational Processes:

Typically, the following verbs of the ‘ ascriptive ’ class realize relational attributive :Become, turn (into),remain, stay,seem, appear, look, sound, smell, belong, etc.

Typically, the following verbs of the ‘ equative ’ class realize relational identifying :Act as, function as,mean, indicate, suggest, imply, equal, represent, constitute, form,express, signify, include, contain, consist of, etc.

142

Behavioural Processes (of ‘ psychological and physiological

behaviours’)Ex1. No one’s listening.

‘s listening = behavioural Process

No one = BEHAVER, typically a conscious or personified being.

Ex2. You’re dreaming.

Ex3. Why do you laugh?

Ex3bis . Why are you laughing?

143

At the intersection between material and mental Processes are behavioural Processes. These share some of the characteristics of material Pr.s and some others of mental Pr.s: as we have said, the Participant who is behaving is typically a conscious being like the Senser, while the process is grammatically more like one of ‘doing’. There is sometimes overlapping between the material and behavioural, e.g. sing , dance and sit , but also between mental and behavioural, e.g. look , watch , listen , dream , think.On the other hand, the following list includes verbs that are considered involuntary manifestations of consciousness and thus to be somatic, or physiological, behaviours:

cough, sneeze,yawn, blink, laugh, sigh, etc.

144

The GRAMMAR of BEHAVIOURALProcesses:

1)PARTICIPANT: BEHAVERAs said above, the typical participant is ONLY

ONE, i.e. the Behaver, a conscious or

personified being like the Senser.

2)TENSEThe unmarked pattern for behavioural Processes

is the PRESENT CONTINUOUS. However, the simple

present in its unmarked sense is a possible

alternative with basically the same

representational meaning (as in ex. 3 and 3bis

above, sl. 142).

145

Verbal Processes (of ‘saying’)

Ex1. She told me the story of her life. told = verbal ProcessShe= SAYER, the one who/which says me= RECEIVER, the one to whom the saying is directedthe story of her life = VERBIAGE, what is said

Ex2. The notice tells you not to smoke.tells = verbal ProcessThe notice = SAYERyou= RECEIVERnot to smoke= projected clause (indirectly reported), very similar in function to the Verbiage

146

Halliday (1994: 140-142) notices that these Processes of ‘saying’ have to be interpreted in a broad symbolic sense: the SAYER can be anything animate or inanimate sending out a signal, grammatically speaking, it can be an it , as much as a he / she (see example 2 in the slide above).

More examples of verbal Processes and respective participant roles would be:

1. The guidebook tells you where everything is.

2. The light says stop.

1. The guidebook= Sayer

You= Receiver

2. The light= Sayer

Stop= Verbiage

147

The Grammar of VERBAL Processes

1)PARTICIPANTS: verbal Processes can

accommodate up to 4 participants: Sayer,

Receiver, Verbiage and Target (see following

slide).

2)TENSE: the unmarked pattern for verbal

Processes is the PRESENT SIMPLE.

3)PROJECTION: verbal Processes are able

to project other clauses: either an indirectly reported clause (see slide 181 ff.), typically a ‘ that clause’, or a directly quoted clause, a quote.

148

-The RECEIVER is an ‘oblique’ participant and often appears in a Prepositional Phrase (PP) : e.g. I’ll explain this to them .

-The VERBIAGE can either be

a) the content of what is said ,

Ex. Please, don’t recount your troubles!

or, b) the name of the saying ,

Ex. They asked a question .

He told her a silly story .

-The TARGET is the entity to which something is being symbolically done through words,

Ex. You’re flattering me.

Ex. He insulted her to her face.

me, her= TARGET

to her face= RECEIVER

Ex. He praised her (when talking) to me

her= TARGET; to me=RECEIVER

149

Existential Processes (‘there is/there exists’)

Ex1. There isn’t enough wine.

There= ‘dummy’ Subject

isn’t = existential Process

enough wine = EXISTENT

Ex2. There’s someone at the door.

There= Subject

is = existential Process

someone= EXISTENT

at the door= Circumstance of Location-Place

150

The Grammar of EXISTENTIAL Processes

1)PARTICIPANT: EXISTENTThe Existent can be an entity, whether object or person, constructed as ‘thing’, (see Ex 1. and Ex 2. on slide 149), but also an event or action as in:Ex3. There was another robbery last night.

The word ‘there’ has no representational function, but it is needed as a Subject.

2)TENSEThe unmarked pattern for existential Processes is the PRESENT SIMPLE.

151

Task 4– Choose the form of the present tense appropriate to each clause. Explain whether the choice is marked or unmarked with respect to the process type and what structural differences there are.

1)Excuse me, Sir_________(you/speak) English?2)Where’s Anne?__________(she/have) a shower.3)Listen! Somebody___________ (sing).4)I’m sorry,______________(I/not understand)5)Here ________(come) your husband. _______(He/be) late as usual.6)________(She/not like) to be disturbed when ____________(she/work).7)The climate_________(get) warmer.8)Martin usually_________(go) to work on Saturdays, but today________(he/stay) at home because__________ (he/want) to watch the football match on TV.

152

Let us conclude this section on Processes with a word about CAUSATIVE VG complexes , i.e. ‘make sb do’, ‘make sb sense’, ‘have sb do, behave, say sth’, etc. Such structures are very common in English, so you need to be able to analyse them in terms of the representation of reality they build up. How do we analyse such constructions?

Some examples:You make me feel like a natural woman.She won’t let you bring it along.I had my mom collect the parcel for me.Like many other semantic categories, causation has to be thought of in terms of degree. A high value causation is ‘force’ or ‘make’, a median, ‘got’, and a low, ‘allow, let’. Notice that passive constructions are also possible. She was made to collect it .

The Grammar of CAUSATION

153

ActorInitiator/Agent

coughmemakesDust

Actor GoalInitiator/Agent

programsto recordyouallowVideos

154

As we have already mentioned, circumstances are

� optional elements of the transitivity system, i.e. peripheral to Processes

� typically expressed as either PPs or AGs, or, to a lesser degree, NGs

� can contain minor, indirect participants, e.g. Actor as in “The show has been cancelled by them ”, or Beneficiary as in “I’ll find some paper for you ”.

Circumstances

155

� What are the functions, i.e. the meanings that are construed as circumstantial in the grammar of the clause as representation?

ANGLE

ROLE

MATTER

CONTINGENCY

ACCOMPANIMENT

MANNER (Means, Quality, Comparison)

CAUSE (Reason, Purpose, Behalf)

TIME, PLACE

156

TIME:

These circumstances function to provide various kin ds of information about the time of the process. In bold below are the questions the circumstances answer, the ‘pr obes’.

When? (Location)They left yesterday morning . NGStella usually gets up at six o’clock . PP

How long? (Duration)Stella has lived in Bologna (for) a couple of months . (PP) NGWe’ve been waiting here (for) nearly an hour . PP

How often? (Interval)He goes for a run every day . NG

How many times? (Frequency)I have asked you three times . NG

157

PLACE:

Where? (Location)Freddie’s was in Baddeley Street , in the middle of Covent Garden , which is in the exact middle or heart of London . PPs(from Penelope Fitzgerald, At Freddie’s )

How far? (Distance)You will have to walk (for) five miles . (PP) NG

How often? (Interval)There was a traffic light every two blocks !

158

CAUSE:

Why? ( Reason )

Many children in Afghanistan are dying (because ) of starvation .

What for? ( Purpose )

Stella has gone for lunch (in order to have lunch).

Who for? ( Behalf )

I am writing on behalf of our representative .

159

MANNER:

What with? ( Means)Stella doesn’t mind traveling by train .Stella was pleased with the gift .Stella was pleased by the gift .(where by the gift can be considered either Means or Phenomenon sensed) PP

How? ( Quality )The Opera House rose majestically . AGShe loves her husband madly . with – ly adverb as Head of the Group

What…like? ( Comparison )It went through my head like an earthquake . PP with like (or unlike)

Notice that the preposition ‘with’ may also express Manner-Quality as in The form must be filled out with grea t care .(i.e. careful ly)

160

ACCOMPANIMENT:With whom/what?Stella came with her sister .Stella came without her briefcase .

CONTINGENCY:Under what conditions?Despite the rain , the trip was a success.

MATTER:What about?This course is about Functional Grammar .(also circumstantial relational Process + Identifie r)

ROLE:What as? Stella acted as a leader .

ANGLE:Says whom? / According to whom? From the standpoint of Sociolinguistics, Linguistics proper is an asocial way of studying language.(also functioning as Sayer)

161

…all over the U.S.A Where? - Place

…throughout 2000. When? - Time

…with abundant funds. By means of what? - Manner (Means)

…enthusiastically. How? - Manner (Quality)

…like no other candidate. What...like? – Manner (Comparison)

…as a result of ambition. Why? – Cause (Reason)

…with a view to power. What for? – Cause (Purpose)

…for the sake of his dad. Who for? – Cause (Behalf)

…with his wife and children. With whom/what? - Accompaniment

…despite exhaustion. Under what conditions? - Contingency

…with reference to domestic issues. What about? –

Matter

…as a ‘regular guy’. What as? - Role

…in line with America’s ‘hard work’ ethic. According

to whom/what? – Angle

George W. Bush campaigned for President...

from Miller, 2000-2001

162

4.2.Grammatical Metaphor (ideational)

Metaphor has to do with VERBAL TRANSFERENCE of some kind. Ex. He received a flood of letters from his fans .(i.e. a large quantity of letters)Traditional rhetoric says that one word or expression (e.g. flood ) has two meanings, one is literal and the other is metaphorical, or figurative. HOWEVER, in functional terms, we can look at metaphor from the perspective of the ways in which meanings are being expressed, so that metaphor can be seen as the expression of one and the ‘same’ meaning through different wordings .

= a large quantity of letters...CONGRUENT WORDING

Ex.‘a large quantity’< MEANING = a flood of letters...

METAPHORICAL WORDING

163

Ex. My Name Escapes Me. Analysis of the surface structure would give us:

escapes= material Processmy Name= Actorme= Goal

However, the meaning here is something like ‘I don’t remember my name’, so that a more congruent realization would be precisely that wording, or ‘I’ve forgotten my name’ with

I= Senserdon’t remember / have forgotten= mental Processmy name= Phenomenon Sensed

164

So, we run up against problems

in deciding how to best label

certain wordings. And, in

fact, the example above is

analysed as an instance of

grammatical (ideational)

metaphor as:

Escapes = mental Process

My Name = Phenomenon sensed

Me= Senser

Task 5– Write up a clause containing: (i) a mental P rocess of perception + Finite [Past], having (ii) a transi tivity configuration with Senser and Phenomenon, this being realized as (iii) NG (conscious being) + VG + NG (a ny thing or fact).

165

Nominalization as Grammatical Metaphor

Nominalization= turning clausal patterns into nominal ones.PROCESSES are reworded metaphorically as NOUNS, so that VGs, instead of functioning in the clause as Processes, function as Thing in the NG. The rewording is said to be metaphorical or ‘less congruent’, i.e. less close to the state of affairs in the ‘reality’ being construed.

GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR IS A MATTER OF DEGREE!

GRAMMATICAL METAPHOR IMPLIES A DISCREPANCY between SEMANTICS (meanings) and LEXICO-GRAMMAR (wordings)!

166

Nominalization cont’d

Nominalization is a very common phenomenon, particularly in scientific and technical writing, which have developed a more metaphorical way of encoding ‘reality’ packaged as THINGS, rather than unfolding as happenings distributed over a number of clauses. Such practice corresponds to a tendency to the objectification of ‘reality’ (see also slide 15 on the notion of Medium). (Halliday and Martin 1993).

Although co-representational, the more congruent and the more metaphorical versions entail a different meaning (if “something said differently is something different being said”).See the discussion of the example in the following slides.

167

Prolonged exposure will result in rapid

deterioration of the item. (From Halliday 1999)

NG: Epithet ^ Thing Process: relational

Prolonged exposure will result in

NG: Epithet ^ Thing ^ Qualifier

rapid deterioration of the item

168

A more congruent formulation of the above clause wo uld read something like this (Halliday 1999):

If the item is exposed for long, it will deteriorat e rapidly.

Why is this a more congruent formulation? Because, being less ‘packaged’, it makes explicit, it un-packs the foll owing meanings:a) a CAUSE-EFFECT logical relation between two clau ses (IF…THEN);b) The Processes, participants and circumstances in volved. That is, within the first clause the transitivity structure is as follows, Goal - Proc.: material - Circumstance of Time (Extent ), while the transitivity structure of the second clause is Acto r - Proc.: material - Circum. of Manner. Notice the corresponde nces between the metaphorical and more congruent versions:

Exposure (Thing) < Proc.: material

Prolonged (Epithet) < circumstance: Time

(of the item) (Qualifier) < Participant: Goal

will result in (Proc.: relational) < Clause-complex, if…then

Rapid (Epithet) < Circumstance: Manner

Deterioration (Thing) < Proc.: material

Of the item (Qualifier) < Participant: Actor

169

4.3.Clauses in combination:The Clause-Complex

As we have already mentioned in Chapter 2, simple clauses combine to form clause-complexes. Depending on the kind of status relationship holding between clauses, we can distinguish paratactic from hypotactic sequences, which are known in traditional grammar as coordination and subordination:

PARATAXIS = the relationship of coordination between two independent clauses equal in status.Ex. I went to the bar and got the beer and carried it outside.

HYPOTAXIS = the relationship of subordination between one dependent clause and one independent clause.Ex. The man was old, when you saw him close.

(Examples from Roald Dahl, The Way up to Heaven and Other Stories )

170

Note that a clause-complex is typically a mixture of paratactic and hypotactic sequences, as can be seen in the following example taken from Halliday (1994: 218)

Ex. I would if I could, but I can’t

where the relationship holding between clause 1 ( I would ) and clause 2 ( if I could ) is a subordinating one, while the relationship between clause 1 and 3 (but I can’t) is coordinating: i.e. clause 1 and 3 are both independent clauses:

I would but I can’t.

if I could, paratactic

hypotactic

The system of Interdependency, or ‘TAXIS’

171

To practice identifying clauses, see how you can split up the following mini-text, a weather forecast report from The Times . Notice that a particular type of notation is used to mark hypotactic relations ( α, β, γ, etc. the letters of the Greek alphabet).

TODAY’S WEATHER - North East Scotland will start rather cloudy with some patchy rain, but this will clear as the frontal system moves away. All areas will then have sunny spells, although isolated showers are possible, especially in the East.

North East Scotland will start rather cloudy with some patchy rain, (clause 1 independent)

but this will clear (clause 2, α independent)

as the frontal system moves away.

(clause β dependent)

172

All areas will then have sunny spells, (clause 1, α

independent)

although isolated showers are possible, especially in the East.

(clause β dependent)

Clause-complexing brings us back to the issue of grammatical intricacy and the spoken medium, so, to review some of what has already been discussed, go back to Chapter 1, slide 15 ff. Parallel to the Taxis dimension, and actually cross-cutting it, is the type of logico-semantic relation holding between clauses. In other words, one could ask, what is the logical meaning signalled by the connective ‘ although’ introducing the subordinated clause in the example above? And by reasoning on the kind of semantics realized by it, the answer would be: a sort of concession. Therefore, in the next few slides, we will deal with the various types of logical meanings there can be between clauses.

173

Clauses in combination:Expansion

ELABORATION(=)

Salviati:(…) if the size of a body be diminished, the strength of that body is not diminished in the same proportion; indeed the smaller the body the greater its relative strength. (From Galileo Galilei, The Two New Sciences )

The secondary clause expands on the meaning of what is already there by restating in other words, further specifying, clarifying or exemplifying, commenting.

174

Among the connectives (which include both Conjunctions and Conjunctive Adjuncts) signalling an elaborating clause are those which introduce:

Apposition

Or (meaning ‘rather’), In other words , That is to say (i.e.)

Exemplification

For example (e.g.), In particular, etc.

Specification , Rectification or Comment

In fact , As a matter of fact , In actual fact , Indeed , Actually , etc.

175

Sometimes, instead of having an explicit connective signalling the elaboration, you can find Non-Defining Relative clauses, functioning as a kind of gloss:

Ex. The movie , which is a remake of a famous one, isn’t

very good.

Ex. Have you been to Gouda , where the cheese comes

from ? (Example taken from Halliday 1994: 228)

You can now contrast more easily defining relative

clauses which are always embedded into a group and do

not constitute separate newsworthy information (sl. 56

ff.), and non-defining ones, which, as can be seen in

the examples above, provide an extra bit of

information, a more incidental comment or gloss.

Notice that in written English, a non-defining rela tive clause is marked off by punctuation, usually a comma, but sometimes a dash. In addition, the relative pronoun must be either ‘which’ or ‘who’ , never ‘that’, which is typical of defining relative clauses.

Notice that in written English, a non-defining rela tive clause is marked off by punctuation, usually a comma, but sometimes a dash. In addition, the relative pronoun must be either ‘which’ or ‘who’ , never ‘that’, which is typical of defining relative clauses.

176

The relationship between clauses is sometimes even more implicit, when instead of the explicit marker of the elaboration there is merely the Juxtaposition of a Non-Finite clause :

Ex. I used to practice the piano on a regular basis, struggling hard with the heat of the summertime.

The use of the gerund without any explicit connective leaves the logico-semantic relation very difficult to identify. However, since the non-finite clause is by definition dependent on the dominant clause, there must be some relation obtaining: here the clause simply elaborates on what precedes it. We could hypothesize a concessive meaning, something like:

I used to practice the piano on a regular basis, although struggling hard with the heat of the summertime.

177

EXTENSION (+)

Ex. They did a good job, only (= on the other hand) they were so slow about it.

Ex. Asking him politely doesn’t work, nor do threats.

Ex. Some people speak in practical down-to-earth te rms, while others tend to be longwinded.

Ex. If the duke has n’t given the teapot to my aunt, then it is in the cupboard.

Ex. Instead of revising my notes for the exam, I went to sleep.

The secondary clause expands on what is already there by adding something new to it, or offering an alternative, by means of an addition, a replacement or subtraction.

178

Among the connectives signalling an extending clause are:

-the additive and adversative conjunctions

And, Or, Nor , But

-the conjunctive Adjuncts allowing for either a finite or a non-finite clause to follow:

In addition , Also , Moreover , Furthermore

Alternatively , Conversely, On the other hand

Whereas, While , Except that, If not…then

+ Finite Verbs

and:

Besides , Instead of, etc. + Non-Finite Verbs

179

ENHANCEMENT( ×)

Ex. Alice didn’t want to begin another argument, so she said nothing.

Ex. Alice was standing with her hands ready, for she was any moment expecting him to fall.

(from Alice in Wonderland )

Ex. She likes the simple life, and so does he.

Ex. Keep going straight on, in that way you will arrive directly at the station.

(from Halliday 1994: 234)

The secondary clause is a circumstantial one, i.e. it expands on what is already there by qualifying it with some circumstantial feature of Time, Place, Cause, or Condition (see slide 155 for a complete list of PPs as circumstances).

180

The various types of ENHANCEMENTare expressed by:

Place- (And) There

Time- (And) Then , Next , First , Meanwhile , Finally , Afterwards , Before that , Since , etc.

Cause- (And) So , Then , Therefore , Consequently , Hence , For , Because of that , For , etc.

Concession- Yet , Still , Nevertheless, though

Matter- On that matter , etc.

Manner- Means(In) that wayManner- Comparison Similarly , Likewise , By comparison , etc.

181

Clauses in combination: Projection

Projection covers much of the same area as what is known to traditional Grammar as ‘direct and indirect speech’ , but from a different perspective.

Here you see one clause as project ing another, in the sense that it indicates that the other clause, the project ed one, is not a direct representation of reality, rather, a representation of a (linguistic or mental) representation : this is why you can call projected clauses locutions and ideas, stressing their semantic status. Let us consider the following examples.

182

QUOTING SPEECH.

(Halliday 1994: 250) The simplest form of projection is direct or QUOTED SPEECH:

Ex. She keeps saying to us: “I stay up till 12 o’clock every night”.

keeps saying= VG Complex with a verbalProcess

She= SAYER

to us= RECEIVER

I stay up till 12 o’clock every night= projected locution, or direct (quoted) speech. Notice that the quoted speech, or

projected locution, corresponds to what would be VERBIAGE in a single clause. It is not considered Verbiage any longer, but a separate clause with its own Transitivity structure.

Notice that the quoted speech, or projected locution, corresponds to what would be VERBIAGE in a single clause. It is not considered Verbiage any longer, but a separate clause with its own Transitivity structure.

183

In quoting speech:

� The projecting clause contains a verbal Process;

� The projected clause represents what is said, the wording, more or less exactly;

� The tactic relationship is Parataxis, i.e. the two clauses have equal status.

� VERBAL Processes used in quoting speech include:

1) SAY, which is the general member of this class;

2) verbs specific to statements, e.g. tell, remark, observe, point out, announce, report, etc. or questions, ask, demand, inquire, query, etc.;

3) verbs combining say with some circumstantial element, e.g. reply (‘say in response’), explain (‘say in explanation’), protest (‘say with reservation’), insist (‘say emphatically’), cry/shout (‘say loudly’), boast (‘say proudly’), murmur (‘say sotto voce’), etc.

184

QUOTING THOUGHT.

Ex. I saw an ad in the paper for a piano, and I thought , ‘I’ll just inquire’. (Adapted from Halliday 1994: 255)

thought = mental Process

I= Senser

‘I’ll just inquire’= projected idea, or

direct (quoted) thought.

185

In quoting thoughts:

� The projecting clause contains a mental Process;

� The projected clause represents what is thought of as if it were a wording, but the implication is ‘I said to myself’ recognising the fact that one can think in words;

� The tactic relationship is once again Parataxis.

� Among mental Processes typically used to quote thoughts are think , wonder , believe , reflect , etc. See the examples below:

Ex. Stella wondered , ‘Is this for me?’

Ex. ‘She’s nobody’s fool’, I thought .

(example from Thompson 1996: 207)

Ex. ‘Sorry, but what’s curious?’, wondered Harry.

(Adapted from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone )

186

REPORTING SPEECH.

As we know from traditional grammar, in addition to quoting locutions and ideas, we can report them (cf. indirect speech):

Ex. He said that he had originally planned to be a lawyer.

said= verbal Process

he= Sayer

that he had originally planned to be a lawyer= projected locution, or reported speech

187

In reporting speech:

� The projecting clause contains a verbal Process;

� The projected clause represents the gist, the general sense of what is said, i.e. the wording is different from the original quotation, therefore the grammar changes ;

� The tactic relationship is Hypotaxis , i.e. the two clauses have unequal status (the projecting clause is independent, while the projected is considered to be dependent, often signalled by initial that );

� Verbal Processes used in reporting speech include:

1) SAY, the general member of this class;

2) the same verbs specific to statements and questions seen when talking about quoting speech (see slide 183);

188

3) verbs for communicative functions (speech acts) used for reporting. These include insinuate, imply, remind, deny, claim, maintain, suggest, offer, request, order, propose, decide, agree, promise, urge, warn, threaten, plead, persuade, recommend, etc.)

Ex. He promised he would arrive on time.Ex. The article insinuated that the President was

lying.Ex. He threatened to leave.(“I’ll leave!”, he threatened)Ex. Remind me to buy a bottle of Martini.Ex. Stella suggested that we should have a break.Ex. He claimed that it was all a conspiracy

189

REPORTING THOUGHT.

Ex. Dr Godbole always thought (that) his patient would recover.

thought= mental ProcessDr Godbole= Senser(that) his patient would recover= Phenomenon functioning as projected idea, or reported thought

190

In reporting thoughts:

� The projecting clause contains a mental Process;

� The projected clause represents what is thought of, again the grammar changes (see slides 191-92 below);

� The tactic relationship is once again that of Hypotaxis .

� Mental Processes typically used in reporting thought include: feel, hope, wish, think, like, etc.

Ex. Maxine wished she could go to Sweden next year.

191

As said, REPORTING presents the projected clause as dependent, and the speaker/writer makes no claim to be abiding by the exact wording.

Compare the two examples below and notice how the grammar of the reported projected clause changes:

1. Stella said: ‘ I will come back here tomorrow ’.

2. Stella said she would go back there the next day .

In 1. the standpoint in the quote is that of the Sayer, Stella; she is the point of reference for the deixis ( I , here , will come back , tomorrow ).

In 2. on the other hand, the standpoint in the projected clause is that of the speaker/writer of the projecting clause (an omniscient narrator); the deixis is that of the projecting clause ( she , would go back , there , the next day ).

Comparing QUOTING and REPORTING

192

In other words, all deictic elements are shifted away from reference to the speech situation ,personals are shifted away from first and second person to third, demonstratives away from near to remote, and the sequence of tenses needs be followed.

Notice, however, that even in 2. here and comecould be kept if the speaker/writer happens to be in the same place where Stella is, and similarly tomorrow , if it hasn’t come yet. So, you would have:

1. Stella said: ‘ I will come back here tomorrow ’

2. bis Stella said she would come back here tomorrow .

193

A final word on comparing QUOTING and REPORTING

Quoting and reporting are not simply formal variants, they differ in function , observes Halliday (1994: 256).Quoting is more immediate and lifelike; it is particularly associated with certain registers, e.g. fictional or personal, and it is used both for sayings (locutions) and thoughts (ideas). Ideas can be projected by an omniscient narrator with or without quotation marks:

Ex. ‘And what is the use of a book’, thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations in it?’(from Alice in Wonderland )

194(From Halliday 1994: 220)

A review of clauses in combination:

195

Keys to exercisesTask 1-

The ‘reality’ being represented in the short extract taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a game, namely Quidditch, and in particular a Quidditch match. Here is some vocabulary you might need to understand the passage :The weather turned very cold= became very coldBundled up= wrapped up as when you dress in a lot o f warm clothesHad leaked out, to leak= let a liquid/gas escape, e .g. The roof leaked.

Lexical items that help us understand what Quidditc h is include: the pitch, the season, playing-play-playin g, match, training, versus, won, House Championship, Seeker. Notice that some of these expressions are Nouns (or NGs), some are Verbs (or VGs).

196

Task 2-

1. They= Actor

2. The boss= Senser

3. The empty house= Senser

4. Ø

5. Hardly anyone= Senser

6. I = Senser

7. The glass= Actor

8. (You) = Actor

9. People = Actor

10. You= Senser

Task 3-

Mental Processes can be of

Cognition :

think, realize, believe, baffle, understand, puzzle , know, imagine,

doubt, notice, strike, etc.

Affection :

feel, admire, need, like, please, worry, impress, ( strike), fancy,

delight, etc.

and Perception :

See, feel, taste, smell, hear.

Keys cont'd

197

Task 4-

1) do you speak, verbal Process, unmarked present

2) She’s having, material Pr. with Range, unmarked p resent

3) Is singing, behavioural Pr., unmarked present

4) I don’t understand, mental Pr., unmarked present

5) Comes, material Pr., marked (for Theme) - He is, relational Pr., unmarked present

6) She doesn’t like, mental Pr., unmarked present - s he’s working, material Pr., unmarked present

7) Is getting, relational Pr., marked present (incep tive meaning)

8) Goes, material Pr., marked present (habitual) - he ’s staying, material Pr., unmarked present - he wants, mental Pr ., unmarked present

Task 5-

Stella saw something wonderful.

Now compare with the less congruent wording:

A wonderful sight met Stella’s eyes.

Keys cont'd

198

Chapter 5 – Textual Meanings

Task 1- Why can you say that the following text is i n fact a text? How does the writer organise his text?

Picnicking in this country has never again reached the dizzy heights of the Victorian era, when rigid rule s brought formal rituals, facilitated by swarms of se rvants. The doyenne of Victorian cooking, Mrs. Beeton, waxe d lyrical on the does and don'ts of the subject. But her recommendations required provisions equivalent to t he combined meat, bakery and deli counters of a Sainsbu ry’s superstore just to feed a modest party. I would sug gest that less is more – a couple of salad or vegetable d ishes, a homemade tart or pie, a few skewers of marinated chicken, lamb or seafood, bread, dips and fruit, an d a portable barbie for cooking should suffice.

(from The Sunday Times Style Magazine )

199

Clause as Message

Language functions as communication: the clause is organised as message , i.e. a cohesive and coherent whole, having its own structure as a text, and being part of a larger textual unit.Major questions throughout this section will therefore be:

� If the lexico-grammar is analysed in terms of its construction of textuality and texture, what are the conditions of textuality? Or, what makes a text a text?� What are the typical realizations of textual meanings in the lexico-grammar?

200

Take again the Subject Verb Object Adjunct (SVOA)structure of the typical unmarked declarative clause:

The duke gave this teapot to my aunt.

The sequence in which the elements occur in the clauseis not totally free, but relatively constrained. You could, indeed, have:

To my aunt the duke gave this teapot

with the Adjunct at the beginning of the clause instead of the Subject, and you could also have:

This teapot the duke gave to my aunt

With the Object in initial position, but you cannot really have, for example:

* Gave to my aunt this teapot the duke

5.1.Structural cohesive devices:THEME and RHEME

201

Whatever element we decide to put at the beginning of the clause is the THEMEof the clause and the order in which the elements follow each other is the thematic structure. Thus, the Theme will be defined as:

that with which the clause is concerned, what the message is about, what I – either speaker or writer –choose as my point of departure of the clause . It is realized in the lexico-grammar by the FIRST POSITION .

English allows for a certain amount of variation in word-order, so that, as we saw in the preceding slide, in a statement clause the Theme can be the Subject, but also the Complement or an Adjunct. Although such variation is possible, word-order (or, we should say more properly group-order), is dictated by the structure of the clause itself. This is why we say that the Theme of a clause, although having a cohesive potential if considered at a larger textual level, is a ‘structural’ device.

202

So, going back to Halliday’s example with the Subject as Theme, we have:

The duke gave this teapot to my aunt .THEME RHEME

where the RHEME = the rest of the clause

Notice that the element functioning as Theme of the

clause is also the Actor: all three functions (Subj.,

Actor and Theme) are taken on by the same NG, namely

‘the duke’ (see slide 63, language is multifunctional).

So, our next question will be: are Subject, Complement

and Adjunct the only elements that can go in clause

initial position? Or, what other elements can go into

the Theme?

The answers are discussed in slides 204 ff.

203

From the point of view of the receiver of the message –

the listener/reader – the Theme is typically Given

information, i.e. what the speaker/writer is treating

as information that the listener/reader has access to,

while the Rheme is what the speaker is treating as New

information, and therefore tends to be put towards the

end of the clause (see also sl. 16). This organisation

of the message as Given-New is the INFORMATION

structure :

GIVEN= what you –listener/reader– already know about,

or have access to.

NEW= what I –speaker/writer– am asking you –

listener/reader – to attend to.

GIVEN NEW

RHEMETHEME

The Information Structure

204

The Theme must contain a Participant, a Process or a Circumstance , i.e. a component of the transitivity structure.

� Theme in declarative clauses:

in an unmarked indicative declarative clause , the Theme is conflated with the (grammatical) Subject and expressed by a NG or NG complex:

Ex. The duke gave that teapot to my aunt.Theme = Subj. = Participant: Actor

Ex. Jack and Jill went up the hill. NG complex = Theme = Subj. = Partic.: Actor

(Examples from Halliday 1994)

The TOPICAL THEME

205

However, as we have seen, NGs functioning as Complementcan occur in thematic position, too, and also AGs andPPs functioning as circumstances (= marked Theme, that is, different from Subject). The examples below are given by Halliday (1994: 38-39) to illustrate these cases.

(Preface to Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics )We are aware of our responsibility to our critics. We are also aware of our responsibility to the author, who probably would not have authorised the publication of

these pages. This responsibility we accept wholly…

Theme = Complement

(Forword to Whorf’s Language, Thought and Reality )Once in a blue moon a man comes along who grasps the relationship between events which have hitherto seemed quite separate, and gives mankind a new dimension of

knowledge. Theme = Circumstance

206

� Theme in interrogative clauses:

If it is a Yes/No question, a question about polarity, then the Theme is the Finite verbal operator embodying the expression of polarity, together with the Subject :

Ex. Did you see my glasses?Theme = Did you

If it is a Wh- question, asking for information that is missing, then the Theme is the wh- element requesting that information:

Ex. Where are my glasses?Theme = Where (= wh- element)

Interrogative clauses embody the thematic principle in their structure!

Interrogative clauses embody the thematic principle in their structure!

207

� Theme in imperative clauses:

If the clause is an unmarked imperative, then the Theme is the Predicator :

Ex. Take my glasses!

With the unmarked negative imperative, the Theme is the Finite carrying the polarity together with the Predicator , as for yes/no interrogatives:

Ex. Don’t take my glasses, please!

208

The elements analysed so far as Theme also function within the transitivity structure. They constitute the TOPICAL THEME (TT) . However, there are also other elements that can come first in the clause, thus preceding the topical Theme, and which are also considered thematic.

Take the following examples:

Ex. Probably Stella won’t come tonight.

Ex. John , Stella is not coming tonight. So, wecan book just for the two of us.

INTERPERSONAL and TEXTUAL THEMES.

209

In the first example, the element put at the beginning of the clause is the Adjunct ‘probably’expressing modality (particularly the degree of speaker’s certainty).Thus, the Adjunct functions interpersonally within one of the systems of interpersonal semantics (the system of MODALITY). Its meaning has nothing to do with the representation of reality: the next element that gives us some representation of a state of affairs is ‘Stella’, the Actor of the clause.A similar observation can be made for the element occurring in initial position in the other example: the Vocative ‘John’, functioning as a form of address. Both elements are thematised, but they are INTERPERSONAL THEMES, while the topical theme is the first element that works within the transitivity structure (the Actor in both examples).

210

In the latter example, what we find in the first position is the Conjunctive Adjunct ‘so’, which relates the clause to the preceding text: it thus functions as TEXTUAL THEME. The Topical Theme is the Subject pronoun ‘we’, functioning within the transitivity structure as Actor of the material clause.

Notice that Interpersonal and Textual Themes are optional elements of the clause, whereas Topical Themes are not. Every clause has a TT.

To sum up this point, the Theme of a clause extends from the beginning of a clause up to (and including) the first element that has some ideational-representational function (the first participant, process or circumstance) .

211

If the Theme is a structural element, i.e. an element which is put obligatorily in the first position such as a Conjunction, then what comes next has a topically thematic function:

Ex. Stella enjoys literature, but grammar she can’t stand.

Conjunction as Textual Theme ^ Topical Theme .

The Conjunction ‘but’, which is relating the clause to a preceding clause in the same clause complex here, is obligatorily thematic. It is followed by ‘grammar’ functioning as Complement (and Phenomenon within the transitivity structure). This word, ‘grammar’ is thus the marked Topical Theme.

212

Multiple THEMES.

Thematic elements can follow in a sequence:

Textual Theme ^ Interp. Th. ^ Topical Theme

Ex. On the other hand , maybe Stella will come on Wednesday.

(realised by Conjunctive Adjunct ^ Modal Adjunct ^ Actor )

Textual Theme ^ Interp. Th. ^ Topical Theme

Ex. Well, but then , John , Wednesday would be late.

(realised by Continuative ^ Conjunction ^ Conjunctive Adjunct ^ Vocative ^ Subject + Carrier )

Notice that sometimes the Topical Theme is signalle d explicitly by means of expressions such as with regard to , as for , as regards , about , etc., which are then picked up later by a pronoun ( see the example below from Halliday 1994: 39).

Ex. About that teapot, the duke gave it to my aunt.

Notice that sometimes the Topical Theme is signalle d explicitly by means of expressions such as with regard to , as for , as regards , about , etc., which are then picked up later by a pronoun ( see the example below from Halliday 1994: 39).

Ex. About that teapot , the duke gave it to my aunt.

213

Task 2- Identify the Topical Theme in the following examples:

1. The protagonist of the film Being There is ‘Chance’.

2. I was originally attracted to the core disciplin es of sciencestudies by a famous conference on knowledge.

3. Would it be unfair?

4. The reader will find other expressions of gratit ude in the footnotes.

5. What a brilliant talk he gave!

6. Recently, a much-needed introduction to philosop hical history has been published.

7. Where have all the flowers gone?

8. I shall return to a version of this argument lat er.

9. He wouldn’t have married her.

10. This book may be seen as a breakthrough.

11. I still have to do it.

12. Is that an excuse?

13. What were you doing there?

14. Don’t do it!

15. This trip sounds like a wonderful opportunity.

214

5.2. Non- Structural cohesive devices: COHESION

In order that a sequence of clauses or clause complexes should constitute a TEXT, it is necessary to also make explicit the relationships between one clause and another. These relationships are the result of the cohesive strategies speakers/writers employ in writing/speaking. As we mentioned, thematic choices affect the cohesive potential of a text as well. However, it is beyond the scope of this introductory coursebook to deal with the thematic development of a text. In the last section of this coursebook we will introduce non-structural*** cohesive devices. There are four kinds of Cohesion, the first three are grammaticaldevices, and the fourth is lexical :

1)REFERENCE2)ELLIPSIS and SUBSTITUTION3)CONJUNCTION4)LEXICAL COHESION

***that is, not depending on the structure of the clause, but rather on semantic structure across texts.

***that is, not depending on the structure of the clause, but rather on semantic structure across texts.

215

REFERENCE- a relation between an element of a sentence and some other element, within or outside the text, by reference to which the former is identified. It can be:

EXOPHORIC, i.e. outside the text, deictic (situational) and homophoric (cultural) .

ENDOPHORIC, i.e. within the text, the options are: anaphoric, i.e. pointing backwards, or cataphoric,i.e. pointing forwards.

See Figure 8 on the following slide, for a complete picture of the paradigm.

216

Exophoric

Endophoric

REFERENCE

Deictic-Situational

Homophoric-Cultural

Anaphoric

Cataphoric

Fig. 8- The paradigm of REFERENCE

217

EXOPHORIC REFERENCE:

DEIXIS - pointing to the external situation; the meaning of the personal Pronoun/Demonstrative is defined in the act of uttering, and is to be interpreted by reference to the situation here and now.

Ex.1 He loves his wife madly.

Ex.1a “Oh no, this is horrible!”

HOMOPHORA- pointing to the wider cultural context.

Ex.2 The prime minister introduced many reforms.

218

ENDOPHORIC REFERENCE:

ANAPHORA- backward pointing, it is to be interpreted by reference to the preceding text.

Ex.3 Alice collapsed into the chair. She was exhausted.

Ex.3a “Could you pass me the salt ?”-“Here it is”.

CATAPHORA- forward pointing, it is to be interpreted by reference to the following text.

Ex.4 Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess .

The princess was very sad...

219

ELLIPSIS and SUBSTITUTION - with these devices, discursive continuity is established by means of leaving out information: a clause or a part of a clause can be omitted (ellipsis) or a substitute form provided (substitution). It is usually confined to closely contiguous passages and characteristic of dialogue, in particular of adjacency pairs (e.g. question-answer pairs).

Examples of Ellipsis:

Ex. A: “Did you take my glasses?”B: “I didn’t._____” (Ellipsis of Residue)

B1: “No. ______” (Ellipsis of Subj.+Finite+Res.)

B2 “Of course, not!”

Examples of Substitution:

Ex. A: “I’ve lost my voice. ” - B: “Get a new one. ”Ex. Little sisters are a pain . So are big ones .(Examples from Hasselgard and Johansson 2000)

220

CONJUNCTION- cohesion across stretches of text may also be established by means of the logical relations between clause complexes, or sentences( inter-sentential connection ).

We have already looked at such relations within clause complexes (intra-sentential connection) under the heading of (see chap. 4.3). The logico-semantic relations between clauses produce clause complexes (see ‘rank scale’, slide 37). A clause-complex corresponds to a sentence in the writing system, (see slide 40).

The relations between sentences over longer stretches of language produce ‘texture’, or cohesion, and are thus a condition of textuality. So, one should look at the kinds of logical relations that are there. (see slides 169 ff.)

221

The range of possible inter-sentential meanings within the domains of Elaboration, Extension and Enhancement (see slide 169 ff.) is expressed by the choice of a Conjunctive Adjunct (an AG or PP), or a Conjunction, – typically, or, in the case of Conjunctions, obligatorily – in thematic position at the beginning of the sentence. (See Textual Themes, slides 211 ff.)

Examples:She didn’t know the rules. Therefore , she lost.Enhancement, Causal relation (Effect), realized by a Conjunctive Adjunct

Stella was surprised that the day had stayed fine. In fact , everyone warned her that it frequently rained here.Elaboration realized by a Conjunctive Adjunct

222

Task 3– Identify all instances of Reference and Conjunction in the following text.

“Heat is only the motion of the atoms I told you about.”“Then what is cold?”“Cold is only absence of heat.”“Then if anything is cold it means that its atoms are not moving.”“Only in the most extreme case. There are different degrees of cold. A piece of ice is cold compared with warm water. But the atoms of a piece of ice are moving – they are moving quite fast, as a matter of fact. But they are not moving as fast as the atoms of warm water. So that, compared with the water, the ice is cold. But even the water would seem cold, if compared with a red-hot poker. Now I’ll tell you an experiment you ought to try one day.”(From Halliday 1994: 330)

223

LEXICAL COHESION- continuity may also be established in a text by the choice of words by means of:

� Repetition (or, straight reiteration*** )Ex. I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted for me. (From The Picture of Dorian Gray )

� Lexical scatterThis is a question of words having the same root, but belonging to different word classes. Apart from their root, the words have different morphological shape: Ex. work, work-ing, work-ed, etc.Ex. Sense and Sens ibility.

� Synonymy and AntonymyEx. clear, transparent, obvious, certain, manifest, intelligible as opposed to unclear , opaque , obscure , indistinct , uncertain , dimmed, unintelligible , imprecise , ambiguous , etc.

***Such reiteration, be it lexical or merely structural, is also dealt with under the heading of Grammatical Parallelism in the 3 °vol. of this series.

***Such reiteration, be it lexical or merely structural, is also dealt with under the heading of Grammatical Parallelism in the 3 °vol. of this series.

224

� Hyponymy and Meronymy are the general-specific and part-whole relationship, so that if furniture is the superordinate term, then chair , table , sofa are co-hyponyms. And, trunk , branch , leaf are in a relationship of meronymy to tree . It is often the case that the distinction between these relations is clearer with concrete things than with abstract entities. See the example below for hyponymy over an extended stretch of text.

A new fruit that looks like a lime , tastes like a grapefruitand is triple the size of a peach has been launched.

The fruit , the result of 21 years' research by the Jaffacompany, is called a Sweetie . It will have an average cost of 39p. It is a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo , yet looks like neither and has dark-green skin and oran ge flesh. It is the lowest-calorie citrus fruit on the market - apart from lemons and limes - and yet also the

sweetest, with the lowest acidity. A spokesman from Jaffasaid: "We are hoping that it might take over from bananas , apples and oranges as a snack."

(From Hasselgard and Johansson 2000)

225

� Collocation the tendency of words to frequently co-occur, so that pipe goes with smoke, snow with white , cold with ice , etc. Notice that this frequency of co-occurrence varies according to the register. See for example, the kind of lexis chosen in newspaper’s weather forecast.

THE WEATHER-Greater LondonMainly dry with sunny spells , but isolated showers in places. A gentle south-westerly breeze .

Orkney, ShetlandCloudy with occasional rain at first, but becoming brighter with sunny spells later. A brisk north-westerly breeze .

Republic of IrelandDry during the morning with sunny spells , but cloudwill thicken to bring patchy drizzle in the West later.(From The Times )

226

Task 4– Identify Lexical cohesion in the following text:

THE SORTING HAT-

Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. (..) The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. (..) Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. (..) It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open on to the heavens.

(From Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling)

227

Task 1-

Some vocabulary you might need to understand the te xt:

The dizzy heights= a very high level of something

Swarms of servants= large groups of servants

Doyenne= the oldest and most experienced woman

Waxed lyrical= talked a lot in a lyrical way

Deli counters = delicatessen counters

Barbie= barbecue

One main lexical field is constructed throughout th e extract, beginning with “Picnicking” in the very first positi on, to “barbecue” at the very end of the text, and realized throughout by words and groups like cooking, meat, baker and deli counters, Sainsbury’s superstore, feed, salad or vegetable di shes…dips and fruit, portable barbie for cooking. This chain refl ects the topic or Field of the text and is achieved by the writer by means of the choice of lexical items (lexical cohesion).

There are also other instances of texture, like for example, the use of the conjunction ‘But’ in initial position to cont rast the sentence in which it occurs to what precedes it, an d co-reference, ‘her’ (recommendations) referring back to ‘the doyen ne…Mrs. Beeton’(waxed lyrical on the…).

Keys to exercises

228

Also, some comments can be made on the thematic dev elopment of the text, which is as follows:

the Theme of the first sentence is the qualified NG “Picnicking in this country”. Then, the next Theme in the followin g sentence is realized by another NG, the evoked protagonist of t his short extract on picnicking, that is, “the doyenne of Vic torian cooking”, namely, Mrs. Beeton.

The Rheme of the second sentence, the verbal structu re “waxed lyrical on the does and don’ts of the subject” becom es the nominalised Theme of the next one, namely, “her reco mmendations”(together with the conjunction ‘but’, which is obli gatorily thematic).

In the final sentence, the Theme changes and it bec omes “I”, the writer’s voice, the Sayer of the verbal Process “sug gest”.

Keys cont’d

229

Task 2-

1. The protagonist of the film Being There

2. I

3. Would it

4. The reader

5. What a brilliant talk

(the Theme is the whole Complement)

6. Recently

7. Where

8. I

9. He

10. This book

11. I

12. Is that

13. What

14. Don’t do

15. This trip

230

Task 3-

Then = Enhancement: Cause/Effect, implying ‘if so.. .then’

But1 = Enhancement: Concession, meaning ‘and yet’

As a matter of fact = Elaboration


So that = Enhancement, Cause/Effect


Now = Enhancement, abstract Time, internal to the a rgument

Co-referential chains are: I-you, anything cold-its , the atoms-they-they

“Heat is only the motion of the atoms I told you about.”

“ Then what is cold?”

“Cold is only absence of heat.”

“ Then if anything is cold it means that its atoms are not moving.”

“Only in the most extreme case. There are different degrees of cold. A piece of ice is cold compared with warm wat er. But the atoms of a piece of ice are moving – they are moving quite fast, as a matter of fact . But they are not moving as fast as the atoms of warm water. So that , compared with the water, the ice is cold. But even the water would seem cold, if compared with a red-hot poker. Now I ’ll tell you an experiment you ought to try one day.”

231

Task 4-

Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables , where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets . (..) The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight . Dotted here and there among the students, the ghost s shone mistysilver . (..) Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceilingdotted with stars . (..) It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open on to the heavens .

Strange and splendid = quasi-synonyms

Lit, candles, glittering golden, pale lanterns, fli ckering candlelight, shone misty silver = all items in the lexical string contribute to the construction of the same semantic field of ‘light’, they are collocates

Ceiling-ceiling, Harry-Harry, students-students = r epetitions

Tables-plates and goblets = superordinate term and co-hyponyms

Ceiling-Great Hall = meronymy (part and whole)

Stars-heavens = collocates

Ceiling-heavens = textually construed as quasi-syno nyms

Such a strange and splendid place-the Great Hall = quasi-synonyms

232

RhemeTheme

Circumstance:

Time

participant:

Attribute

Process:

relational

attributive

Participant:

Carrier

AdjunctComplementFinite + Predicator

Subject

nownearly finished

isMy work

In short...

The clause has been analyzed as the grammatical unit in which three different kinds of meanings are constructed simultaneously, the interpersonal, the ideational and the textual.

233

As illustrated in the slide above, three distinct structures, each expressing one kind of semantic organization, clause as exchange, representation and message, are mapped on to one another in a single wording.Each structure also reveals something of the contextin which the clause has been uttered and, in turn, it is triggered by the context itself:So, for example, the clause in sl. 232, when considered as representation of a state of affairs, is linked to the Field of discourse, i.e. the activity of describing a model of grammar. If thought of as exchange, it is linked to the Tenor , i.e. teacher engaged in introductory, explanatory discourse with students-novice, and, if considered as organisedmessage, to the Mode, i.e. a written coursebook whose medium is mixed, whose rhetorical organisationincludes, among other things, sections, sub-sections, graphics and colors, and whose rhetorical aim is both explanatory and persuasive.

234

Traditional Grammar studies the forms and asks “what do forms mean?” , while Functional Grammar studies the functions and asks “how are meanings expressed?” FG is indebted to rhetoric in itsemphasis on text, registers and discourse. It issociological in orientation , in that it aims at developing awareness of the socio-cultural contexts in which language is used.It is descriptive and probabilistic more thanprescriptive and normative.

(Found in Hasselgard and Johansson 2000)

235

1. In: Stella didn’t say a word , the Finite is

A. didn’t say a word B. didn’t

C. didn’t say D. Stella didn’t

2. the Theme is

A. Stella didn’t B. didn’t

C. Stella D. didn’t say

3. Identify the Residue in: The other few questions about word formation are answered in the last chapter.

A. The other few questions about word formation are

B. about word formation are

C. answered in the last chapter

D. answered

4. In: The patron himself cooked us a meal , the underlined element is the

A. Receiver B. Goal

C. Range D. Beneficiary

Appendix A- Test Sample Items

236

5. In: At the start of the week, hopes for a peaceful conc lusion to the disputewere quite high , the underlined element is

A. a non-finite clause

B. a non-modifying Prepositional Phrase

C. an embedded Prepositional Phrase

D. a Prepositional Phrase functioning as Circumstan ce

6. Can I help you? What is the speech function realized by the precedi ng clause?

A. Question B. Offer

C. Statement D. Command

7. Identify the participants in: Journalists (1) are not a privileged class (2)

A. (1) Carrier and (2) Attribute

B. (1) Attribute and (2) Carrier

C. (1) Possessor and (2) Possessed

D. (1) Identified and (2) Identifier

8. In: On the other hand, in my view, the results do sugge st a clear preference for continuing some kind of bilingual program , the underlined elements are, from left to right

A. Topical – Interpersonal – Textual Theme

B. Interpersonal – Textual– Topical Theme

C. Textual– Interpersonal – Topical Theme

D. Interpersonal – Topical – Textual Theme

237

9. In: The topic for the next session (1) will be “Projection” (2), the participants are

A. (1) Identified and (2) Identifier

B. (1) Carrier and (2) Attribute

C. (1) Actor and (2) Range

D. (1) Attribute and (2) Carrier

10. In declarative clauses the Subject is the

A. Marked Theme B. Rheme

C. Unmarked Theme D. Interpersonal Theme

11. In: In my opinion , that is the best book on the subject , the underlined Circumstance is:

A. Contingency B. Role

C. Matter D. Angle

12. The functional analysis of the Nominal Group Those fantastic old horror movies , from left to right reads

A. Demonstrative + Epithet + Epithet + Epithet + Th ing

B. Numerative + Epithet + Classifier + Epithet + Thi ng

C. Demonstrative + Epithet + Epithet + Classifier + Thing

D. Numerative + Demonstrative + Classifier + Epithet + Thing

238

13. Identify the kind of modality construed in the underlined clause: We may be late , so don’t wait for us.

A. modalization-usuality B. modulation-willin gness

C. modulation-obligation D. modalization-prob ability

14. In: What other problems (1) do you perceive? (2), the elements are

A. (1) Phenomenon (2) mental Process

B. (1) Senser (2) mental Process

C. (1) Goal (2) material Process

D. (1) Actor (2) material Process

15. According to Functional Grammar,

A. Grammatical structures have no reference to sema ntics

B. Grammar is a system of communication

C. Sentences should be analysed in isolation

D. Context has no significant relation to text

239

Appendix A- Keys

1. B. didn’t

2. C. Stella

3. C. answered in the last chapter

4. D. Beneficiary

5. C. an embedded Prepositional Phrase

6. B. Offer

7. A. (1) Carrier and (2) Attribute

8. C. Textual– Interpersonal – Topical Theme

9. A. (1) Identified and (2) Identifier

10. C. Unmarked Theme

11. D. Angle

12. C. Demonstrative + Epithet + Epithet + Classifi er + Thing

13. D. modalization-probability

14. A. (1) Phenomenon (2) mental Process

15. B. Grammar is a system of communication

240

Appendix B – List of Texts

The KIER GROUP text ............................... sl. 8

DUBBING ........................................... sl. 16

The MRS. MOSS text ................................ sl. 17

TIT FOR TAT ....................................... sl. 69

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST .............................. sl. 82

TIPS FOR DRIVING .................................. sl. 89

DESPERATE TEENAGER ................................ sl. 102

QUIDDITCH ......................................... sl. 111

PICNICKING IN BRITAIN ............................. sl. 198

THE SORTING HAT ................................... sl. 226

241

Unless otherwise specified, most of the authentic e xamples

discussed are drawn from the following sources:

The Times

The Sunday Times Style Magazine

The Financial Times

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Way up to Heaven and Other Stories by Roald Dahl

Beauty and the Beast. A pantomime.

My Name Escapes Me by Alec Guinness

At Freddie's by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Picture of Dorian Gray by O. Wilde

Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences by Galileo Galilei

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Dialogue Analysis and Multimedia Translation by M. Freddi

Thomas Kuhn: a philosophical history for our times by S.

Fuller

242

ReferencesBloor, T. and M. Bloor (1995) The Functional Analysis of English . London:

Arnold

Butler, S. (2003) Structure and Function . Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Benjamins

Butt, D., R. Fahey, S. Spinks and C. Yallop (1995/2 001) Using Functional Grammar.

An Explorer’s Guide . Macquarie: NCELTR

Christie, F. and A. Soosai (2001) Language and Meaning. Voll. 1-2. London:

Macmillan

Downing, A. and Ph. Locke (2002) A University Course in English Grammar . London:

Routledge

Gerot, L. and P. Wignell (1994) Making Sense of Functional Grammar . Sydney: AEE

Halliday, M.A.K (1978) Language as Social Semiotic . London: Arnold

Halliday, M.A.K. (1985/1989) Spoken and Written Language . Oxford: OUP

Halliday, M.A.K. (1994) An Introduction to Functional Grammar . London: Arnold,

2nd ed.

Halliday, M.A.K. (1999) The Grammatical Construction of Scientific Knowledg e.

In: R. Rossini Favretti, G. Sandri and R. Scazzieri (eds.) Incommensurability

and Translation. London: Elgar, 85-116

Halliday, M.A.K. (2002) On Grammar . London: Continuum

Halliday, M.A.K. and R. Hasan (1976/1994) Cohesion in English . London: Longman

Halliday, M.A.K. and R. Hasan (1989) Language, Context and Text . Oxford: OUP

Halliday, M.A.K. and J.R. Martin (1993) Writing Science . London: Falmer

Halliday, M.A.K. and C. Matthiessen (2004) An Introduction to Functional Grammar .

London: Arnold, 3rd ed.

243

Hasan, R. (1985/1989) Linguistics, Language and Verbal Art . Oxford: OUP

Hasselgard, H. and S. Johansson (2000) Systemic-Functional Grammar .

http://folk.uio.no/hhasselg/systemic//

Lipson, M. Exploring Functional Grammar. Lecture Notes, A.A. 2001-2002

Lock, G. (1996) Functional English Grammar. Cambridge: CUP

Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners . Macmillan 2002

Malinowski, B. (1923) The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages ,

Supplement 1 to C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, The Meaning of Meaning ,

London: Kegan Paul

Matthews, P.H. (1997) Concise Dictionary of Linguistics . Oxford: OUP

Matthiessen C. and M.A.K. Halliday (1997) Systemic Functional Grammar: a first

step into the theory . http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/Resources/

Martin, J.R. (1992) English Text: System and Structure. Amsterdam: Benjamins

Martin, J.R. (1998) Linguistics and the Consumer: The Practice of Theor y. In:

Linguistics and Education, 9(4), 411-448

Martin, J.R. (2000) Beyond Exchange: Appraisal Systems in English. In: S.

Hunston and G. Thompson (eds.), Evaluation in Text . Oxford: OUP, 142-175

Martin, J.R. and D. Rose (2003) Working with Discourse : Meaning beyond the

clause . London: Continuum

Miller, D.R. English Linguistics. Lecture Notes, A.A. 2000-2001

NSOED in CD-rom, The New Shorter Oxford English Dic tionary in CD-rom

OED On-line, The Oxford English Dictionary On-line

244

Quirk, R., S. Greenbaum, G. Leech and J. Svartvik (1 985) A Comprehensive

Grammar of English. London: Longman

Ravelli, L. (2000) Getting Started with Functional Analysis of Texts. In: L.

Unsworth (ed.), Researching Languages in Schools and Communities . London:

Cassel, 27-64

Scollon, R. and S. Scollon (2001) Intercultural Communication . Oxford:

Blackwell, 2nd ed.

Steiner, E. (2000) Systemic Functional Linguistics and its Application to

Foreign Language Teaching . In: C. Fandrych and U. Tallowitz (eds.)

Gramatica Funcional y sus Aplicaciones. Special Issue of Estudios de

Linguistica Aplicada , 26, 15-27

Thompson, G. (1996) Introducing Functional Grammar . London: Arnold

Toolan, M. (1998) Language in Literature: an introduction to stylisti cs .

London: Arnold

Unsworth, L. (2000) How Is Functional Grammar Different from Traditiona l

School Grammar? http://www.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/unswortl/

Wignell, P. (1995) Making Sense of Text . Sydney: AEE

AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank Prof. Donna R. Miller, Chair of English Linguistics at the University of Bologna and editor of this series, for her time and energy dedicated to comment ing on this handbook.

freddi fg for eflstudents 2004

Documents