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Review
?
Clause,
a
semantic
unit
of
a
single
verb
or
verb
group
(VG)
and
its
surroundings, is SFG’s basic analysis
unit.
?
Independent (main) and Dependent
(subordinate) Clauses
?
Ranking clause
and downranked clause (embedded clause)
?
Inserted clause
?
What’s
in
a
clause?
Process
(VG),
Participants
(NG),
and
Circumstances
(AdvG,
Prepositional Phrases)
E.g.
1, Mark, while working on his truck
yesterday, heard the sound of a crash.
2, The disadvantage is that your
neighbor can do the same.
Transitivity
Our
experience
of
reality
is
captured
in
terms
of
processes
(or
--
happening,
doing, sensing, meaning, being, and becoming.
These processes constitute
the
transitivity system of language, which belongs to
the experiential metafunction.
Revolving around these processes are
participants
and
circumstances
, and we'll
need
to take these into account as
well.
?
The process is
always
realised by a VG.
?
The
participant is typically realised by an NG.
?
The
circumstance is typically realised by an AdvG or
Prepositional phrase.
Processes
There are six processes.
Each process takes a unique set of participants.
How do we
remember the processes? I
suggest you use the acronym MMVERB, which stands
for
Material
,
Mental
,
Verbal
,
Existential
,
Relational
,
Behavioural
.
Process
Material
Mental
Verbal
Existential
Relational
Behavioural
1
Participants
Actor, Goal, Scope, Attribute, Client,
Recipient
Senser,
Phenomenon
Sayer, Receiver,
Verbiage
Existent
Carrier/Attribute(Attributive),
Token/Value(Identifying)
Behaver, Behaviour
Circumstances
On circumstantial elements,
these add information about time (when), place
(where),
manner (how), and reason/cause
(why, for what/who), and can be probed with
where
,
why
,
how
, and
when
.
For
obvious
reasons,
elements
which
answer
a
who
,
which
,
or
what
probe
are
not
circumstantial elements, but
participants.
Summary:
(Acronym
LMRT)
?
Location (Ask:
Where?
)
Mr. Bean
reads newspaper in the park.
?
Manner (Ask:
How?
)
Mr. Bean
reads newspaper carelessly.
?
Reason/cause
(Ask:
Why?
)
Mr.
Bean reads newspaper for fun.
?
Time (Ask:
When?
)
Mr. Bean
read newspaper yesterday.
?
Accompaniment
(Ask:
With whom/what?
)
Mr. Bean was having lunch with his girl
friend.
?
Contingency (Ask:
Under what
circumstances?
)
Mr. Bean
bought an expensive watch despite his girl
friend's protest.
?
Role (Ask:
As/into what?
)
Mr. Bean smashed the glass into pieces.
As a retired teacher, Mr Bean reads
newspaper everyday.
?
Extent (Ask:
At what interval?
)
Mr. Bean reads newspaper from Mondays
to Wednesdays.
?
Angle (Ask:
Whose/which
perspective?
)
Mr. Bean
bought a watch, according to his girl friend.
?
Matter (Ask:
About
what?
)
Mr. Bean kept quiet
about his broken watch.
Processes
1, Material
process
The
participants are:
?
Actor -- the
one performing the action
?
Goal -- that
which is affected by the action
?
Scope(Range)
–
an entity which indicates
the domain over which the process
takes place, it remains unaffected by
the action
?
Attribute -- a quality ascribed or
attributed to an entity
?
Client -- for
whom/which the action occurs
?
Recipient --
the receiver of goods or services
2
A material
process is
a process of
doing
or
happening
, and the Actor is
the key
participant.
You
can
probe
a
material
process
with
did
the
Actor
do?
or
Graham
Pt:Actor
played
Pr:Material
ping pong
Pt:Scope
yesterday
Circ:Time
Circ:Manner
some
laxative
a tablet
Pt:Goal
Graham
swallowed
the
ping pong ball
by mistake
Pt:Actor
Pr:Material
Pt:Goal
The
doctor
gave
Pt:Actor
He
and
Pt:Actor
painted
also
Graham
made
it
Pr:Material
Pt:Recipient
Pt:Goal
Graham
green
Pr:Material
Pt:Client
Pr:Material
Pt:Goal
Pt:Attribute
Because the material process involves
dynamic verbs, the progressive is permitted
--
material process from
another that is inherently stative.
Please note that Goal is that which is
affected by something being done to it (that
is,
it
either
changes
its
position
or
its
status).
If
it
remains
unaffected
(or
unimpacted),
it
is
not
Goal,
but
Scope.
Strictly
speaking,
the
Scope
is
not
a
participant: it is more like a
circumstantial element. (Read Textbook P. 62-63)
Compare:
?
Graham played
Ping Pong.
?
Graham swallowed the Ping Pong ball.
?
I
wrote a book.
?
I paid 25 yuan.
?
他打我。
?
他打篮球。
Graham
played Ping Pong. (Scope)
What did he
do?
But not
what did he
play?
?
Graham swallowed the Ping Pong ball.
(Goal)
?
I wrote
a book. (Goal)
?
I paid 25 yuan.
(Scope)
How much did I pay?
but not
What did I
pay?
?
他打我。
(Goal)
?
他打篮球。
(Scope)
他干什么？
but not
他打什么？
Another useful point to note is that
Recipient takes the preposition
Client
takes
?
The doctor gave some laxative to
Graham. (Recipient)
?
He also made a
tablet for Graham. (Client)
3
2,
Mental process
The participants are:
?
Senser -- the
one who feels (emotionally), thinks, and perceives
?
Phenomenon -- that which is felt
(emotionally), thought about, or perceived
The mental process has to
do with affection, cognition, perception:
I
hate
curly
underarm hair
[Affection]
Pt:Senser
Pr:Mental
Pt:Phenomenon
His curly underarm hair
amazed
me
Pt:Phenomenon
I
saw
Pr:Mental
Pt:Senser
[Cognition]
the curly underarm hair
[Perception]
Pt:Senser
P
r:Mental
Pt:Phenomenon
The mental process is usually in simple
present/past tense, but not usually in the
progressive aspect.
Please
note
that
the
Senser
need
not
always
come
first.
In
curly
underarm
hair amazed me
, the
underlined portion is not Senser but Phenomenon.
3, Verbal
process
The
participants are:
?
Sayer -- the
addresser
?
Receiver -- the addressee, or the
entity targetted by the saying
?
Verbiage -- the
content of what is said or indicated
Verbal processes include all modes of
expressing and indicating, even if they need
not be verbal, such as
realized
as
a
full
projected
clause,
a
participant
(verbiage),
or
a
circumstance
(matter). See examples below.
The x-ray
shows
The doctor
Pt:Sayer
Graham
Pt:Sayer
He
a
small lump
in Graham's
throat
some concern
Pt:Verbiage
about the discomfort
Circ:Matter
Pt:Sayer
Pr:Verbal
Pt:Verbiage
Circ:Location
expressed
Pr:Verbal
complained
Pr:Verbal
mumbled
that the
ball ruined his appearance
Pt:Sayer
Pr:Verbal
Separate ranking clause
4, Existential
process
It
involves
existential
constructions
which
are
introduced
by
an
empty
there
in
subject position. The typical verb that
is used is the
Existential
process forbids progressives.
There is also only one participant in
an existential process -- the Existent.
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