Functional Stylistics

Transitivity is purely a syntactic description; it is based on whether a verb takes an Object or not.

If a verb takes an object ,it is transitive , while, a verb ,not carrying an object is

intransitive.

Transitivity ,in traditional grammar

1.theme is the grammar of discourse

2. mood is the grammar of speech function

3.Transitivity is the grammar of experience .

Three types of grammar

Grammatical transitivity - concerned with the relations between elements in a clause

I walked INTRANSITIVE CLAUSE

I walked the dog TRANSITIVE CLAUSE

Halliday’s transitivity:

In traditional grammar:

I walked the dog SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

In systemic functional grammar:

I walked the dog PARTICIPANT PROCESS PARTICIPANT

Halliday’s transitivity: a very brief introduction

Transitivity is a semantic process in the analysis of representation of reality.

transitivity enables us to analyze and represent the same event and situation in different ways.

The transitivity patterns can also indicate the certain mind-set or worldview “framed by the authorial ideology”

Transitivity , in Halliday’s model

According to Halliday ,there are three major functions of language .

1. Ideational2. Textual3. interpersonal

Three major functions of language

The ideational function is the use of language to express content(speaker’s attitude towards the world) and to communicate information

The textual function is the use of language to signify discourse.( how the speaker or a writer constructs a text )

Interpersonal function is the use of language to establish and maintain social relations.

The ideational function of the clause is concerned with the “transmission of ideas.”

Its function is that of “representing ‘processes’ or ‘experiences’. (actions, events, processes of consciousness and relations) .

Ideational function

all phenomena…and anything that can be expressed by a verb :

event, whether physical or not, state, or relation,

the “processes” expressed through language are product of our conception of the world or point of view.

PROCESS means

Our most powerful conception of reality is that it consists of “goings-on” : of doing, happening, feeling, being.

These goings-on are sorted out in the semantic system of the language, and expressed through the grammar of the clause…

Transitivity specifies the different types of process that are recognized in the language, and the structures by which they are expressed.

The task of transitivity analysis, is to discover the relation between meanings and wordings that accounts for the organization of linguistic features in a text.

The semantic processes expressed by clauses have potentially three components

1. the process itself, which will be expressed by the verb phrase in a clause.

2. the participants in the clause, which refer to the roles of entities that are directly involved in the process

3 Components

the one that does, behaves or says, together with the passive one that is done to, said to, etc.

. The participants are not necessarily humans or even animate

The participant entities are normally realized by noun phrases in the clause.

3. the circumstances associated with the process, which are typically expressed by adverbial and prepositional phrases.

Circumstances

The transitivity model provides a means of discovering how certain linguistic structures of a text encode the particular worldview or ideological stance of a reader/speaker.

Linguistic codes do not reflect reality neutrally; they interpret, organize, and classify the subjects of discourse. They embody theories of how the world is arranged: world-views or ideologies.

to uncover the principle

“who or what does what to whom or

what?”

First principle of a transitivity analysis

The action of an ACTOR

and

It effects upon the GOAL

Transitivity refers to the relation between

transitivity is purely a syntactic description; it is based on whether a verb takes an Object or not.

If a verb takes object , it is called Transitive.

If it does not take an object it is intransitive.

In traditional grammar

The analysis is purely semantic ,rather than the syntactic one .

An important question is whether there is an implication of an animate individual Actor/Agent intentionally doing the action to another entity Goal.

In Halliday ‘s Transitivity model

social and cultural factors

as well as any individual mind-set.

Different social structures and value systems require different patterns of transitivity.

Transitivity patterns are subject to…

Three things are to be found out :1. Isolate the process per se, and determine

which participant who or what is doing each process ;

2. Determine what sorts of process they are, and which participant is engaged in which type of process ;

To know subjective reality , , ,

3. Determine who or what is affected or seems to be affected by each of these processes.

Transitivity processes can be classified into :1. Material (doing){ kick ,run ,paint ,send}2. Relational (being or becoming)

{be ,have ,become}3. Mental (sensing){see,hear,know ,like}4. Verbal (saying)

{say ,tell ,warn,argue,ask}5. Behavioral (behaving)

{laugh,talk ,cry,breath}6. Existential (existing){there is…………….}

Types of processes

Material processes are processes of doing in the physical world.

Two inherent participants are Actor and Goal ,the first being an obligatory element and expresses the doer of the process , and later being an optional element and expresses the person or entity affected by the process

Material processes

Material Processes: physical actions in the real world and their Participants:

- Actor: the one who does the action - Goal: The one who is affected by the

action - Recipient: the one who receives something - Beneficiary: the one for whom something

is done

Material processes…

John drove Mary home Actor Process Goal Circ: destination Mary was driven home by John Goal Process Circ: destination Actor John gave Mary a book Actor Process Recipient Goal John built Mary a house Actor Process Beneficiary Goal

There is an extra element called CIRCUMSTANCE which provides additional

information on the “when, where, how, and why” of the process.

The Circumstantial meaning is realized, not in nominal phrases, but as either adverbial phrases or prepositional phrases, and so is

subsidiary in status to the process.

Circumstance expresses supplementary information, such as place, time, extent, matter, manner, duration, condition, means, etc.

John(actor) kicked (process :material) the ball.(goal )

, John(actor) hit(process:material) the man (Goal) very hard.circumstance :manner)

The boat (actor) sailed(process :material) in the bay.(circumstance :place )

Of course, it is possible to reverse Actor/Goal in a passive form, placing a Goal at an initial position and Actor at the end of the sentence, such as :

The man was hit by John.

Relational processes are concerned with the process of being in the world of abstract relations.

Normally, an abstract relationship that exists between two participants associated with the process is considered, but unlike the case of material process, a participant does not affect the other participant in a physical sense.

Relational processes : from Action to Being

John is talented & John is the leader

But to define relational processes is not so easy.

relational process are quite complex and controversial

Examples :

In systemic functional grammar:

I walked the dog

PARTICIPANT PROCESS PARTICIPANT(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)

The student wrote the essay(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)

Halliday’s transitivity

Other examples, other processes

The student wrote the essay(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)

The student argued the case that ….

(SAYER) (VERBAL P) (VERBIAGE)

The lecturer appreciated the essay (SENSER) (MENTAL P) (PHENOMENON)

*The essay impresssed the lecturer(PHENOMENON) (MENTAL P) (SENSER)

Halliday’s transitivity

Halliday: The system of transitivity in language is concerned with representing patterns of experience, “of goings on” and “happenings” in the world….It construes the world into a manageable set of PROCESS types and of PARTICIPANTS

Halliday’s transitivity:

The student wrote the essayThe student argued the case that ….The lecturer appreciated the essay

PARTICIPANT PARTICIPANT

PROCESS

Material

Verbal

Mental etc.

Mental Processes: processes of perception, cognition, affection

- Senser: the one who does the mental action

- Phenomenon: The thing that is perceived, thought, appreciated

Mental processes…

Mental Processes: processes of sensing

1. Perception (seeing, hearing, etc.) 2. Affection (liking, fearing, etc.) 3. Cognition (thinking, knowing, understanding, etc.)

Types of mental processes

John saw Mary Senser Process Phenomenon{perception}

John thought that Mary was coming Senser Process Phenomenon{cognition}

That he was tall pleased Mary Phenomenon Process Senser{emotion}

Verbal Processes: processes of communication:

- Sayer: the one who communicates - Addressee: the one receiving the message

- Verbiage: What they say

Verbal processes …

John said that he was tired Sayer Process Verbiage John told Mary to go Sayer Process Addressee Verbiage John was told to go by Mary Addressee Process Verbiage Sayer

Relational Processes: expressing possession, equivalence, attributes...

- Carrier: An entity being described - Attribute: The description of the entity

John is tall Carrier Process Attribute

Relational processes….

- Possessor: the one owning or containing something

- Possessed: the thing owned or contained. John owns a Mercedes Possessor Process Possession - Token: an entity being equated with

another - Value: the other description. John is the president Token Process Value

As a rule of thumb, a behavioral process verb is

a. Intransitive (it has only one participant) and

b. Indicates an activity in which both the physical and mental aspects are inseparable and indispensable to it.

Behavioral processes…

In this process, there is only one participant, namely: behaver (the agent who behaves), example:

Buff neither laughs ,nor smiles. Behaver (process)

These processes represent that something exists or happens.

These clauses typically have the verb be, or some other verb expressing existence, such as exist, arise, followed by a nominal group functioning as Existent (a thing which exists in the process)

Existential processes

There was a storm

{was} process

{a storm} existent

1. Jack and jill went up the hill ,to fetch a pail of water .

2. Jim said he reckoned I would believe him next time

3. Spurs played Liverpool. They beat them4. The cops chased the robbers. They caught

them

Transitive analysis in practical

Circumstances: any kind of contingent fact or subsidiary

situation which is associated with the process or the main

situation – The museum is round the corner – Do it gently. – He watered the garden with a hose – I left because I was tired.

Circumstances